Through Loki’s He Who Remains, the MCU now has its first Kang, but this character doesn’t exactly provide fans with a full preview of what to expect from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s take on the villain, as the movie’s version of the character is sure to be entirely different. Instead, Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains serves as setup for what’s to come from Phase 4.
With Loki being a time travel series and the 31st century Avengers villain being a top candidate for the MCU’s next big bad, it was suspected even before the casting of Jonathan Majors in Ant-Man 3 that Marvel might use the show to set the stage for the character’s introduction. Not only did it do that, but it also put him at the center of what was really going on with the Time Variance Authority. In the Loki season finale, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophie Di Martino) learned that Majors’ He Who Remains is the man behind the curtain who’s been pulling the strings of the TVA all this time. Apparently, he discovered alternate timelines, caused (and then prevented) a multiversal war waged by his variants. Though his name was never mentioned, in the context of the comics it’s clear that He Who Remains is a version of Kang the Conqueror.
He Who Remains died at the hands of Sylvie at the end of the episode, thus kicking off on a brand-new arc for the MCU revolving around various versions of Kang vying for supremacy. Numerous incarnations of the character (including ones not played by Majors) can now join the MCU at any time over the next few years, including in Loki season 2, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Ant-Man 3. The latter of the three will shine the spotlight on a proper version of Kang the Conqueror, whose arrival in the MCU was just made possible.
Because of Kang’s time travel shenanigans, he’s unintentionally created so many different versions of himself. Some of them have evolved into Marvel Comics characters with their own identities. In the comics, there’s the prime Kang the Conqueror, Immortus, Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Iron Lad, and more. Marvel specifically naming “Kang the Conqueror” in its December 10 casting announcement for Ant-Man 3 and the costume seen on Loki’s statue in the finale proves that Marvel will indeed be leaning into the primary version of the character in the comic books for the upcoming movie.
Similar to the backstory laid out by He Who Remains in Loki, Kang the Conqueror aka Nathaniel Richards hails from the 31st century. At some point in his past, Richards (who is supposedly a descendant of Mr. Fantastic or Doctor Doom) got his hands on some highly advanced weaponry and tech, which he was able to use to travel to different time periods. Armed with his genius intellect and technology, Richards set out to conquer other civilizations and found some degree of success in his efforts. Over the years, Kang came to believe that he was unbeatable, but realized that wasn’t true when he met the Avengers, who repeatedly foiled his attempts to take over modern-day Earth. Kang’s frustration over being beaten by people who he perceived as simpletons resulted in the character developing a long-held vendetta against the team.
Kang the Conqueror doesn’t have super powers, yet he’s still formidable enough to take on an entire team of Avengers single-handedly. His ability to hold his own against them in combat is owed to his arsenal of high-tech weapons, which includes force fields, energy guns, holograms that can fool enemies, and more. He Who Remains may have had these things in his past as well. His comment about being called a “conqueror” is a sign that he’s already lived the life of Kang the Conqueror and has since moved from those days. As someone who has seemingly attained mastery over time, He Who Remains doesn’t seem to need these weapons anymore. After all, he knows what people are going to say before they do. That’s one of the biggest benefits of being in control of the timestream. He Who Remains, as he said, has seen everything, enabling him to dodge blows before they happen. It’s likely that Ant-Man 3’s Kang the Conqueror won’t share the same advantage, especially since he won’t be as far along on his journey. But, if he has a time travel device, he may be able to undo a mistake made in battle.
Not unlike Immortus in Avengers and Fantastic Four comics, He Who Remains is essentially the ultimate version of Kang, meaning that he already has the power that Nathaniel Richards craved as a younger man. But while he’s more powerful and resourceful than other Kangs, Ant-Man 3’s Kang the Conqueror is the biggest threat of the two. He Who Remains may have questionable methods, but he is trying to preserve some semblance of balance in the timestream. Kang, on the other hand, is on a quest for power. The weapons he has at his disposal have given him a huge god complex, and this idea that he “deserves” to rule over others and make them his subjects. This mindset is one of the main reasons he’s such a massive problem for the Avengers.
Another reason he’s one of their greatest enemies is related to the fact that he targets them specifically. The two emotions that drive Kang the most are ambition and hate. Due to his numerous losses, Kang longs to get his revenge and kill the Avengers for the troubles they’ve caused him. The very depth of his hate was revealed in a 1960s comic when he gave up a chance to resurrect the woman he loved (Ravonna) in favor of killing the Avengers. For Kang, pursuing his vendetta was his top priority over everything else, even the person he cared about most. If Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania brings these qualities to the MCU interpretation of Kang the Conqueror, he stands a chance at being one of the MCU’s most sinister villains ever. All things considered, any hero who earns Kang’s enmity in the MCU will have a tough road to survival.
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July 17, 2021 at 12:02AM
