Kang the Conqueror: 7 Things You Need to Know About Marvel’s Next Big Bad
Kang the Conqueror is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Ant-Man 3. According to multiple reports, Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors officially landed the role in September. This character is a big deal when it comes to his connections to both Marvel heroes and villains, but his history is quite complex. Here are seven things you need to know about the MCU’s next big bad.
1. Kang the Conqueror is all about time travel
After introducing time travel into the MCU in Avengers: Endgame, the addition of Kang promises that fans will get more time traveling storylines. Kang is a genius from the 30th century and he has access to a time machine. He is Marvel’s preeminent time traveler who uses the machine to conquer different kingdoms in various eras.
2. He has access to futuristic weapons and armor
Kang doesn’t have superpowers, but he has a lot of futuristic weapons and armor. In addition to his time traveling ship, Kang’s battle armor gives him the strength to fight any hero. One of his most notable weapons is a neutrino-ray, war-headed missile launcher that’s the size of a handgun.
He commands armies across all timelines, and many soldiers are armed with the same futuristic weapons. His robot army of “Growing Man” androids can expand their size like Giant Man.
3. Kang the Conqueror has ties to the Young Avengers, The Fantastic Four, and the X-Men
This character could be how Marvel plans to introduce some of their newly-acquired properties in the wake of the Fox merger. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Kang is just as much of a threat as Ultron and Thanos. His introduction paves the way for an expansion of the MCU’s narrative.
There’s already speculation that Kang could be setting up the Young Avengers in Ant-Man 3, with Scott Lang as their mentor.
In the comics, Kang also has close ties to Doctor Doom and Reed Richards. Kang could be the bridge to introduce the Fantastic Four into the MCU. The time-traveling despot also has a connection to the X-Men.
4. He’s a former Pharoah
The first time he traveled through time, Kang decided to go to ancient Egypt. When he arrived, he used his robots and futuristic weapons to take over and become the new Pharaoh known as Rama-Tut.
While he was in Egypt, Kang searched relentlessly for the fabled En Sabah Nur, who later became Apocalypse, one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel universe. However, before Kang could make the young Apocalypse his heir, the Fantastic Four overthrew him.
5. Kang the Conqueror has countless duplicates
As CBR notes, Kang has traveled through time so much that he has created an endless amount of time-displaced duplicates. His time travels have altered the course of history and created complicated storylines with alternate realities.
The duplicate Kangs are constantly popping up throughout Marvel history, and they sometimes show up at the same time and place. At this point, it’s impossible to know who the original Kang is.
Due to the multiple versions of Kang in the different timelines, it’s possible that Majors could be playing multiple versions of the same person.
6. He becomes a time lord and fights with the Avengers
Deep into Kang’s future — after losing his loved ones in multiple timelines — he decides to give up fighting as Kang the Conqueror and serve the Time-Keepers, aliens from the end of the universe. Kang becomes the time lord Immortus, and the Time-Keepers choose him as their avatar to defend the timelines from anyone who would upset them – even his younger self. There are times when Immortus teams up with the Avengers to fight his former self.
7. Kang the Conqueror could be a descendant of Mr. Fantastic
One of the most interesting things about Kang the Conqueror is that his real name is Nathaniel Richards. It’s never explicitly stated in the comics, but many believe that Kang is a descendant of Mr. Fantastic. There was also a time when Kang thought that Doctor Doom was his descendant, and many fans still subscribe to this theory.
Marvel has not yet announced a release date for Ant-Man 3.
