The current saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is focused almost entirely around the multiverse, with Kang the Conqueror being set up as the primary antagonist moving forward. While this feels like a bizarre change for the MCU, it was cleverly set up in Avengers: Endgame in more ways than audiences initially realized. In fact, Endgame went on to prove that the Avengers in their current state aren't prepared to take on a threat such as Kang.
While Avengers: Infinity War was a gut-wrenching part one of a finale to the MCU's Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame served as both a continuation of the finale and an unrecognized introduction to the franchise's future. At times, the ways Endgame set up Phases Four, Five and Six were quite obvious, from a Loki variant escaping with the Tesseract to Steve Rogers handing his shield over to the MCU's current Captain America. Many other Endgame set-ups are still being spotted by fans, including the foreshadowing of Namor appearing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. That being said, Endgame didn't just set up the newest saga of the MCU with scattered Easter eggs but with its overall structure and final conflict.
The Avengers Barely Defeated Thanos' Variant in Endgame
The closing act of Avengers: Endgame featured Earth-616's Avengers rallying to face off against Thanos -- but not exactly their Thanos. Much of the lore of what exactly happened during Endgame's Battle of Earth wasn't explained until the Loki series, where the concept of variants was explained and the Multiverse Saga's primary antagonist, Kang the Conqueror, was introduced. When the Avengers fought just one variant of Thanos, they lost half their universe the first time and were within seconds of their entire universe being wiped from existence the second time. Kang the Conqueror, on the other hand, is likely going to have more than just one variant going after 616.
As Marvel moves through Phase Four and beyond, it's showing audiences just how bad things could've gotten had the Avengers had to deal with more than one Thanos variant at the end of Endgame. After all, the remaining heroes created three or four separate branches in the timeline during the "Time Heist," giving up to four Thanos variants a chance to pursue them back into the Earth-616 timeline if they didn't go unnoticed. A Thanos variant determined to rule the multiverse, King Thanos, was recently announced as Avengers Campus' third attraction at Disneyland, showing just how much more problematic Thanos could've been when set loose in the multiverse.
Kang the Conqueror As the New Thanos
Though Avengers: Endgame didn't explicitly introduce Kang the Conqueror, in hindsight, it absolutely set the path for him as the next big villain. While Endgame was primarily focused on bringing back the dusted population, it inadvertently introduced time travel and the multiverse, both of which had generally been foreign to the MCU (aside from the effects of the Time Stone). Thanos was a challenging foe for the Avengers, but he was rash and stubborn. Endgame's Thanos variant decided to abandon his plan to "save" the universe on a whim, choosing to destroy it instead, which was just one bad decision of many that led to his loss at the Battle of Earth. More familiar with the multiverse and much more mild-mannered in his Loki appearance, Kang is unlikely to act as rashly as the Mad Titan when up against the Avengers.
According to Disney's D23 Expo, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will further introduce audiences to Kang the Conqueror when he sends Ant-Man on yet another time heist. Ant-Man is a rather fitting choice to be the first Avenger up against Kang, seeing as he was one of the most involved Avengers in solving time travel during Endgame. Quantumania will reportedly lead into Avengers: Kang Dynasty directly -- in fact, Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness will also write Kang Dynasty, showing just how interconnected these two movies are. The new Avengers have a long way to go if they hope to face this dastardly foe in their next team-up movie -- especially after Ant-Man delivers whatever prize Kang seems to be after. Though Iron Man, Black Widow, and Steve Rogers may have struggled to face Kang, new heroes like Shang-Chi, She-Hulk, Kate Bishop, and Sam Wilson may have what it takes to unravel the time traveler's weaknesses.
There's still a lot of set-up ahead before audiences get to see Kang and the Avengers face off. But even with the information that Marvel Studios has delivered so far, it's remarkable to see how interestingly Avengers: Endgame has aged since 2019. Much like The Avengers, Iron Man, and other superhero movies before them, Easter eggs, references, and mirrored scenes are still being spotted in Endgame and will likely continue to be discovered for years to come.