Kang the Conqueror Wants to Rule the Multiverse – The MCU’s New Big Bad Explained
Kang the Conqueror is the main threat of the new MCU Saga and Ant-Man 3. Who is this time-traveling tyrant who keeps trying to stop himself?
Kang’s history spans decades and multiple cross-over plotlines as a villain, plus there are numerous versions of him across universes. He is soon to be the big bad of the Multiverse Saga. The MCU has been pulling from the 1980s, so let’s get into this powerful villain’s origins before the Secret Wars.
via Marvel
Kang in the Comics
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #19 (October 1963) as Rama-Tut; The Avengers #8 (September 1964) as Kang
Created By: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
So, who is Kang the Conqueror? He was born on alternate Earth in the 30th century; accounts list him as a descendant of Reed Richards, while others indicate Dr. Doom is in his lineage. Either way, he’s a time-traveling tyrant that has fought the Avengers, the Fantastic 4, the Knights of the Round Table, himself, and many others while attempting to take over Earth. Due to his abilities, he’s shown up all over the Marvel Comics Universe and timelines. He rules planets across them all. His goal is to rule everything: every timeline, every universe in the multiverse.
Timeless #1 (December 2021) art by Kael Ngu, via Marvel
In his main storyline, before he picked up the villainous name, he was Nathaniel Richards, a 31st-century scholar, and descendant of Mr. Fantastic. During his studies, he found time travel technology created by Victor von Doom. He went back in time to Egypt in a snazzy Sphinx-shaped time-ship and became Pharaoh Rama-Tut and ruled with an iron fist. His rule was cut short by the Fantastic Four, so an angry Nathaniel travels to the 20th century and meets Doctor Doom. He builds armor based on Doom’s designs and changes his name to Scarlet Centurion. Then he causes a lot of trouble before the Avengers force him off their timeline.
Avengers Annual #2 (July 1968), via Marvel
Becoming Kang
After getting kicked off Earth-6311, he tries to return to his original timeline. He overshoots by a thousand years and lands on a war-torn Earth that he easily takes over, and reinvents himself again as Kang the Conqueror and sets off to find better Earth to rule. He falls in love with Princess Ravona, who is from a kingdom he ruled. It wasn’t love at first sight, but she saved him from being shot. Unable to save her, Kang put her in stasis.
After some adventuring, Kang returns to 20th-century Earth and proceeds to fight the Avengers and their allies with various levels of success. During one of his several fights with Thor, he manages to erase himself from the timeline. He’s brought back by Beyonder to fight in the Secret Wars with a bunch of other villains that hate the Avengers.
This is only the first of several wars he participates in – it’s a bit of a hobby for him.
Secret Wars (1984), via Marvel
Kang’s Abilities & Attributes
He’s a collector. Kang keeps a hall of battle trophies that includes Magneto’s Helmet, Silver Surfer’s Surfboard, Wolverine’s Skeleton, and Nick Fury’s head, among other oddities. They’re from all over the universe and across multiple timelines. This panel shows a fraction of it.
Uncanny Avengers Vol 1 (May 2013), via Marvel
Aliases Across Time & The Multiverse: Nathaniel’s history is non-linear because of his time-traveling abilities and the multiverse. He has fought against himself in both good and evil versions. Kang has also been transformed into other versions of himself through various means. Versions of Kang have made it their mission to stop different, evil versions to save universes. There’s not just one Kang.
Other names he’s had include Immortus, Iron Lad, Rama-Tut, Victor Timely, Scarlet Centurion, Nathaniel Richards the Second, Marcus Kang, aka Marcus XXIII, and Mister Gryphon. His entrance into the MCU has already given him a new one: He Who Remains.
Avengers Forever Vol 1 #12 (1999), via Marvel
Powers: Kang is like Tony Stark – he has no superpowers and relies on tech. He is a genius, historical scholar, and physicist who can engineer the machinations he needs for time travel. His battle armor is made with 40th-century technology that enhances his strength. It offers a force field and a 30-day supply of air and food. It also allows him to control other forms of tech from other times. He’s also resistant to mass amounts of radiation.
Kang’s time-ship allows him access to tech and weapons from any timeline. This includes a ray gun that uses a diode that can bend super beings to his will. They are handy when they’re your main enemy.
In the MCU
Kang made his first appearance in Loki as He Who Remains. Loki and Sylvie battled through the void where all the Lokis were sent. On the other side of the monster, Alioth was a run-down Chronopolis and Castle Limbo, which is Kang’s home sweet home in the Quantum Realm.
via Marvel
There, He Who Remains (canonically the overseer of the TVA in the comics, he created the Time Keepers) offers the pair everything they’ve ever wanted – to rule, be happy, get revenge, to regain lost family. He Who Remains tries to convince the two to protect the timeline by taking over the TVA and taking control of Alioth, explaining a previous multiverse war caused by all of his own variants (this is where the character splits from the comics) and how his pre-determined fate is a better option for reality than letting those variants loose.
Sylvie kills this better version of Kang, that’s been trying to hold everything together with his ruse. Loki is kicked back to the TVA, where Kang the Conquerer has replaced the Time Keepers statues, and no one knows who the heck Loki is. The timeline is in total chaos, filled with branches and nexus events.
via Marvel
What’s Next
Season 1 of Loki ended there, but the multiverse and the road to Kang continued in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The incursions that plague Doctor Strange 2 could be used to fight multiple versions of Kang. They can be used to destroy universes, thus possibly killing versions of Kang we haven’t seen. Many risks are involved, and few places are safe to stage this kind of war. One is the TVA, which is controlled by a Kang already. The other is the Citadel at the End of Time, which needs to be protected.
The next time we’ll see Kang is in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania.
