Marvel Reveals 1 Fantastic Four Villain's Monstrous New Form, That Could Be A Game-Changer For The MCU

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Superior Avengers #4

One of the Fantastic Four‘s most powerful villains has received a massive overhaul, making him even scarier than when he threatened to conquer the Marvel Universe. Fantastic Four enemies such as Doctor Doom and Galactus rarely go through any major physical changes, save for the times when they’re powered up by external forces. Their appearance is so iconic that they remain roughtly the same across the decades.

That isn’t the case with Annihilus, who has returned in a world under Doom during Superior Avengers #4, written by Steve Foxe. As the Superior Avengers struggle to fight the Avengers in the present day, Ghost receives a seemingly fatal wound from Vision. To understand what happened, Superior Avengers #4 takes us back to the Superior Avengers’ future, where Ghost encounters none other than Annihilus.

In the year Anno-Doom +128, Annihilus claims “the era of Doom has ended. Now Annihilation shall reign supreme.” The villain’s ominous words might signal the beginning of the end for Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Doom and his so-far successful plan to conquer the Earth.

The Supervillain Annihilus Receives A Terrifying Overhaul

Superior Avengers #4, Written by Steve Foxe; Art by Luca Maresca, Kyle Holtz, Mattia Iacono, and Rachelle Rosenberg; Letters by Cory Petit

Annihilus is usually depicted as a grotesque, insectoid alien being with an armored exoskeleton, massive tattered wings, clawed limbs, and glowing eyes. His insect-like physiology and inhuman demeanor mirror his nihilistic disregard for life outside his own. The fact that such a repulsive, parasitic creature is capable of orchestrating galaxy-wide conflicts, like the highly-acclaimed Annihilation, makes Annihilus a frightening villain, both visually and conceptually. Yet, Superior Avengers #4 presents an even more disturbing version.

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Marvel’s future Annihilus is much bigger than his prime counterpart, and his exoskeleton seems to be removed to reveal a spike-covered body with various sets of arms, as well as a giant mouth with various rows of teeth that give way to a waterfall of green spit. Superior Avengers #4 suggests Annihilus moves erratically, moving desperately like a giant dying bug. Coupled with all the aforementioned changes, Annihilus’ massive size makes him a terrifying, kaiju-like nightmare reinvention of his usual self.

Annihilus’ New Marvel Redesign Would Suit His MCU Introduction

Annihilus’ Monstrous Upgrade Makes Him A Natural Follow-Up To Galactus

Despite his bug-like appearance, Annihilus is a much more calculating villain than Galactus, which allows him to launch more carefully planned attacks than the Devourer of Worlds. Marvel’s new Annihilus appears right before the Fantastic Four and Galactus make their MCU debut, leaving the door open for Marvel Studios to utilize this reinvention of the Lord of the Negative Zone in a future sequel. A clever and strategic but towering Annihilus would be proportionately more dangerous to the team following their potentially catastrophic encounter with Galactus.

Superior Avengers #4 is available July 9, 2025 from Marvel Comics.