Which Villains Will "Step Up" In The Heroic Age?

[marvell2100]

Now that a majority of the big name villains will probably take a fall after Siege, there will likely be a major power vacuum. Which villains will rise up to fill the void in the Heroic Age? Zodiac immediately comes to mind as they weren't a part of Norman's reign. There may also be a few Band C listers who are ready to take the next step(Taskmaster would fit the bill depending on the outcome of Siege).

[Pedrocas]

Mephisto:

http://www.rapsheet.co.uk/Images/Characters/Mephisto.jpg

[marvell2100]

Zemo is already stepping in.

[Kieran_Frost]

Zodiac
Zemo
Mr. Negative
Kingpin... RETURN OF THE KING... again!!! :wink:
And, if I had my way: Doctor Nightshade! It's time a female genius took centre stage!

I love the Mephisto idea!

[Monty_Cristo]

Crossfire
Ezekiel Stane
Kingpin

[moochavelli]

Grim Reaper
Maelstrom
Zodiac
Count Nefaria
Gravitron

[Sighphi]

Now that a majority of the big name villains will probably take a fall after Siege, there will likely be a major power vacuum. Which villains will rise up to fill the void in the Heroic Age? Zodiac immediately comes to mind as they weren't a part of Norman's reign. There may also be a few Band C listers who are ready to take the next step(Taskmaster would fit the bill depending on the outcome of Siege).

Wha?



.
.

[marvell2100]

Wha?



.
.

Wha???????

[ThunderWolf!!!]

The Hood.Oh, wait...

[marvell2100]

The Hood.Oh, wait...

Hahaha!!!! The Hood!

[Soundrave]

http://marvel.com/universe3zx/images/2/25/Mikaboshi.jpg (http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/mikaboshi.htm)
Mikaboshi


http://marvel.com/universe3zx/images/a/ac/Mephisto.jpg (http://marvel.com/universe/Mephisto)
Mephisto


http://marvel.com/universe3zx/images/9/9c/Proemial_Gods.jpg (http://marvel.com/universe/Proemial_Gods)
The Proemial Gods

[Zolton]

Mandarin, hopefully.

[Gabe De Los Muertos]

All of Spider-man's classic foes. Seriously, more people should be reading ASM. Mr. Negative will step up. I'm sure Zemo will too.

[Captain Clarkie]

Pandemic, Mr hyde and the Controller create a Symbiote/Techno-organic/Control Disc controllable-bomb/virus.

Either Mr or Miss Sinister or/and Mandarin are the big bad behind the scenes.

Iron Man/X-Men crossover, with Spider-Man guest appearance(Though not in it loads and definitely not the focus, focus is an iron-Man/X-Men crossover.

[MichaelChen]

This guy: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dd/Mandrin1.jpg

[matthewaos]

Most probably, Demogoblin. And maybe FACADE.

[Nyssane]

The Serpent Society.

[Zembo]

I always thought Lightmaster could step up, but perhaps since DC made their evil light guy such a big deal they won't.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Roderick Kingsley come back. All the Goblin goodness, none of the crazy aftertaste.

Maybe the High Evolutionary? I would have had him play a role in the 50-State plan (he makes a team in payment for being left alone in the badlands of Nevada).

Aunt May?

[JurassicParkIsAnAwesomeMovie]

I'd like Thanos to make a big return to face the newly formed Avengers after the relaunch, not right away but build up to it.

Also would like to see Apocalypse not get owned like a b*tch everytime he appears.

[nicktem]

This guy: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dd/Mandrin1.jpg

hell yeah!

[Zembo]

hell yeah!

Forgive me, who is that?

[wayfarejourneyman]

Forgive me, who is that?

The Mandarin -- only the coolest Iron Man villian ever! Now with Extremis (TM)!

[pimp1911]

NFL SuperPro
And a random assortment of Ninja's.:biggrin:

[vitruvian]

Now that a majority of the big name villains will probably take a fall after Siege, there will likely be a major power vacuum. Which villains will rise up to fill the void in the Heroic Age? Zodiac immediately comes to mind as they weren't a part of Norman's reign. There may also be a few Band C listers who are ready to take the next step(Taskmaster would fit the bill depending on the outcome of Siege).

The old Zodiac is dead, killed and their heads mounted by a newcomer who's called himself Zodiac. So, Zodiac is an individual now, although he does have a team of villains working for him. He should be a major player, though, considering he acquired the Zodiac Key in his mini. Nasty, tricky guy on a Nolan movie Joker level, too.

[Push You Down]

I thought they said he'd be playing a part in Siege. He also got an entry in the Siege Handbook.

[vitruvian]

I thought they said he'd be playing a part in Siege. He also got an entry in the Siege Handbook.

Well, they do lie a lot. Like rugs.

Still, maybe the Zodiac Key will be needed to open a dimensional doorway to the world where Asgard belongs.

[Sighphi]

Wha???????

what "majority of the big name villains" are taking a fall after Siege?
Taskmaster? The Hood? Osborn? Those are the only people left in the Cabal and Loki has a very high chance of NOT taking the fall.

The MU remains basically unchanged in the evil dudes department after Siege.

[marvell2100]

what "majority of the big name villains" are taking a fall after Siege?
Taskmaster? The Hood? Osborn? Those are the only people left in the Cabal and Loki has a very high chance of NOT taking the fall.

The MU remains basically unchanged in the evil dudes department after Siege.

Ok and thanks.

[marvell2100]

Graviton
Nefaria
A brand new Masters of Evil

[Shallot]

I like the new Zodiac too.

I'd like to see the Enchantress come back in a big way.

Moonstone can't help but step up after all the lying on her back she's done the last couple of years.

[jackolover]

what "majority of the big name villains" are taking a fall after Siege?
Taskmaster? The Hood? Osborn? Those are the only people left in the Cabal and Loki has a very high chance of NOT taking the fall.

The MU remains basically unchanged in the evil dudes department after Siege.

I just hope (without hope) that the Heroic Age is all an illusion, as Norman Osborn marshalls his forces from his prison cell. I really hope that the heroes get shown up as decorative furnishings in the Heroic Age and the real masters are still what Norman Osborn says is in power.

Otherwise, there isn't anything much to keep a fan enthused over heroes wandering the countryside, lazily taking down a criminal element or two. You really want it to be shown that it was all a facade, and that the Heroic Age just falls away like a veneer. And why? Because things like Chaos War, Shadowland, Incredible Hulks, re-imagined Spidey don't have that edge of hard writing that throws the heroes to the wolves. Say what you like about the previous 5 years, but they were dynamite because writers could get their teeth into heroic subjects that fade away in the HA. Now? Who has to prove they are heroes? It's written right there on the cover.

People thought that the Secret Invasion Finale was the return of the heroes to their proper place, when suddenly, out of the dust steps Norman Osborn and claims the prize. And the heroes? They had to slink away into their caves, like little monkeys who just had their inheritance stolen from them. The defeat of the Skrull Queen was supposed to be the crowning glory of all the hardships that stemmed from the Civil War, but instead of the heat going off the heroes for putting their lives on the line in the final battle, nobody took any notice of the heroes for their sacrifice. Then a new chapter started again where the heroes had to swallow their pride and bide their time once again. It was a pretty character building exercise for most of them. (And when the Siege came around, there were no guarantees that the heroes wouldn't get the exact same treatment again).

[Cthulhudrew]

The Hypno-Hustler's gonna Step Up, 'cause that guy can dance!

[Monty_Cristo]

hopefully Iron Man villains will step up; looking at you Spymaster!

[Tracks]

Dracula defintely

[tigerkaya]

hopefully Iron Man villains will step up; looking at you Spymaster!

Which one The first Spymaster or the new one?

[Monty_Cristo]

Which one The first Spymaster or the new one?

i'm not picky. but i do like Sinclair Abbott.

[marvell2100]

what "majority of the big name villains" are taking a fall after Siege?
Taskmaster? The Hood? Osborn? Those are the only people left in the Cabal and Loki has a very high chance of NOT taking the fall.

The MU remains basically unchanged in the evil dudes department after Siege.

It seems that Loki has Taken the fall and every member of the Cabal with the exception of Namor and Emma, who aren't considered villains really, has taken a huge hit.

Over in Captain America, Zemo has emerged again.
The Avengers have Kang, Immortus and posibbly the Maestro.
The Secret Empire is appearing in the Secret Avengers. Not so secret anymore.
Spidey has Some of his old rogues appearing again.
The X-Men are battling vampires.
Thor is preparing for a new menace.
Hercules will battle the Chaos King.
The FF will lose a member. How is up in the air.

[jackolover]

It seems that Loki has Taken the fall and every member of the Cabal with the exception of Namor and Emma, who aren't considered villains really, has taken a huge hit.

Over in Captain America, Zemo has emerged again.
The Avengers have Kang, Immortus and posibbly the Maestro.
The Secret Empire is appearing in the Secret Avengers. Not so secret anymore.
Spidey has Some of his old rogues appearing again.
The X-Men are battling vampires.
Thor is preparing for a new menace.
Hercules will battle the Chaos King.
The FF will lose a member. How is up in the air.

I'm not too sure if I'm answering this in the right vein, but in all those cases listed, the heroes know that they are respected and have the publics support. They'll win and move on. During the Civil War through to Dark Reign, the heroes had no public support and in fact antagonism, instead. In all the cases above, the heroes will come out on top. In the Dark Reign, the Dark Avengers and X-Men came out on top, and Luke Cage thought Tony Stark was a Skrull, before that. Nobody had the heroes backs during the Dark Years, and this made the stories more difficult to predict.

[TonyStark1012]

Zemo, Zodiac, Mandarin, Spymaster, and Ezikel Stane.

[Ofpromise]

I'll agree with most other posters and say that Zemo needs a come back and in a big way. It's shameless how long Marvel kept him off the radar.

Anyhow, my other pick is as always- Kang and Doom.

Doom needs his own House of M crossover, and Kang needs to reassert himself as the goto Avengers foe.

[Cthulhudrew]

I would totally buy a Kang series. There's just so much you can do with that character. The time travel aspect alone would add so many layers and locales. Not to mention how cool it would be to have a storyline where he's trying to strategize world conquering campaigns on multiple worlds in multiple timelines all at the same critical point.

Doom is another character that could easily sustain an ongoing; heck, he's already done it, with Doom 2099.

EDIT: One other idea that just occurred to me about Kang; you could frame him both as villain/tyrant and as savior, depending on what exactly he's doing in any given story arc. If he's the Earth's sole organizing force against, say, a Badoon invasion in the future, he could come across as somewhat heroic. He could even be both at the same time- again, if he's waging two very different campaigns in two eras. It would really be the whole concept of history being written by the saviors writ large.

[shades of eternity]

If past history are any indication, the following villains have proven they can carry their own in storytelling.

Doctor Doom (doomwar, doom 2099).
Magneto (House of m)
Sabertooth (several limited series and the main star of identity disc...cripse I'd love that redone again as a series).
Mystique (her limited series was pretty darn keen)
Venom (aka more 90's limited runs then any other character).
Deadpool (do I even need to list it out).
Taskmaster (didn't he have a limited series a while back.).

As for new ones?

I would also read a bonnie and clyde type story with Absorbing Man /Titania, especially if they make them contrast their loving relationship with the crimes they commit.

Sandman is another great character, whom should be allowed to at least to be a tweener...especially after spiderman 3.

[Jason Abbadon]

Which one The first Spymaster or the new one?
well the first Spymaster had that drywall problem...

[andybmcd]

well the first Spymaster had that drywall problem...

He was shown quite alive and functioning in Dark Reign: Made Men

[tigerkaya]

My guess would be Ultron and Kang. I know they have that war in Bendis's Avengers but with Loki as the middle man, he could get the two to work together. They could be the trinity of for villains to rally behind. Kang with his time traveling technology combine that with Ultron's ability to anticipate and calculate various outcomes and Loki for his knowledge in various Magic and dealings with Mephisto. They could become a vey force that should end the peace in The Heroic Age. As for the one to write this team I'm hoping Hickman.

[Jason Abbadon]

He was shown quite alive and functioning in Dark Reign: Made Men
Dumbest Story: Ever.
The first Spymaster got phased into a wall- at the waist- The Ghost confireme he was dead. Iron Man's sensors had him as dead. Paramedics had him as dead. Justin Hammer had him as dead.
Really. He was dead.

But some writer that probably never read the issue where he died, decides that he's alive- with no explanation whatsoever.

Yeah. Right.

A more plusable explanation would be that the new Spymaster let Osborn think whatever made him look best and knows when to keep his mouth shut.:wink:

[jackolover]

So, people think a cooperation between Zemo and Norman Osborn might make for a much better world domination outcome? Zemo has already been critical of Osborn for fumbling the ball when he got the world to see things in all greys. But now that it's all back to Black and White, and back to the old lies, Zemo may have got some encouragement to see if he can do a better job. "Schism" springs to mind as a nice way to achieve that.

[Crapgame13]

Electro, because it would be the ultimate irony

[Monty_Cristo]

Dumbest Story: Ever.
The first Spymaster got phased into a wall- at the waist- The Ghost confireme he was dead. Iron Man's sensors had him as dead. Paramedics had him as dead. Justin Hammer had him as dead.
Really. He was dead.

But some writer that probably never read the issue where he died, decides that he's alive- with no explanation whatsoever.

Yeah. Right.

A more plusable explanation would be that the new Spymaster let Osborn think whatever made him look best and knows when to keep his mouth shut.:wink:

not that i think it was a great idea to reintroduce the original Spymaster...but the story wasn't unbelievable. Spymaster explained that he often sends out others to do his dirty work. it was somene that worked for him that ended up phased into a wall. it's not like it's unrealistic for Spymaster to have a network of contacts, employees, etc. me, i prefer Sinclair Abbott. he has more personality.

[marvell2100]

I wonder why there wasn't an attempt to do a new Frightful Four. They wouldn't necessarily have to be FF villains either. It should be an entirely new, never seen before characters.

[TonyStark1012]

I really hope Zodiac steps up. That guy has so much potential!

[Talkie Toaster]

Edit: Nevermind read the post I quoted wrong

[ROM_Reborn]

Mandarin
Ezekiel Stane
Kang
the return of The Sentry.

[Salvester]

Hopefullt we get to see some of these guys:

Kang
Doc Ock
Ultron
Juggernaut back at fullpower and kicking some ass (I really want the Hulk shamelessly beatdown!)
The Manderian
Count Neferia


And I'd like to see some classic B and C list villains. I mean SPidey has some great rouges but its always Norman Osborn this, Venom that, organized crime, Mephisto....

God dammit I want to see Spidey right the lizard and the shocker and Sandman ! AND I WANT IT TO BE COLORFUL AND FUN AND LIGHTHEARTED!
THIS ISN'T THE DAMN 90s!!!

[andybmcd]

Hopefullt we get to see some of these guys:

Kang
Doc Ock
Ultron
Juggernaut back at fullpower and kicking some ass (I really want the Hulk shamelessly beatdown!)
The Manderian
Count Neferia


And I'd like to see some classic B and C list villains. I mean SPidey has some great rouges but its always Norman Osborn this, Venom that, organized crime, Mephisto....

God dammit I want to see Spidey right the lizard and the shocker and Sandman ! AND I WANT IT TO BE COLORFUL AND FUN AND LIGHTHEARTED!
THIS ISN'T THE DAMN 90s!!!

Ummm, Sandman and Lizard were both given dedicated arcs in the Gauntlet. Spidey's currently facing off against a form of Sinister Twelve which includes Doc Ock and Shocker.

Count Nefaria was briefly in New Avengers Finale.

Kang is a huge part of the current Avengers storyline.

Juggernaut is currently a member of the Thunderbolts.

[Salvester]

Ummm, Sandman and Lizard were both given dedicated arcs in the Gauntlet. Spidey's currently facing off against a form of Sinister Twelve which includes Doc Ock and Shocker.

Count Nefaria was briefly in New Avengers Finale.

Kang is a huge part of the current Avengers storyline.

Juggernaut is currently a member of the Thunderbolts.

The topic is step up, not just be shown.

Granted Kang is a pretty big part.

[andybmcd]

I'd say Doc Ock is stepping up given that he's heading up the the group of villains in Origin of the Species.

Lizard got a fairly significant power boost in Shed.

Yeah, the others are just kind of appearing atm.

[Evil-Spidey]

http://images.nextnewnetworks.com/4211.gif

[marvell2100]

http://images.nextnewnetworks.com/4211.gif

*sigh* I guess it's up to Paste-Pot-Pete now.

[Alpha Male]

The Master of The World.

Moses Magnum.

The Red Skull.

Imus Champion.

Nefaria.

[Monty_Cristo]

Parker Robbins has one more chance to impress me. otherwise, i think Zodiac should hang his @$$.

p.s. i'm still rooting for a revived Triumvirate of Terror (Zodiac, Zeke Stane, and Red Death/Sinthea Schmidt)

[Hatut Zeraze]

It looks like Klaw is being seriously revamped.

[marvell2100]

The Master of The World.

Moses Magnum.

The Red Skull.

Imus Champion.

Nefaria.

Now would be a good time for Mose Magnum to return and take a run at Wakanda. Especially with what's going on there right now. And let's not leave out Killmonger.

[Monty_Cristo]

Now would be a good time for Mose Magnum to return and take a run at Wakanda. Especially with what's going on there right now. And let's not leave out Killmonger.

i think we need new blood. it's time for the debut of the Magnum twins; Moses' black power friendly offspring (1 male + 1 female). someone like Moses would definately have children.

[Hypestyle]

bring the Human Fly back to bother Spider-Man... seriously..

[shades of eternity]

bah

bring back the fly twins from the 60's cartoon ;).

those guys were awesome and it would be fun to have villains that are their to make fun of spider more so than kill him.

[Tracks]

" Alonso split his answer between two books: "Uncanny X-Force" where mysteries within the characters and secrets they keep will come to bear in a big way in the future and "X-Men" where the vampire nations of "Curse of the Mutants" will help to soon elevate Dracula to a Dr. Doom-level villain. "

caalled it!

[marvell2100]

i think we need new blood. it's time for the debut of the Magnum twins; Moses' black power friendly offspring (1 male + 1 female). someone like Moses would definately have children.

Sure. Someone like Moses is very high on himself, thinking he's a ladies man and probably would have children. And twins aren't a bad idea(Strucker anyone?). As long as they don't call themselves the Wonder Twins and have a pet monkey.

[Monty_Cristo]

Sure. Someone like Moses is very high on himself, thinking he's a ladies man and probably would have children. And twins aren't a bad idea(Strucker anyone?). As long as they don't call themselves the Wonder Twins and have a pet monkey.

they could have two black lions.

[marvell2100]

they could have two black lions.

Athena And Apollo. The twins not the lions. The lions would be Hel and Hades.

[marvell2100]

How long should it take for Norman to make a comeback? Norman should return eventually but will he ever have as grand a stage as before? I don't know but it would be very hard to duplicate his most recent success. He andthe Hood still have a partnership I assume. It would have been better to have them both keep a low profile the HA and maneuver behind the scenes. I'd like to see Steve Rogers become Norman's next target somewhere down the line. Maybe Norman blames Steve for taking what he sees as his. He'd definitely be mad at Hand for working with him.