Mutants in the Marvel Universe have always had a very dodgy history with artificial intelligence. The first problem that they faced was mutant-hunting robots called Sentinels, which seemed to go through an upgrade every few years. Now, a cosmic entity called Dominion threatens the mutant population, one who is destined to wipe them out. However, introducing this new cosmic entity inadvertently set up the next big villain who could make their way to the MCU in the wake of Avengers: Secret Wars.
Given that the X-Men will be making their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is safe to say that after Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel Studios will be making a lot more mutant-focused content, and while earth-bound villains like Bolivar Trask, Magneto, and William Stryker could be great villains, eventually scaling to cosmic threats like the Shi’ar Empire and Dominion could chart out a well planned cinematic universe, that could recapture the audiences as it did with Avengers: Endgame.
Who or What is Dominion?
Dominion is a relatively new entry into the Marvel Universe but functions as the supreme interstellar intelligence when it comes to machine and AI, having power over the domains of Artificial Intelligence. It is the ultimate ‘evolution’ of machines and the supreme authority when it comes to such entities.
A Dominion is created when multiple Titans link up together, creating a sentient singularity. Titans in the Marvel Universe are defined as extremely intelligent beings. Dominions are created as and when these super-intelligent beings link up. Once they do, these entities become beyond space and time and start existing without the influence of abstract concepts like Death, Destiny, Order, and Chaos.
These entities are massively powerful, so much so that Beyonders decided to destroy a reality rather than face the Dominion. This would make the character perfect for the Marvel Cinematic Universe once the Avengers, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four have taken care of the Beyonders.
How could Dominion make their way into the MCU?
We know that Eternity has been introduced in the MCU, thanks to Taika Waititi‘s Thor: Love and Thunder. Given that Eternity is one of the few entities who actually scare Dominion, we could see the entity and lesser beings pop up again in the MCU, this time somehow aiding the X-Men to take out Dominion.
Dominion’s storyline will need to be tweaked in the MCU, despite Marvel now having the rights to most of its characters. This is because the introduction of the Dominion in the comics might be a little too complicated to translate properly to the screen. There is also the fact that audiences, despite the MCU’s popularity, are not as well-versed in concepts found in comic books.
Adapting them to screen might require some narrative gymnastics on the part of the storytellers, to simplify the Dominion and their creation, along with the threat they pose to the Mutants. Perhaps, the MCU version of them could be an extension of the Sentinels, the mutant-hunting robots?
