Mister Sinister

• First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #221 (1987)
• Created By: Chris Claremont & Peter Milligan

Mister Sinister ranks as one of the greatest villains in comic book history. Yet his creation actually came out of frustration with the X-Men constantly having to go up against Magneto and the Brotherhood for writer Chris Claremont. Sinister gave them a chance to explore new storylines, especially those that could get incredibly personal. However, Sinister himself rarely found himself involved in conflicts as he thought of himself s “just a scientist.” Often, he uses assassins and other agents to do his fighting for him. However, he is like an evil Charles Darwin. He’s obsessed with engineering the perfect superhuman.

An encounter with Apocalypse leads to the once known “Nathaniel Essex” becoming Mr. Sinister. This made Essex ageless and regenerative, which allows him to continue his obsession, now with minor powers he could get through experimentation. Sinister would become obsessed with Cyclops and Jean Grey, believing them to be the perfect beings. Thus, he constantly tries to get their DNA somehow. It even becomes such an issue, the two have to travel to the future to be safe at one point. Sinister is rumored to be the villain for Deadpool 3 or Avengers 5 and could serve a larger role in storylines going forward.

Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)

• First Appearance: Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013)
• Created By: Sana Amanat, Stephen Wacker, G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, & Jamie McKelvie

You’d be forgiven for being a bit thrown by the name, as Carol Danvers served as Ms. Marvel for many years before officially taking over as Captain Marvel. Kamala Khan is a huge fan of Carol’s, making the name sort of an homage to Danvers. While she is one of the most famous Inhumans, she did not get her powers until the “Inhumanity” storyline when a Terragen Bomb goes off. She emerges from the inhuman dome that covers her with shapeshifting abilities.

Her impact on Marvel Comics is drastic, but Kamala also impacted the comic book world overall. Ms. Marvel is the first Muslim to have her own solo comic book series, especially for a major publication. The story does not shy away from discussing major differences between the American-Muslim experience versus that seen elsewhere. In fact, you could say her hijab is critical to both her character and her Muslim roots. Marvel Studios and Disney have been wanting to use Kamala a lot more over the years and will now be doing so in her own Disney+ series, coming in 2022. She’ll also appear in The Marvels film in 2023.

Patriot (Eli Bradley)

• First Appearance: Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
• Created By: Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung

There have been roughly three different versions of the Patriot character in Marvel Comics. However, our focus is on the Eli Bradley version of the character. He happens to be the grandson of Isiah Bradley. Isiah was one of the super soldiers from the time of the original Captain America, Steve Rogers. When Rogers went missing during the latter portion of World War II, Bradley took on the Captain America mantle himself. He only gained his powers due to the government testing out different super-soldier serums on black men in an attempt to recreate the serum Steve Rogers had.

Due to Eli’s mother being born before Isiah was being experimented on, Eli could not get his powers from his grandfather. Rather, he got them by using the Mutant Growth Hormone or MGH. Yet those artificial powers became permanent when his grandfather later gave him a blood transfusion. While Patriot is possibly going to be used as Sam Wilson’s Captain America sidekick in the MCU at first, due to being introduced in the Falcon and The Winter Soldier series. He will likely only serve this role for a short time before a Young Avengers movie or series comes about.

Adam Warlock

• First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #1 (April 1972)
• Created By: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Roy Thomas, Gil Kane

In his debut, Adam was made into a messiah-like figure. Scientists on Earth calling themselves “The Enclave” created an artificial yet perfect human. Being known as “Him” at the time, Adam rebels and travels into space. In that timeframe, he comes across the High Evolutionary, a massively powerful character. HE gives HIM the “Warlock” name. HE requests Warlock’s help with saving his created planet, Counter-Earth.

This is when Warlock is given the Soul Gem, the same gem Vision is known for using. Warlock saves the planet and eventually encounters the corrupt Universal Church of Truth. It happens to be run by a future version of himself driven mad by the Soul Gem named Magus. To prevent this version from existing, he travels back to absorb his own soul. All of this results in Adam coming across the Guardians of the Galaxy among other galactic characters. Warlock will be appearing in the GOTG 3 film, making him one of the top Marvel Comics characters to keep your eyes on in the next MCU Phase.

Moon Knight

• First Appearance: Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975)
• Created By: Doug Moench & Don Perlin

Moon Knight is a beloved character in Marvel Comics that is going to be huge in the MCU too. Marc Spector, the son of a rabbi, is not a big fan of violence or ending others. Yet he goes on to be a Marine and CIA operative, then a mercenary. On a job, he sees a fellow mercenary ruthlessly kill an archeologist. While Marc gets their daughter and colleague out, he gets horribly wounded trying to end the mercenary who’s hired to kill everyone there.

Dying, Spector is taken into an unearthed tomb for shelter and placed before a statue of the Egyptian Moon God, Khonshu. To his shock, Marc assumes he is dying but awakens fully healed by the “moon’s night.” He believes Khonshu wants him to be the Moon’s Knight, and save others. There is one problem, Marc is a certified schizophrenic. He has to balance being a hero while not being in the best mental state. This is one of the Marvel Comics characters that is truly incredible. Moon Knight will be a monster hit with fans as the hero debuts in his own Disney+ series in 2022.

Namor The Submariner

• First Appearance: Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939) 
• Created By: Bill Everett

For the longest time, ownership of “rights” has prevented Namor from being used in the MCU. Yet he is rumored to be a major fixture in Black Panther 2. This makes sense, as Wakanda and Atlantis have been enemies to one another since ancient times. Of course, Namor rules the infamous Atlantis and it would have been great to see him take on T’Challa. Yet it’ll be great to see him regardless. People often forget that Namor really came into Marvel Comics as a bad guy. Considered Marvel’s first “mutant,” he had several altercations with heroes. This includes Black Panther but also the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.

However, his decision to be against others tends to always be due to his belief that Atlantis is in jeopardy. In fact, he appeared during the height of World War II as an enemy to the United States. Yet Namor still battled against Hitler’s Germany. The Submariner saw them as a huge threat too. Namor has since served mostly as an anti-hero. Due to the film rights now being owned by Disney officially, they are able to use Namor in the MCU. Thus, the BP2 appearance is almost a certainty at this point. Finally, we will see one of the biggest Marvel Comics characters in the MCU!

She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)

• First Appearance: The Savage She-Hulk #1 (February 1980)
• Created By: Stan Lee & John Buscema

Jennifer Walters, like her cousin Bruce Banner before her, had a great interest in science. However, her biggest interest was the law and making sure it was upheld. Thus, she operated as a lawyer. Yet one day, she was injured badly and needed a blood transfusion to survive. It was an emergency, and the only person that could help her was her cousin. When Bruce gave her some of his blood, it also gave her Hulk-like abilities too. Yet her case is mild by comparison. While Jennifer becomes larger and powerful, she only has a green hue and is not fully green.

She also kept her personality and intelligence, which Banner often could not keep when he transformed. She also has emotional control, yet can get angry and become far stronger like Hulk before her. Like Bruce, Jennifer can turn off her Hulk nature but later on, the transformation to “She-Hulk” becomes permanent. While uncertain how they will tell the story, a series for She-Hulk will be heading to Disney+ in 2022 where she is very likely to shine. She-Hulk is one of the most popular Marvel Comics characters who hadn’t debuted in the MCU, so many are happy she’s coming.

Iron Lad (Nathaniel “Nate” Richards)

• First Appearance: Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
• Created By: Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung

Iron Lad is a VERY interesting character that Marvel Studios has been laying the seeds to debut ever since Iron Man 3 took place several years ago. Some might see the name and assume some random kid takes the Iron Man mantle, but that is not the real story. His ancestor happens to be the father of Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards. Yet his family tree extends much further than this. Nathaniel Richards is supposedly a young version of Kang the Conqueror, what many might call a “variant” of him. One day, Nate is about to be attacked by bullies when a time-traveling Kang saves him.

This knife attack on the young Richards actually helped to shape his future villain self, as he spent several years in a hospital from it. Kang decides to inspire his younger self by showing future battles and conquering that he’d one day do. This backfires, causing Nate to want to stop his future self. He starts the Young Avengers in an effort to prevent his future. Now, equipped with a bio-metal suit that responds to his mental commands, he and the youthful Avengers will stop future Kang. With the introduction of Kang and Young Avengers in the works, Iron Lad will become a very popular character in the MCU!

White Widow (Yelena Belova)

• First Appearance: Inhumans #5 (March 1999)
• Created By: Devin Grayson & J.G. Jones

Yelena Belova was introduced in Marvel Comics years ago but just showed up in the MCU with the recent Black Widow film. On a funny note, many feel Yelena was the true star of the film due to how impressive Florence Pugh was in the role. Thus, it might be cheating to say she is one of the Marvel Comics characters about to be huge. As she is starting to see that already. In the comics, her role was pretty similar to how it was in the movie. Yet it differs just a bit. For one, Yelena was an enemy of Natasha’s initially.

In fact, when we’re first introduced to her, we find out she is sent to kill Natasha. Yet the two end up becoming allies after they realize who the true enemy is. Like Natasha, she was trained to be a spy and assassin in the Red Room too. While Yelena goes on to take the Black Widow codename, this changes up a lot. Many believe she will be the White Widow, as the multiverse is likely to bring a version of Natasha in to take over the Black Widow codename from her fallen version. Belova is expected to be used quite a lot, especially in upcoming Disney+ content.

Korvac

• First Appearance: Giant-Size Defenders #3 (Jan. 1975)
• Created By: Steve Gerber & Jim Starlin

Korvac is considered to be one of the greatest galactic threats in Marvel Comics. Point blank, there are maybe 4 people considered stronger than him and they are either Gods or the literal writers themselves. In the alternative Earth-691, Michael Korvac betrays humanity to the Badoon alien race in 3007 AD. Yet he is eventually caught asleep while working and as punishment, the Badoon grafts his upper body into a machine. That turns him into a cyborg with updated alien technology inside of him. The Grandmaster and Elder of the Universe send him back in time to fight the Defenders and Dr. Strange.

Korvac lost this fight but did so on purpose. He used this time to scan the Grandmaster’s cosmic power, allowing him to gain several cosmic abilities. With this newfound power, he kills the Badoon leaders. While he decides to conquer the cosmos and attempts to make the Earth’s sun go supernova to distract the world’s heroes, he is stopped. Yet a run-in with Galactus allows him to gain the “power cosmic.” Korvac is then a God and consistently gets into some incredible incidents. He’s set to appear in Captain Marvel 2 as the big bad. He’ll surely be one of the Marvel Comics characters that people will love instantly.

Mephisto

• First Appearance: The Silver Surfer #3 (Dec. 1968)
• Created By: Stan Lee & John Buscema

Mephisto is best described by calling him Marvel’s version of the Devil. Seriously, that is basically what this character happens to be. While he has been a cosmic threat, he often stands out as a magical being that affects several layers of the universe as well. He was initially introduced as a big bad for the Silver Surfer and Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider). Yet he’d go on to have altercations with the likes of Dr. Strange and most notably, Spider-Man.

Due to having his fingers in so many different areas of the universe, he has become a major figure in the universe. Thus, he’s one of the Marvel Comics characters everyone expected to see in the MCU by now. While he has appeared in Ghost Rider movies, those are not MCU canon. Yet Mephisto is expected to be introduced into the MCU very soon, likely by the upcoming Dr. Strange film. When he pops up, he’ll likely be around for quite a long time. Get used to him everyone. The Devil is here.

Ghost Spider (Gwen Stacy)

• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965)
• Created By: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko

Gwen Stacy was initially introduced as an early love interest for Peter Parker. Yet writers wanted to have Peter not only grow up more but look vulnerable. There isn’t a better way to do this than to hit them with something heartbreaking. The Green Goblin causes Gwen to fall from a great height, only to be caught by Peter. Yet the webbing caught her badly and she died. While she is dead in the mainline Marvel universe, the introduction of the multiverse gave her the opportunity to return. Marvel writers felt, given her consistent popularity, they could use her more in the multiverse.

That led to two characters being formed for her: Spider-Gwen and Gwenpool. Though the latter was fun, it was short-lived. Spider-Gwen became fun to read and the comic success led to Marvel taking it more seriously. Gwen needed to be seen as something more, resulting in her new “Ghost Spider” codename. Now, she is a huge part of the Spider-Verse. We will be seeing a lot from Gwen in the MCU but Marvel and Disney have already included her in many animated projects. Ghost Spider could even appear in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home movie too!

Where do we find this stuff? Here are our Sources:

Marvel Comics

Marvel Studios

The Walt Disney Company

Inverse

Hollywood Reporter

Polygon

Deadline

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