Warning: contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1 and X-Men #2!

Although he's currently causing the X-Men trouble in the comics, intergalactic crime boss Cordyceps Jones is a perfect villain for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. While James Gunn's long-awaited completion of his MCU trilogy already has a release date, Cordyceps Jones could well feature, given his established connection to the space-faring heroes and the degree to which he gels with the franchise's offbeat sensibilities. Jones is the perfect balance of weird, humorous and yet threatening to be a great villain for the MCU's favorite group of misfits and semi-reformed criminals, possessing motivations and tactics that are absolutely Gunn's style.

Created by Al Ewing and Adam Gorham in Rocket #4, Cordyceps Jones is a wealthy crime boss responsible for high-stakes intergalactic gambling. Needing money to buy off his recent bounty, Rocket Racoon enlisted the help of Deadpool to rob Cordyceps, which was made a lot more difficult when Wade seemingly killed him. He subsequently learned Cordyceps was actually a parasitic fungal spore that maintained his fortune possessing random hosts. Although he tried, Cordyceps was unable to control Deadpool, which enabled Wade and Rocket to clean out Jones' account. After his essence was vomited out, Cordyceps swore vengeance on both of them before getting swept down the gutter.

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Cordyceps returned in Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz's X-Men #1 as the owner and operator of Gameworld, a lavish casino located near a black hole. One of his most popular games has customers competing to eradicate humanity without destroying Earth (which Jones plans to claim for his own), their efforts opposed by the latest incarnation of the X-Men. Even more recently, in Al Ewing and Flaviano Armentaro's Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1, Cordyceps' plans to bulldoze an orphanage are complicated when the Prince of Power swallows the emerald that would have paid for it. His henchmen attempt to apprehend the foolhardy hero, but they are defeated when the battle accidentally involves recent Guardians of the Galaxy recruit Hercules. Suffice to say, Cordyceps is a dangerous cosmic villain, but also one who suits Gunn's version of the Guardians.

Guardians of the Galaxy benefited from writer/director James Gunn's unique style, which combines his love for comics with his ability to balance big action sequences with smaller, character-driven moments. His previous villains, Ronan the Accuser and Ego, were both legitimate threats but not opposed to jokes or humorous moments that fit the overall direction of their character or the film itself. Cordyceps Jones' latest host appears to be the decomposing body of a cosmonaut, raising a glass of alcohol while he encourages wealthy aliens to go bankrupt trying to take out one of the most powerful planets in the Marvel Universe. While Cordyceps isn't powerful enough to fill the same role as Ego, he's a visually fascinating villain prone to excess without losing a sense of menace - perfect for a movie that also has to fit in the team's efforts to find Gamora.

While his henchmen failed to stop the Prince of Power and his customers have yet to beat the X-Men, Cordyceps is a fairly new face in the Marvel Universe who continues to make a big impression. His gleeful villainy and genuine desire for power mean he works as both the mob boss putting out a hit and the dangerous casino owner whose vaults Rocket can't resist. While Cordyceps Jones may be causing more trouble for the X-Men at the moment, fans should hope that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 makes space to include this gangster fungus, as he and Gunn would be a match made in heaven.

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