Kang the Conqueror has failed to be an interesting antagonist for the coming phases of the MCU. Unlike Thanos, the character has received a lot of backlash from fans. Ranging from Jonathan Majors’ inability to carry the character, to the character being a narrative bore, fans have been clamouring for a replacement for Kang the Conqueror in the MCU.
Despite all of Marvel’s attempts to hype the character up, the MCU seems to be ready for a different villain to take centre stage as the big bad. Lucky for Marvel, there seems to be a long line of villains ready to take up arms against the Avengers and other assorted heroes, while staying true to the multiverse storyline Marvel is trying to set up.
The Black Winter is the Twilight of the Multiverse
A freshly minted multiversal threat straight out of the pages of Marvel comics, The Black Winter seamlessly melded Norse Mythology with science fiction, as has been the case with Marvel and Thor. In place of Kang, the Black Winter could be the next opponent that the Avengers face along with their allies, while also managing to keep Galactus a Fantastic Four-only villain.
Just as Galactus has heralds, Galactus himself is the herald for the Black Winter. The Norse Pantheon of the Marvel Universe references this multiversal threat as Fimbulwinter, the true herald of Ragnarok, the end of the Norse Pantheon and the Nine Realms under the rule of Asgard.
The Black Winter functions like Galactus but on a larger scale. Instead of devouring planets, it devours universes, which makes it a very potent threat to the multiverse, even more so than an entire army of Kangs.
Also Read: Marvel’s Worst Rated Movie Has a Villain Strong Enough to Replace Jonathan Majors’ Kang
The Black Winter would afford several advantages to the MCU
To begin with, The Black Winter devours worlds. Entire universes are snuffed out to satiate its hunger. This could mean that any survivors of these universes would probably seek refuge in the ones that successfully destroy or stop it. If the Black Winter were to make landfall in universes with Captain America and Iron Man, it would be possible to revive them in their prime in the MCU.
While Kevin Feige has said that the MCU will not be revisiting the death of Iron Man anytime soon, it is always great to have that door open. The MCU could also bring in the X-Men, who could settle in the mainline Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, which could also add to the friction between them and a populace that celebrates superheroes.
The Black Winter could also be introduced in a Thor film, adding the new dimension that Chris Hemsworth has been looking for in the MCU. Given that certain slots between Deadpool 3 and Avengers 5 need filling, there could be plenty of time to develop a 5th Thor outing that could redeem the IP and set up the next big villain, in the same way Loki was in Phase 1.
