Marvel Studios: Doctor Doom is the Right Choice as the MCU’s Next “Big Bad”
By Pete Hernandez III
“You’ve become part of a bigger universe, you just don’t know it yet.” Nick Fury’s words rang true back in 2008 at the end of Iron Man, and they’ll still ring true as Marvel Studios works towards Phase 4 and beyond.
The next slate of movies and shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be welcoming some of the “OGs” of Marvel Comics, namely the X-Men and Fantastic Four. With these additions soon finding their ways into the MCU, you’ll see not only the heroes but their adversaries adapted to the big screen.
As Marvel Studios ushered in the era of the “connected universe” so comes the assumption of the eventual lead up to the “big bad.” Namely, the ultimate villain, the final boss per se, that is awaiting our heroes at the finish line. As we all know, Thanos was the big bad of the Infinity Saga, and as he correctly uttered: “dread it...run from it..destiny arrives all the same...now its here, or should I say...I am.”
For ten years we awaited Thanos and he was right, he did finally arrive. The question now is: who should be the next ultimate villain, the final boss, the “big bad?” Who will be waiting at the finish line next?
It’s easy to think if something works, why fix what isn’t broken? Immediately, fans plead their case to make the likes of Galactus or Kang the Conqueror the next big bad of the MCU. And yes, it would be a comic book fan’s dream to see those characters adapted to the big screen in the right way (looking at you Galactus). But Marvel Studios has a chance to do something different in figuring the next big bad.
They have arguably the most renowned Marvel villain (yes, even more than Thanos) now at their disposal: Doctor Doom. Regarded as arguably Marvel Comics’ biggest villain, Doctor Doom would provide the MCU the opportunity to achieve three major goals for their next big villain:
- Adapt a revered villain that is a favorite of comic book fans
- Still be able to raise the stakes to an “Avengers Level Threat” (term courtesy of Mysterio)
- Keep the villain “grounded” at the same time
Of those three goals, number three should be a key goal for Marvel Studios’ next big villain, even if the choice ends up not being Doctor Doom. Simply put, every comic book villain does not need to have the agenda of wanting “to destroy the world or the universe.”
Yes, the stakes must be high, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be scaled to cosmic proportions (or as Mysterio eloquently put it, an ‘Avengers Level Threat.’)
Of course, the villain would need to warrant a big enough danger so that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would need to work together, but that doesn’t negate the possibility of keeping him or her grounded as well. That is where Doctor Doom is a perfect combination of both.
Historically he’s had his sights on the domination of others, but his reasons are different than the typical supervillain movie trope. As the ruler of Latveria, Doctor Doom’s intentions have generally revolved around the security of his own people. In a way, it is his nationalism taken to the extreme that drives his story arc as a villain.
That is something new and fresh that Marvel Studios can delve into. The opportunity to adapt another massive scale event onscreen, while exploring a different take on the lead up to said moment. To keep the fans wanting more, you have to give them something new.
Doctor Doom as the next big villain is the perfect opportunity, and better yet he is a beloved comic villain that is one of the greatest in comic book lore (IGN ranked him as Marvel Comics’ top villain). The next step is choosing the right actor to portray Victor Von Doom. But, that’s a discussion for another day.
