Marvel Studios could introduce some of the most iconic villains from Marvel Comics into theMCUin the upcomingX-Menreboot. Despite being teased by Marvel boss Kevin Feige six years ago, not much is yet known about theMCU’s firstX-Menmovie. The movie is being penned byThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakeswriter Michael Lesslie, and is expected to completely reinvent the X-Men team after two decades in 20th Century Fox’sX-Menfranchise, and the team will need a powerful adversary for its MCU debut.
Fox spotlighted a number of notableMarvel Comics villains in theX-Menfranchise, but put the most focus on Magneto, Bolivar Trask and his Sentinels, Apocalypse, William Stryker and the Dark Phoenix. Several other formidable supervillains were seriously underused, neglected and failed by Fox, but there are hopes that some of these iconic characters will finally get justice in the MCU.Marvel Studios’X-Menreboot could breathe new life into villains that Fox let down, and perhaps even introduce some that theX-Menfranchise never even explored.
10Magneto
Magneto Is The X-Men’s Most Iconic Adversary
It’s inevitable that a new version of Magneto will be debuting alongside the reinvented X-Men team. Max Eisenhardt, a.k.a. Erik Lehnsherr, first appeared in 1963’sThe X-Men #1, and has become the X-Men’s longest-running enemy-turned-ally in the decades since.Magneto is one of Marvel’s most legendary and recognizable characters, and he is intricately tied into the narrative of the X-Men, as he is the perfect philosophical mirror to Professor X.While Charles Xavier believes humans and mutants can live side-by-side, Magneto does not, though both constantly strive for mutant protection in their own ways.
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Michael Fassbender
Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender portrayedMagneto in Fox’sX-Menfranchise, and did a brilliant job at delivering the seriousness, vulnerability and charisma of the Master of Magnetism. However, Magneto didn’t have much time as an outright villain under Fox’s watch, so it would be great to see him pull off some more nefarious feats when reintroduced to the MCU.Magneto should get a full evolution in the MCU, taking him from supervillain to superhero, but this process should occur gradually after kicking off in theX-Menreboot.
9Apocalypse
Apocalypse Needs Redemption In The MCU
En Sabah Nur, a.k.a. Apocalypse, only made one appearance in Fox’sX-Menfranchise, but this depiction was a huge disappointment.Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypsewas about as far from comic-accurate as he could have been, asthe Ancient Egyptian mutant was not able to access his important Marvel connections to the likes of Kang the Conqueror variant Rama-Tut, the Celestials or Moon Knight. This could be very different in the MCU, however, as a new Apocalypse could finally bring his complex and interesting Marvel Comics backstory to life.
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The fact that some of the most important elements inApocalypse’s backstory have already been introduced to the MCUmeans the upcomingX-Menreboot could easily tease a new iteration of the formidable mutant.Apocalypse has lived for centuries and has come to blows with many Marvel heroes, so it would be great to see him integrated into the MCU’s historysimilarly to the Eternals in Phase 4. He could also prove crucial in setting up new X-Men villains, such as Mister Sinister, so his introduction in theX-Menreboot would be huge for the MCU.
8Sabretooth (& The Creed Family)
Marvel Can Debut A Comic-Accurate Sabretooth & Develop His Family History
Fox’sX-Menfranchise never quite figured out what to do with Sabretooth, the enduring archenemy to X-Men member Wolverine. InX-Men, Tyler Mane’s Sabretooth was a mindless lackey to Magneto, whileX-Men Origins: Wolverinerevealed that he was actually Wolverine’s brother, Liev Schreiber’s Victor Creed.Deadpool & Wolverineput this to rest in 2024 by havingWolverine swiftly decapitate Mane’s Sabretooth variant, giving Marvel Studios the perfect opportunity to introduce a more comic-accurate depiction of the villain in the upcomingX-Menreboot.
In his most popular history, Sabretooth was another subject in theWeapon X program alongside Wolverine, but after Wolverine escaped and tried to suppress his animalistic qualities, Sabretooth hunted him and tormented him to try and bring out the feral creature inside. Sabretooth later fathers the human Graydon Creed, who would go on to form the Friends of Humanity and fight for mutant extermination.Introducing the Creed family in the MCU’sX-Menmovie could set up these huge storylines to be explored in the MCU.
7Henry Peter Gyrich
Henry Gyrich Fits Into The MCU’s Previous Political Storylines
While it would be great to seeGraydon Creed and the Friends of Humanitypresent a grounded threat to the X-Men and mutantkind in the MCU’sX-Menreboot, there are even more powerful human antagonists that would also be brilliant additions, including Henry Peter Gyrich. First introduced back in 1977’sThe Avengers #165, Gyrich is a liaison to the Avengers for the United States government who actively opposes the superhuman community, particularly mutants.His political power means his villainous threats have real danger, and this couldn’t be more relevant in today’s climate.
Henry Peter Gyrich was briefly played by Matthew Sharp in 2000’sX-Men, and was voiced by Barry Flatman inX-Men: The Animated Series, with Todd Haberkorn taking over the villainous role for theX-Men ‘97revival series.
Some notable storylines in Marvel Comics include Henry Peter Gyrich neutralizing Storm’s mutant powers, being a faithful believer in Bastion’s Operation: Zero Tolerance, and trying to initiate a plan to discredit the mutant nation of Krakoa.Gyrich has the opportunity to be one of the X-Men’s most persistent antagonists in the MCU, even though he may not pose the same level of danger as the likes of Magneto and Apocalypse. Gyrich could be the face ofmutant hate and discrimination in the MCU, which are essential elements to any good mutant story in Marvel Comics and live-action.
6Emma Frost
Emma Frost’s Previous Live-Action Adaptations Have Been Disappointing
It would be fantastic to seeEmma Frost finally get justice in live-actionby debuting in the MCU’sX-Menreboot. Emma Frost is one of Marvel’s most notable and powerful characters, but was failed routinely in Fox’sX-Menfranchise, with disappointing adaptations that weakened her abilities and made her a minor villain when she should have taken center-stage as a much more complex character.While she began her Marvel Comics career as an antagonist, Emma Frost went on to become one of the most trusted leaders of the X-Men, and this evolution would be great to see in the MCU.
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While Finola Hughes did a good job at portraying Emma Frost in 1996’sGeneration XTV pilot,Tahyna MacManus and January Jones did not deliver captivating depictions of the fashion-forward diamond-skinned telepath. Emma Frost is one of the most central characters in Marvel Comics’ mutant-centric stories, but she was completely sidelined and forgotten about in Fox’sX-Menfranchise. It’s about timeEmma Frost got the main charactertreatment, and the MCU’sX-Menreboot would be the perfect place to put the spotlight on her, perhaps first as the Hellfire Club’s White Queen before transforming into a hero.
5Omega Red
Omega Red’s Debut Can Set Up The MCU’s Wolverine
Aside from a brief and insignificant cameo inDeadpool 2, played by Dakota Shepley,Omega Red has never been seen in live-action, even though he is one of the X-Men’s most iconic foes in Marvel Comics.Serial killer Arkady Gregorivich Rossovich was the Soviet Union’s answer to Captain America, as he was transformed into a super soldier and enhanced with carbonadium tentacles, marking the birth of Omega Red. The Soviets created carbonadium when trying to recreate adamantium, and Marvel Studios will soon be introducing this coveted resource.
Adamantium is best known as the metal coating Wolverine’s skeleton, which makesadamantium’s upcoming appearance inCaptain America: Brave New Worldvery exciting. This could also make way for Omega Red to appear in the MCU, especially if Wolverine is teased, as the pair of enhanced mutants cross paths many times in Marvel Comics. In the MCU,it’s David Harbour’s Red Guardian who is Russia’s answer to Captain America, but it’s very possible the Soviet Union may have created Omega Red, too.
4Onslaught
Onslaught Could Finally End Fox’s X-Men Universe
After Magneto tore the adamantium from Wolverine’s skeleton back in 1993, Professor X used his telepathic powers to shut down Magneto’s mind in a fit of rage. Unfortunately, this inadvertently allowed Magneto’s anger, grief and lust for vengeance to enter Xavier’s consciousness and merge with his own negativity to create anew psionic being, Onslaught.Onslaught possessed Xavier for a while before manifesting its own body and waging war on the X-Men and Earth’s other superheroes. This would be a fantastic story to explore in the MCU’sX-Menreboot, especially if Fox’sX-Mencast are involved.
Onslaught’s attacks in Marvel Comics culminated in a battle between the villain and the X-Men, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in Central Park. The heroes attempted to push Onslaught into an energy field, which ended with Thor and the non-mutant members of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four seemingly sacrificing themselves, though they were reborn in a pocket universe created by Franklin Richards.
Onslaught was never explored in Fox’sX-Menfranchise, but introducing this formidable villain could be Marvel Studios’ best chance to bid a final farewell to the former franchise before reinventing the X-Men for the MCU.James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender’s Professor X and Magnetocould converge into Onslaught, culminating in an epic battle between the villain and Earth-10005’s heroes, which could ultimately lead to the deaths of that universe’s X-Men.Onslaught would take some time to set up from scratch in the MCU, but the foundations for its debut already exist on Earth-10005.
3Mystique
Mystique Needs To Be More Of A Villain In The MCU
Similarly to several other iconic Marvel Comics characters,Fox’sX-Menfranchise never quite got Mystique right. Rebecca Romijn’s version of the shape-shifting Raven Darkhölme in the originalX-Mentrilogy relegated her to Magneto’s right-hand-woman, while Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique was a surrogate sister to Charles Xavier and a heroic member of the X-Men.This was a far cry from the character’s villainous career in Marvel Comics, so the MCU should make a new Mystique an outright antagonist, or at least an antihero, and the upcomingX-Menreboot is a good place to start.
Jennifer Lawrence
One of the biggest crimes of Fox’sX-Menfranchise is that it never explored Mystique’s familial connection to some of the most central members of the X-Men. As a shape-shifter,Mystique is the biological father of Nightcrawler, and the adoptive mother of Rogue, with the latter being trained as a member of Mystique’s Brotherhood of Mutants before joining the X-Men. This was all omitted by Fox, including Mystique leading her own villainous team, but Marvel Studios’X-Menreboot would be a brilliant place to introduce a new villainous version of Mystique, and perhaps even avillainous, comic-accurate Rogue.
2William Stryker
William Stryker Can Be Completely Reinvented In The MCU
Brian Cox, Danny Huston and Josh Helman’s versions of William Stryker were a prominent threat throughout Fox’sX-Menfranchise, most notably in stories involving Wolverine, asStryker was the man behind the Weapon X programthat gave him his adamantium skeleton. However,Stryker’s live-action depiction was very different from his Marvel Comics counterpart, who is a former sergeant and devout Christian minister. Stryker’s religious beliefs in Marvel Comics make him a better antagonist to mutantkind, so it would be great to see this side of his character adapted for the MCU.
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2003’sX2: X-Men Unitedadapted the story of 1982’sX-Men: God Loves, Man Killsstoryline, but without William Stryker’s religious motivations. This meant that the story fell a little flat, as the televangelist Stryker from Marvel Comics had more charisma and had God on his side, apparently, instead of just being a disgruntled Colonel seeking to wipe out mutants. It would be brilliant to see a more comic-accurate depiction ofWilliam Stryker appear in the MCU’sX-Menreboot, setting up an honest-to-goodness adaptation ofGod Loves, Man Killsfor the MCU’s future.
1Mister Sinister
Mister Sinister Was Teased For Years By Fox, The MCU Can Finally Debut Him
Ever since his first full Marvel Comics appearance in 1987’sThe Uncanny X-Men #221, Mister Sinister has been one of the X-Men’s most prevalent, dangerous and powerful enemies.As a student in Victorian London, Nathaniel Essex became obsessed with genetic mutation, and dedicates his life to studying the emergence of mutants. He eventually puts his knowledge to the test by enhancing himself into an ageless being, renaming himself Sinister.Fox teased Mister Sinisterfor several years, but he still hasn’t made his live-action debut, so the MCU can rectify this.
Jon Hamm was originally planned to debut as Mister Sinister inThe New Mutants, but this never occurred. Hamm revealed that he is still interested in playing Mister Sinister in the MCU back in July 2024, so it’s possible this popular casting could still come to fruition.
Mister Sinister is involved in some of Marvel’s biggest mutant-centric storylines, including those involving Cyclops and Jean Grey, Gambit, Apocalypse and Cable.After being teased inX-Men: Apocalypse, LoganandThe New Mutants, it’s high time Mister Sinister made his live-action debut, and he could easily be introduced as the next big bad of the MCU, starting in theX-Menreboot.Mister Sinister would be a formidable villain for the MCU’s mutants, but Marvel Studios is spoiled for choice when picking who will oppose the titular team in the MCU’s firstX-Men movie.
Marvel’s X-Men
Marvel’s X-Men is the tentative title for the future debut of the legendary Marvel mutant superhero team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
