Kang The Conqueror is the centre of attraction in Ant and The Wasp: Quantumania. From the minute he makes his entry in the trailer till the very end, he keeps you thinking if Scott is going to die.
Kang is obviously very powerful and knows the ins and outs of time travel. Hence, he surely is a danger to the entire multiverse. Well this post is just about that. This post about Kang is not only relevant for the Quantumania but for every Kang variant that Marvel Studios might introduce in the future.
Who is Kang The Conqueror?
Kang was introduced in 1963’s comic Avenger #8. Explaining Kang’s decades old comic book history is of course complex. Hence, I’ll explain in terms of MCU.
As already explained by He Who Remains in Loki, Kang is originally a scientist from the 31st Century named Nathaniel Richards who is also the descendant of Reed Richards. Nathaniel Richards’ world was full of technology and he had never faced the Dark Ages.
Nathaniel Richards discovers his ancestor Doctor Doom‘s time platform and travels into the past and lands in Ancient Egypt. There he establishes himself as Rama-Tut and rules over Egypt. That’s when The Fantastic Four discover his discrepancy, defeat him and send him back to the future.
Arriving in future, he finds everyone at war. The people over there are using weapons from the past and they don’t know how to use them. Nathaniel Richards decides to use his knowledge from the past and takes on this future world and becomes Kang. He vows to rule on all of the past and then conquers a few of the timelines. Hence, the name Kang The Conqueror.
But you know how complex time travel is right?
Because Nathaniel Richards or Kang keeps on conquering timelines now and then, he becomes a paradox stained into the time stream spawning countless variants within the multiverse.
Note that Nathaniel Richards is a direct descendant of Reed Richards whereas, one of the Nathaniel Richards’ variants becomes Doctor Doom in the past. Hence, Nathaniel Richards is an indirect descendant of Doctor Doom.
Reed Richards’ fathers name is also Nathaniel Richards and hence it gets confusing about who Kang actually is.
But MCU will only focus on the 31st Century Nathaniel Richards which means he is born thousands of years later after Reed Richards.
We’ll see a few Kang variants in the MCU.
How strong will Kang The Conqueror be in Antman and The Wasp Quantumania?
Kang The Conqueror debuts in the MCU through Antman and The Wasp Quantumania. Hence, it’s possible that this is not the strongest Kang.
Quantumania’s Kang has surely travelled through time but right now he’s confined to the Quantum Realm thanks to He Who Remains. There’s something which is not allowing him to go out. That’s why he needs Scott’s help.
Now, Kang at some point in the comics has the access to the Heart of Forever also known as The Forever Crystal which is capable of altering time without creating Nexus Events. Forever Crystal is also has the abilities to erase people, things and timelines from existence.
You can see Kang with the Forever Crystal:
Quantumania Kang has the power to summon energy blasts and has an army of robots and battleships at his disposal. But he may not have the ability to manipulate time.
According to the director Peyton Reed Kang is conserving his energy and that this movie will help him to level up his powers.
Kang The Conqueror and His Variants
As already mentioned because Kang becomes a paradox there are many variants of him. In fact, there’s an entire organization called The Council of Kangs; something that Loki Episode 6 teased.
But for now, I’ll get into some of his main variants
1 – Immortus / He Who Remains
Immortus is the older version of Nathaniel Richards and is the agent of the Time Keepers. He has always managed to slip past the hands of Avengers and Fantastic Four. He’s not a direct Kang variant though. Immortus maintains the integrity of the timeline pruning timelines which cause Nexus Events.
But you’ve probably heard this somewhere, right?
Immortus is the inspiration of MCU’s He Who Remains. He wasn’t lying when he said,
“If you think I’m bad, just wait till you meet my variants.”
2 – Iron Lad
Iron Lad is a member of Young Avengers. MCU is currently weaving a storyline for a Young Avengers movie in the background. Some it’s other members are Kate Bishop and Cassie Lang.
Iron Lad was actually a teenage variant of Kang who is trying to live a life as a hero inspired by Tony Stark. He returns to his original timeline due to issues with changing past. He forgets his memories as a hero and fulfills his destiny as Kang.
3 – Scarlet Centurion
This character is an alien warrior who gets into a relationship with Carol Danvers is another Kang variant. He passes this identity to his son Marcus who is an Avenger level villain.
4 – Victor Timely
Victor is Kang’s another major variant who’s living in the early 1900’s. He inspired Professor Phineas Horton to build the android Human Torch. Human Torch was later used to build The Vision who tried to defeat Kang by kidnapping him as a child which resulted in a bunch of different timelines.
Victor Timely’s version of Kang is teased in Loki. Because it’s Kang’s this version who falls in love with Ravonna Renslayer. Also, if you remember Ravonna escaping somewhere. There’s a theory that Victor Timely has called her to be by her side so that they both can defeat The Avengers.
These are just few of the many variants which we might see in the future in the MCU.
What are Kang The Conqueror’s Powers?
Kang at the core is just a normal human being. It’s his knowledge that makes him dangerous. As a scientist, he has travelled through countless timelines and gathered information from everywhere. This is what makes him a threat.
Kang The Conqueror and his variants are capable of:
- Flying like Iron Man
- Strength
- Durability
- Knowledge of Time
- Delivering Electric Shocks though his fingertips
- Utilize Hoverboards
- Accessing any technology, time displaced beings such as dinosaurs and weapons throughout the multiverse
Stronger Kang variants have the knowledge of other Kangs and can travel throughout the multiverse without creating nexus events.
40th Century Kang variant also has the ability to neuro connect his suit something which we see Quantumania Kang already possessing.
One of the Kang Variant has an anti-gravity device that allows him to lift heavy objects, re-direct projectiles such as missiles & Mjolnir and defense tech withstanding a nuclear blast at point blank range.
Kang’s time manipulation tech allows him to alter the fabric of time and space. This is something you can see He Who Remains doing in Loki Episode 6.
Kang has Androids called growing man Stimuloids which you’ll see in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Kang’s ultimate method of survival is transferring his consciousness into a new body at the moment of his death. So, even if someone manages to kill his body, he can still outlast.
Kang The Conqueror is surely here to stay for a long time time.