Alien Races We Want To See In The MCU

The Marvel universe is obviously most known for Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but the extensive characters of the comic book conglomerate aren't limited to just one planet. In fact, there have been hundreds of extraterrestrial species that have graced the pages of Marvel comic books throughout the years, ranging from devious lizard people to horse-faced sorcerers. While earthbound super-teams like the Avengers and X-Men are more limited in their exposure to otherworldly life forms, cosmic groups like the Guardians of the Galaxy and S.W.O.R.D. really peel back the curtain on just how abundant alien beings are in the Marvel universe.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has already brought several alien races to life on the big screen. Loki's army in 2012's Avengers was made up of Chitauri soldiers, 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy introduced both Xandarians and the Kree, and even the shape-shifting Skrulls made their big on-screen debut in 2019's Captain Marvel. However, there's still a plethora of wild and weird species in comic lore that's yet to hit the MCU. Here are some of the alien races we want to see in the future phases of the MCU.

If you're a fan of Xenomorphs, the terrifying extraterrestrial antagonists of the Alien franchise, you'll probably appreciate the Brood, a similar-looking, parasitic race that's posed a major threat to the Marvel universe on numerous occasions. These insectoid lifeforms have enormous fanged mouths, and they utilize venomous, scorpion-like stingers to attack their foes. However, the real horror is that they implant their eggs into hosts, infecting their blood and essentially stealing their bodies. Over the years, the Brood have infected some of the most powerful Marvel heroes, including Ghost Rider, Professor X, and even Thor.

While these buggy baddies have plagued alien races like the Shi'ar and the Kree, they're also commonly at odds with Earth and Earth's protectors, especially the X-Men. In 1963's Uncanny X-Men #162, the space-bound mutant team was nearly defeated by the pesky parasites. Storm and even Wolverine became infected before Carol Danvers, in her newly unlocked Binary form, came in to save the day.

Due to their close affiliation with the X-Men, it's entirely plausible that the Brood could work their way into the MCU as antagonists to the on-screen mutants. However, they'd probably have to tone down their horrific appearance a little in order to avoid giving young moviegoers nightmares!

With enemies like the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Hellfire Club, the Reavers, and the Sentinels, the X-Men have certainly faced their fair share of fearful foes throughout the years. Perhaps one of their biggest threats, however, is the Phalanx, alien cyborgs who infect others with a virus that painfully assimilates them into their hive-minded fold. They're kind of like zombies. Or robots. Yeah, zombie robots ... from space!

While a good majority of the Phalanx's Earth encounters involve the X-Men, these dastardly villains have clashed with many cosmic forces, too. During the Annihilation comic event, the Guardians of the Galaxy had an unfortunate run-in with them, resulting in Drax and Gamora's assimilation and the torture of Star Lord. The Phalanx have even wreaked havoc on other alien races, such as the time they conquered the mighty Kree Empire.

There are a slew of creative ways the MCU could incorporate the Phalanx into their future films. With confirmed cosmic-heavy sequels like The Eternals and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on the horizon, the door is always open for a new extraterrestrial antagonist. Or, one particularly interesting, albeit unlikely possibility involves an old Avengers foe — Ultron! In the Annihilation: Conquest comic arc, it's revealed that the Phalanx are actually led by everyone's favorite murder-bot. Ultron's return is a topic that's heavily theorized on MCU message boards, so if he came back with an army of Phalanx behind him, fanboys probably wouldn't be upset!

Move over, Smaug! There could be a new cinematic dragon in town, and his name is Fin Fang Foom! Perhaps Marvel's deadliest monster, this enormous, scaly beast is often mistaken as a dragon. However, he's actually a Makluan – a reptilian alien from the Andromeda Galaxy.

Most Makluans are peaceful, but Foom and a group of his peers left their home planet of Kakaranthara in search of worlds to conquer, ultimately landing in ancient China's Valley of the Sleeping Dragon. Decades later, the Mandarin, Iron Man's sworn enemy, would discover the Makluan starship and all of its advanced tech, including the ten power rings that would come to be his trademark weapons.

The Makluans' connection to the Mandarin could have major meaning in the future of the MCU. While Sir Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery was revealed as a fraud in Iron Man 3, there is still a very real Mandarin alive and kicking in the MCU. In fact, fans will get to officially meet him when Tony Chiu-Wai Leung takes on the role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Perhaps the film will explore the villainous character's origin, and in doing so, reveal a Makluan or two. Claws crossed!

The Korbinites are a peaceful species of humanoid beings who once ruled a small empire of planets. They were eventually forced to flee when Surtur — the gigantic fire demon that appeared in Thor: Ragnarok – attacked the nine realms and devastated their civilization. Most of the Korbinites managed to escape in their fleet of spaceships, where they were cryo-preserved until they could find a new home. 

One member, however, was selected as champion and tasked with keeping the masses safe during their journey. You might know this champion as Beta Ray Bill. In the comics, Bill initially battled Thor and was even able to wield Mjolnir. The two eventually became allies, and the Asgardians ultimately decided to grant Bill a weapon of his own –- the powerful Stormbreaker. 

The Korbinites' homeworld was actually glimpsed in Avengers: Endgame, confirmed as the planet that past versions of Gamora and Nebula are attacking for Thanos, but there's a very good chance that Bill and his people will be more prominently featured in the upcoming Thor: Love & Thunder. While the film's director Taika Waititi has remained mum on the subject, he did mention that he's not opposed to including the character. "I love Beta Ray Bill," Waititi said (via Heroic Hollywood). "I'd love to have him in the film, but I just don't know right now, things are a little up in the air."

It's no secret that Marvel and DC Comics have taken their fair share of inspiration from each other over the years. DC basically created Aquaman as their version of Namor, Marvel's Hawkeye is incredibly similar to Green Arrow, and Deadpool and Deathstroke share nearly the exact same name (Wade Wilson vs. Slade Wilson). While you could argue that several mainstream Marvel characters are Superman rip-offs, there's actually an entire alien race that is basically the Marvel equivalent of Kryptonians — the Strontians.

Residing on the planet Strontia, this noble race of powerful beings are sworn loyalists to the Shi'ar Empire. They're very similar to human beings in appearance, with the only notable exception being their purple skin (and totally rad haircuts). Strontians possess a number of gifted abilities, including super strength, speed, flight, super breath and even heat vision. Sound familiar? Unlike Kryptonians, however, a Strontian's powers are dependent on the individual's level of self-confidence. Thus, a low self-esteem is their only real weakness.

Strontians would make a welcome addition to the MCU because of one character in particular — Gladiator. Gladiator, whose real name is Kallark (a not-so-subtle combination of Kal-El and Clark Kent), is the leader of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. He's a major force in the Marvel cosmos, so don't be surprised if Kallark and his totally badass mohawk pops up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Eternals, or maybe even Captain Marvel 2.

The Snarks (aka the Zn'rx) hail from the planet of ... wait for it ... Snarkworld. These warlike reptilians look a lot like human-crocodile hybrids, and they're ruled by an emperor who's married to many different female Snarks, known as queens. Each queen leads her own clan, and when the emperor dies, the different groups fight each other to determine a successor.

Like their ancestral enemies, the Kymellians, the Snarks are closely affiliated with the Power Pack. The children superheroes have thwarted several Snark attempts at conquering Earth, so maybe they're not the most threatening invaders in the Marvel cosmos.

Aside from the Power kiddos, the Zn'rx have had a fairly limited impact on the Marvel universe at large. That being said, there is one Snark, Scanner, who could potentially pop up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In 1990, Scanner joined an intergalactic mercenary group called Force. This little-known group clashed with the Guardians on a few occasions, so perhaps James Gunn will include them in his upcoming threequel. After seeing how Gunn has really scraped the bottom of the DC Comics' barrel for characters in his Suicide Squad movie, it's not too hard to envision that the visionary director adds a Snark or two to the Guardians' rogues gallery.