With Daredevil: Born Again being announced at SDCC 2022 as The MCU’s first fully canon Daredevil project, it seems Marvel is finally ready to develop more grounded storylines and flesh out the MCU’s street-level elements. Spider-Man: No Way Home was the catalyst for this change as it introduced Matt Murdock to the MCU and made Spider-Man a much more grounded hero, as confirmed by Kevin Feige.
Now that Daredevil and Spider-Man exist as street-level heroes, it is obvious the universe will begin to debut more grounded villains that are featured in the comics, much like The Kingpin’s introduction in Hawkeye. There are a plethora of mob bosses, gangsters, thugs, and assassins that could debut in the MCU and run the streets, possibly clashing with heroes such as She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Daredevil, and Spider-Man in the future.
Jigsaw
William Russo, later known as Jigsaw, is a heavily disfigured crime boss whose face was mutilated by The Punisher due to his involvement in the deaths of Frank Castle’s family. He survived the attack by Castle and used his new, hideous demeanor to work his way up to a position of power as a crime lord and become Castle’s arch-nemesis.
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William Russo appeared in The Punisher portrayed by Ben Barnes and went on to become Jigsaw on-screen before being murdered by Castle. The canonicity of these events in the MCU is uncertain, which means a rebooted version of the character could well debut in this continuity. Jigsaw is a formidable street-level foe and has also been known to face Spider-Man and Daredevil, whilst also being a member of The Thunderbolts, suggesting he could at least cameo in a future Thunderbolts installment.
Lady Bullseye
As a child, Maki Matsumoto was imprisoned by the Yakuza who planned to sell her and many other children like her into slavery. However, Bullseye soon arrived and slaughtered these mobsters on an unrelated mission, coincidentally saving the girl from a lifetime of torture. Maki was inspired by the sight of Bullseye effortlessly defeating her captors which led her to become a martial arts expert and supervillain named Lady Bullseye.
Lady Bullseye would be an excellent antagonist for a future MCU project, especially alongside Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, as the two have a close working relationship in the comics. After the success of Wilson Bethel’s performance as Bullseye in Daredevilwhich resulted in a surge in popularity for the character, debuting Lady Bullseye in live-action is a no-brainer. This future fan favorite character could go on to join The Thunderbolts in Thunderboltsor join another team such as The Masters Of Evil within the MCU.
Mr. Fear
Lawrence Cranston is a supervillain with a twisted fascination and hatred toward Daredevil. This hatred stems from Matt Murdock defeating Cranston in a mock trial in law school which later led to Cranston taking the gear of the original Mr. Fear, becoming a new version of the villain, and acting on his suspicions of Murdock’s dual identity. Using his fear gas and his influence over other villains to make Matt and his loved ones’ lives hell.
Due to his more eccentric and less grounded skillset, Mr. Fear may be a great choice for Daredevil: Born Again‘s main antagonist as Mr. Fear’s whacky, yet terrifying nature would fit perfectly within the modern-day MCU whilst simultaneously distancing this show from Netflix’s Daredevil‘s realistic, gritty tone. Mr. Fear’s fear gas would allow writers access to fight scenes and conflict never seen in a Daredevil project before, making Daredevil’s reboot a worthy one.
Typhoid Mary
Typhoid Mary is a mutant supervillain who possesses abilities such as pyrokinesis, telekinesis, and telepathy alongside excellent martial arts and blade-wielding skills. These abilities developed in Mary Walker due to abuse during her childhood which also led to dissociative identity disorder, birthing her villainous persona.
As she is an enemy of the likes of Spider-Man and Daredevil, there is already a perfect place for Typhoid Mary in the MCU, especially due to her associations with The Kingpin. A version of this character appeared in Iron Fistportrayed by Alice Eve, meaning a rebooted version of this character could eventually join the main MCU timeline soon, possibly in Daredevil: Born Again or Echo.
Bushman
Moon Knights’ arch-enemy, Bushman, is a former mercenary and ally of Marc Spector who murdered him and left him for dead whilst on a mission, leading Marc to strike a deal with Konshu and use his powers to become Moon Knight. This character goes on to operate drug and gambling rings in New York, later encountering Moon Knight who comes for revenge.
Jeremy Slater, the writer of Moon Knight, explained the character was not included in the show as he felt Bushman was too similar to Black Panther‘s Killmonger. In “Asylum”, however, Marc name-dropped Bushman. This implies Bushman may appear down the line in a future season, which is supposedly filming now in Cairo according to Oscar Isaac, setting up Bushman as the perfect, grounded antagonist of season 2.
The Punisher
The Punisher is the alter ego of veteran Frank Castle who wages a one-man war on organized crime to serve justice and have his revenge for the brutal assassination of his wife and children. Although not a villain in the traditional sense and technically more of an anti-hero, Castle’s inhumane methods of crime-fighting have led him to battle many heroes over the years.
Frank Castle was perfectly portrayed by Jon Bernthal in The Punisher, with rumors suggesting he may well be appearing in the MCU soon in a rebooted Punisher franchise. This character has limitless potential in the MCU, with the opportunity to join many upcoming teams like The Thunderbolts, The Midnight Sons, or The Defenders. With a recent push to unlock an R-Rated side to the MCU, now Blade and Deadpool are joining the universe, it’s possible the Punisher could show up in the MCU soon.
Mister Negative
Chinatown’s Kingpin of Crime, Martin Li, was given the ability to control The Darkforce and The Lightforce during a failed drug experiment. This led to the character transforming into Mister Negative, a brutal crime lord operating in New York City, who also maintains a fake personality as a kindhearted, owner of a soup kitchen named F.E.A.S.T. As a key player in New York’s underground, Negative is an antagonist of Spider-Man.
With a F.E.A.S.T shelter appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it seems Marvel may be planting the seeds for this villain to be a future antagonist in the MCU Spider-Man franchise. It’s possible to imply that he’d appear in a future film soon. With The Kingpin and other crime organizations like The Tracksuit Mafia invading New York, Martin Li may emerge as China Town’s underground leader.
Bullseye
Bullseye is a hitman with the ability to turn any inanimate object into a deadly projectile, the skill coupled with his uncanny marksmanship makes him a formidable foe for heroes like Daredevil and a valuable asset to villains like Kingpin. Wilson Bethel’s portrayal of Bullseye in Netflix’s Daredevil was met with incredible praise. It caused the character to skyrocket in popularity.
Considering both Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk have both leaped Netflix-verse into the MCU, it is highly likely Bethel’s Bullseye will do the same. If not, a recast version of the character will almost definitely debut down the line. Not only is the character one of Daredevil’s most famous enemies but a popular member of The Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers too.
Hammerhead
After a childhood riddled with abuse and suffering, Joseph grew up to become a hitman for the Maggia. He later became the villain Hammerhead when his skull was destroyed in a brawl and replaced with a new skull made of steel by Jonas Harrow in a life-saving operation.
As one of Spider-Man’s most prominent, grounded foes, Hammerhead should most definitely appear in the MCU at some point as a major antagonist. This character is just farfetched enough to be a stand-out villain in the MCU but gritty and realistic enough to fit alongside other characters such as Wilson Fisk in a crime lord event.
Tombstone
Alonzo Lincoln grew up to be a mob enforcer after years of ostracization for his albinism. After becoming a vicious bully, Alonzo was dubbed Tombstone for his stone-cold demeanor and now large, muscular form. Tombstone has evolved to become a key player in New York’s underground over the years, partnering with all major crime lords in Marvel Comics and battling the likes of Daredevil, Punisher, and Spider-Man.
Tombstone is a very flexible character and can fit in well in any sort of organized crime environment, making him a prime candidate to appear in the MCU’s criminal underground. He’s also a worthy opponent for most of the MCU’s grounded heroes and a worthy ally to many of Marvel’s criminals. He could appear in a Daredevil Born Again or a Spider-Man project.
