Marvel Studios Just Gender-Swapped Its 5th Villain

Marvel Studios is confirmed to introduce another gender-swapped antagonist in an upcoming 2027 MCU project on Disney+, joining the likes of Karli Morgenthau, Ghost, and Dar-Benn. The MCU has a long history of gender-bending characters from the comics onto the screen, with notable examples including the Ancient One, Ajak, and Makkari. These changes often serve to diversify the cast or fit specific story needs. The gender-bending was not exclusive to heroic figures; notable villains were also included in this strategy to keep the franchise evolving. 

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2's ending sets the stage for the introduction of another gender-swapped version of a notable street-level villain in the form of Heather Glenn as Lady Muse. 

Heather Glenn's Marvel villain in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 stands out as a uniquely layered example of gender-swapping in the MCU because the original non-gender-swapped version of Muse already appeared in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. Bastian Cooper (Hunter Doohan) was a fully realized character who played a prominent role and was then killed off by Glenn herself in self-defense. 

This creates a rare case in the MCU, where the gender-swapped successor is directly inspired by and effectively inherits the mantle from the original male Muse, who not only appeared on-screen but was ultimately killed by his own eventual successor. 

Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 set photos revealed Lady Muse's new look in the Netflix reboot, with the character wearing the familiar bloody white mask, white top, and black coat. Glenn's transformation into a full-blown villain stemmed from her deep trauma following the male Muse's attack on her, combined with resentment toward vigilantes, including Daredevil. 

Every Other Gender-Swapped Villain In the MCU 

Ghost

Ant-Man and the Wasp introduced Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) as the film's main villain. As an enhanced woman with quantum-phasing abilities, Starr worked as a stealth operative who tried to gain access to the Quantum Realm to heal her unstable cells that had been tearing her apart. 

Ghost earned redemption by becoming a founding member of the New Avengers, leading to her much-anticipated appearance alongside other heroes in Avengers: Doomsday. 

In Marvel Comics, Ghost is a male Iron Man villain portrayed as a tech genius and corporate saboteur who wears a suit that grants intangibility and invisibility. The MCU version reimagined the powers and backstory, making Ava possess innate abilities rather than a power-granting suit. 

Karli Morgenthau

Erin Kellyman's Karli Mogenthau made her debut in 2021's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as a super-soldier-enhanced young woman who served as the leader of the anti-nationalist group known as the Flag Smashers. Many argued that Karli was a sympathetic antagonist with understandable motivations. 

In Marvel Comics, Karl Morgenthau is a male terrorist who served as the antithesis of Captain America. Karl used the Flag Smasher persona to fight against countries and borders as a villain-for-hire. Outside of the gender swap, the MCU expands the Flag Smasher into a movement instead of a one-man wrecking crew. 

Dar-Benn

The Marvels pushed Zawe Ashton's Dar-Benn to the forefront, serving as a Kree revolutionary seeking to restore her homeworld of Hala after Carol Danvers destroyed the Supreme Intelligence in 2019's Captain Marvel. 

The Marvel Comics version of Dar-Benn was actually a male Kree general and warlord who manipulated his rise to power. He had conflicts with other heroes, such as the Avengers and the Silver Surfer, in cosmic storylines like Operation: Galactic Storm. The MCU reimagined Dar-Benn as a more personal foe for Carol, driven by vengeance. 

Taskmaster

Black Widow introduced Antonia Dreykov, a female version of Taskmaster (played by Olga Kurylenko) in the MCU. She was brainwashed and equipped with photographic reflexes, acting as a masked operative who can copy the Avengers' fighting style. 

Taskmaster's version in Marvel Comics is a male mercenary named Anthony Masters, with photographic reflexes that let him copy any fighting style after seeing it once. Masters operates as a villain-for-hire and, in some stories, an anti-hero. The MCU turned Taskmaster into a tragic figure tied to Natasha Romanoff's Red Room backstory. 

Bonus: Mar-Vell 

While Annette Bening's Wendy Lawson (Mar-Vell) was portrayed as a mentor to Carol Danvers from Project Pegasus in Captain Marvel, the Supreme Intelligence used Lawson's liking to manipulate her. 

As the main villain, the Supreme Intelligence exploited this emotional connection during key psychic confrontations to reinforce Kree propaganda, suppress Carol's memories of her human past, and keep her loyal as a brainwashed Starforce warrior.

Mar-Vell was one of the MCU characters who changed dramatically from Marvel Comics, as the original version of the villain was a male Kree warrior and military captain who arrived on Earth as a spy, but completely defected to protect humanity and became the original Captain Marvel. 

Bonus: Sonya Falsworth

Secret Invasion introduced Sonya Falsworth as a morally ambiguous, ruthless MI6 agent who used her manipulative ways to carry out dark schemes in the name of British national security. She was an original character, and not a gender-swapped version of any notable Marvel villain.

Still, she is included in the list because her surname linked her to the Falsworth family, most notably James Montgomery Falsworth, the original Union Jack (a British patriotic hero akin to Captain America). Sonya carried the family's legacy of espionage and heroism, though into a morally grey area. 

Bonus: Sylvie

Sophia Di Martino plays Sylvie, a female Loki Variant who becomes a key anti-hero in the Loki series on Disney+. The MCU's Sylvie is portrayed as a freedom fighter against the TVA and a complicated romantic interest in Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief. 

In Marvel Comics, Sylvie draws inspiration from several characters, including the second Enchantress, Sylvie Lushton, and elements of Lady Loki. The MCU blends the name and Enchantress vibes with a full Loki Variant backstory.