Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for What If...? Season 3, episode 4Several long-forgotten the now-returning Ultron failed to make an impact with audiences despite their huge potential, and the Multiverse Saga has given simple one-off appearances to villains as famous and powerful as Gorr the God Butcher, Kang the Conqueror, and the Deviants.

One of the ways the MCU has made it impossible for villains to leave a mark is by killing them off almost as soon as they're introduced. All of the aforementioned antagonists died in their first or second MCU appearances. Even well-received villains like Ego, Arnim Zola, Crossbones, and Ulysses Klaue were barred from reaching their full potential by their premature deaths. However, the MCU Multiverse allows any character, dead or alive, to come back, and What If...?'s multiversal premise makes it possible for dead villains to have a second chance.

What If Season 3 Brings Back Thor's Most Wasted MCU Villain

What If Season 3 Episode 4 Makes Malekith A Dangerous MCU Villain Again

In What If...? season 3 episode 4, Howard the Duck and Darcy Lewis' baby egg suddenly becomes the most coveted object in the universe. Howard and Darce find refuge in Frost Giant Loki's "resort" world, but their relief is cut short when several different villains from all over the MCU arrive to take their unborn son. Notably, Malekith the Accursed leads their Dark Elves in his own quest to steal Howard and Darcy's egg, though he's soon dispatched by the baby inside the egg. This time around, voice actor Steve French replaces Christopher Eccleston as the leader of the Dark Elves.

Another Underused Villain Also Returns In What If Season 3 Episode 4

Kaecilius Almost Steals Howard The Duck's Egg In What If...? Season 3 Episode 4

Besides Malekith and the Dark Elves, What If...? season 3 episode 4 features a wide variety of villains who try to acquire Howard the Duck's baby egg, including the Grandmaster, Laufey and the Frost Giants, Thanos and the Black Order, and Zeus and the Olympians. However, the villain who comes the closest to stealing Howard's baby is Kaecilius, who manages to gather his followers and perform a magic ritual to harness the egg's power before Howard and Darcy arrive to stop him. Curiously, Kaecilius replaces the Grandmaster's brother Taneleer Tivan as the Collector in this universe.

While the villains featured in What If...? season 3 episode 4 don't have a lot of screentime, seeing them back in action and interacting with each other is a refreshing sight. Movies like Thor: The Dark World and Doctor Strange depicted their main antagonists as one-dimensional villains obsessed with a single source of power, but What If...? shows how they could have adapted their plans after their first defeat, setting their sights on other power-granting objects like Howard the Duck's baby egg. Unfortunately, their live-action counterparts are unlikely to come back from the dead for a similar treatment.