An X-Men Threat From The Krakoa Era Could Be The New MCU Villains

The X-Men will officially debut in the Deadpool 3 movie and eventually cement themselves as a superhero group within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But what villains should they introduce alongside them? The obvious choice would be Magneto, as there has been a long-standing feud between him and the X-Men in the comics and in all the live adaptations. Another obvious choice would be the Sentinels, as they have shown to be the greatest threat against the mutants.

However, if the MCU wants to keep the X-Men fresh, they should look to other avenues for villainy roles. In the comics, the new mutant-hunting team, the Orchis, has displayed that they are a force to be reckoned with and, as such, would be a grand opponent against the likes of the X-Men. They can pose a threat to all and any super-powered heroes. As such, Orchis could quickly melt into any new phase inside the MCU, assuming the X-Men will become a prominent part of the universe after the releases of Deadpool 3 and Secret Wars.

Who is the Orichis Mutant Group?

Fox Failed Halle Berry’s Storm – But the MCU Can Make Things Right

The Orichis marked their first appearance in the House of X (2019) #1 and are still a present threat within the X-Men comics. A scientist and ex-A.I.M. operative, Alia Gregor, believed that mutants would dominate the human race and therefore thought that catastrophic happenings like the mutant genocide at Genosha and the mass destruction of the Decimation could be the only way to prevent mutants from populating. In her eyes, the world must have an overly aggressive group that would enact similar causes, eradicating the mutants once and for all. Killian Devo enacted her ideas and created Orichis.

However, it was soon revealed the true villain behind the operation of Orichis was actually Karima Spandar, a human turned Omega Sentinel. She tried fighting against the urges to fight against the X-Men, but because she became a Sentinel, her programming was hard-wired into her belief system. Eventually, she became possessed and saw an alternate future where mutants were the dominant species, allowing the human race to die out. Having been set back in time to the past, she persuaded Devo to create Orichis and begin to dismantle the mutant race.

Orchis resources were able to develop an unstoppable force known as the Nimrod Sentinel, an adaptable, self-duplicating mutant-hunting machine only made to dispose of mutants. Time travel is a heavy factor within the stories of X-Men, and considering much of Orchis relies on time travel, this would be an exciting point in restructuring time travel within the MCU with the X-Men mind.

What Kind of Threats Could They Be to the X-Men Group?

Deadpool 3 Featuring More Than One Wolverine Would Be a Massive Misstep

If X-Men goes straight for the Orchis storyline, they would uncover a never-before-seen villain on the big screen. The MCU should not reuse other storylines from past X-Men films like humans vs. mutants or mutants vs mutants, but instead pose the question of enhanced technology against the X-Men, as it is reflected in the world society lives in today. It was perfected in X-Men: Days of the Future Past, connecting the past with the future and fixing the timeline (momentarily). The Sentinels are a massive threat to the X-Men, and widening their presence into other notable characters, such as Nimrod and the group of Orchis, will only display the different ways in which technology serves as a negative hindrance against all likes of people.

This is a time for the MCU to go big or go home. Readjusting their viewership into newer stories and using the X-Men’s villains as the MCU’s overarching antagonists could fix the recurring issues of drab storytelling. What appeared to be a problem in Phase 4 was that it felt rather dragged out. Kang, the Conquer, hasn’t fully felt like a villain that will or could affect all life throughout the multiverse. In the grand scheme, the timeline variants have posed a severe threat, but because they have been defeated in Loki Season 1 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it appears he’s a villain that can be taken out much quicker than opposed to the Orichis. Introducing mutants and wanting to kill them off within the same breath would create severe tension inside the MCU. Are Orchid’s only after mutants, or is it anyone that displays mutant-like powers? The movies could expand on this varying issue.

The X-Men Franchise Should Take a Break With Magneto as the Villain

Ultimate X-Men First Look Reveals First New Champion Character to Appear in a Comic

In one way or another, Magneto has been the villain in nearly all the live-adapted films. In some films, he lies inside the gray character arc, between good and evil. And although Michael Fassbender and Sir Ian McKellen have played a character of a lifetime, it’s time to allow the character to lay inside the antihero monarch that he has been in the comics on and off. This isn’t to say that he should appear at all — on the contrary, he should be a notable member in the onslaught of mutant introductions.

But instead of sending him off as a riddled villain out for vengeance like in his previous film appearances, the MCU could slowly (very slowly) guide him into the villain role throughout films instead of fast-tracking it like in the X-Men prequels. Either way, this is a time to experiment with the X-Men films. The apparent choices shouldn’t be the necessary ones, and making riskier choices could possibly save the MCU from making the same mistakes that Fox made. If the MCU relies on Orichis to be the driving force for the new centric X-Men films, it will display that any villains are fair game, whether new or old. And as much as they bank on nostalgia from comic fans, it’s always the best bet to surprise fans with the unexpected, and Orichis would be the best bet.