Who is Kang the Conqueror? In the final episode of Loki on Disney Plus, we met Kang the Conqueror, though Miss Minutes refers to him as The One Who Remains. This enigmatic figure, played by Jonathan Majors, is being set up as the next big threat to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But who is Kang the Conqueror? Well, Kang has a long history in the comics, dating back almost 50 years, and during that period, he’s faced off against many of the best and brightest heroes in Marvel canon, from the Fantastic Four to the Avengers. So before Kang makes his big screen debut in the Marvel movie Ant-Man 3, we thought we’d break down everything you need to know about the Marvel villain.
Who is Kang the Conqueror in the MCU?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Kang is quite different from his comicbook counterpart. The Kang we meet in Loki doesn’t seem all too interested in conquering the multiverse, more just trying to keep its power from landing in the wrong hands.
His origin is similar to the comics, but rather than becoming the conqueror out of a desire for power. He did so because his alternate selves from across the multiverse started to attack. To stop the chaos of the multiverse from spreading, this Kang, known as He Who Remains, established the Time Variance Authority to maintain one timeline (the one we know from the MCU movies) and prune the rest.
Eventually, He Who Remains grew bored of his role as a cosmic janitor, and he offered Loki and Sylvie his powers so he can stand down. After a heated chat about the matter, Sylvie kicks Loki through a time portal and kills Kang, much to the villain’s delight.
Suddenly, the sacred timeline splintered, branching out in increasingly unpredictable ways, and the multiverse was reborn (which caused chaos in Marvel’s Phase 4). Across different timelines, new variations of Kang started to appear, including a more militant Kang whom Scott Lang and the rest of the Ant-Man cast met during the events of Ant-Man 3, who was living in the Quantum Realm alongside MODOK.
This version of Kang rules the Quantum Realm with an iron fist and seeks to escape to Earth-616. This version of Kang was defeated by Scott and his friends and seemingly died. During the Ant-Man 3 ending we saw this alarmed the Kang variants across the multiverse. This resulted in the Council of Kangs convening to discuss the death of one of their own.
Meanwhile, Loki and Mœbius track down another Kang variant going by the name Victor Timely. What will happen? We’ll have to wait for the Loki season 2 release date to find out.
Who is Kang the Conqueror in the comics?
Kang is a brilliant scientist created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby who, through the technology of the far-flung future, starts conquering time and space. In the 31st century, Nathaniel Richards is a brilliant scientist who uses time travel to explore human history.
On a return trip, he finds himself in a 32nd century that’s ravaged by war. He sees his opportunity for power and takes it, but believing that job is too easy, he starts jumping through timelines to conquer them, too.
During his earlier years, in the ’60s and ’70s, Kang was a single character going on various misadventures, battling the likes of the Hulk or the Fantastic Four. At one point, he even sends Hulk back to 1917.
As time went on, however, Kang became a bigger and bigger threat, eventually requiring the combined might of the Avengers to stop.
What are Kang’s powers?
Kang has no natural superhuman abilities, but he’s still an exceptionally dangerous foe, capable of battling multiple Avengers at once. His iconic green and purple spacesuit gives him enhanced strength, hologram and force-field projection, and he has life support systems capable of allowing him to survive even the most grievous of injuries.
He also owns a special time vessel that gives him access to any timeline he wants, which means he can appear with whatever weapons or gadgets he can find anything he needs.
When is Kang’s next MCU appearance?
Kang is set to appear next in Ant-Man 3. However, that’s not the last we’ll see of the deadly villain. Avengers 5 has been subtitled The Kang Dynasty, so we know that Kang (or at least one of his variants) will eventually make his way to the main MCU timeline and battle the Avengers. So sorry Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), you just weren’t tough enough to take down the big dog.
If you love the MCU and need to know more about the future of the world’s biggest franchise, check out our Ant-Man 3 review. We’ve also got a guide to Marvel’s Phase 5, which breaks down new movies like The Marvels, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, and Thunderbolts.
