Forget The Kangs: These Three Marvel Teams Are Way Scarier For The MCU Multiverse

"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" wasn't the best the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to offer, but it introduced audiences to Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). It also showcased the Council of Kangs, teasing that Rama-Tut, the Scarlet Centurion, and Immortus would soon face off against the MCU's heroes.

However, that is all in jeopardy following Majors' very public arrest. Marvel Studios put itself in a precarious position, betting the entire Multiverse Saga on the back of Majors' Kang the Conqueror, and it's more or less come crashing down, putting the future of the MCU into question. Thankfully, the Writers Guild strike has put most productions on hold, so not only does it give Marvel time to figure out what to do with Kang, but they could pivot to one of the many other multiversal threats found in Marvel Comics.

For a long time, Kang the Conqueror was Marvel's poster boy regarding time travel and multiverse stories, going toe-to-toe against the Avengers countless times, so it's no surprise that Marvel Studios would want to bring this conflict to the big screen. However, Kang's time has more or less passed within comic books, as many more multiversal villains have arisen as threats to the Marvel Universe, proving to be greater villains than Kang ever was.

Since Disney purchased 20th Century Studios, giving Marvel Studios the rights to characters like the Fantastic Four and X-Men, fans have been begging for one villain to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut: Doctor Doom.

The fan-favorite villain has become one of the strongest characters in the Marvel Universe, putting the likes of Kang to shame. However, his ties to 2015's universe-altering event, "Secret Wars," makes him the top priority for many MCU fans as Marvel Studios builds towards its version of the event. In the story arc, Doom assumes control of reality after Earths 616 and 1610 collide, creating Battleworld and taking the title God Emperor Doom. While eventually, the heroes rebuild the multiverse after its destruction, Doom ascends to new levels of strength, proving he can take on the entire Marvel Universe if need be.

Doom even has his own version of the Council of Kangs, called the Parliament of Doom or the Council of Doom. The group consists of – you guessed it – multiversal variants of the villain, with Earth-616 Doom leading them and wielding two Infinity Gauntlets from separate universes. Marvel Comics doesn't utilize Parliament much, given that Doom is a big enough threat to everyone on his own. If Marvel Studios were looking for a single villain to replace Kang, it would have to be Doom, but if it's a group they want, one stands above the rest.

While many fans know Reed Richards as the heroic Mister Fantastic, leader of the Fantastic Four, he's actually one of the biggest threats to the multiverse. Not necessarily by himself but as a multiversal group of him called the Council of Reeds. Three different versions of Reed founded the Council, each wielding an Infinity Gauntlet. The three Reeds took it upon themselves to create the Council to make the multiverse a better place, protecting it from variants of Doctor Doom, Galactus, and other villains. In typical Reed fashion, the Council thinks they know better than anyone, eventually leading to their downfall. 

The Council of Reeds exemplifies what's wrong with Reed Richards. He's arrogant, sometimes heartless, and doesn't always listen to reason. However, one specific version of Reed makes the Council a multiversal threat: The Maker. The Earth-1610 variant loses his mind after the "Ultimatum" event, losing Sue, disbanding the Fantastic Four, and killing his family. He fully descends into villainy, becoming a threat to the Ultimates, his universe, and the multiverse. He left Tony Stark for dead, destroyed multiple universes, and even betrayed Earth-616 Reed to become a god during "Secret Wars." 

The Maker and the Council of Reeds could be very interesting for Marvel Studios to explore. There have already been plenty of live-action Reeds, so all they would need to do is bring the actors back for a fully-fledged multiversal group. Who wouldn't want to see Miles Teller come back as The Maker?

As if the Council of Kangs or the Council of Reeds wasn't enough, Marvel Comics had to give the Devil his own multiversal team, with Mephisto joining the Council of Red. A singular Mephisto has enough power to change a universe completely, so what happens when all of the Mephisto variants band together? Marvel Comics gives its readers arguably the biggest threat the multiverse has ever seen. That's precisely what Earth-616 Mephisto told his variants, creating the Council of Red.

The devilish team joined together and immediately began attacking the Multiverse. Their goal was to reach the God Quarry, a place beyond all space and time that houses the first universe ever created. Inside, a group of Celestials disperses the Infinity Stones throughout the Multiverse. It's truly a show of how much power the combined forces of Mephistos have, going further than most multiversal threats could imagine. The Council eventually turns on Earth-616 Mephisto, who siphons multiversal energies and the Council's powers to become a gigantic version of himself. It takes an unbelievable group of Avengers from across the Multiverse to stop him from reaching his goal of ending all of existence.

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been theorizing about Mephisto's debut since the days of "WandaVision." While his arrival seems inevitable, introducing the Council of Red would give the MCU a true threat to the Multiverse Saga.