Over the first few years in Marvel Comics, the Fantastic Four introduced some strange villains. While some villains became iconic, others changed into something else entirely over the years. Of those original villains, two have already joined the MCU. Namor debuted in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Doctor Doom showed up at the end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The Fantastic Four’s first villain, Mole Man, was also in that team-up movie, and the Red Ghost (played by John Malkovich) was filmed for the movie but was cut from the final product. Now, another classic villain is coming to the MCU with Dragon Man.
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While not one of the Fantastic Four’s first 10 villains, Dragon Man debuted as a villain in Fantastic Four #35 (1965) by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Now, Screen Rant reports that Dragon Man will make his MCU debut, and the Fantastic Four will be back in the MCU as well before Avengers: Doomsday.
Dragon Man is Coming to the MCU
There is one caveat here. This is not going to be in a movie or a Disney+ streaming series. This September, Marvel will release the one-shot comic book Fantastic Four: First Foes: Dragon Man, written by Greg Pak with art by Mark Buckingham. This is one of several one-shots that are set to come out, with Buckingham also illustrating a comic focusing on Shalla Bal, the Silver Surfer.
According to Marvel’s synopsis: “As the Fantastic Four take the world by storm, Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin’ Thing, struggles in the spotlight in his rocky, monstrous form. But could there be a cure for his condition? And what does all of this have to do with the terrifying android known as DRAGON MAN?”
The MCU one-shot comic will be set on Earth-828, which is how Marvel could go into detail about how the Fantastic Four become that world’s most beloved heroes. There were lots of villains teased in the montage that opened the movie. Bringing in Dragon Man could not only show one of their early battles, but also open the door to reveal a little more about this version of Marvel’s First Family. The debut “First Foes” one-shot was released in March with the Mad Thinker as the villain.
Dragon Man is an interesting character to introduce, as he started as a villain, but he soon turned into a hero and part of the Future Foundation. The Fantastic Four will return in Avengers: Doomsday and should be a big part of Avengers: Secret Wars. While the movies after that are set to focus heavily on the X-Men, the Fantastic Four should play a big part as well, and if Secret Wars introduces Valeria Richards in some way, the Future Foundation could play a part in the future of the MCU, which could bring Dragon Man to live-action.
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