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The Goddess’s characterization as a fire-and-brimstone false prophet makes it unlikely that this villain will ever make an appearance in the MCU.
Despite the universal scope of Phase 4, many factors could prevent Marvel Studios from bringing certain characters to life on the screen, such is the case of Infinity Crusade’s Goddess, who is likely too controversial to put into the MCU.
Acting as the big bad of Jim Starlin and Ron Lim’s Infinity Crusade, the Goddess is one of two beings created by Adam Warlock when he exorcizes all of the good and evil from his soul to become the perfect wielder of the Infinity Gauntlet. Despite embodying the good that existed within Warlock, the Goddess proves herself to be anything but an angel. A being of absolutes, the Goddess embarks on a crusade to rid the universe of everything she deems evil. The Goddess’s views are so extreme that she attempts to wipe out all sentient life with a collection of Cosmic Cubes once she deems it incapable of meeting her expectations.
With Adam Warlock hinted as making his debut in the MCU, the potential for the Goddess to make an appearance in a future installment is there. However, there is one factor that makes bringing the character into the MCU difficult; her intrinsic ties to religion.
The Goddess’ connection to themes of faith and zealotry goes much deeper than just her name and goals. The Goddess’s main ability is her telepathy, which allows her to brainwash others. This ability is shared with many characters across Marvel history, but the Goddess’ power features a unique caveat; it is more effective on those who hold spiritual worldviews. Those who fall under the Goddess’ control worship her, and the Goddess feeds on their faith to become stronger. Over the course of “Infinity Crusade,” the Goddess essentially founds a religion based around herself and branded all who oppose her as heretics
The Goddess’ characterization as a fire-and-brimstone false prophet makes an appearance in the MCU unlikely. Disney has actively avoided portraying religion within its media to avoid even the potential for controversy in the past. With the high level of publicity surrounding Stage 4, the chances of alienating certain demographics have never been higher, and someone like the Goddess could easily rub some audiences the wrong way.
That being said, an appearance by the Goddess in the MCU could be interesting. Villains like Mysterio have already tried taking advantage of shake-ups on Earth to achieve their agendas. A being like the Goddess could easily use the galaxy-altering aftermath of “The Blip” to gather a following of terrified souls looking for a savior who can promise protection from all the chaos. As the Goddess’s birth is tied to that of Adam Warlock, she could easily serve as a villain for Adam and the Guardians of the Galaxy down the road. Her extreme and elitist views even line up well with those of Warlock’s creators, the Sovereign.
What’s more, the threat of the Goddess could open up interesting opportunities for team-ups between different heroes and villains. By the climax of “Infinity Crusade,” the Goddess has taken control over most of Earth’s heroes, forcing Adam Warlock to ally with Thanos of all people to stop her. The Goddess’ supernatural nature and ambition to destroy all evil could force an interesting assortment of characters into working together in opposition to her goals, such as Doctor Strange and Baron Mordo.
No matter what, featuring the Goddess within the MCU would be a risky move. The character is steeped in lore that has not been explored within the franchise yet, and their deep connection to themes of blind faith and the dichotomy between good and evil might be a little too much for the MCU.
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