The 8 villains who could upstage Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Benn in ‘The Marvels’

The Marvels trailer finally allowed us to start forming an idea of what we can expect from the storyline of the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel, with much of the speculation centering around Zawe Ashton’s enigmatic enemy. Confirmed to be Dar-Benn, a rutheless Kree leader, it seems Ashton’s character has taken Ronan the Accuser’s position as the head of the Kree military and will no doubt pose a big threat to Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). Especially as she looks to possess the twin of Kamala’s bangle.

And yet, we can’t help but wonder if there could be a twist to come in The Marvels and Dar-Benn might not be the ultimate villain of the piece. Think how Talos ended up being a good guy in Captain Marvel, with Jude Law’s Yonn-Rogg revealed as a bad’un. Even if this isn’t the case, there’s still room for Nia DaCosta’s film to squeeze in a secondary villain in a cameo or post-credits scene in order to set up something bigger down the line.

While we’re excited to see what Zawe Ashton does in her MCU debut, here are some villains who would nonetheless steal the show if they did drop by The Marvels.

Kang the Conqueror

Given that the former ruler of the Quantum Realm is the Multiverse Saga’s big nasty, it would hardly be a surprise if Kang the Conqueror makes some kind of appearance in The Marvels, if only in a post-credits scene that confirms he made it out of the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania alive (that is, unless Loki season two doesn’t do this first). Of course, Jonathan Majors’ future with Marvel is currently in flux, but a Marvels cameo could have feasibly been shot prior to his recent troubles.

Rogue

All the signs are pointing us having to wait until Deadpool 3 to meet the MCU’s X-Men, but one of the oldest The Marvels fan theories around has it that Rogue could show up as a villain to zap Carol Danvers’ powers. As comic book readers know, this was Rogue’s origins story on the page, as finding herself with Carol’s abilities encouraged her to reform from bad guy to a member of the mutant super-team. Oh, and if Marvel could cast Keke Palmer in the role, after her public campaign last year, that would be great. Thanks, Sugah.

The Brood

If you thought the Skrulls’ shapeshifting was eerie or the Kree were mean, wait until we get the Brood in the MCU. A vicious parasitic insectoid race that travel the stars to look for hosts to infect with their spawn, the Brood are essentially Marvel’s answer to the Xenomorphs of the Aliens universe. Although traditionally connected to the X-Men, Captain Marvel has faced the creatures on occasion, so having them perhaps act as Dar-Benn’s minions in The Marvels isn’t too far-fetched a possibility.

Moonstone

Before we discovered Ashton was playing the (extremely obscure) character of Dar-Benn, it was widely assumed that she had been cast as Moonstone, probably Carol’s most notable female nemesis from the comics. Possessing the ability of flight, phasing, and anti-gravitational powers, Moonstone even took on Carol’s old alter ego of Ms. Marvel in Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, a villain team expected to arrive soon in the MCU. So having her pop up somewhere in The Marvels, teasing a bigger role down the road, would be apt.

The Shi’ar Empire

Like the Brood, the Shi’ar Empire are another extraterrestrial race tied into X-Men history. In particular, Queen Lilandra is a love interest of Professor X who plays a key role in the Dark Phoenix saga (why Jessica Chastain didn’t portray her in Fox’s universe, we’ll never know). Seeing as The Marvels will touch on alien politics, thanks to Park Seo-joon’s Prince Yan, a brief role for Lilandra would honestly blow the fans’ minds. Maybe she could be a guest at Carol and Yan’s wedding (yes, you read that right).

Michael Korvac

While one of the most dangerous cosmic villains in the Marvel universe being called Michael might seem unlikely, it’s true. Michael Korvac was at the center of “The Korvac Saga” comics event and proved himself to be an Avengers-level threat, thanks to the cybernetically enhanced genius bonding with the Power Cosmic in a bid to reshape reality. Swap that macguffin for, say, both Kamala Khan and Dar-Benn’s bangles and Korvac could be a serious problem to overcome if he turns out to be a stealth villain who takes over in The Marvels‘ third act. If not, he’s a must for Captain Marvel 3.

Skrull Queen Veranke

While unconfirmed at this point, it’s widely believed that Secret Invasion will lead into The Marvels, thanks to both Nick Fury’s presence and the fact that the Skrulls were introduced into the MCU in Captain Marvel. Again, it’s a common expectation that the Skrulls’ Queen Veranke will turn up in the Disney Plus show (could this be Olivia Colman’s true role?), and if that is the case, then it would be epic if Carol got to face off against the sinister shapeshifting sovereign in her movie sequel.

Galactus

The most mind-bending potential villain who could turn up alongside Ashton’s antagonist in The Marvels, however, has to be the one and only Galactus himself. Fans have been dying for the Devourer of Worlds to enter the chat ever since Avengers: Endgame, and sure, we have the Fantastic Four reboot on the way, but that’s exactly where we expect him to show up. Imagine the state of the fandom if we even got a glimpse at the shadow of his iconic helmet in The Marvels end-credits tag?

The Marvels opens in theaters on Nov. 10.