There are three other villains who might have been better choices to buy Avengers Tower in the Marvel Cinematic Universe than Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. First seen in The Avengers and originally Stark Tower, this now-iconic New York landmark has been the setting for a number of iconic MCU moments. After being sold by Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming, however, the owner of Avengers Tower remained a mystery until Thunderbolts*, where it was revealed that Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Director of the CIA and leader of the OXE Group had bought the building.
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Valentina bought Avengers Tower and remodelled it into the Watchtower to use as a base of operations for Robert Reynolds’ Sentry (Lewis Pullman) – her manufactured Mightiest Hero. Before it was revealed that Valentina bought the tower, there were many theories circulating about who could be its new resident, and some were better than what we got. Some suggested the Fantastic Four may have turned it into the Baxter Building, or that Doctor Doom set up a Latverian embassy inside, or that Spider-Man villain Mister Negative could have taken it over, but these three theories were the best of the bunch.
3) Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin
One of the most prevailing theories about who purchased Avengers Tower in Spider-Man: Homecoming placed Wilson Fisk in the buyer’s chair. Vincent D’Onofrio debuted as Fisk in the Defenders Saga’s Daredevil series, which was confirmed to be canon to the MCU following the Kingpin’s return in Hawkeye. While Fisk is one of New York’s most prominent crime lords, he also established the legitimate business venture, Fisk Industries, as a front for his criminal activities. This would have been a fantastic organization to move into Avengers Tower.
In Marvel Comics, Damage Control was originally established as a private venture, half owned by Stark Industries, and half by Fisk Industries. Subsequently, moving Wilson Fisk into the former Avengers Tower could have better developed Damage Control in the MCU, which would have made sense given the institution’s more prominent role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Ms. Marvel, and more. This would also have better cemented Fisk as a public-facing part of New York’s business industry before his election to Mayor of New York in Daredevil: Born Again.
2) Mister Gryphon
During the early projects of the Multiverse Saga, Kang the Conqueror and his villainous variants were being established as the primary antagonists of this era of the MCU. We were introduced to He Who Remains, the Conqueror, Immortus, the Centurion, Rama-Tut, and more, and we even caught a glimpse of a suited variant who was theorized to have moved into Avengers Tower. In Marvel Comics, Tony Stark sold Avengers Tower to Qeng Enterprises, an organization helmed by Mister Gryphon, a businessman variant of Kang who tried to set up a new dynasty in the 21st century.
Jonathan Majors’ arrest, conviction, and firing from Marvel Studios in 2023 meant Kang was also removed from the MCU. Many wanted Marvel to recast Kang, so revealing Mr. Gryphon as the buyer of the old Avengers Tower could have provided an opportunity to introduce a new actor in the role. It’s possible Kang could be revisited, but there hasn’t yet been any confirmation that he’ll be recast. We caught a glimpse of Avengers Tower with “QENG” on the side in the Void in Loki season 1, and Marvel Studios could have brought this to fruition in the MCU proper.
1) Norman Osborn
The most exciting and prominent theory regarding the new owner of Avengers Tower suggested the buyer could have been Norman Osborn. The legendary Spider-Man villain has never been seen in the MCU’s Earth 616, so revealing him to have purchased Avengers Tower and established Oscorp inside would have been a fantastic way to debut him. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man universe confirmed that Oscorp didn’t exist in the MCU in 2024, which unfortunately dashed these theories, but Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man reignited these hopes.
Colman Domingo voiced Norman Osborn in the animated alternate universe of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and there has been speculation that the Academy Award-nominee may bring the iconic villain into live-action, too. While Valentina owns Avengers Tower at the moment, the MCU’s upcoming reset after Avengers: Secret Wars might alter this fate. It would be incredible to finally have Norman Osborn in the MCU, especially with Tom Holland gearing up for a number of new adventures as Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, and he could take up residence in the old Avengers Tower in the future.
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