Marvel Studios’ Next Thanos Replacement Is As Powerful As Doctor Doom

Thanos’ next replacement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t actually Doctor Doom, but is just as powerful as both. Doom is set for an appearance in the MCU, specifically in the story of Avengers: Doomsday. This, along with the story of Avengers: Secret Wars, tees Doom up as the next cosmic threat the franchise’s heroes will face.

However, a different villain will appear in the MCU before Doctor Doom, serving as the next proper Thanos replacement. There hasn’t been an overarching villain spread over several Marvel projects since Thanos’ death in Avengers: Endgame, but that will soon come to an end. In the summer of 2026, X-Men ’97 season 2’s story will hit Disney+.

Based on the teases in the final moments of X-Men ’97 season 1, it is clear that Apocalypse will be the primary villain of the show going forward. The X-Men have been scattered throughout time and are set to encounter various iterations of Apocalypse, from the long-living mutant himself to his earlier version in Ancient Egypt, En Sabah Nur.

Apocalypse Is One Of The Most Powerful Villains Marvel Studios Has Adapted

Image via Disney+

Without a doubt, Apocalypse will become one of the most powerful villains adapted by Marvel Studios. The character has appeared in other stories, be it the X-Men movie timeline or the predecessor of X-Men ’97, X-Men: The Animated Series. However, the former adaptation was under the stewardship of 20th Century Fox, while the latter was created long before Marvel Studios existed.

Now that Marvel’s TV productions are under Marvel Studios’ control, Apocalypse will be the first time this iteration of the franchise has included him. Alongside Thanos and Doctor Doom, the X-Men villain will be among the most powerful villains in the entire franchise. Yes, he will likely remain confined to the universe in which X-Men ’97 takes place and not be a villain of The Avengers like the other two in question.

Nonetheless, Apocalypse’s power level rivals those of Doom and Thanos. Apocalypse is often considered the most dangerous X-Men antagonist, as X-Men ’97 is sure to depict. In fact, X-Men ’97 season 3 has been in development for almost two years at this point, likely meaning that Apocalypse will be a multi-season threat. This only proves how big a villain Apocalypse truly is, much bigger than anyone else in the MCU, barring only a few.

Marvel Studios’ Future Promises To Fix One Problem With Powerful Villains

If indeed Apocalypse appears in several seasons of X-Men ’97, it will fix a Marvel Studios problem with powerful villains. Discounting Thanos, the most cosmically powerful villains in the MCU are Galactus and Dormammu. The former was the primary villain of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but was confined to another universe and defeated by the movie’s end, as opposed to being a huge threat to the wider franchise like Thanos was.

Dormammu was in Doctor Strange and was only defeated using trickery, again rendering him a lesser threat than his power suggests he should be. With Apocalypse being a key antagonist of the entire X-Men team across multiple time periods and possibly multiple seasons, this issue of somewhat nerfing Marvel’s most powerful villains will be avoided.

The same can be said for Doctor Doom, who is set to appear in two upcoming Avengers films. Avengers: Doomsday will bring together the titular team, the New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Wakandans, Loki, and a different version of the X-Men just to combat the villain, providing evidence for how powerful he will be in the MCU.

Avengers: Secret Wars will then up the stakes to make Doom a multiversal threat, should it follow the expected story from the comic book run of the same name. Via Doom in these two movies and Apocalypse in X-Men ’97, Marvel Studios’ future will hopefully feature villains with this level of power more frequently.

Release Date

March 20, 2024

Directors

Jake Castorena

Writers

Beau DeMayo

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