Thanks to the MCU’s most recent release, one of the oldest Fantastic Four villains has been introduced to audiences. Another one of the group’s most important villains appeared in a 2023 project, making that two Fantastic Four villains in the MCU before the superfamily has even made their debut. Though they are exciting teases, the two villains were ultimately in minor roles in their respective projects and Marvel’s needless waste of the characters is a shame.
Secret Invasion Used A Major Fantastic Four Villain Without Them
The Super-Skrull Kl’rt is a major Fantastic Four villain, making his first appearance in Fantastic Four #18 in 1963. When the Skrulls went out seeking power and civilizations to take over, their planned invasion of Earth was stopped by the Fantastic Four. Kl’rt was then chosen by his leaders to fight the superfamily. Becoming the Super-Skrull, his DNA was enhanced so that he possessed the abilities of all four Fantastic Four members combined. Kl’rt then went on to fight the group multiple times. While the MCU already introduced a Super-Skrull in 2023, it was not Kl’rt.
Using the collected DNA from the Battle of Earth, the recipients of the Super-Skrull serum would allow them to obtain the powers of any hero involved.
Secret Invasion centered around the Skrulls hiding on Earth and a small rebel group of them who wanted more power. The rebel Skrulls were led by Gravik, who helped organize the Super-Skrull program. Using the collected DNA from the Battle of Earth, the recipients of the Super-Skrull serum would allow them to obtain the powers of any hero involved. Both Gravik and G’iah received the serum and battled in a pretty anti-climactic fight. With how hard Secret Invasion tanked, the MCU has made it incredibly difficult for them to bring the Super-Skrull concept back with the Fantastic Four.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Repeats Secret Invasion’s Villain Misuse
Another one of the Fantastic Four’s oldest villains is Bentley Wittman, who was also known as the Wizard. The inventor with near-superhuman levels of genius first appeared in Strange Tales #102 in 1962. He got his moniker because of how his inventions almost performed like magic and soon decided to become a villain set on taking down Johnny Storm and the rest of the Fantastic Four. Wittman most recently appeared in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as Dr. Wittman, the Oscorp employee put in charge of Peter and his fellow interns.
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If Dr. Wittman does take on the Wizard role at some point in the series, it’ll likely just be a minor role compared to Norman Osborn’s main villain. Even though the animated series isn’t part of the main MCU timeline and there’s still room for the studio to introduce him again later, the fact that his debut appearance has no association with the Fantastic Four is baffling. Marvel keeps including notorious Fantastic Four villains as some sort of tease for fans, but it just feels like a needless waste when they’re not used to their full potential.
