Although Marvel has pivoted away from Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, the time-traveling villain may still be connected to The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Reed Richards and other MCU characters. It didn’t take long for Marvel Studios to replace Kang with Doctor Doom as the Multiverse Saga’s main villain. Just three years after Kang’s defeat and apparent death, Doctor Doom will star in Avengers: Doomsday.

In Marvel Comics, Nathaniel Richards a.k.a. Kang the Conqueror is usually a distant descendant of the Richards family, specifically Reed’s father Nathaniel, with a remote link to Victor von Doom as well. After countless trips through time and the multiverse, Kang’s comic lineage has been muddled. Still, there’s always a genetic link between the conqueror and the Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four’s Retrofuturistic Technology Is Suspiciously Similar To The TVA’s

Loki established that the TVA has had complete control over the Sacred Timeline for eons. All along, the TVA has kept a retrofuturistic style inspired by ’60s and ’70s technology and interior design. The TVA’s tech is retrofuturistic yet extremely advanced, even further than anything Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards have devised.

However, the TVA’s technology is quite similar to Reed Richards’ ’60s-inspired inventions. The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Earth-828 is completely retrofuturistic, from its denizens’ fashion style to their skyline and their technological devices. For example, Earth-828’s television sets have the same kind of screens seen inside the TVA.

Considering the TVA was founded by He Who Remains outside space and time, there’s a chance he drew inspiration from the technology and aesthetics of Earth-828, which might be his home timeline. The MCU’s He Who Remains, or at least one of Kang’s countless variants, might be a direct descendant of Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards, his father, or one of his Mister Fantastic’s relatives.

Kang’s Connection To Reed Richards Makes Sense Even After Quantumania

While the MCU’s plans for Kang were scrapped, the TVA will likely play an important role in Phase 6. Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars could reveal that the original creator of the TVA hails from Earth-828’s future. Descending directly from the Richards family, the brilliant mind and vast resources of He Who Remains’ ancestors might have been key to the TVA’s creation.

Given that The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ ending doesn’t reveal how the team meets Earth-616’s heroes, Avengers: Doomsday may still have a lot to explore about Earth-828. Either in a pᴀssing comment or as a significant plot point, Kang’s link to Reed Richards could be explored soon. Then, after Avengers: Secret Wars‘ new Multiversal War, Kang could be fully written out of history.