Villains Of the Marvel-Verse: Who’s Coming In Phase Two?

After 4 years and 6 films Marvel’s Phase 1 is now over. But don’t you dare get comfortable just yet as we have news spilling out constantly regarding Phase 2 of their plan. With release dates set for IRON MAN 3, THOR: THE DARK WORLD, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and THE AVENGERS 2, we take a look at the announced and rumoured villains you’ll be seeing over the next 3 years.

The Mandarin

Who He? Only Iron Man’s greatest foe. It has been debated as to how best to handle the character as his original interpretation could be considered racially insensitive these days. Raised by his aunt after the death of his parents, a young Chinese man was taught to hate the world. The family fortune was spent training him in science and combat. One day he discovered a crashed alien spaceship and 10 alien rings. He spent years studying the science behind them and eventually used their power to conquer small villages and eventually try and take over the world.
Super Powers? An awesome beard, superhuman intelligence and martial arts capabilities. His 10 rings also have various powers including Ice-blast, Electro-blast, Fire-blast, and Disintegration Beam among other abilities. He has created such a strong psionic link with the rings he no longer needs to wear them to control them. Crikey.
Movie Version? The Mandarin has been hinted at throughout the series so far with references to ‘The 10 Rings’, which The Mandarin is known for wearing. He is to be portrayed by Ben Kingsley, which has me a bit cautious because of his role as The Hood in THUNDERBIRDS. He will most likely be portrayed as a rival businessman/terrorist leader who uses advanced science in his rings. Perhaps they’ll hint at some alien technology to tie in with GURADIANS OF THE GALAXY.

 
Fire Power
Who He? Also known as Jack Taggart, Fire Power was an experimental suit for the US government. It was meant as a deterrent against those who would oppose America, but once Iron Man started wiping out all other armoured heroes/villains, the Fire Power suit was redesigned to focus solely on the destruction of Iron Man.
Super Powers? Not so much superpowers, but basically anything Iron Man can do, Fire Power can do better. At first anyway. Rockets, flight, super-strength, you know the drill by now.
Movie Version? He will be played by Ashley Hamilton in IRON MAN 3. We haven’t heard an awful lot about him, with most of the focus being on The Mandarin. It’s likely he will just be a physical villain for Iron Man to go up against, or maybe keep War Machine busy while Iron Man takes on his archnemesis. Hamilton has previously appeared in BEETHOVEN’S 2ND (1993), LOST IN AFRICA (1994) and VOODOO LAGOON (2006) so we’re not expecting too much from him other than a physical presence.

 
Malekith
Who He? Malekith The Accursed is the ruler of the dark elves of Svartalfheim. He’s a master of sorcery and has teamed up with Loki in the past. He was also once given some magic food that gave him control over the people of Earth.
Super Powers? He has all your average elf skills such as superhuman strength, intellect, agility, and reflexes. Malekith is also a master of sorcery and magic. He is able to transform into mist, teleport, and change shape or appearance. Which makes him awfully similar to Loki.
Movie Version? Mads Mikkelson was originally cast but had to drop out due to the HANNIBAL Lecter TV series. Luckily Christopher Eccleston took his place. It’s still early days yet so we haven’t got a good look at him or his plot, but with the human cast returning we can assume he’ll attack Earth in some way.

Algrim The Strong

Who He? Like Malekith, Algrim The Strong is a dark elf. He is the strongest of his race and acts as Malekith’s brawn. Algrim and Thor once got into a little rumble but Malekith opened a pit below them that plunged Algrim into a pit of lava. Thor was able to escape unharmed, but Algrim suffered severe injuries. Algrim only survived because of his armour. Algrim suffered from amnesia, and couldn’t remember that it was Malekith who opened the pit. Algrim only remembered that Thor was in someway responsible and he set out for vengeance. A being known as The Beyonder, sensed Algrim’s hatred of Thor and gave him better armour and greater strength, turning Algrim into the being now known as Kurse.

Super Powers? He is the strongest of the dark elves, but still weaker than Thor. Once he became Kurse he was twice as strong as Thor. His body produces no fatigue toxins, giving him amazing stamina and he is also faster than any human.

Movie Version? Adeale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has just been confirmed in the role of Algrim. No word yet on how he will figure into the plot, but if Christopher Eccleston is the brains then Akinnuoye can be the brawn. It makes sense to have a physically imposing villain, especially when going up against Chris Hemsworth. Akinnuoye certainly proved he has the physique as Heavy Duty in G.I. JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA (2009).

 
The Winter Soldier
Who He? He’s just some cyborg assassin. No biggie. Apart from the fact he is Steve Rogers’ best friend Bucky Barnes. Yes he did, supposedly die in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, but that doesn’t stop comic book characters. The frozen body of Bucky was found by those pesky Russians, and they soon put him back together. And he suffers from amnesia which means he’s ripe for a bit of brainwashing. The Winter Soldier has been active since the war, but is kept on ice when not on a mission, thus preventing him from aging.
Super Powers? No real superpowers other than his robotic arm which gives him great strength. He is a highly trained and ruthless assassin.
Movie Version? Sebastian Stan played Bucky in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, but we do not yet know if he will return as The Winter Soldier. We have to ask if this was planned all along and if Stan can give us the complex role The Winter Soldier deserves. He wouldn’t be too hard to recast, but let’s hope for consistencies sake he is able to be villainous.

 
Thanos
Who He? Thanos is from Titan, a moon of Saturn. He became fascinated by death and even fell in love with it. Literally, he fell in love with its embodiment Mistress Death. To impress Mistress Death (there’s always a woman involved) he leads a team of villainous aliens and kills millions of his own race. He created The Infinity Gauntlet which made him omnipotent and he erased half the living things in the universe. I hope he at least got to second base.
Super Powers? Super human strength, telekinesis, teleportation, energy manipulation, and being an all round crazy man. Whenever he makes an appearance it takes a number of heroes to take him down.
Movie Version? Thanos has already appeared in THE AVENGERS in the mid-credits scene. He was portrayed by Damion Poitier. If Poitier continues with the role it will probably only be in the physical sense, with the voice provided by another. Due to Thanos’ space past it is likely he will be a villain in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, especially because he has important history with several of their members.

 
Ultron
Who He? Ultron is robot designed by one Henry Pym a.k.a. Ant-Man. Ultron soon developed an Oedipus complex and self awareness and had nothing but contempt for human life. Ultron managed to hypnotise Pym so he would forget ever having created him. He sets about destroying all life on the planet but is constantly thwarted by THE AVENGERS. There have been many variants of Ultron as he is usually able to rebuild himself. He also develops his own creations from time to time, such as The Vision and Jocasta. Unfortunately for Ultron, both of these creations joined The Avengers.
Super Powers? He’s pretty much an indestructible beast that can come in many shapes and sizes. He can easily take over computer systems and since he can usually download himself onto some program somewhere, this makes him kind of impossible to destroy altogether.
Movie Version? Although not slated yet, he is bound to turn up eventually, possibly as the villain in THE AVENGERS 3. By that time ANT-MAN will have been released, so perhaps there will be nods to his creation in that film. It will work out well in terms of character as Pym is responsible for creating such a destructive force. Who should voice him? Why, the two people I think should voice everything of course, Gilbert Gottfried or Brian Blessed.

 
Kingpin
Who He? Also known as Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin grew up as a chubby little chappy. This led to him being bullied and so he trained himself in physical combat. He soon had his own gang and was hired as a bodyguard for a big time mob boss. Years later Fisk was the king of crime and pretty much ran New York. This puts him in recurring battles with Spider-Man and Daredevil.
Super Powers? Nope. He’s just an above average human, but he is not to be underestimated. Despite his size he is an exceptional martial artist and has a lot of capital behind him.
Movie Version? Well, with the DAREDEVIL rights soon to revert back to Marvel it is very likely we will see The Kingpin in the Marvel universe. However he may not be going up against The Avengers, considering they have intergalactic forces to contend with. Still, he could be introduced as a business rival of Stark in the future, or maybe he could even fund some of the scientist characters. We have of course seen Kingpin before, portrayed by Michael Clarke Duncan in DAREDEVIL (2003).

 
The Leader
Who He? That gamma radiation is pretty powerful stuff. It turned Bruce Banner into a raging maniac, but also transformed Samuel Sterns into a super intelligent big headed green brainiac. His first plot involved overthrowing the US government, and he may have gotten away with it to, had he not tried to have a robot built by Bruce Banner stolen.
Super Powers? He can read really fast. That’s pretty cool. It also allows him to store a lot of information and he is a master of pattern forming and puzzle solving. Like an elephant he never forgets, so don’t get into an argument with him. He can also control humans if he touches them, but who’s gonna let him anywhere near them?
Movie Version? We saw the creation of The Leader in THE INCREDIBLE HULK played by Tim Blake Nelson. After he helped create The Abomination, Sterns was thrown against a wall and some of Bruce Banner’s gamma intoxicated blood infected a cut of his. His head began to grow and Sterns gave a sick little smile. That was the last we saw of him and he was never mentioned again. There’s always a chance he could return, but right now we’re still waiting on an announcement for another Hulk solo film.

THE AVENGERS is released on DVD and Blu-ray 17th September 2012.