Since the beginning, MCU has introduced many powerful villains. Some have been faithful to their appearances in the comics while the others have not. But the one common part about MCU movies is that the hero always kills the villain towards the end. MCU has another common habit of resurrecting the characters that are fan favorites. There have been a few villains that were defeated but not killed towards the end of a few movies. Now considering that they have the potential to come back in the future MCU movies. Now let’s have a look at the MCU Villains that are still alive and could make a surprising return.
1. Ultron
Ultron was created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner as a global peacekeeping program. But the thing turned out to be evil and aimed to destroy humanity. With Wanda and Pietro on his side, Ultron almost managed to defeat the Avengers. But later he was defeated when Wanda and Pietro joined the Avengers after knowing about his true intentions. Towards the end, we saw Vision confronting Ulton’s last body left. But Vision destroying Ultron was not shown on screen since the screen went white when Vision attacked Ultron. So there is a possibility that Ultron might appear again.
2. Dormammu
In 2016’s Doctor Strange, most of us have considered Kaecilius as the main villain. But even Dormammu of the dark dimension was another villain. The character did not attack Doctor Strange and his teammates directly. Doctor Strange defeated Dormammu by using the Time Stone. But Dormammu was not killed in the movie. He was trapped by Doctor Strange in a time loop and was just warned to not return to the Earth. Now considering the appearance of Dormammu, he may not be the main antagonist but he might appear in a cameo in the third part of Doctor Strange.
3. Mysterio
Mysterio was shown as a hero in the trailer and the first half of Spider-Man: Far From Home. But the character turned out to be evil and things got worse when the control of E.D.I.T.H. glasses was transferred to him. Mysterio is that villain who almost managed to defeat Spider-Man with his illusions. Towards the end of the film, whenever Spider-Man tried to attack Mysterio, he was defeated because of the illusions. Now Mysterio died towards the end. But he is an expert in creating the illusion. He may have accepted defeat to come back more powerful and then defeat Spider-Man. The video where he frames Spider-Man for his murder may have been recorded after he survived the climax battle.
4. Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket
Ant-Man was one such franchise where the first movie was hardly remembered by anyone. But still, it managed to impress the audience and critics. The film’s main antagonist, Darren Cross was shown to be dead since his suit malfunctioned. But it has been shown that people can survive for a long time in the Quantum Realm. Even director Peyton Reed said once that Cross may be there somewhere in the Quantum Realm. Now since Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will explore the Quantum Realm, there is a possibility that Darren Cross might return in the third movie.
5. Baron Zemo
Baron Zemo has been one of those MCU villains who does not have any superpowers. But despite that, he is considered a strong villain since he managed to make the Avengers fight among each other. He framed Bucky Barnes in the bombing of the UN and the murder of King T’Chaka. T’Challa tried to kill Bucky on every occasion but later helped him when he got to know that Zemo was behind all of this. Bucky broke Zemo out of prison for his help in catching the Flag-Smashers. He was then again handed over to the Dora Milaje. So overall the character is not dead yet. So he might be seen in Captain America 4 or a Thunderbolts project.
6. Agatha Harkness
Agatha Harkness was introduced as the friendly neighbor of Wanda and Vision in WandaVision. The character was a witch in reality and she wanted to take away the powers of Wanda. Now Agatha did not die in the final episode of WandaVision. There are two places where she might be seen again. If MCU greenlit the second season of WandaVision, she might return as the main villain. Another is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Wanda Maximoff is also playing a major role in the film. Doctor Strange is all about magic. So Agatha might be cast as another villain in the film.
7. Justin Hammer
Along with Ivan Vanko, Justin Hammer was also another villain in Iron Man 2. The character was Tony Stark’s business rival and wanted to defeat Tony Stark at any cost. He even included Ivan Vanko in his team to defeat Tony Stark but miserably failed when Ivan Vanko was killed in the end. Justin Hammer was arrested at the end of the film and he promised Pepper that he would see her soon. Considering that, he might appear again. The character’s potential for a comeback can be seen in the upcoming Armor Wars on Disney+.
8. Vulture
Adrian Toomes was frustrated when he lost a big contract for the city’s cleanup because of the arrival of Tony Stark’s Department of Damage Control arrives at the scene. There have been many speculations regarding the plot of the third MCU Spider-Man film. This also includes the return of the Vulture. Michael Keaton has recently confirmed his appearance in the Sony-verse film, Morbius. Now we all remember that Adrian Toomes was not killed in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Peter Parker saved him when his suit exploded and left him to be arrested by the police. So there are high chances that we might get to see him Spider-Man: No Way Home.
9. Abomination
The Incredible Hulk was considered an improvement over 2003’s Hulk. It is a film that has been ignored by MCU fans but it is still considered one of MCU’s best films. Now it’s been a long time since we saw the main antagonist Abomination on the big screen. The character’s return has been confirmed in the upcoming She-Hulk series. But it is not confirmed if Abomination will be the villain of the show or he will be on the good side. Considering this, we might get to see the character in the future projects of the MCU.
10. Ghost
Towards the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ghost found a solution to her ailment and left her life as a villain. But it is unclear if she was dusted with Thanos’ snap or she survived it. The character was not even seen in Avengers: Endgame. Now Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is scheduled to release in 2023. There is a chance that Ghost might appear in this movie. She can return as a villain or some trusted ally. The character was presumed to be imprisoned at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp. But the problem was that we never got to know more about the character. The next Ant-Man film can be a good chance to explore more of her character.
11. Red Skull
We all remember that Red Skull was absorbed into the beam created by the Tesseract. But the powers of the Tesseract are completely different. So possibly the character may have survived. He was protecting the Soul Stone as seen in Vormir as seen in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Steve Rogers returned the stones to their respective places towards the end of the film. Now the Soul Stone may have come into contact again with the Red Skull. Considering that, we might get to see him in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
12. Yon-Rogg
Carol Danvers sent Yon-Rogg back to Hala with a message for the Supreme Intelligence. So we might get to see Yon-Rogg again in The Marvels. New heroes like Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau’s Photon are being introduced. The sequel will surely be a periodic film like the first one. It could take place in 1995 where Carol goes to Hala to take her revenge against the Supreme Intelligence and settle her final scores with Yon-Rogg. The Supreme Intelligence and Yon-Rogg may fall by the wayside to make space for the new heroes.
So these are the MCU villains that are still alive. Which of them do you think will return first? Let us know in the comments.
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