Originally a Fantastic Four villain, Kang the Conqueror has gone on to not only be one of the Avengers' main enemies but a frequent antagonist for the Marvel universe itself. Kang's deep comic book history makes him an iconic Marvel character, and he's come into conflict with a multitude of heroes since his 1963 debut.
Although Marvel's Kang the Conqueror is a frequently appearing villain, it wasn't until the MCU's Multiverse Saga that the character made an official appearance. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe going in a new direction following Avengers: Endgame, it's a good time to explore Kang the Conqueror's powers and his motivations.
Updated on March 7, 2023 by Kennedy King: Thanks to the release of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most recent hit, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, there is more information available regarding Kang the Conqueror than ever. The multiverse-traveling invader plays a pivotal role in the film, and since there are countless variants of him, it feels safe to say that he will continue to play a major role in the franchise.
20 Kang Is A Time Traveler From The 31th Century
Kang is best known as a brilliant genius from the future and Marvel's preeminent time traveler who has tasked himself with conquering all eras — though Marvel's heroic age has given him trouble over the years. Using the power of his time-ship, Kang can, and has, traveled to every century.
After the MCU films introduced time travel in Avengers: Endgame, it was the perfect time to bring in a character such as Kang. However, until the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the specifics of his timeline were largely unknown. Thankfully, this film clarified the topic and informed audiences that Kang originated from an alternate version of the 31st century.
19 Kang Uses Advanced Weapons And Armies From The Future
As expected of someone with his time-traveling nature, Kang the Conqueror's powers and abilities are facilitated by a plethora of futuristic armor and weapons. Kang's battle armor gives him the strength and reflexes to go toe-to-toe with Marvel's heaviest hitters. One of the Conqueror's most notable weapons is his neutrino-ray, which might sound enormous but is the size of a handgun.
Kang also commands armies conglomerated from various timelines. He is especially fond of using robots — including his "Growing Man" androids — but as evidenced by allies like Darren Cross, there are many types of followers at his side.
18 A Future Version Of Kang The Conqueror Appears On Disney+
While fans were happy to see a more recognized version of Kang the Conqueror on the big screen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, they received a brief taste of a future version in the first season of Loki on Disney+. Lovecraft Country's Jonathan Majors appeared as the ruler of the Time Variance Authority who existed at the end of time and became known as He Who Remains.
This version of the character teased Kang's origins as a conqueror, which only served to excite fans Kang's inevitable debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although He Who Remains won't appear in the MCU following his demise at the end of Loki's first season, his legacy will continue through the variants of Kang the Conqueror that appear from here on out.
17 Kang's First Love Ravonna Sacrificed Herself For Him
Before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel fans often wondered if Kang the Conqueror was even human. Although the latest entry into the MCU confirms he is a man from the 31st century, his prior relationships still remain a mystery. In particular, it's notable that Ravonna — Kang's major love interest in many timelines — has yet to meet the variant who serves as Quantumania's primary antagonist.
Given Ravonna Renslayer's actions during the Loki television series, it's entirely possible that she and Kang eventually join forces. She is currently searching for her own purpose in life, providing her the perfect justification for a realignment with Kang.
16 Kang Created A Group Of His Own Variants Called The Council Of Kangs
One variant of Kang the Conqueror is dangerous enough to threaten an entire timeline. A group of them would threaten the safety of the Multiverse itself. Unfortunately for the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is exactly what's hinted at during the post-credits scene of Quantumania.
Up until the death of He Who Remains, cross-contamination between timelines was kept to an absolute minimum. Now that the Time Variance Authority is in shambles, entities like the Council of Kangs are free to operate as they see fit.
15 Kang Is The Pharaoh Known As Rama-Tut
During Kang's travels across time and space, he becomes involved with a variety of different cultures and timelines. Although most of these variants remain a mystery in the MCU, the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania shows a few of them as part of the Council of Kangs.
One of these Kangs is an Egyptian Pharaoh known as Rama-Tut. In the Marvel comic books, Kang travels across the multiverse to Ancient Egypt, and upon his arrival, he used his advanced weapons and robots to take over. This might not be how Rama-Tut established power in the MCU, but given his appearance in Quantumania, his story can't be very different.
14 Kang And His Variants Create Countless Problems
Kang's travels through time are such a common occurrence that he has created an endless number of time-displaced duplicates. This leads to many complicated stories where alternate realities are created and the course of history is altered.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, several versions of Kang appear during Loki and Quantumania. Some of these variants combine to form the Council of Kangs, while others operate independently of one another. At this point, it's almost impossible to know who the original Kang is — or even if there truly is one.
13 Kang Was Inspired By Doctor Doom To Create His Own Armor As The Scarlet Centurion
Doctor Doom has a storied history with Kang the Conqueror. The first time the time-traveling villain met the armored ruler of Latveria was during his time as the Pharaoh Rama-Tut. Inspired by Doom's own armor and regal presence, Kang created a new costumed identity known as the Scarlet Centurion.
Kang used this new identity to manipulate events in his timeline as he attempted to conquer the modern era. While his time as the Scarlet Centurion is generally seen as a failure, a divergent version of the character became a successful conqueror in the future.
12 Kang Creates A Human Identity Named Victor Timely To Observe The Age Of Heroes
Among the slew of Kang variants spread throughout the Multiverse is Victor Timely. Victor hails from the 31st century like all Kangs, but after learning how to travel through time and space, he relocates to America in the 1900s. There, he takes up work as an actor.
Victor Timely's role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains to be seen, but given his appearance in the post-credits scene of Quantumania, he will clearly be involved. His potential as a character is massive, and it could spell out serious trouble for the franchise's heroes moving forward.
11 Kang Created The Time-Warriors Known As The Anachronauts
Kang doesn't always rely on the armies he's amassed over the years from his various conquests or the time-displaced heroes and villains he occasionally gathers when fighting his battles. He once assembled a team of warriors known as the Anachronauts.
These powerful warriors — Deathhunt 9000, Apocryphus, Raa, Sir Raston, Ssith, Tyndar, and Wildrun — were all undefeated until they encountered Kang. In an effort to repurpose their powers, Kang brought them together as the Anachronauts to protect his homeworld of Chronopolis from any and all invaders or challengers to his throne.
10 One Variant Of Kang Eventually Becomes The Master Of Time Known As Immortus
In one of the infinite timelines of the Multiverse, Kang the Conqueror's powers continued to grow until he became the time lord known as Immortus. Tired of fighting and losing his loved ones in multiple timelines, Kang decided to give up his life in order to serve as part of the mysterious Council of Kangs.
At this point, it's unclear what the goal of the Council of Kangs truly is within the MCU. After the passing of He Who Remains, the group is freer than ever to conduct themselves as they see fit. With a monstrous figure like Immortus confirmed to be in their midst, they could pose an ever greater risk to the Sacred Timeline than Thanos himself.
9 Kang's Younger Self Became Iron Lad And Assembled The Young Avengers
Iron Lad was a fan-favorite member of the Young Avengers with a look reminiscent of Iron Man. As the person responsible for organizing the team of Avengers-related teen heroes, fans (and his teammates) were surprised to learn Iron Lad was actually a younger version of Kang the Conqueror.
When Kang traveled back in time to convince his younger self to accept his destiny, his plan backfired. Iron Lad killed his future self instead and created a temporal paradox that was only resolved when he returned to the future to follow his destiny and become Kang the Conqueror.
8 Kang Raised Black Bolt's Son Ahura To Wipe Out Inhumans In The Past
The Inhuman king, Black Bolt, sent his son Ahura to the past with Kang in order to save him from the incursions that led to the modern Secret Wars event (an event confirmed to be in the works for the MCU). Kang agreed under the condition that he would get to keep Ahura; however, Kang manipulated Ahura and tricked him into wiping out the Inhumans in the past, leading him to take over the role of Kang as an adult.
The Inhumans were forced to kill the adult Ahura, but they were able to save their young son from the past as well. Already having deep ties to the Avengers and Fantastic Four, this more recent comic story gave Kang a strong tie to the Inhumans as well.
7 Kang Saved Rick Jones During The Destiny War
Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco's Avengers Forever attempted to clean up some of the muddy waters of Marvel's timeline that had been created partly by Kang himself over the years — resulting in Immortus' attempt to kill classic Avengers ally Rick Jones.
Rick Jones was powered by the Destiny Force, which Immortus had traced to a dark future he hoped to avoid — though Kang the Conqueror arrived to protect Rick Jones. Rick pulled a team of Avengers from different eras of time to help him fight the Destiny War first alongside, and then against Kang the Conqueror and Immortus.
6 Kang Once Merged With Doctor Doom And Annihilus To Become Doom The Annihilating Conqueror
The younger Nathaniel Richards who helped form the Young Avengers as Iron Lad decided to speed up his own villainous timeline when he took on a new identity of Kid Immortus after he met and fell in love with Princess Ravonna and saved her from her own ill-fated timeline.
Kid Immortus began working with a young version of Annihilus and Doctor Doom, ultimately resulting in their merger into a powerful being known as Doom The Annihilating Conqueror in an alternate timeline. However, two versions of the Fantastic Four were able to stop the merger from happening, and Kid Immortus never transformed.
5 Kang Completely Destroyed Washington D.C. To Prove His Strength During The Kang Dynasty
"The Kang Dynasty" by Kurt Busiek and a team of artists featured one of Marvel's greatest takeovers. Kang and his son Marcus (who had inherited Kang's former role as the Scarlet Centurion) successfully overthrew the world's governments and claimed control.
The long-running storyline featured several unforgettable moments, including the complete annihilation of Washington, D.C., and its entire population as a show of Kang's power. While the Avengers were ultimately able to stop Kang and restore order, the damage was irreversible.
4 Kang Raised The Apocalypse Twins & Tried To Eradicate Mutants
Uriel and Eimin were the Apocalypse Twins, whose birth and eventual rise to power as leaders of the mutant race would have threatened Kang's eventual rule in the future. Kang took preventative measures and kidnaped the twins as babies so he could raise them using his own brutal methods.
When The Apocalypse Twins were teenagers, they escaped from their adoptive father and actively worked against him to bring about their own rule. However, Kang's machinations were ultimately revealed as a plan to erase mutant-kind as an overall future threat, but he was stopped by the Uncanny Avengers.
3 Kang Uses Characters From Across Time To Fight His Battles As The Chronos Corps
Kang has borrowed Rick Jones' "Destiny War" maneuver a few times over the years, pulling Marvel heroes and villains from different points in time to fight for him in important battles. One such time occurred when Kang entered an unwinnable battle with Ultron in the Next Avengers future that ultimately broke time. To save the timeline, the Avengers had to go back and convince Ultron to lose.
When the Apocalypse Twins' plans resulted in the destruction of Earth and the creation of a new mutant planet, Kang assembled a team of characters from other times that included Stryfe, Earth-X's Venom, Dr. Doom 2099, Iron Man 2020, Magistrate Braddock, Days of Future Past's Ahab, Abomination/Deathlok, and a young Thor to help him and the Uncanny Avengers reverse events.
2 Kang Wielded The Reality Stone As A Member Of The Infinity Watch During Infinity Wars
The Infinity Stones were once again gathered by a villain named Requiem who hoped to reduce the universe's population in half by merging characters together in a series of unforgettable Infinity Warps. Loki was one of the few characters left unaffected and was tasked with forming a new version of the Infinity Watch.
Loki split some of the merged characters to help him, which included a new version of Kang who was merged with Ms. Marvel and called Kamala Kang. They joined Hulk, Ant-Man, and Emma Frost as Loki's short-lived Infinity Watch, with Kang taking control of the Reality Stone for the final battle with the Soul Stone-dwelling Devondra.
1 Kang Could Be A Descendant Of Mister Fantastic Or Doctor Doom
What may in fact be the most interesting thing about Kang is his real name, Nathaniel Richards. Although never explicitly stated, it has been teased that Kang could be a possible descendant of Reed Richards — also known as Mister Fantastic. However, at one time, Kang actually thought Doctor Doom was his ancestor, but various writers have explored this point differently.
Some still believe this complicated and disputed theory to be true, continuing to make the mysteries of this character's ancestral origins fascinating. As a constant foe of the Fantastic Four, this possible connection makes the villain all the more intriguing.