The old saying is that a hero is only as good as their villain, and in that case, the Avengers more than lived up to their title of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as they overcame the threat of Thanos. It may have taken a little bit of time travel and a whole lot of sacrifice, but the Infinity Saga ultimately concluded with the Mad Titan defeated and the universe saved.
For years, Thanos loomed in the background as the big bad pulling the strings behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while it hasn’t been confirmed yet, the smart money is on the franchise relying on the same template for the future, with a variety of names being touted as potential candidates to be the next major adversary for the Avengers throughout Phase Four and beyond.
In a recent interview, Thanos co-creator Jim Starlin revealed that with the cosmic and mystical sides of the MCU opening up wider than ever before thanks to the likes of The Eternals and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, another one of his most famous creations could eventually end up joining the fray, too.
“They told me early on that they didn’t feel like abstract entities were something that the movie-going audience was ready for. But with the next Dr. Strange movie, they’re stepping into that realm. So if there are more Thanos movies down the line, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Mistress Death showing up there.”
Thanos’ arc was brought to a pretty definitive conclusion by the end of Avengers: Endgame, but there have been rumors of him appearing again. In any case, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks set to be the weirdest entry in the MCU yet and is already set to feature so-called ‘abstract entities’ like Nightmare and Mephisto, so Mistress Death can’t entirely be ruled out of the equation.
Although the character’s comic book history is closely linked with that of the Mad Titan, Marvel Studios aren’t shy in taking some liberties with the source material if need be, and if Kevin Feige is on the lookout for the next Thanos-level threat to the Avengers, then they don’t come much bigger than death itself.
