Fantastic Four: The Case for Annihilus as Team's First MCU Villain

If you've ventured onto Twitter the past few days, there's a good chance you've seen a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or two arguing over who the Fantastic Four should take on in their MCU debut. Though the group's rogue's gallery isn't as deep as the likes of Batman or Spider-Man, each villain the First Family comes across is even more iconic than the last. Quality over quantity, right?

The group always comes toe-to-toe with the likes of Dr. Doom, Galactus, and Namor, and yet, none of the aforementioned should appear in Marvel's Fantastic Four, at least until one of the franchise's subsequent features. This is the case for Annihilus' live-action debut in the first Fantastic Four feature.

Throughout the ten-plus years we've watched the Marvel Cinematic Universe unfold, it's been clear Marvel Studios has taken an unconventional approach in introducing its characters to the masses. Halfway through its slate, Kevin Feige and his team reached into the unknown to form a franchise around the Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel's equivalency of D-list characters at the time. Now, the group is one of Disney's most marketable franchises.

Look at the Spider-Man franchise as another example. Though the character has one of the deepest libraries of villainous characters in all of comics, the House of Ideas passed on the likes of Venom, Green Goblin, Kingpin, Dr. Octopus, or Carnage. Instead, the group went with Vulture (Michael Keaton) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), two characters that most may not think of first when they think of all things Spidey.

That's a major reason why Annihilus would be the perfect fit for the Fantastic Four's first villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only is he virtually unknown to the masses, but the character also is so zany, Marvel can take him and run any direction it wants — and the end result will likely be another fan-favorite with movie-goers.

First introduced in Fantastic Four Annual #6, Annihilus has long been the ruler of the Negative Zone, an inter-dimensional plane the Fantastic Four have found themselves trapped in more than once. Hailing from the planet of Arthros, Annilhilus is essentially a metallic bug with wings and more often than not, his campy dialogue is perfect for a mass-market audience. Outside of his buggy goodness, Annihilus is the keeper of the Cosmic Control Rod, a cosmic MacGuffin that allows him the manipulate matter and energy, all while keeping him immortal.

The character was created by two Marvel icons — the late great duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby — and is one of the group's earliest enemies save for Doom, Mole Man, and the like. Like we've seen elsewhere, there's a certain sense of sentiment in developing these projects and as the MCU has grown, so has Marvel Studios and its dedication to the source material. Take the entire production design of Thor: Ragnarok or the introduction of Groot and Rocket Raccoon, for example.

With a group as massive as the Fantastic Four on the horizon, Marvel Studios could pull the group many ways, though there's one major route that ties directly into what the studio is already doing at the moment. Think of Peyton Reed's Ant-Man franchise and its use of the Quantum Realm. As we've seen before, time moves differently in the Quantum Realm and maybe — just maybe — the Negative Zone is something they could tie into that.

It could be just one of those cities we've seen within the Quatum Realm, or maybe it's a separate dimension with similar properties. If that's the case, there's a way they could turn Reed Richards and Sue Storm into old colleagues of Hank Pym's at SHIELD who got stuck in the Negative Zone or Quantum Realm during another project-gone-wrong — or maybe, they keep the properties completely separate.

To some — including this writer, in particular — the Fantastic Four are best when they're amongst the stars, fighting intergalactic baddies that threaten our existence, another reason why Annihilus should be the villain the group fights first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Fantastic Four has yet to get a release date from Marvel Studios or Disney.

What villains do you want to see in the feature? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!