These three villains have a lot in common. Mephisto, Dormammu, and Apocalypse can all manipulate many villains, heroes, and everyone in between to execute their plans, and eventually unleash them upon the world. You may be wondering why I didn’t include Galactus in this list. While he could be a good choice, I’ll address why he’s not on this list in a future post.
Mephisto and Dormammu are even more similar, since they are essentially demons from other worlds, but Apocalypse still has psychic influence on others so they all operate in a similar manner. This psychic manipulation is different from what we’ve seen before at least with the main villains of the MCU.
#3 Mephisto
Ever since Wandavision came to Disney Plus, fans have been eagerly awaiting the appearance of Mephisto in the MCU. He is after all one of Marvel Comics’ most interesting and powerful villains. Mephisto is an ancient demon, believed to have been born out of the chaos of the universe, and is said to be the embodiment of evil. Mephisto is essentially the devil in the Marvel Universe. While there are other contenders for that title, he’s probably the biggest one. After all, he is the devil that Johnny Blaze made a deal with which led to him becoming Ghost Rider. Although, Mephisto may likely have his first MCU appearance in Ironheart, he could still be the big bad villain for the third saga.
As if being the devil of the MCU, and potentially bringing Ghost Rider into the MCU (or already brought if you count Agents of Shield), Mephisto has strong ties with the Scarlet Witch and her twins, Speed, and Wiccan in the comics. This is of course why everyone thought that we would see Mephisto in Wandavision. Since Wanda is probably not gone forever, perhaps we will see that Mephisto saved her from dying in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He could potentially be a part of a movie that I theorize about in one of my latest articles, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade. I think this could make for a great Young Avengers movie, and while Mephisto isn’t included in the story, they could easily take elements from a comic that he is in and integrate them into a great movie.
Mephisto has the ability to manipulate matter, energy, and the fabric of reality, allowing him to shape the world as he sees fit. He is also able to control minds, create illusions, and cast powerful magical spells. He is a master manipulator, often getting people to do his bidding without them even realizing it. He is a master of deceit, able to lie and twist the truth to his advantage. He is also a master of necromancy, able to raise the dead and enslave their souls.
Mephisto is a powerful adversary, and his ultimate goal is to gain control of the entire universe and to rule it as his own. He has a strong sense of entitlement, believing himself to be the rightful ruler of the universe and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Mephisto is a powerful and dangerous villain, and his ability to manipulate and deceive make him an incredibly interesting character.
It would be fun and frustrating to see Mephisto tricking the different heroes of the MCU into making things harder for themselves. He is definitely a villain worth seeing in one or two movies, but he’ll have big shoes to fill considering the likes of the Universe balancing Mad Titan Thanos, or Kang the Conqueror of the Multiverse. Of course, Mephisto is essentially the devil himself, so he should be able to pull it off. It’s just a matter of using the right source material, and maybe even changing some things like they did with Thanos.
#2 Dormammu
Two of Dr. Strange’s biggest villains, Dormammu and Mordo have been left to the wayside so far in the Multiverse saga, and with most of the movies and shows already mapped out, it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing much of if any of them in the rest of the saga. While it is true that Mordo was in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, that was a variant of the MCU or “616” Mordo that we know has started on an evil path ever since the Sorcerer Supreme’s first movie. Dr. Strange seems to know that he has Mordo has gone rogue, but we don’t know any more than that. By the time the third Saga of the MCU rolls around, Mordo could be working closely with Dormammu.
Dormammu is a powerful and ancient being from the Dark Dimension, a parallel universe in the Marvel Comics universe. He is one of the most powerful and feared villains in the Marvel Universe, capable of manipulating time and space, controlling minds and wielding powerful magical abilities. Dormammu is a threat to the entire universe, and has engaged in many battles with the Avengers in the comics, often with the goal of conquering the Earth. That may not be the most original goal for a villain, but his methods could prove to be cinematic.
Dormammu is also known for his use of dark magic, which he has used to corrupt and control various heroes, including Doctor Strange. He has also been known to use powerful spells to influence the minds of his enemies, allowing him to control their thoughts and actions. Dormammu’s battles with the Avengers have been incredibly intense and destructive. He has used his magical powers to create powerful barriers around the Earth and to manipulate time in order to try and gain the upper hand. He has also used his dark magic to try and corrupt the Avengers and turn them against each other.
Dormammu has used his magical powers to create powerful monsters and summon demons to fight on his behalf, and in addition to Mordo, Dormammu has employed a number of powerful allies in his battles with the Avengers, including, his sister Umar, the Mindless Ones, and Hood. Villains like these could be used throughout the Saga to carry out his plans until he himself can be unleashed upon the world. With the right script, a character like the Hood could be a captivating villain who helps Dormammu.
Hood is a powerful sorcerer who acquired the mystical hood that gives him his name from an ancient cult. The hood gives him the ability to control and manipulate dark forces, allowing him to perform powerful black magic. He is also a master thief, able to steal anything he desires with his magical powers. Despite his criminal activities, Hood is a complex and powerful character with a strong sense of justice. He does what he does to provide for his family and protect his people from those who would seek to harm them. He could start out by using his powers to help his family, but he keeps doing bad things along the way. In the comics, he has a sick mom, and Dormammu can offer help with healing his mom and keeping his family safe.
Characters like Hood may not be quite as captivating as say Ghost Rider, but it could add another dimension to the arc of Dormammu. In the comics, Dormammu has caused plenty of trouble for many superheroes especially the Avengers so it would make sense for him to be a main villain for a saga, but is he captivating enough to keep the viewers interested beyond one more movie? Of that, I’m not so sure. However, it is very likely that we will see him at least once more since he has strong ties to Charlize Theron’s character that we see at the end of Dr. Strange 2. Her character’s name is Clea, and she is the daughter of Umar which means that Dormammu is her uncle. So, it makes sense that we will be seeing more of Dormammu and the Dark Dimension.
#1 Apocalypse
My last and number one pick may seem out of place among those two devils from other dimensions, but trust me, he is just as wicked and vile. Although, brutal may be a more appropriate description. Not only does he not hail from another dimension, he’s not from outer space either. And he’s not from the future (well not usually). He’s actually from the past, or rather he was born a long time ago in Ancient Egypt, and every time he seemingly dies, he makes his way back to administer as much destruction to the world as he and his followers can.
Apocalypse makes more sense to me as the big villain for many reasons. One of those reasons is that I personally am more familiar with him as a villain since the X-men are my favorite. So, I’ll admit, I am a little bias, but with that out of the way, here are a few other reasons that make sense.
With the third Saga of the MCU very likely being titled, The Mutant Saga, Apocalypse seems like a clear choice. In fact, if the major focus of this Saga is on mutants then Mephisto, and Dormammu just don’t make that much sense. They could still work, especially since there will still be other heroes like the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, but Apocalypse is one of the most powerful mutants (and super-humans) in the Marvel universe, with an incredible array of mutant abilities. He is able to manipulate and control any form of energy, as well as having superhuman strength, speed, and durability. He also has the ability to shape-shift and transform his body into any form, which makes him a powerful enemy.
One thing that makes Apocalypse so compelling as a villain is his backstory which I mentioned a little bit. He is an ancient mutant (the first) who has lived for centuries, and has seen civilizations rise and fall. He believes that mutants are the next step in evolution, and will do whatever it takes to ensure their survival. He is also unafraid of taking on the most powerful heroes in the Marvel universe, making him a formidable and compelling foe. It makes sense that all of the heroes of the world will need to team up to face him, at least some of the time.
While it is true that we have seen Apocalypse in a fairly recent Fox X-men movie (X-men Apocalypse, 2016), I think that by the time they get around to the third saga, it will have been long enough since we’ve seen that version. There are a lot of things that they can do with the character that didn’t get utilized in that movie as well. Although, I did admire the effort that they made, especially the actor, Oscar Isaac.
Like Dormammu, and Mephisto, Apocalypse can easily be behind the scenes pulling the strings for most of the saga, and then show up in a few movies. They all have similar telepathic powers. It seems that Kang will get in on the action in this second saga more than Thanos did in the first, and I think it would make sense for Apocalypse to do something similar. They could defeat him in one movie, early on, thinking that he is gone, but his psyche somehow survived or something along those lines.
Speaking of Kang, Apocalypse has a strong connection to the variant of Kang known as Rama Tut who was an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. Originally, Rama Tut was going to find Apocalypse as a baby and raise him, but his enemy Baal found him and raised him to be the enemy of Rama Tut. In the MCU, the Avengers and other heroes could defeat the last Kang (Rama Tut), and leave before seeing Apocalypse take over as the new Pharaoh, or something along those lines.
In the comics, Apocalypse has loyal followers, Clan Akkaba, who worship him into the modern day. With the help of Sinister, they resurrect Apocalypse in the 19th century, and Sinister decides to betray him. And I don’t know if it’s in the comics, but in the animated series X-men Evolution, the telepathic mutant, Mesmero is psychically manipulated into freeing Apocalypse from his ancient prison in the 20th century. The first time Apocalypse appears in an MCU movie as the main bad guy, it could be done in a similar manner.
There are so many great Apocalypse stories throughout the comics, and he is such a powerful villain with powerful allies that it makes sense for the Avengers and the X-men to team up to fight him. Some of his allies are who he calls his Four Horsemen. These warriors have been different people throughout time, but they are usually mutants whose powers he enhances.
All three of those villains have immense power, and with good writing, directing, acting, and cinematography any of them could work as the big villain for the third saga of the MCU. At the very least, we will hopefully see all of them have their time to shine at least once in that saga, and we may even see them pop up in the Multiverse Saga. After all, we’re just barely about to get Antman and the Wasp Quantumania which is the beginning of Phase 5, and only the second phase of the Multiverse Saga. There is still a lot more in store for the MCU, but while we wait, it’s fun to speculate.
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