Fantastic Four's Next MCU Villain Officially Confirmed By Marvel
A famous member of the Fantastic Four's rogues gallery makes his debut in MCU canon after The Fantastic Four: First Steps namedropped him. The Fantastic Four have only fought Doctor Doom and Galactus in live-action ever since they were first portrayed by flesh-and-blood actors in the 1990s. Avengers: Doomsday continues the trend with Robert Downey Jr.’s Victor von Doom, who doesn't even share the screen with Marvel's First Family in a solo team movie prior to their 2026 crossover movie, and turns Doctor Doom into a future God Emperor who threatens the whole Marvel multiverse.
While Avengers: Doomsday doesn't give the Fantastic Four a different antagonist, it does shake up the formula with a much more ambitious Doctor Doom and the participation of the Avengers of the X-Men. The Fantastic Four are also divided into different squads for the first time on the big screen, with Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm joining other heroes in separate missions for a significant part of the movie. This scenario would have been unthinkable ten years ago, back when Twentieth Century Fox still retained the movie rights to the Fantastic Four.
Still, the Fantastic Four's rogues gallery is so extensive that it would be a disservice to ignore them completely in the MCU, as seasoned as the team might be at this point.
The Wizard Makes His MCU Debut
The Fantastic Four: First Foes – The Wizard #1; Written By Fabian Nicieza; Art By Mark Buckingham
The Fantastic Four: First Steps featured and referenced the team's other rogues for the first time in their cinematic history. Giganto, Red Ghost's Super Apes, and Mole Man appeared on screen, and the Mad Thinker, Puppet Master, and Diablo were namedropped at some point. Since Matt Shakman's movie doesn't have enough screentime to focus on them, Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four: First Foes provides a look at the team's previous run-ins with some of these antagonists. After the Mad Thinker and Dragon Man, the Wizard makes his MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Foes – The Wizard #1.
The Fantastic Four: First Foes – The Wizard #1's main cover shows a glimpse of the comic-accurate Wizard, accompanied by the Fantastic Four struggling in battle: Reed Richards falls from a great height, Sue Storm protects herself from multiple projectiles, the Thing is covered in sludge, and the Human Torch falls from the sky while trapped inside the Fantasticar. Besides, The Fantastic Four: First Foes – The Wizard #1 also promises to introduce the MCU's adaptation of the Frightful Four, whose redesign is yet to be teased ahead of the comic's December release.
The Fantastic Four's Classic Rogues Deserve A Bigger Role In The MCU
The Fantastic Four's Villains Could Be Just As Memorable As Spider-Man's
The Fantastic Four possess an extensive gallery of villains who have yet to fight Marvel's First Family on the big screen. Villains like Dragon Man and the Super Skrull would provide the opportunity for groundbreaking action scenes due to their unique physical appearance and superpowers, while geniuses like the Mad Thinker and the Wizard would test Reed Richards' intellect and the other three heroes their ability to improvise clever strategies. Particularly, the Wizard and the Frightful Four, Red Ghost and the Super-Apes, the Mad Thinker, the Super Adaptoid, Giganto, and Mole Man would make for refreshing movie antagonists after their brief appearances in the First Foes tie-in comics.
Once Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars conclude the MCU's Multiversal War, Marvel Studios can continue to build the Fantastic Four's MCU lore on screen in eventual solo sequels. The Fantastic Four: First Steps established the team's rogues' gallery as a collection of enemies they have already defeated, and Reed Richards even automatized the process in order to be able to focus on stopping Galactus. Still, having the MCU's Fantastic Four fight their own foes exclusively off-screen, in montage sequences, or in tie-in comics would be a disservice to a long list of villains with an extensive comic book history and a wealth of potential for future movies.
Which Fantastic Four villain would you like to see adapted in a movie?
The Fantastic Four: First Foes – The Wizard #1 is available December 9 from Marvel Comics
Release Date July 25, 2025
Runtime 115 minutes
Director Matt Shakman
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Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
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