There are so many characters currently in the MCU, but still, there are plenty more that have not yet received their cinematic debut. This is because the majority of these characters unfortunately belong to other studios. Nevertheless, Marvel was able to strike a deal with Sony and we finally saw our favorite wall-crawling hero make his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War. The Sony/Marvel relationship is so good that Spider-Man is set to appear in Avengers: Infinity War and will have three solo movies, with the first one, Spider-Man: Homecoming, releasing in July.
Marvel’s inter-studio relationship seemingly expanded to Fox, with both Marvel Television and FX working together to make Legion. Not only was the first season of Legion a huge success, but it boosted fans’ expectations that perhaps Fox would be willing to extend their collaboration to the big screen. Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before we finally see the Fantastic Four join the fight against Thanos, but until that time comes, Marvel Studios has one issue at hand. If the X-Men and the Fantastic Four join the MCU, along with other characters that already belong to Marvel, these characters will need to be introduced in such a way that they don’t mess the MCU’s current timeline and storyline.
Kevin Feige and the great people at Marvel Studios will no doubt figure this out, but for the time being, here are 15 Marvel Characters Who Could Be Retconned Into The MCU.
15. Doctor Doom
Despite Marvel Studios not having the rights to the Fantastic Four and their villains, Doctor Doom’s introduction to the MCU wouldn’t be difficult at all. One way Doctor Doom can be retconned into the MCU is by changing the name of the country Sokovia to Latveria. It wouldn’t cause any confusion and would only take a matter of short exposition to explain the name-change.
After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Victor von Doom, a citizen of Sokovia, could rise up among the masses and rebuild the country after its destruction. To erase the global damage caused by Ultron’s actions, von Doom could follow suit in renaming Sokovia, Latveria. From there, we could see the rise of a politically-driven Victor von Doom and his takeover of the United Nations, making him a supervillain able to cause havoc in the light and behind the scenes.
Many real-world countries have changed their names in past years; like Burma was renamed Myanmar and Siam was renamed Thailand.
14. Fantastic Four
If Marvel Studios got the rights to the Fantastic Four back and they use the Doctor Doom premise from above to introduce the villain into the MCU, then one way to keep the Four and Doom’s story connected is by having the Fantastic Four be lost in space, and returning by the time Doom claims Latveria.
The Fantastic Four are astronauts, and during the 1990s perhaps, their spaceship suffered an accident and got lost in space. After some time in stasis and always in direct contact with solar rays, the Four could be discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. or even by the Guardians of the Galaxy. Upon returning to Earth they discover their powers and from there on, their adventures begins.
Of course, Marvel could take the quick route and introduce the Fantastic Four off the bat as young S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives of their space division.
13. Sin
After the Tesseract blasted the Red Skull into outer space at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, fans have been speculating that the Hydra leader could return. Though it’s in the realm of possibility, it’s unlikely it will happen anytime soon, leaving us with one problem: how then can Marvel introduce his daughter Sin? It’s very easy, really.
Before the Red Skull met his end in the first Captain America movie, Hydra could’ve taken a sample of his genetic code. After the fall of Hydra post-Avengers: Age of Ultron, the evil organization could’ve tried to recreate the Red Skull with hopes of reestablishing Hydra. But instead of successfully birthing a new Red Skull, Hydra would’ve created Sin, like Transigen created X-23 (Dafne Keen) in Logan.
Not only would it make for some fantastic storytelling, but she could be the perfect villain for the Black Widow movie we are waiting for. In addition to being created in a lab, Sin could’ve also time-traveled from the past to the future.
12. Ka-Zar
Kevin Plunder, aka Ka-Zar, is a character most associated with the Savage Land. Located in Antarctica, the Savage Land is a tropical preserve home to many ancient creatures, most prominently dinosaurs. Ka-Zar, who has more resemblance to Disney’s Tarzan than any other superhero, protects the Savage Land and all of its creatures.
In the comics, the Savage Land is also home to Anti-Metal, a variation of Vibranium, the valuable metal native to Black Panther’s country Wakanda. An easy way to retcon Ka-Zar into the MCU is to have Ulysses Klaue and other Vibranium seekers search for Vibranium in locations other than Wakanda, eventually setting foot on the Savage Land.
Since Ka-Zar and the Savage Land go hand-in-hand, their combined introduction to the MCU makes perfect sense. And since Vibranium can be found in the Savage Land, there won’t be much exposition to cover since the origin of the metal will most likely be touched upon in next year’s Black Panther movie.
11. Norman Osborn
The Green Goblin himself could already be gliding around New York City since Spider-Man firmly exists in the MCU after his airport skirmish in Captain America: Civil War. Whether Green Goblin will be hinted upon in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming is unknown, but Marvel Studios have gotten themselves into a very sticky situation: how can they retcon Spider-Man’s most famous villain?
One way is to introduce Osbron before he became the Green Goblin. This can be done by stating that many of the companies already mentioned in the MCU, like AIM and Hammer Tech, could all be subsidiary companies of Oscorp. This would smoothly tie Norman Osborn to everything that’s already happened in the MCU, without the need of long exposition.
Even more, if Marvel really wants to connect their movie and TV universes, the Rand Corporation from Netflix’s Iron Fist and even the IGH organization from Jessica Jones could also be owned by Osborn.
10. Amadeus Cho
Amadeus Cho is currently the Totally Awesome Hulk in the comics, but with a Hulk already in the MCU, how can Marvel Studios retcon a character into the movies that’s become so important in the comic panels? Interestingly enough, Marvel may have already planted the seeds for the introduction of Amadeus Cho.
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, one of Stark’s employees and the scientist who helps Ultron finish Vision’s body, is Helen Cho (Claudia Kim). In the comics, she is the mother of Amadeus Cho, but since in Age of Ultron she’s more on the younger side, perhaps in the MCU Helen is Amadeus’s sister. This would be ideal since Amadeus could then be set to appear as a student in Peter Parker’s high school, as he was in Disney XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man.
In the cartoon, Amadeus has a more deeper connection to Tony Stark, who eventually gives Amadeus the Iron Spider suit. While it’s unlikely that Amadeus Cho will don the Iron Spider suit in the MCU, if he is introduced, then it’s possible that we might get two Hulks instead of one.
9. Professor X & The X-Men
We are all patiently waiting for when 20th Century Fox finally give the X-Men rights back to Marvel. The only problem is that if and when they do, how will Marvel explain mutants and the X-Men’s long absence in the MCU? One way to retconn mutants and the X-Men is to place their existence around the same time Michael Douglas’s Ant-Man worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.
In 2015’s Ant-Man, we learned that Hank Pym worked as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It could be around this time, or the ‘60s, that mutants and the X-Men could’ve existed in the MCU. To explain their absence in the modern-day movies, mutantkind could’ve been “cured” in the ‘80s or ‘90s, with mutants that didn’t take the cure being currently in hiding. One of those mutants in hiding could be Professor X.
Once the X-Men are finally in the hand of Marvel Studios, Professor X could be the one who tells this story, and to make the retconn even more grounded, Charles Xavier could’ve been himself a director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
8. Namor
Perhaps one of the reasons why Namor hasn’t been introduced in the MCU yet, despite Marvel supposedly already in possession of the character rights, is because Namor shares too much a resemblance to DC’s Aquaman, who’s getting a movie in 2018. Regardless, if and when Namor makes his MCU debut, Marvel needs to establish his arc in the already-complex MCU storyline. A way to do this is tied to the events of Captain America: Civil War.
In the movie we learned that Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) created an underwater maximum-security prison, aka the Raft. With such a massive piece of technology housing dangerous criminals underwater, one way Namor could be retconned into the MCU is by having him react to the Raft, formally making the existence of Atlantis in the MCU present to the public. The Raft could be used as the perfect plot device in a Namor movie.
7. Hulkling
Hulkling is the son of deceased superhero Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) and fun fact, neither of them are human. Hulkling is a shapeshifting Kree/Skrull alien who loves to mimic the Hulk, going as far as to prominently stay in Hulk-like form. While we don’t have much details on the 2019 Captain Marvel movie, it’s definitely during that film that Hulkling should make his MCU debut.
With the Kree already having a large role both in the movies and the TV shows, Hulkling’s past could easily be retconned in the MCU storyline, while at the same time firmly establishing the existence of the Skrulls in the cinematic universe. With the MCU set to reset after the events of the next two Avengers movies -- Infinity War and the yet untitled one -- Hulkling would make a great addition as the replacement of the Hulk if Mark Ruffalo doesn’t come back to reprise the role.
6. Kamala Khan
In recent years, Kamala Khan has become one of the most beloved new superheroes in Marvel Comics. A symbol of diversity and an inhuman, Kamala Khan became Ms. Marvel after undergoing terrigenesis. This was due to Black Bolt releasing the Terrigen Mist. In the MCU, it was done a little differently.
During the finale of Season 2 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Terrigen crystals were accidentally dumped into the ocean, exposing the crystals to marine life. It was later revealed that countless fish oil pills had absorbed the Terrigen crystal’s molecules, causing humans who had the Inhuman gene to go through terrigenesis when they consumed the pills.
This is what happened to Natalia Cordova-Buckley’s character Yo-Yo and Juan Pablo Raba’s Joey Gutierrez. This same premise could then be applied to Kamala Khan in the MCU, erasing the need to go deep into her origin story once she’s finally introduced.
5. Kraven The Hunter
Kraven the Hunter is one of Spider-Man’s most famous supervillains, and one who’s even donned the Spider-Man mantle. While the Vulture will make his MCU debut in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Kraven is one member of the Sinister Six that fans really want to see. One way Marvel Studios can introduce the character to the MCU without much need of backstory is by making Kraven one of Ulysses Klaue’s (Andy Serkis) henchmen. This retcon could allow Kraven to be formally introduced in next year’s Black Panther.
Not only would this add a layer of MCU experience to Kraven, making him a formidable villain once he faces Spider-Man for the first time, but it would allow for the further expansion of the MCU into the Savage Land, since Kraven, like Ka-Zar, has history with the tropical setting.
The Vulture (Michael Keaton) will be causing havoc in Spider-Man: Homecoming along with Shocker and a number of criminals. Now all we need is Kraven the Hunter and a few more classic Spidey villains to finally have our cinematic Sinister Six.
4. Enchantress
We are already into our third Thor film and we still haven’t met one of the god of thunder’s most evil villains, Enchantress. In Thor: Ragnarok we’ll finally see Hela (Cate Blanchett) and Skurge (Karl Urban) make their MCU debut, so perhaps Enchantress will make an appearance since her history in the comics is heavily tied to Skurge.
If not, then one way to introduce her in future movies without causing confusion is to retcon Enchantress as being Lady Sif in disguise. Not only has Enchantress done this in the comics, but it would allow Jaimie Alexander to play two characters at the same time.
Though Lady Sif is a very interesting character indeed, seeing her transform into Enchantress would definitely be one of the least expected plot twists ever. Jaimie Alexander as Enchantress could reveal that the real Lady Sif has been dead for a long time. And also, Enchantress as Lady Sif could be the one who is secretly aiding Loki take over Asgard from within.
3. Kang The Conquerer
Kang the Conqueror is perhaps one of the most complex supervillains in all of Marvel. A time traveler mostly tied to the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, Kang has taken many names, and one of them is Rama Tut, an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. In the MCU, an easy way to retcon Kang is by introducing him as Rama Tut. This could be done without the need of long exposition; a mere museum visit can do the trick.
Egypt has already been visited in the MCU, and with the country’s ancient culture prominent in today’s blockbuster cinema, Rama Tut would feel familiar to the general viewership. Even more, if Marvel gets the Fantastic Four movie rights back from 20th Century Fox, then Kang could have an involvement in the absence of the Fantastic Four in the MCU.
Kang the Conqueror is a terrific villain, and if Galactus is not the next Big Bad after Thanos, then Kang should definitely don the evil title.
2. Silver Surfer
The best way to retcon the Silver Surfer into the MCU is by having his body and cosmic board in captivity at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, or better, at the Raft, the underwater prison introduced in Captain America: Civil War. Prior to Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Falcon, the Raft had to be used to guard other powered individuals. One of those individuals could well be the Silver Surfer.
We could even go as far as speculate that the Silver Surfer’s powers could actually be powering the entire Raft, but of course, only if Marvel Studios gets back the movie rights of the Fantastic Four.
The Silver Surfer made his live-action debut during 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Though the movie was met with negative review by both critics and fans, the Silver Surfer was definitely one of the best parts of the film.
1. Taskmaster, Doctor Octopus, & Other Villains
Marvel is as famous for its supervillains as it is for its superheroes. Sometimes, introducing a villain can cause a lot of trouble to the MCU timeline, but one easy way to avoid messing with the structure of things, is by having new villains be introduced as being prisoners inside the Raft. As you can see, the Raft can be used for a plethora of things, and as previously mentioned, prior to Captain America: Civil War, there obviously had to be other prisoners. One such prisoner could be Abomination, who we last saw in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
To avoid plot holes, villains like Taskmaster, Doctor Octopus, and even Sandman could already be existing in the MCU as prisoners aboard the Raft. It would be a missed opportunity for Marvel not to introduce certain villains like this, otherwise building a massive underwater maximum-security prison for three ordinary men and a woman who can only move stuff with her mind is pretty silly.
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What are some other ways to retcon these characters into the MCU? Let us know in the comments.
