Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Marvel takes a huge risk ending The Fantastic Four: First Steps almost exactly the same way as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. For most of the Multiverse Saga, the MCU set up Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror to be the franchise’s next big bad. Right at the end of the saga, however, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom takes Kang’s place.
Besides Jonathan Majors’ legal and personal controversies, Kang’s defeat at the hands of Team Ant-Man cast a shadow over a villain who was supposed to have killed countless Avenger variants. Kang’s death in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was abrupt and unworthy for a multiversal conqueror. Specifically, Kang’s death inside his own time travel machine is humiliating.
Galactus Is Defeated Almost Exactly The Same Way As Kang The Conqueror
Galactus And Kang Are Both Pushed Into An Unknown Destination Through A Portal
In The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ ending, the тιтular team tries leading Galactus to the last working portal in order to send him flying all across the universe. While Galactus initially fights back, Johnny, Sue, and the Silver Surfer manage to push Galactus in. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Ant-Man and the Wasp defeat Kang the same way.
Both the Fantastic Four and Team Ant-Man turn the tide against their respective villains by coordinating the mᴀsses with a speech from the main female hero.
Like Galactus, Kang the Conqueror tries to reach an unparalleled source of power that would allow him to escape his imprisonment. For Kang, the Time Chair’s engine would allow him to exit the Quantum Realm. Meanwhile, Galactus wants to consume Franklin Richards to permanently quench his hunger. What’s more, both Galactus and Kang are first betrayed by their lackeys, Silver Surfer and MODOK.
Galactus’ Defeat Works Where Kang’s Didn’t
Galactus’ Defeat Requires Strategy And Sacrifice From The Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four don’t win through brute force or luck. Instead, they craft a clever but difficult plan to bait Galactus into teleporting himself away. When Galactus outsmarts them, the Fantastic Four adapt quickly and put their lives on the line to execute a last-second alternative. Johnny and Sue Storm’s self-sacrifice proves the team will do whatever it takes.
Instead of showcasing Ant-Man’s skills, Quantumania sees Kang’s plans blow up in his face
Although he’s introduced as a multiversal threat, Kang’s defeat comes from a conventional fistfight with Ant-Man, who shouldn’t be his match. The last-minute intervention by Hank Pym’s ants and MODOK’s change of heart feel more like lucky contrivances than the result of a meaningful plan. Instead of showcasing Ant-Man’s skills, Quantumania sees Kang’s plans blow up in his face.
The key difference between Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a sense of real tension. Galactus and the Fantastic Four outsmart each other, while Kang repeatedly fails to overpower one of the MCU’s weakest Avengers. Where First Steps elevates both the villain and the heroes through mutual challenge, Quantumania diminishes both.
