By now, all of us should be pretty familiar with the Marvels Cinematic Universe. In the latest installment in the long-running franchise, Thanos was formally introduced as the big baddie who needed to be stopped. Thanos is the most recent addition to an iconic list of antagonists in Marvel movies and somewhat likely, the final one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Thanos was portrayed in the movie as the end all be all threat to our heroes, as a simple snap of his fingers wiped out half the population. As powerful as he is, there are other cosmic-level villains out there that could give Thanos a run for his money.
Marvel Universe characters
The Marvel Universe is a big, big place. Spanning multiple universes and even dimensions, this makes for one of the most confusing mediums of entertainment to follow for everyone but the most dedicated readers. Today, we’ll be discussing about some of the biggest threats to the livelihood of Marvel Universe citizens.
Brood
Captain Marvel battling against Brood
Somewhat reminiscent of the xenomorphs from Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ – the one with the iconic egg bursting sequence. We say somewhat reminiscent because on all accounts, Brood is by far the worse of the two. Brood functions by transforming a host into one of the grotesque beings pictured above. You may think having an alien egg imploding and gouging its way out is bad but imagine having to LIVE as the alien. Worst of all, according to the Marvel wikia page , the hosts are aware and can remember what they do while under the control of the parasite.
Galactus
Galactus dwarfing the Silver Surfer and Hulk
Standing at over 2000 feet tall, Galactus is an interesting one, because it isn’t necessarily evil. One of the most iconic villains of the Fantastic Four franchise, Galactus is known as the ‘Devourer of Worlds’. While titles given to comic characters are often exaggerated, Galactus literally eats planets for food.
Galactus is often accompanied by a herald – for example, the Silver Surfer who seeks out planets for Galactus. The crème de la crème of his arsenal is a weapon known as the ‘Ultimate Nullifier’. Any target that can be mentally envisioned, can be destroyed. Besides that, Galactus also possesses cosmic awareness which allows him to sense any changes within a UNIVERSAL scale. We’ll leave it up to you to think how he uses it.
The Celestials
Behold, the Celestials
Commonly known as the ‘Space Gods’ of the Marvel Universe. Each celestial has their own goals that they want to achieve. However, they are responsible for the existence of the superheroes in the Marvel Universe through genetic manipulation (the mutant gene). Celestials are immortal barring extreme circumstances. And by extreme, we mean extreme. Even the ‘Ultimate Nullifer’ cannot destroy one of these beings. Lastly, similar to Galactus they’re also somewhat of a moral grey zone with questionable actions.
The Beyonder
The Beyonder looking suave
So far we’ve talked about cosmic beings, but the Beyonder lives beyond reality. The Beyonder is his own reality, as the Marvel wikia explains it, ‘he is his own reality, his own universe’. Ideologically speaking, the Beyonder is surprised that citizens of Marvel’s Earth did not control their own fates but were parts of a larger collective multiverse.
The confinements of reality is foreign to the Beyonder as he does not grasp the concept of plurality. So, as you might guess, he possesses the power to transform reality to his wishes. The Beyonder even trumps most cosmic entities in strength.
The Phoenix Force
The Phoenix Five and Hope Summers in Avengers vs. X-Men
Similar to the other villains on the list (with the exception of Brood), the Phoenix Force is also somewhat conflicting, being both good and bad at the same time. An embodiment of ALL psionic energy that resides within the Marvel Universe, it takes on different hosts with every incarnation.
As the name implies, the Phoenix Force rises whenever there is a host who requires or is worthy of its powers. Possessing nigh unlimited power to create and destroy, it is capable of doing almost everything. The Phoenix Force is able to transcend the boundaries of space and time. With great power, comes great responsibility. Because, when left unchecked, the Phoenix Force corrupts the mind of its host.