I Can't Believe The MCU's Failed Kang Plans Ended Up Adapting The Villain More Accurately Than I Expected

Kang the Conqueror‘s quick defeat in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may be disappointing, but it suits the MCU villain quite well. After Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania seemingly killed off Kang the Conqueror and Marvel Studios formally fired Jonathan Majors, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom replaced Kang as the Multiverse Saga’s main villain. Just like the Avengers fought Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will face Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Doctor Doom’s MCU introduction will be more abrupt than Thanos’, as Marvel had to pivot quickly after Kang’s last appearance. No prior Phase 4 or Phase 5 тιтle set up Doctor Doom’s arrival directly, whereas Thanos made a couple of cameos in Phase 1 and Phase 2 before his main antagonist role in Phase 3. Kang and his variants’ fate is still up in the air, however, and Marvel may need to tie up all loose ends to confirm that they’re not coming back.

Kang’s Abrupt Departure Makes The Council Of Kangs’ His Main MCU Enemies

Kang Never Fights The Avengers On Screen

Rama-Tut, Immortus, and the Scarlet Centurion as the Council of Kangs in Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania

Kang the Conqueror prides himself on killing countless Avengers variants prior to the events of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Yet, Kang meets his end at the hands of Ant-Man and his family, aided by a rogue MODOK and an army of ants. Regardless of whether Kang’s multiversal feats are true or not, Kang doesn’t get to meet the MCU’s prime Avengers in the MCU, as he fails to exit the Quantum Realm. Since Marvel Studios’ plans to make Kang the Conqueror the MCU’s next big bad were cut short due to Jonathan Majors’ real-life legal issues, Kang’s main MCU enemies end up being his own variants.

Similarly to his comic book counterpart, Nathaniel Richards sets out to be a multiversal conqueror, and he seemingly manages to destroy hundreds of timelines before the Council of Kangs stop him. At the same time, Kang’s multiversal quest creates powerful variants of himself that oppose his conquest. Kang’s variants join forces to exile him to the Quantum Realm, and they reunite to celebrate his apparent demise. Given the nature of Jonathan Majors’ firing, Kang probably won’t return on-screen. Therefore, the Council of Kangs replaces the Avengers as Kang the Conqueror’s archnemeses.

Quantumania Accurately Adapts Kang The Conqueror’s Self-Sabotaging Nature

Kang The Conqueror Is Incredibly Powerful, But Never As Successful As Villains Like Ultron And Thanos

Of all the MCU’s supervillains, Kang the Conqueror has been one with the least on-screen success. MCU antagonists such as Loki, Ego the Living Planet, Ultron, Hela, and Thanos made a lot of progress in their evil plans before they were defeated by the Avengers or other heroes. Meanwhile, Kang is humiliated by a small and outmatched group of insurgents. Other MCU antagonists have been defeated quickly before they could do significant damage, but few of them made promises as ambitious as Kang’s. One of the latter is Gorr the God Butcher, who set out to kill all gods but only ended up murdering two.

Kang the Conqueror underestimates Ant-Man, MODOK, and the Quantum Realm rebels, and he brings himself an embarrᴀssing defeat as a result. But while Kang’s early downfall may feel anticlimactic by MCU standards, it actually mirrors his comic book history. In the source material, Kang has tormented the Avengers multiple times, but he often sabotages himself and falls short of villains like Ultron, Thanos, and Doctor Doom — all of whom have dominated the Avengers in iconic storylines like Age of Ultron, the Infinity Gauntlet, and Secret Wars. Kang’s obsession with Ravonna Renslayer, his complicated relationship with time travel, and his countless variants often come back to bite him.

The MCU Has The Chance To Follow Up On Quantumania’s Post-Credits Scene In The Best Possible Way

Avengers: Doomsday Can Pay Off Quantumania’s Credits Tease Without Bringing Jonathan Majors Back

Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s promise to establish Kang the Conqueror as the Multiverse Saga’s main villain became a problem for Marvel after Jonathan Majors was fired and the plans for Kang’s MCU future were scrapped. What’s worse, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s post-credits scene went one step further and introduced hundreds of Kang variants who prepared to face the Avengers — all played by Jonathan Majors. Now, the biggest question surrounding Kang’s departure is the Council of Kang’s pending tease. One way to pay off Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s post-credits scene could be to reveal Doctor Doom mᴀssacred them off-screen. However, there might be a better option.

Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars could reveal that Kang’s variants killed each other. It’s in all Kangs’ nature, after all.

If Doctor Doom kills the Council of Kangs before Avengers: Doomsday, the MCU would risk making the same mistake Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania made with Kang — leaving his biggest feats of power off-screen and raising expectations way above anything Doom may be able to deliver. Instead, Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars could reveal that Kang the Conqueror‘s variants killed each other. It’s in all Kangs’ nature, after all. It would also explain why Doctor Doom is able to come in and take over the multiverse in Avengers: Doomsday.