The Marvel Studios panel at SDCC dropped a metric ton of news about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the most unexpected being the official reveal of Phase Six. The opening film for Phase Six will be the long-awaited Fantastic Four reboot, now dated for November 8th, 2024, but we still don’t have any casting news or word on which characters besides the main four will be appearing. Certainly one of the most anticipated pieces of news regarding the film will be which villain will oppose Marvel’s First Family in their debut.
When it comes to Fantastic Four villains, the biggest ones most people know are their archenemy Doctor Doom, and the all-powerful purple planet eater, Galactus. But when it comes to the comics, the Fantastic Four are drowning in colorful rogues of all shapes and sizes who could bring an unexpected challenge with this new franchise reboot. Let’s look at the comics to see which baddies could potentially be making their debut alongside the MCU’s Fantastic Four.
Mole Man
Harvey Elder, aka the Mole Man, isn’t just one of the F4’s most recurring villains, he’s also their first, making his debut in the landmark Fantastic Four #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Originally a scientist with no superpowers, Harvey was shunned by society both for his grotesque appearance and his theories of a hidden world beneath the planet’s surface called Subterranea. Determined to prove his naysayers wrong, he made an expedition below the surface and found Subterranea. This came at the cost of his eyesight because he accidentally stumbled upon a diamond deposit that was so bright it permanently damaged his eyes.
Staying underground from then on and dubbing himself the Mole Man, Harvey would gather together an army of subterranean creatures, such as the Moloids and the giant monsters of Monster Isle, such as Giganto and Tricephalous. The Fantastic Four would confront all of these creatures and the Mole Man himself for the first time when he attacked nuclear power plants around the globe, drawing the superhero team's attention. He was even forced to self-destruct Monster Isle to get the F4 off his back! But he's stayed around ever since, repeatedly launching campaigns against the surface world he so despises.
A villain with an army of giant monsters would be an opportunity for Marvel to try their hand at a kaiju-influenced picture, which would definitely stand out from the MCU pack.
Puppet Master
One of the most recurring F4 supporting characters is Alicia Masters, well-known as the blind sculptress girlfriend (and currently wife) of Ben Grimm, aka the Thing. She even appeared in both Tim Story Fantastic Four films, played by Kerry Washington. However, her stepfather, Phillip Masters, hasn't shown up in live-action yet despite being a stalwart member of the F4's rogues gallery. As the sinister Puppet Master, he sculpts puppets using magical clay that allow him to psychically control their likenesses. The clay comes from Mount Wundagore, which you might recall from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the place where the Darkhold's spells were inscribed by the ancient demon Chthon.
Masters first encountered the F4 in Fantastic Four #8, and while he seemed to die in that issue, he has regularly returned to menace the team. He almost never does his own fighting, instead controlling others to do his dirty work, and often teams up with other villains, such as the Mad Thinker or Egghead. He even once worked with Doctor Doom to transfer the minds of the F4 and his stepdaughter Alicia into miniature dolls inside of a toy town he designed called Liddleville, hoping to trap his enemies forever in a paradise of his own creation! He also more recently attempted to interfere with the Thing and Alicia's honeymoon by puppeteering the Hulk to attack Ben, which resulted in the Hulk busting into Masters' cell and breaking all of his fingers. Ouch!
Since we already know Mount Wundagore exists in the MCU, and given his personal connection to the team, the Puppet Master could be a great villain to start off the rebooted franchise.
Super-Skrull
The Skrulls as a species first showed up in Fantastic Four #2, but the most well-known Skrull villain didn't appear until #18, with the arrival of Kl'rt, also called the Super-Skrull. Kl'rt is one of the F4's most dangerous enemies because he was genetically engineered to possess the powers of all four members of the team at once. He can stretch, turn invisible and generate force fields, fly and envelop himself in flames, and change his body density into rock form at a moment's notice, and that’s on top of also having a hypnotic gaze and the Skrulls' typical shapeshifting powers. No wonder he can take on the team all by his lonesome.
The Super-Skrull was defeated the first time by the F4 jamming the cosmic signal amplifier from the Skrull homeworld that gave Kl'rt his powers and sealing him in a volcano (really), but you can't keep a bad Skrull down, because he's returned to harass the team numerous times. He's also participated in multiple cosmic Marvel events, such as the Kree/Skrull War, the Annihilation Wave conflict, the Secret Invasion, and most recently Empyre, where Kl'rt would be part of the Alliance Royal Guard for Emperor Hulkling and even wind up working with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
While the Skrulls in the MCU so far have been good guys, perhaps the Disney+ Secret Invasion series will shed light on how this particular villain could be brought into the fold.
Diablo
Most of the Fantastic Four's villains are based in science, but they've also confronted magical enemies. Doctor Doom is a capable sorcerer, but another mystic member of the F4's rogues gallery is the Spanish alchemist Esteban Corazón de Ablo, aka Diablo. Born in the 9th century (we did say he was magical, didn't we?), Diablo used the dark arts to make himself immortal, but his bid for world domination was thwarted by a group called the Order of the Deacons, who managed to imprison the evil alchemist in his castle for centuries. He would be freed by the Thing in his first appearance in Fantastic Four #30 in exchange for turning Ben back into human form.
However, the effect was only temporary, and after battling the F4, Diablo was sealed back in by the Human Torch in the very same issue. He would return to scheme again many times, including giving life to the android Dragon Man and getting into a feud with Doctor Doom after a botched alliance left Diablo temporarily trapped on a future dead Earth. He also returned for the very first issue of legendary artist/writer John Byrne's F4 run (#232), to send monsters based on the four elements after the team.
Given that the F4 is led by one of the world's premiere scientists, perhaps a villain with mystic powers would be the perfect foil for the reboot.
Annihilus
If you're looking for a powerful Fantastic Four nemesis that hasn't appeared in live-action yet, you can't go wrong with Annihilus. An insectoid tyrant from the otherworldly antimatter dimension known as the Negative Zone, Annihilus is a merciless conqueror who has a pathological need to kill anything he deems a threat to his life, which turns out to be just about every other living being in existence. No wonder the title he's commonly referred to as is The Living Death That Walks. He derives his power and immortality from the Cosmic Control Rod which he wears on his collar, and he is generally regarded as one of the most dangerous cosmic villains in the Marvel Universe.
While the Negative Zone had been a plot point in several issues before, Annihilus himself first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #6. Susan Storm was having cosmic ray induced issues with her pregnancy, and her husband Reed Richards learned that only Element X from the Cosmic Control Rod could save her. Naturally, Annihilus didn't take kindly to his power source being stolen, but Reed returned the rod after capturing some of the element, leading to the birth of a healthy Franklin Richards. While Annihilus has battled the F4 many times, he's also had encounters with the Avengers, Asgard, and even threatened the entire universe in the Annihilation event.
There are plenty of great villains to pick, but if the F4 are going to face a real trial by fire in their debut, Annihilus would be an optimal choice. Hopefully, we'll soon learn more details about the MCU's Fantastic Four reboot.
Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.
