Will The Avengers be the next major Marvel villain?

This article contains mild spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Following the multiverse fiasco of Spider-Man: No Way Home and a plethora of villainous characters invading the known universe, Marvel Studios searches for its next Avengers-level threat for the upcoming slate in 2022 as No Way Home marks the midway point for Phase 4. After defeating Thanos, The Avengers can rest a little easier, but given the endless array of colorful characters in Marvel Comics history, it won’t be long until some other Big Bad takes his place.

Reddit theorist u/TheMediocreCritic, an avid cinephile who apparently predicted the Game of Thrones ending, has shared their thoughts on what awaits The Avengers after Thanos was snapped out of existence. Their theory, which can be read in full here, details Kang the Conqueror’s forthcoming as he brainwashes civilizations into believing that The Avengers are the next major threat.

For some brief backstory, Kang the Conquerer seeks to become the ruler of the universe. In the reality from which Kang originates, the Dark Ages never occurred and technology developed without interruption, allowing for unthinkable possibilities with time travel, weaponry and more that would simply be years away in our known timeline. Kang uses many resources from the future to conquer as many universes as possible.

Here is the summarized version of the entire theory:

Kang will come as a polished politician-type, a beacon of hope from the future. He will tell humanity that the future is bleak and doomed, but he has come back to save them and set the future on the right path. He of course is lying but is he wrong?

Kang makes the point that since the founding of the Avengers, world-ending threats are increasing. He calls for the immediate disassembling of the Avengers. Of course, he is manipulating. Still, people have been tired and afraid of the near-constant disasters affecting the earth since the Avengers were formed.

u/TheMediocreCritic on Reddit

It certainly makes for an interesting hypothesis that humanity might turn on The Avengers. By that logic, the MCU could face a free-for-all between the many super-powered teams, including the X-Men, Fantastic Four and The Defenders, especially if they prove to be impressionable from Kang’s lies and believe The Avengers to be more harmful than helpful. That may be years away, especially as the remainder of Phase 4 has yet to be released, but with the X-Men and Fantastic Four movies rumored for release in 2022 and 2023 respectively, the theory is looking more promising.

Especially with the multiverse corrupting in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the arrival of Kang the Conquerer is looking more feasible by the second and his involvement could spell disaster for The Avengers.