Marvel Studios' latest Disney+ series made MCU history by including the return of one of the franchise's most beloved villains. While plenty of Marvel villains have made their way over to the streaming side of the MCU equation, few from the prime Earth 616 universe have done so in animated form. This has resulted in otherworldly takes on characters like Agatha Harkness or the terrifying Ultron to pop up in Marvel's animated series on Disney+, but never the version fans know from live-action.
That all changed with the recent release of Eyes of Wakanda on the streamer, which included the first animated version of an Earth 616 villain: Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger. Killmonger's appearance in the new Ryan Coogler-produced streaming epic is set to get the ball rolling on an all-timer run of Marvel villains coming to Disney+ over the next 12 months or so.
Jordan's Black Panther big bad appeared during Eyes of Wakanda Episode 4's closing moments. This clever moment harkened back to where fans first saw the live-action Earth 616 villain, as he stood in the Museum of Great Britain (the very place he made his on-screen debut in Black Panther).
Seeing as Eyes of Wakanda spends its four-episode run focusing on various Wakandan warriors recovering artifacts from the isolationist African nation across time, ending the series on Jordan's character standing outside the museum he is seen robbing in Coogler's 2018 MCU blockbuster adds a bit of context to the character.
He, too, is reclaiming some Wakandan history just like the Hatut Zaraze were seen doing in the new animated streaming series.
Hopefully, Killmonger's appearance in the new series will start a trend of other Earth 616 villains popping up in other animated MCU projects.
Eyes of Wakanda is now streaming in its entirety on Disney+. Taking place hundreds of years before the events of Black Panther (in fact, being the MCU's new first project on its ever-expanding timeline), the new animated series tells four anthology stories of Wakandan warriors sent to far-off places to reclaim relics of Wakandan history.
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler executive-produced and co-created the four-part animated epic, while former Marvel Studios concept artist Todd Harris served as showrunner.
Every MCU Villain Set To Return on Disney+
Wanda Maximoff (Marvel Zombies)
Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch is set to make her grand MCU return later this year in the upcoming Marvel Zombies series. The spell-slinging hero-turned-villain will be one of the new R-rated shows undead big bads, using her magic abilities to help satiate her hunger for flesh.
Death Dealer (Marvel Zombies)
After making their MCU debut in 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the dastardly Death Dealer will be back in Marvel Zombies as well. This time, however, he will seemingly be on the hero's side, taking on the undead.
Ava Starr/Ghost (Marvel Zombies)
Ava Starr/Ghost may be a hero now, having joined the Thunderbolts (aka the New Avengers), but she was not always that way. The character originally debuted in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp as an antagonist and will return to her evil ways in Marvel Zombies, appearing as yet another super-powered undead.
Emil Blonsky/Abomination (Marvel Zombies)
Emil Blonsky/Abomination is one of the longest-standing villains in the MCU, making his Marvel Studios debut all the way back in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. After a brief appearance in 2022's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Abomination is headed back into the MCU fray, returning as a zombified version of his hulking self in this year's Marvel Zombies
Ikaris (Marvel Zombies)
Richard Madden's Ikaris has not been seen or heard from in Marvel's super-powered universe since 2022's Eternals came to theaters. Well, that will all change very soon as he, too, gets the undead treatment as one of the super-powered daywalkers coming in October's Marvel Zombies.
Xu Wenwu (Marvel Zombies)
Xu Wenwu (brought to life in live-action by the venerable Tony Leung) posed quite the threat for Simu Liu's Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings, and he will do just the same in this year's Marvel Zombies. The character will make his MCU return in the new series as a high-kicking martial arts master joining forces with the Avengers to kick some zombie butt.
Thanos (Marvel Zombies)
Perhaps the biggest zombified threat coming to Marvel Zombies is returning Avengers: Endgame villain Thanos. The towering Mad Titan will be back in the new animated series, although this time he will be undead, making him even more difficult for Earth's Mightiest Heroes to topple.
Ultron (Vision Quest)
It has been a decade since James Spader's rogue AI, Utron, made his big-screen debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron; however, he will finally come back to the MCU as a part of next year's Paul Bettany-led Vision Quest. The new streaming series will see Ultron go up against Bettany's Vision yet again in a quest for technological supremacy.
Raza (Vision Quest)
Vision Quest will also include the surprise return of one of the MCU's oldest on-screen adversaries, Faran Tahir's Raza. Raza is best known as the terrorist who takes Tony Stark hostage during Iron Man, setting the character's super-powered conquest in motion. His role in Vision Quest is unknown, but he will be there.
BONUS: Trevor Slattery (Wonder Man)
While technically no longer a villain in the MCU, we had to include Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery on this list. The fledgling actor first appeared in Iron Man 3, pretending to be the terrifying criminal kingpin, The Mandarin. He, however, has since taken on a more heroic bent, appearing in 2021's Shang-Chi and the upcoming Wonder Man series.
