MCU
Golden Rogues
Masters of Evil AKA B-list villains who make a good team to face B-List heroes
It seems like the past few weeks have had a villainous impact on me.
With DC comics New 52 going through their villains month phase and Iron Man 3 releasing on dvd reminding fans the destruction of the Mandarin as a formidable force (although I have gotten over it, but we'll talk about that later), not to mention Oliver vowing not to kill anyone and in turn building his own Rogues gallery (Arrow Season 2). I have also gotten fixated with the darker side, and in turn beginning to build the rogues galleries for my own created superheroes in my Heroverse (ya I know, lame name).
All this coupled together with the unofficial release of Avengers: Age of Ultron teaser, reminded me that I never really lived up to the promise of an article regarding the robotic menace that is Ultron.
While we were teased with Thanos (purple gorilla) at the end of Avengers, it seemed Whedon pulled a swerve and added Ultron to threaten our favorite heroes in their second outing as a team.
At first I was confused, but it makes sense after all. Thanos is nigh powerful and a major threat to not just the Avengers but the whole Marvel Universe, he should be kept at the back for a trilogy finale in Avengers 3 (hopefully though not a franchise last).
Ultron on the other hand makes sense because of the sequel look. Most comic book movie franchises have always had their second installment as the best and sometimes most personal, it also most of the time includes the arch nemesis of the hero.
Lets look at some modern day examples; Spider-Man 2 had Dr. Octopus, yes most people would claim that the Green Goblin is Spider-Man's true nemesis but they couldn't be anywhere far from the truth.
Dr. Octopus is an image of who Peter Parker could have become had he not learned his lesson of responsibility early in his youth, he would have grown up to be as spiteful of the world as Otto Octavius even prior to the accident that made him Doc Ock. Not to forget that in the past few years Goblin has eclipsed Spider-Man and has become an Avengers villain (including one time leader) in his own right. Also there's the thing about Octopus taking over Peter's body in current continuity.
Back to topic...another example would be The Dark Knight, it brought Batman in the film to his knees and only because he was up against his most hated foe; The Joker.
All in all, the superhero sequel is one that includes the heroes greatest villain, biggest mistakes and most emotionally tormenting time.
This for a team of heroes like the Avengers clearly spells as Ultron.
Now onto a bit off Ultron...
Ultron
The Age of Ultron poster may just look like this but instead of Ant Man's helmet it will most likey be Iron Man's or we could see the classic Ultron triumphant over Avengers lying bodies poster
In the comics Ultron is a sentient robot created by bio chemist Henry 'Hank' Pym AKA the first Ant-Man. He goes rogue against Ant-Man and goes onto becoming The Avengers greatest villain, hell bent on punishing and killing his so called 'father' among taking over the world from time to time.
Ultron's body is made of the indestructible alloy known as Adamantium (like Wolverine's skeleton and claws). He may not be the most powerful villain but he is a cunning and very destructive threat to the Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
If you can find and watch the Age of Ultron teaser, then you will notice that Ultron's helmet forms from Iron Man's own helmet. To most rumor mills and fans this seems to point towards Ultron's creation by Iron Man or by the use of Iron Man's armor.
This makes sense in the long run for a number of reasons.
1) The Ant-Man film isn't yet out although it comes a few months after Avengers 2.
2) With the loss of Mandarin for Iron Man (which I hope is rectified like in my fan fiction), he really doesn't have any other brilliant foes. Iron Man is the studios major solo property, and as you know they say a hero is as great as his villains unless the hero is Robert Downey Jr. Even RDJ wont last forever (sorry kids).
3) It makes more sense that the mechanic and AI/weapons expert like Tony would make Ultron rather than a bio-chemist like Pym.
4) As I mentioned before Iron Man is Marvel Studios major solo franchise and the only one guaranteed to his the jackpot as such RDJ becomes the main guy in The Avengers (although not as lime light hogging as Wolverine in the X-men film franchise). Making or being responsible for the creation of Ultron gives Iron Man a really dark arc to follow on especially after the failure to realize both his drinking problems in Iron Man 2 and the success of the semi dark PTSD problem in Iron Man 3.
Another reason I like this idea is the same as the fourth but in a different way. If Ultron truly is sentient with a Stark created AI, then he could easily gain control of Tony Stark as Iron Man both physically and mentally (father-son complexity) then it allows RDJ to play a more unlikable hero. A thing I wish he could have done for a future hopefully inevitable adaptation of Marvel Civil War.
Apart from this. Ultron has also been cast with the voice of James Spader (no not the Adam Sandler buddy). A name I actually confess I couldn't place, surprising considering I pride my self in remembering multiple obscure actors.
Spader will most likely voice the role only, leaving the physical bit to stunt men for a motion capture performance like Ruffalo's Hulk.
Now onto bigger things...
The Dark Stark Side
Phase 2 apart from Ultron introduced us to the villain Aldrich Killian (who might end up being the future Mandarin). Alongside that there was a mention to the villainous organization AIM, although on a different scale from the comics. Also there was Eric Savin/Coldblood and that other woman (who is Man-Thing's wife in the comics)
Malekith the Accursed will make his cinematic debut with Kurse (and according to rumors Surtur the fire demon) in next months Thor: The Dark World.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier will reintroduce the world to The Winter Soldier (an anti hero, no spoilers) and Arnim Zola (Red Skull's aide in the first CA film) with new but low key additions in Batroc and Crossbones. Also will get a closer look at the Shadow Council (or whatever their called) from the Avengers, the men ordering SHIELD with Robert Redford playing their big man Alexander Pierce. God that's an awful lot of villains.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a new addition to the MCU. It will include Lee Pace's Ronan the Accuser (another anti hero from the comics) as a Kree soldier (hopefully) and Thanos's main man. He will be joined by The Collecter, Nebula and Thanos himself.
Agents of SHIELD which is at episode 4 in its first season is already hinting at a mysterious big bad alongside the alluded to Graviton.
So were pumping villains, but like with my other fan cast and MCU world building;
WE NEED MORE!
Their's an array of villains I would like to see in the MCU if it extends past the point of Phase 3. So here we come to the fun part;
My fan cast of the villains and their roles with character changes in the MCU. Including a snippet on their original comic book character. These fan cast will be divided into the villains for the solo series and the villains for the Avengers series through multiple posts. Although I will mention those solo villains that will form the Avengers villain teams: Masters of Evil.
Enjoy!
Iron Man
We start with the co-leader of The Avengers; The golden Avenger. First of all future Iron Man writers have got to understand to do Iron Man villains justice by balancing changing them to modern realistic villains yet one's that are adapted properly (looking at Mandarin). Also he's a hero, and unlike Cap who was at war in WWII, Iron Man needs no reason to kill his villains and needs to stop doing that.
First let me start with one thats obvious but needs to be altered to appeal to the IM3 hating fans...
Guy Pearce as Mandarin/Aldrich Killian
The advantage of the MCU is that it is still building and can thus cover up older plot holes or inconsistencies and mistakes, kind of like fixing a bug in a new software. Killian's throwaway Mandarin comment can end up making him the real Mandarin
Lets face it, we all no 'The I am Mandarin' line addresed by Killian at the end of IM3 was put in to appease the soon to be boiling mad fanboys after the twist stunt pulled half way into the film.
Let's also face it that Mandarin is a formidable character built upon the base of racism making him null and void from the beginning.
But still Mandarin is great and the first half of Iron Man 3 shows that his character traits could have been updated without making him a caricature. Still it would have been hard to believe that Marvel Studios could tie down the aging Sir Ben Kingsley for multiple grueling action films.
So in comes in Guy Pearce. Pearce may not be young, but he isn't that old either that he can't be used for at least two more future Iron Man films or any other MCU appearances.
Most will say its impossible since Killian died at the end of the third film, I beg to differ. Killian didn't die by blasting in an Iron Man suit and Pepper with similar powers didn't die falling, then one hit couldn't have taken him out but just exhausted his powers temporarily.
In the MCU going forward. SHIELD will have cleaned up after Iron Man, once they get off their asses from whatever was troubling them that they couldn't help Tony at the time of the movie. Killian or his still living ashes will be incarcerated in a SHIELD prison like the Vault.
Eventually growing out his Mandarin beard and honing his Extremis powers in a way enabling him to do more than just breathe fire (maybe having ten different powers, like the ten rings of Mandarin in the comics). Killian will eventually escape and go into hibernation somewhere lets say Tibet or some middle of nowhere deserted place in China. Briniging him close to the comic villain, without making him a racial stereotype. He will be waiting for his next chance to strike against Iron Man.
I will post an extended article on why this is cool.
Comic Book Version: The comic version is Iron Man's main villain due to three major reasons.
a) He is Chinese, he was created during the cold war like with Iron Man thus making him an enemy of true blue capitalist patriot Iron Man.
b) He uses alien tech disguised as magic. He presents the battle between magic against Stark's logic based science
c) He's actually gone from a caricature and campy villain like most in Iron Man's early rogues gallery into a total bad-ass
Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer
Rockwell is willing to return to Iron Man, sign him up Marvel...NOW!
The best part of the second Iron Man was the acting of my favorite Sam Rockwell as industrial rival to Tony Stark; Justin Hammer. He hammed it up on screen with glee, stealing the show from under RDJ's nose. Rockwell has alluded to interest in returning to the Iron Man franchise, and he's the only main villain that never died.
One of the great surprises of the Iron Man film franchise has been the expansion of the female love interest's role from a damsel in distress to much more, Gweneth Paltrow's Pepper has been as much involved in the action as her counterpart. She had some history with the aforementioned Killian, but she also had a impact full confrontation with Hammer in the climax of the second film where he applauded her cunning and warned her against his return.
Not only would Hammer be a backstage threat to Iron Man but a full frontal villain for Pepper and Stark Industries. Plus its Rockwell, the guy should probably be in every film.
Comic Book Version: The comic book version is much older and at this point dead and succeeded by his dastardly children. He was actually quite menacing but still it was from the start so he was kind off one note corporate evil man. Rockwell's Hammer could be more complex by growing into the character of the comics as the films go by.
Now onto some new villains
Andy Garcia as Count Nefaria
Garcia suits playing an Italian Mafia man
Count Nefaria (sort of) is like to Iron Man as Ra's Al Ghul is to Batman. In the sense that both villains have a daughter the hero likes, and both are heads of an international crime/terrorist organization.
Unlike Ra's though I haven't really known if Nefaria meddles with Iron Man that much. In fact as a superhuman character, Nefaria battles the Avengers and the whole Marvel Universe the most. His biggest stories include Avengers: The Nefaria Protocols and being the first major villain for the second X-Men team including killing their member Thunderbird.
For me personally, Nefaria apart from leading Maggia (the aforementioned criminal organization and equivalent of the real life Mafia) hasn't been so appealing. I consider him to be a pointless but powerful character.
In the MCU though, I would like Nefaria to be the retired leader of the Maggia leaving the duties to his daughter AKA Madame Masque.
I chose Andy Garcia because he can easily portray the Italian aristocrat (like he portrayed American Italian Vincent Corleone in Godfather III) and will be old enough to look like a retired criminal mastermind by the time his character appears in Phase 7 according to my MCU plans (in Iron Man: Disassembled).
His character will have met Tony Stark in his younger years prior to taking over Stark Industries. Nefaria will meet him because of his daughter, who Tony Stark will have had a fling with during that time. Nefaria himself will have been double dealing with Obadiah Stane and Stark Industries for weapons under the table although reconfiguring them so as Tony wont notice in the past.
In the present he will oversee his daughter lead Maggia in a takeover of the American underworld and disassembled crime organizations through corporate means, giving Iron Man their attention at a time when he has wiped out his own memory in order to protect the ones he loves from the Extremis virus produced by The Mandarin/Ultron (idea still pending)
Comic Book Version: As mentioned the comic book version is superhuman with multiple powers, he is an Italian aristocrat and former leader of The Maggia, the Marvel version of the Mafia. In the comics he has been a major threat to both the Avengers and on occasion the X-Men. His last known appearance is as the new Kingpin of Los Angeles. Although it is unknown if that has changed.
Asia Argento as Madame Masque
Argento could play a kick ass Masque, and pull of the authenticity of the ethnicity
Argento is mostly known for her kick ass performance in Vin Diesel action vehicle XXX. In reality I wanted to cast an Italian actress, and age wise once she makes her appearance she will be a perfect fit with the re-casted actor for Tony Stark (RDJ will be replaced guys!) none other than Howard Stark himself; Dominic Cooper (whose 35 where she is 38).
Finding and Italian actor in that case was hard and Argento is the only one I had seen on screen that even in only XXX. She comes from a family of actors, and was one of the better actors alongside Samuel L Jackson from XXX.
Argento (possibly for now) is the perfect fit.
This Madam Masque wont be as complicated as her comic counterpart. She will have been raised lovingly by her father Nefaria and kept away from his criminal empire at an American boarding school under an alias (Whitney Frost). Eventually she will fall in love with Tony Stark, who she will take home to show to her father.
Tony being Tony, will break her heart while also inadvertently revealing her father's true nature. Eventually honing her skills, she will seek revenge on Nefaria only to learn of his failing health. She will then take over The Maggia under fathers tutelage and make it one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world unfortunately at the cost of her face in a botched operation against SHIELD, earning her the golden mask and name of Madame Masque.
Comic Book Version: Giulietta Nefaria lost her mother at an early age and as such her father Coutn Nefaria, put her up for adoption to prevent her from being corrupted by his criminal side. Eventually she became Whitney Frost child of the Frost family. After the death of the Frosts, Nefaria decided to reveal himself and his criminal empire to her. The new information causing the loss of her old political fiancee charged her to take over as leader of The Maggia. Unfortunately a flawed raid on Stark Industries caused the disfigurement of her face, and the adoption of her new identity as Madame Masque. A villain who from time to time kept coming into Tony's life as a forbidden love.
Zachary Quinto as Ghost
Quinto like his Star Trek co-star Karl Urban (Dredd) would be in a CBM where he cannot show his face
I wanted an actor who could portray a villain with an edge of goodness in him and Quinto comes to mind. He already has portrayed both a hero (Spock) and villain (Sylar from Heroes) in popular geek culture.
Quinto would fit perfectly with the conflicted, origin less and monologue driven genius villain Ghost.
I decide to replace Ghost as the saboteur of Iron Man in the Phase 5 movie Armor Wars instead of the Ultron created Vision who will make an appearance much earlier in the MCU. I will also end up pushing back Armor Wars into Phase 6.
Ghost in the movies is a mercenary for hire, whose agenda against greed corporations and capitalism makes him a powerful foe for Tony's company. He will come right after Tony having grown erratic due to Mandarin controlling his armor in the previous Iron Man film (Stark Resilient).
Hired by Justin Hammer, Ghost will steal the new Iron Armor plans and give them to Hammer who will distribute them around multiple criminal organizations including AIM and The Maggia (before Masque is introduced as their leader), while Ghost him self will hand these plans to SHIELD as well to sow seeds of mistrust.
Ghost will not only cause Iron Man to grow more paranoid, but he will also end up causing him to collide with Hammer and cause both their destruction while finally picking up the pieces. Like with the comics, Ghost will have no definite origin making him a mysteriously cool villain.
He will also operate a stealth armor.
Comic Book Version: Ghost's origin is unknown but he has claimed to been a former IT researcher and witness to corporate greed, which sends him on his mission to eradicate it. He is conflicted between being a hero and villain eventually becoming a heroic member of the Thunderbolts. His powers of intangibility come from the Ghost effect of his own created battle suit.
Garett Hedlund as Ezekiel Stane
Hedlund looks nothing like Bridges, but he did play his son so he's a natural fit to do so again
While I would really like to cast Hedlund as a hero especially Havok from X-men, Hedlund would according to me make a perfect smart ass cocky version of Zeke Stane. He's my first choice cause he already played Jeff Bridges (Obadiah Stane's) son in Tron: Legacy. I believe Hedlund is a fine young actor, who will grow in popularity through the years and a villainous character would be something he'd relish playing.
Zeke as he is fondly known will appear as a thorn in Iron Man's side to the later phases of Iron Man films (as of yet unwritten on my Assembling MCU post). Like Tony he himself is a prodigal son with enormous potential. His basis however is vengeance on Tony over his fathers demise due to Iron Man.
Zeke will establish himself as a scientific rival and as the Iron Monger v2. However unlike Tony he wont rely on an external armor but a new form of bio weaponry unlike any other in the universe making him a intellect of the cosmic level.
Comic Book Version: The comic book version is similar to the movie version but explained much better by the characters creator especially his differences from Stark;
"No matter how high tech or evolved, even with Extremis,
the Iron Man armor is still a guy in a suit, if you get between the man
and the suit you can undo it. So Stane doesn’t need a suit. That’s the
difference. That’s what we start to see, the future of Iron Man is that
there’s no gap between Iron and Man. It’s one being and Stane is quite
literally evolving himself and people who pay him as we see in the
book’s opening.
Zeke is a post-national business man and kind of an open source
ideological terrorist, he has absolutely no loyalty to any sort of law,
creed, or credo. He doesn’t want to beat Tony Stark, he wants to make
him obsolete. Windows wants to be on every computer desktop in the world, but Linux and Stane want to destroy the desktop. He’s the open source to Stark’s closed source oppressiveness. He has no headquarters, no base, and no bank account. He’s a true ghost in the machine;
completely off the grid, flexible, and mobile. That absolutely flies in
the face of Tony’s received business wisdom and in the way business is
done. There are banks and lawyers and you have facilities and testing.
Stane is a much more different animal. He’s a much smarter, more mobile,
and much quicker to respond and evolved futurist."-Matt Fraction
Paul Bettany as Vision
Just imagine JARVIS saying 'Sir, I have a Vision and its to kill you' No? got to hell!
Eventually JARVIS will get onto the field, but contrary to popular belief. I don't think it will be as Ultron but rather as the sentient villains creation Vision. In Phase 4 (my Iron Man timeline is a bit jumbled that's why I'm going from 7 to 4) JARVIS will be fully compromised and will be recreated by Ultron as Vision.
This will kill another bird as in the comics Jarvis is initially controlled by Ultron in his first appearance (although this Jarvis was a butler). The Vision will resemble Bettany and have JARVIS'S voice but with the memory implants from former Agent Phil Coulson (as rumors suggest is currently a Lfe Model Decoy AKA clone robot).
Vision as mentioned will appear in phase 4 film Iron Man: Ultimate Vision. JARVIS and Tony's friendship will be tested as the Vision comes to life seeking to destroy everything in Tony's life, eventually Vision will be turned to the good side and become an Avenger in his own right.
Comic Book Version: created by Ultron to destroy his father Ant-Man and The Avengers. Vision contains the memory patterns of the former Wonder Man, thus becoming a hero and taking heart too the Scarlet Witch. Vision struggles between his android self and human emotions especially once Wonder Man returns from the dead. He ends up becoming a pivotal member of The Avengers.
Lesser known villains: there are multiple useless and very weak villains in Iron Man's rogues gallery like Boomerang and Blizzard etc. Fing Fang Foom the alien dragon is another character, but I highly doubt he can fit the tone of the solo Iron Man series.
Next Time: A look at the other co-captain of the Avengers and his villains including the dreaded maniac Adolf Hitler! If you didn't guess, I'm talking about Captain America
'Nuff Said
Aneesh Raikundalia
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