Credit: Marvel StudiosAs he said in Loki, “just wait ’til you meet my variants.” Marvel is about to change…
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) showed audiences their first look at the official Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). Although technically introduced as He Who Remains (Majors) in Loki, this was the first iteration of Kang (Majors) himself. He was fierce, intimidating, and cruel, but was he the worst version of himself? This new information from Marvel suggests not.
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Any superhero story worth its salt needs a villain that is the perfect foil to its hero. Batman has The Joker, Captain America has Red Skull, Iron Man has every disgruntled Stark Industries Employee, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done an excellent job bringing them to reality. Hugo Weaving played an excellent Red Skull to Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers/Captain America, James Spader was a chilling yet also human Ulton to Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man, but who could forget the ultimate villain of the Infinity Saga?
Thanos (Josh Brolin) made every other villain that came before him pale in comparison. He was so powerful he tossed the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) around like a ragdoll, so smart he was always one step ahead of the heroes, and so ruthless that he actually accomplished his goal of erasing half of all life in the universe. His would be a hard act to follow for any villain, and it seems like Kang (Majors) may be up to the challenge.
After what seemed like a defeat in Quantumania, audiences soon found out that Kang (Majors) wasn’t as gone as they thought. The Marvel Comics Counsel of Kangs made an appearance, and it was clear they meant business. Now that business is more apparent, after an article from The Direct. The article, which cites two interviews made by Jeff Loveness, a writer at Marvel Studios, shows that Kang (Majors) is just getting started in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Loveness, who wrote Quantumania, explains the decision to tone Kang (Majors) down a bit for that film, saying that it was first and foremost an Ant-Man film, and therefore, they didn’t want to kill off Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), they wanted to keep audiences coming back. He also mentioned that Kang (Majors) is about to get a whole lot scarier in future iterations:
“But I wouldn’t worry too much about Kang’s kill count. He’s going to rack up some kills as he goes along.”
This begs the question: what kills? Which of the Avengers will audiences be bidding farewell to in the Multiverse Saga? It’s difficult to say and will really come down to how much longer these actors want to be involved in the franchise. As long as it’s done with tact and in a way that pays tribute to their characters, like Avengers: Endgame (2019), there may be some big names exiting the franchise soon!
Related: Key ‘Ant-Man’ Character Was Omitted From ‘Quantumania’ – Director Claims There’s a Good Reason
Until Kang (Majors) returns, audiences can see him in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is currently in theaters and stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/The Wasp, Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and Corey Stoll as Darren Cross/MODOK. Quantumania delivers some fantastic humor, action, and drama as Scott (Rudd) goes head to head against Kang (Majors), setting up the “Kang Dynasty.”
Who do you think Kang will remove from Marvel? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!