The X-Men are finally making their MCU debut in Avengers: Doomsday through legacy characters, and while that’s exciting enough on its own, it’s also worth asking, what's next for the X-Men after? The X-Men bring a vast roster of heroes and an equally massive gallery of villains and cosmic threats. There is also a long list of mutants to explore. With so many options on the table, it’s hard to imagine anything short of a colossal launch for the X-Men’s Phase 7 journey.
Setting the sights even higher, here are the villains and universe-shaking threats that should keep the X-Men on their feet in the X-Men in MCU Phase 7.
X-Men Villains That Are Avengers-Level Threats
Mister Sinister (Dr. Nathaniel Essex)
With names like Matt Berry, Tom Ellis, and Tim Curry floating around fan casts, Mr. Sinister has become a favorite pick for a flamboyant, sassy, and dangerously unhinged MCU villain.
Mr. Sinister might be an absolute nightmare to the X-Men, but he’s an absolute delight to fans. The mad scientist worked tirelessly to upgrade his power set, from rapid regeneration to some of the most phenomenal combinations. These include molecular shapeshifting, telepathy, telekinesis, and even teleportation.
However, his rivalry with the Summers family makes Mr. Sinister a top-tier Phase 7 threat. Between Cyclops and Gambit, a storyline centered on him could be the perfect way to reunite (and shake up) the Summers clan in the MCU.
Imagine an X-Men movie that’s part high-stakes thriller, part family drama, part interstellar adventure, with Mr Sinister creating all the needed chaos.
Omega Red (Arkady Rossovich)
Although Omega Red technically made his debut in the MCU in Deadpool 2 as a prisoner in the special facility, the Ice Box, most of it was cut down to an uneventful chess game. That just leaves more for the MCU to play with.
With a backstory like Wolverine, Omega Red would make a perfect villain in a thrilling Marvel X-Men horror flick, not just for his gruesome appearance but also because of the dark characters he’s often linked to, including Dracula.
If Marvel decides to go the horror route and set the film on the mutant island Krakoa, then the repentant serial killers' relapse could be the perfect centerpiece. According to comic book writer Jonathan Hickman’s era, the roster includes characters like Apocalypse and Nazi siblings like the Von Strucker twins and a tone that could finally allow Marvel to take a darker turn.
Otherwise, the Wolverine #4 storyline might be better. Omega Red kills Wolverine by drowning him, one of the few things Logan is truly vulnerable to.
Arcade
Marvel Studios experimented with various storytelling styles, especially comedy. Thor: Ragnarok, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Ant-Man and the Wasp are Marvel's blend of humor with crime-fighting. Arcade in the MCU would be explosive if Marvel Studios dared dive deep into dark humor.
Considering how hard it is to picture what’s up with the Avengers lineup these days, a concept like Avengers Arena can be written as both a diss to the OG Avengers and a twisted new chapter for the X-Men. If that doesn't do it, then Arcade's dangerous, pinball machine-style amusement park known as Murderworld would.
Give him a TikTok account, boobie traps, some cameras, and a bunch of mutants, and Joker’s campy cousin from the drugstore would make Marvel Studios a chaotic, messy, and entertaining Phase 7 villain.
Humans/Government
There’s a reason humans are often considered the greatest predators. With the government and mercenaries going after mutants, you already know Deadpool and Wolverine will have a seat at that table. With people like DC’s Amanda Waller or Marvel’s CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, there’s always going to be a world where mutants revolt.
With a setting like the mutant island, Krakoa, there's at least one good juicy squeeze left: humans are the invaders, and mutants are the underdogs. Whether it’s in the name of control, fear, or straight-up war, the government vs. mutants storyline definitely hits.
Considering adamantium and all the tech and science present in this time and era, if the underdog storyline doesn't take, then that would be a head-on collision. May the best man, woman, clone, or cosmic accident win!
Sentinels
Sentinels are semi-autonomous military weapons. That means they have one mission: wipe out mutants. But it also means the average mutant with a low-level ability (like talking to insects) has a zero chance against a three-story metal killer armed with lasers and a shoot first, ask questions later algorithm.
With Dr. Bolivar Trask and his advanced killer bots up against mutants, the vs might seem familiar, as in Ultron vs humanity. However, the mutant populations will definitely have a lot more to say, hence a more eventful, action-packed, and thrilling movie. In fact, a Sentinel movie in Phase 7 might just be a better consolation for that Ultron trilogy MCU fans never got.
Sauron (Dr. Karl Lykos)
Dr. Karl Lykos got his alias, Sauron, as an homage to the Lord of the Rings villain. This is an excellent peek into what type of villain the dinosaur lover truly is.
One thing is for sure: Marvel is no stranger to naughty professors and mad scientists. And when it comes to using science in the most evil ways possible, Sauron (aka Karl Lykos) takes the cake. He ranks as one of Marvel's most power-hungry villains with the ability to drain life energy. Unlike most scientists, who are curious, Sauron is purely motivated by his desire to turn humans into dinosaurs.
Mojo
An X-Men movie featuring Mojo as the villain would make a perfect fit for a character who could star in a weird TV show within a comedy series. In this, Mojo could create a crazy dimension, forcing mutants to participate in violent reality TV shows. His goal? To dominate television ratings with his twisted entertainment, which is not so far-fetched, with social media and alternative media taking over.
She-Hulk literally broke the fourth wall to check her writers. So why not let unwilling stars like Longshot and Dazzler drag Phase 7 into a mashup of reality TV?
The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk)
After his appearance in the TV series Legion, the telepathic entity known as the Shadow King took the shape of various villains, including the Devil with Yellow Eyes and the World’s Angriest Boy. He is creepy, chaotic, and unsettling in all the right ways.
Marvel’s Phase 7 is a prime opportunity to relaunch the Shadow King and let him pick on someone his size, Professor X. It wouldn’t just be punch-and-kick battles. We’re talking full-on mind wars, psychic traps, astral projections, and mental breakdowns. Add the Muir Island Saga into the mix, and you've got a dark, trippy chapter of the X-Men universe waiting to be told.
Onslaught
The psychic force child of Marvel’s most iconic rivals, Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, exists to either lead mutant domination or wipe out everyone. Onslaught’s presence in the MCU would finally show fans just how powerful Professor Xavier truly is. In comic lore, Onslaught brought the entire world to its knees, and it took a massive team-up of Marvel’s most powerful heroes and, ironically, several of their strongest villains to stop him.
Some of the characters who might show up in this storyline include Nate Grey, Franklin Richards, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Graydon Creed, and, of course, Professor X.
The Phoenix Force
The Phoenix Force is an entity that bonds with powerful mutants, amplifying their abilities to cosmic or even god-like levels.
Marvel Studios has the chance to explore threats way beyond anything the X-Men have faced. If done right, the Phoenix Force could be an extinction-level threat, one that pushes the X-Men and every mutant to their limit and keeps MCU fans on the edge of their seats.
Even though Firehair was the earliest host of the Phoenix Force, Marvel can opt for something more familiar, like Jean Grey-Summers (read more about her latest MCU casting rumor).
Marvel must include everything that makes the Dark Phoenix Saga iconic, such as the Shi’ar Empire, Lilandra, the Hellfire Club, and Wolverine. Jean Grey-Summers, done right, could be X-Men's cosmic-level showdown.
