Marvel Studios put over a dozen iconic MCU villains in the spotlight with a crossover poster unlike anything fans have seen before. Marvel puts forth a great effort to celebrate its litany of villains from past movies, some of which rank among the best villains in 21st-century cinema.
A new piece of artwork on the Disney Destiny cruise ship showed 16 villains from Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga alongside each other. Disney Parks enthusiast Scott Gustin shared the image on X, giving fans a full look at this unique piece of art (the artist behind it is unconfirmed).
Front and center in the picture is the Mad Titan Thanos, portrayed in the MCU by Josh Brolin, as he wields the complete Infinity Gauntlet with all six Infinity Stones.
At the very top of the poster, Benedict Cumberbatch's Dormammu and Kurt Russell's Ego the Living Planet look down on the action beneath them.
The left side features Hela (Cate Blanchett), Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), Ultron (James Spader), Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), and Erik Stevens/Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). On the right, fans can see Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and Thanos' Black Order from Avengers: Infinity War.
This image was not officially released by Marvel Studios, but it was made as an official Disney product. At the end of the Infinity Saga, Marvel licensed a piece of art titled "Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years," which included most of the same villains used in the Disney Destiny image. Unlike the image above, this one was created and sold by a third party not affiliated with Disney:
While 16 villains made the cut in this new piece of art, it only focused on characters from the Infinity Saga and did not include any who debuted in the Multiverse Saga. Additionally, it omitted notable villains like Abomination, Yellowjacket, Zemo, Vulture, Ghost, Yon-Rogg, Mysterio, Arnim Zola, Mandarin/Aldrich Killian, Alexander Pierce, Crossbones, Klaue, and The Sovereign.
Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga consists of 23 movies released between 2008 and 2019. The Saga kicked off with 2008's Iron Man and ended with 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, although the culmination of the story came in the massive two-part story shown in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and 2019's Avengers: Endgame. The entire Infinity Saga is streaming on Disney+.
Possible Villain Team-Ups in the MCU's Future
While the MCU has more than its fair share of villains from the last 17 years, they have mostly operated independently, outside of a few rare exceptions. With this picture teasing such a massive group of antagonists, it raises the question of whether such a team-up could become a reality in a future MCU movie.
The best chance of this happening in the immediate future will come in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday, which already features at least eight villains from the MCU and past Marvel films. Rumors also indicate the inclusion of a female Doctor Doom alongside Robert Downey Jr.'s main antagonist, which could lead to a bigger Doom-centric team assembling to take down Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
From a bigger perspective, Doom will serve as the overarching villain for the next two Avengers movies and the greater Multiverse Saga after being teased in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' mid-credits scene. The saga will also continue with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which will feature the return of Michael Mando's Scorpion next to Marvin "Krondon" Jones' Tombstone (along with the franchise's first female villain).
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
