[[{“value”:”
As the MCU prepares to bring Doctor Doom into its canon as the next “big bad” in the franchise, some fans are already looking ahead and speculating about who will take his place once he’s inevitably defeated. Since the Fantastic Four will be introduced ahead of Doom’s debut, the Maker is a contender to be the MCU’s next villain, and he would be a fittingly fantastic pick.
Doctor Doom will arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Doomsday, and he has all the makings to surpass the high standards left by Thanos, the main antagonist of the MCU’s first phase. As menacing as Doom is, however, he will undoubtedly be taken down by Marvel’s heroes and replaced in the franchise’s future.
Because the Fantastic Four are finally joining the MCU later this year in Fantastic Four: First Steps, they will be established characters by the time Doom is defeated, which means this continuity’s next antagonist could be one they face in the comics. With that in mind, there’s a clear front-runner: The Maker.
Marvel’s Evil Reed Richards Has Potential to Shake Up the MCU
The Maker is a variant of Reed Richards who originated in Earth-1610, also known as the original Ultimate Universe. Though he was initially a hero who used the name Mister Fantastic and led the Fantastic Four, much like his Earth-616 counterpart, he later descended into darkness as his life took a much less pleasant direction than his predecessor. 2008’s Ultimatum event served as the final nail in the coffin for this version of Reed, as the death of Franklin Storm tore the Fantastic Four apart. After Sue Storm refused his marriage proposal and the Fantastic Four went their separate ways, Reed faked his death and vanished.
Reed Richards’ full transformation into the villainous Maker unfolds across the Ultimate Enemy, Ultimate Mystery and Ultimate Doom miniseries by Brian Michael Bendis and Rafa Sandoval, which are collected as Ultimate Comics: Doomsday and available now in paperback and hardcover formats.
Before long, Sue discovered that Reed was the mastermind behind alien attacks on superhero bases of operation, having turned his back on the heroes and developed a grudge due to his own heroic lifestyle not panning out as he’d hoped. The Fantastic Four officially became adversaries to Reed, and he went on to take the mantle of the Maker as he embraced villainy. This origin story would be fascinating to explore onscreen, with an iconic Marvel hero becoming a full-fledged villain, and the current landscape of the cinematic universe has laid the groundwork for the Maker’s potential MCU debut.
The Maker Would Be a Dangerous Threat to The MCU’s Multiverse
With the MCU Adapting Secret Wars, Introducing the Maker Is a No-Brainer
One of the two Avengers movies that are slated to hit theaters in the near future is Avengers: Secret Wars, which will be a follow-up to Doomsday that adapts the events of 2015’s Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić. In this comic, the Ultimate Universe got destroyed, but the Maker managed to evade this destruction. He temporarily teamed up with Earth-616’s Reed Richards to help combat Doctor Doom once he’d taken over a rebuilt universe, though he ended up betraying his counterpart. Without a universe to return to, the Maker set his sights on a new goal: creating his own.
The Maker currently reigns supreme in his warped reality, and the MCU would benefit from an enemy on this scale now that the multiverse is being expanded upon.
From there, in Ultimate Invasion by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch, the Maker decided to figure out how Reed Richards managed to rebuild the Marvel Universe so that he could do the same. He lived up to his “Maker” name by constructing a new Ultimate Universe called Earth-6160, in which he interfered with the timeline to eradicate heroes. For instance, he prevented Peter Parker from being bitten by a radioactive spider, thus erasing Spider-Man from existence. The Maker currently reigns supreme in his warped reality, and the MCU would benefit from an enemy on this scale now that the multiverse is being expanded upon.
The Maker’s Connection to The Fantastic Four Proves He’s the Ideal MCU Villain
After Doctor Doom, The Fantastic Four Will Need a New Nemesis
In addition to his villainous role within the broader multiverse, the Maker has a singular focus on tormenting the Fantastic Four after getting rejected by both his own teammates and Earth-616’s Mister Fantastic. As an act of revenge, once he constructs his Ultimate Universe, he sets his sights on the Fantastic Four. In The Ultimates #4 by Deniz Camp and Phil Noto, it was revealed that the Maker altered Reed Richards’ calculations for his space excursion with his teammates. Thus, rather than being exposed to cosmic rays that turn them into the Fantastic Four, the majority of them were tragically killed.
Related
If the MCU Wants to Do Fantastic Four Right, It Must Debunk a Myth About Reed Richards
With the Fantastic Four’s MCU debut on the horizon, it’s time to dispel the idea that Reed Richards is closer to being a villain than a hero.
The Maker’s revenge against the Fantastic Four didn’t end there. He then captured Reed Richards and tortured him, forcing him to admit guilt for murdering his loved ones and call himself “Doom” for unleashing doom upon them. As a byproduct of the Maker’s manipulation, Reed Richards turned into the Doctor Doom of Earth-6160, giving the title a devastating new meaning. Since the Fantastic Four will be key players in the MCU moving forward, it would make sense to implement an antagonist who has such a personal vendetta against them once Doctor Doom is out of the picture.
Marvel Already Knows the Best Way to Bring The Maker to the MCU
Miles Teller Is a Popular Fan-Cast for Marvel’s Evil Reed Richards
The Maker is a great fit for the MCU’s next phase once the Fantastic Four claim the spotlight, and fans have already named an actor who could play him: Miles Teller. He played Mister Fantastic in 2015’s Fantastic Four film, which drew much of its inspiration from the Ultimate Universe’s version of the team. Now, he’s been suggested as an option to portray the Maker, and the parallels to the original story are promising. Having a variant of Reed Richards from a scrapped timeline return as the Maker and seek revenge against the MCU’s Fantastic Four would be a brilliant way to adapt the comics.
Having a variant of Reed Richards from a scrapped timeline return as the Maker and seek revenge against the MCU’s Fantastic Four would be a brilliant way to adapt the comics.
The MCU couldn’t ask for a better successor to Doctor Doom than the Maker. His rise to power comes after Secret Wars in the comics, so it’d be sensible for events to unfold similarly in live-action. The Fantastic Four have also been rebooted numerous times onscreen, which opens the door for a former Reed Richards actor to make a shocking comeback. Furthermore, with the current phase of the MCU focused on the multiverse, a villain who builds his own universe out of spite seems like a logical addition. Therefore, the Maker should become the MCU’s new antagonist now that the Fantastic Four‘s debut is imminent.
“}]] This Marvel villain must join the MCU after Doom. Read More