kang travel

Kang - Discovering Botswana

Travel and respect, explore and smile, be curious and kind. have wild trips, travelling to kang.

In this page you can find every information for a holiday in Kang, a pretty good destination in Botswana (all info about the whole country here) . We will answer the most important questions: what to visit , when to go , how to get to Kang and what means of transport to use to get around . We will describe typical foods , the costs for tourists and where to find accomodation . We will list also the places to see around Kang , and we will also talk about safety and how each type of traveler can enjoy a trip here. So, if you are travelling through Botswana, here's everything to know about Kang for a perfect holiday.

General info for a trip to Kang

What to visit in Kang

Kang is a small town situated in the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana. It is a beautiful place with a unique culture and plenty of tourist attractions to explore. 1. Kalahari Arms Hotel: This is a popular hotel in Kang that offers a comfortable stay for tourists. It is a great place to relax and rejuvenate after a long day of sightseeing. 2. Central Kalahari Game Reserve: This is a breathtaking wildlife park that is home to several rare species of animals such as lions, cheetahs, giraffes, and zebras. Visitors can go on guided tours, camping trips, and safari drives to explore the park. 3. Tsodilo Hills: These are a series of rock formations that hold immense cultural significance for the locals. There are over 4500 rock paintings at the site, which tell the stories of the San people who once called this region home. 4. Khama Rhino Sanctuary: This sanctuary was established in 1992 to protect the endangered white and black rhinoceros. Visitors can take guided tours, go on game drives, and even camp within the sanctuary. 5. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: This is another wildlife park that spans across Botswana and South Africa. It is a great place to see exotic and rare animals such as the black-maned Kalahari lions, meerkats, and honey badgers. 6. Ghanzi Craft Village: For those interested in traditional African crafts, a visit to the Ghanzi Craft Village is a must. Here visitors can indulge in authentic African crafts such as jewelry making, basket weaving, and pottery. 7. Botswana Meat Commission: The Botswana Meat Commission is the largest beef producer in the country. Visitors can take a tour of the facility and learn about the meat production process. Overall, Kang offers a unique holiday opportunity for visitors who want to experience the rich African culture, get closer to nature and enjoy the fascinating wildlife. In this website, you can find many other destinations to visit in Botswana, so you can have a look in the "USEFUL LINKS" sections in this page for other places that could inspire your trip.

When to go on holiday to Kang

The best time to visit Kang, Botswana is during the dry season which is from May to October. During these months, the wildlife is more abundant and easier to spot as the animals gather around water sources. The temperatures are also cooler during these months, which makes it more comfortable for activities such as game drives and walking safaris. However, if you are interested in birdwatching or seeing lush greenery, the wet season (November to April) might be more suitable but keep in mind that some roads may be impassable due to heavy rains. You can book here visit and activities to do during your holiday !

How to get to Kang

Kang is a small village in Botswana, located in the Kalahari Desert. The easiest way to get to Kang is by road. Here are some options: 1. Self-Drive: You can rent a car and drive to Kang. There are few routes to Kang although I would suggest starting from Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana, and driving west on the A2 highway. 2. Public Transportation: You can also take a bus from Gaborone to Kang. There are several bus companies that operate between the two places, including Seabelo and Eagleliner. 3. Private Transfer: You can arrange for a private transfer from Gaborone to Kang with a local tour operator. This may be a good option if you want a more comfortable and convenient travel experience. Whichever option you choose, be sure to check the latest travel advisories before traveling and make sure you have all the necessary documentation, such as a valid passport and visa if required. To find the most convenient flights, compare (and book if you like!) the best offers here on Skyscanner . To hire a car to visit Kang, I recommend to check this: COMPARE HERE ALL OFFERS FOR CAR RENTAL

Typical foods in Kang

Kang is a small village located in Botswana, Africa. The cuisine of this region is heavily influenced by the traditional foods of the Batswana people. Here are some typical Kang dishes with a short description of each: 1. Seswaa - This is a traditional meat dish made by boiling beef or goat meat until it is tender, then shredding it and pounding it to a paste. It is often served with pap (a type of maize meal porridge) and a side of stewed vegetables. 2. Bogobe jwa Lerotse - This is a type of porridge made from sorghum flour, which is cooked with water and stirred until it forms a thick consistency. It is usually served with a meat stew and vegetables. 3. Phane - This is a dish made from the caterpillar of the Emperor moth, which is harvested during the rainy season. The caterpillars are dried, boiled, and then fried with onions and tomato. It is often served as a snack or appetizer. 4. Dikgobe - This is a stew made from beans, peas, and lentils, which are cooked with vegetables and spices. It is a common dish in Botswana and is often served with pap. 5. Morogo - This is a type of spinach that grows wild in Botswana. It is cooked with onions, tomato, and spices and served as a side dish with meat or other dishes. You can find general info about typical foods in Botswana here .

Is Kang an expensive destination for tourists?

Kang, Botswana is known for its luxury lodges and private game reserves, which can be quite expensive for tourists. However, there are also budget-friendly accommodations available, such as camping sites and guesthouses. It's important to keep in mind that the cost of a trip to Kang will depend on various factors such as time of year, duration of stay, and activities planned. Overall, Kang can be a bit pricey, but with proper planning, it's possible to enjoy a memorable trip without breaking the bank.

Where to find accomodation in Kang

Is kang a safe destination for tourists.

Kang, Botswana is generally a safe place for tourists. However, as with any travel destination, it is important to take certain precautions to ensure your safety. It is always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings, especially in areas that are unfamiliar to you. When exploring Kang or any other part of Botswana, it is advisable to travel with a reputable tour guide or driver who is familiar with the area. You should also stay on established roads and paths and avoid traveling alone at night. By taking simple precautions, you should be able to enjoy a safe and memorable trip to Kang. You can find general info about safety for tourists in Botswana here . Always check updated government info about travelers's safety on the ufficial Foreign Affairs website of your government, before visiting Kang.

What type of travelers will enjoy Kang the most?

Kang, Botswana offers a unique experience that caters to various types of travelers. It is an excellent destination for nature lovers, bird watchers, and outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy scenic landscapes and wildlife as it is known for its large elephant herds, desert-adapted species, and flocks of flamingos. Kang is a great place for couples who are looking for a romantic getaway in a serene and tranquil environment. The area offers an intimate and secluded atmosphere perfect for those seeking to spend time alone with their partner. Young people who enjoy adventure activities such as camping, hiking, and off-road driving will also enjoy Kang. The region provides opportunities for these activities that offer great fun and excitement. Families with children can also enjoy Kang as it offers a unique opportunity for kids to connect with nature, interact with animals, and learn about conservation efforts. From guided nature walks, game drives, and birdwatching activities, there is something for everyone, making it an excellent destination for family vacations.

How to get around Kang

In Kang, the most common mode of transportation is by car, especially if you are looking to explore the remote areas around the town. You can rent a car from nearby cities like Gaborone or even from the airport. However, for shorter trips within the town, walking or cycling can also be a viable option. There are also local taxis available but they tend to be more expensive. It's important to note that road conditions can be challenging in some areas, so it's best to plan accordingly and hire a vehicle that's suited for rugged terrains.

What to see around Kang

Certainly! Here are some places that you might consider visiting on a day trip from Kang, Botswana: 1. Gaborone Game Reserve: This is located in Gaborone, just over 3 hours drive from Kang. It is a great place where you can see various flora and fauna. 2. Pilikwe Rock Paintings: These rock paintings are located about 45 minutes drive from Kang. They are believed to have been created over 4,000 years ago and are a fascinating glimpse into Botswana's ancient past. 3. Tswapong Hills: These hills are located about 2 hours drive from Kang, and they offer amazing views of the surrounding landscape. They are also home to some hot springs, which you can visit. 4. Lekhubu Island: This island is located about 2 hours drive from Kang, and it is a great spot for birdwatching and fishing. 5. Khutse Game Reserve: This is a great spot for wildlife spotting, and it is located about 90 minutes drive from Kang. You can see various types of animals like gemsbok, red hartebeest and eland. Hopefully, these suggestions will help you plan a fun day trip from Kang! For every travel information about Botswana you can click here . Wild Trips is the Wikipedia of travel: in the unfortunate case you find an error, please write to us to correct it... Thank you! Follow us on Facebook if you like wild trips around the world and beautiful itineraries in Italy: https://www.facebook.com/wildtrips .

USEFUL LINKS

Here you can find a list of destinations in Botswana , each with a link to the page with detailed description about what to see and what to do: Maun: what to see and do Chobe National Park: what to see and do Gaborone: what to see and do Kasane: what to see and do Okavango Delta: what to see and do Kalahari Desert: what to see and do Tsodilo Hills: what to see and do Nata: what to see and do Francistown: what to see and do Selebi-Phikwe: what to see and do Mahalapye: what to see and do Serowe: what to see and do Palapye: what to see and do Ghanzi: what to see and do Mopipi: what to see and do Thamaga: what to see and do Tshabong: what to see and do Nokaneng: what to see and do Kang: what to see and do Moshupa: what to see and do Orapa: what to see and do Sehithwa: what to see and do Letlhakane: what to see and do Mochudi: what to see and do Kanye: what to see and do Molepolole: what to see and do Mmadinare: what to see and do Oodi: what to see and do Tlokweng: what to see and do Lobatse: what to see and do Jwaneng: what to see and do Mosu: what to see and do Mahalekwena: what to see and do Ramotswa: what to see and do

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The History Of Kang The Conqueror Explained

Kang the Conqueror is a time-traveling warlord who has been one of the Avengers' most dogged nemeses since the team first formed. At first glance, he might not stand out: Kang is an ordinary man with no special powers, other than his keen intellect and boundless ambition. But look closer, and you'll find that those two qualities are all he needs to wreak havoc across time and space. It is the Avengers, in fact, who first inspire him to look beyond his own peaceful (and boring) era of the 30th century and find a way to go where the action is. He's often coy about his real motivations, with regard to the Avengers — are they really his most hated enemies, or just a fun diversion he pursues when he's not conquering vast swathes of time? 

But it's not all tyranny and time-jumping for Kang. The problem with being a time-traveler is that you end up creating pesky alternate versions of yourself. Worse yet, you might end up knowing that you're destined to become someone you hate. So it goes with Kang, who antagonizes himself as often as he does Earth's Mightiest Heroes. We're here to jump into the timestream and see where Kang's path has taken him, one jump at a time.

Growing up in paradise

The man who would become Kang was born in the 30th century of Earth-6311 . On this Earth, Nathaniel Richards — AKA Reed Richards' father, deposited here through complex circumstances — brings together squabbling tribes as the Warlord, ruling them until he is superseded by his wife. The Fantastic Four arrive to set things right, a battle ensues, and the Four triumph. Peace proceeds to reign on Earth-6311 for a thousand years.

Kang is likely a direct descendant of that first Warlord, and also named Nathaniel Richards. The era of peace and prosperity he lives in is utterly boring to him, and so he devotes himself to studying tapes of 20th-century superheroes — especially the Avengers. As a teen, he is visited by his future self in an effort to jump-start his journey towards conquering. He rejects the older Kang's villainy,  and instead goes back to the past to form the Young Avengers as Iron Lad. However, when he realizes that his presence in the past is starting to affect the time stream, he returns to his era.

He attempts to go back to the past several times as Iron Lad, often accidentally causing a lot of damage. He also becomes the villainous Kid Immortus for a while. In the end, however, he ends up taking his original course of action: He discovers his ancestor's time machine and goes to ancient Egypt . 

Upon arriving in Egypt, Kang uses the weapons and robots he finds among his ancestor's belongings to quickly establish himself as Pharaoh Rama-Tut. As his reign unfolds, Rama-Tut sets himself up as a god and denounces other deities, which annoys Moon Knight's future patron, Khonshu. 

This era of Egypt turns out to be Grand Central Station for time travelers. Rama-Tut has to deal with an assassin named Killpower, a number of villainous organizations, and eventually, the West Coast Avengers. That latter group goes back in time hoping to use Rama-Tut's time machine, as their own only travels backwards. Rama-Tut is, unsurprisingly, uninterested in helping them, but Khonshu protects them from his wrath. Doctor Strange is also around within this era, looking for a soul shard that threatens all of humanity's dreams.

For all their doings within this era, however, the Avengers and Doctor Strange are careful not to mess with its main event: A visit from the Fantastic Four. Rama-Tut clobbers them upon arrival and makes the male members his prisoners while he prepares to marry Sue Storm. Luckily, the Thing gets loose and brings down Rama-Tut's kingdom. Rama-Tut flees in his time machine, attempting to return to his original time.

Becoming Kang

Rama-Tut discovers time travel's imperfections when he tries to return to the 30th century. He briefly winds up in the 20th century, where he meets Doctor Doom . They consider teaming up against the Fantastic Four, but Doom thinks it would be too risky. Later on, Rama-Tut attempts to fool the early Avengers into subduing all other super-powered people on Earth. This gives rise to his armored persona, the Scarlet Centurion. He lures an Avengers team from later in the 20th century to this timeline, hoping to see his more powerful Avengers team defeat them. But the latter-day Avengers triumph, and the Scarlet Centurion is promptly sent back into the timestream. 

He immediately abandons that identity and resumes his Rama-Tut guise, once again trying to make it back to the 30th century. This time, he overshoots it by a thousand years, ending up in the 40th century. He finds a war-torn society that doesn't understand its own technology. Here, the man formerly known as Rama-Tut finally assumes the name Kang the Conqueror, and creates his iconic purple armor. It doesn't take him long to take over this ravaged Earth, and he soon moves on to conquering whole galaxies.

Avengers, Ravonna, and the Celestial Madonna

In Kang's first appearance, captured in 1964's Avengers #8, he takes on the Avengers . Though he initially overwhelms them, Kang loses when Rick Jones sabotages him. Shockingly, he later returns to the Avengers' era, to seek their aid after he falls in love with the rebellious Princess Ravonna. She ultimately sacrifices herself to save Kang, and is placed in high-tech stasis between life and death. Kang goes on to use the Avengers as pawns to gain the power of life and death from the Grandmaster. When he ties the Elder in a cosmic game, however, he chooses death for the Avengers instead of life for Ravonna. This plan is foiled when the Black Knight attacks him, and Kang is left with nothing but regret.

Obsessed with the idea of his eventual successor, Kang becomes determined to kidnap the woman he dubs the Celestial Madonna, who will give birth to the Celestial Messiah, the universe's most powerful being. Narrowing it down to the Scarlet Witch , Agatha Harkness, or Mantis, he captures the Avengers. He is defeated by a future version of himself, who helps the Avengers. This is when Kang learns that he is destined to become Immortus, a time traveler who gives up conquest and makes mysterious moves from Limbo, a dimension outside of time.

The Council Of Kangs

As a result of his constant time-jumping, Kang ends up with a whole host of divergent identities, who are monitored by the Council of Kangs, headquartered in Limbo. The Council plucks defective Kangs out of the timestream and kills them. The Prime Kang from Earth-6311 kills one of his alternate selves after telling him that Ravonna is alive, then pins the murder on the Avengers after bringing them to Limbo. Immortus then reveals he was behind it all, as the Prime Kang went insane after being given a device that gave him the memories of all the Kangs he had killed.

Prime Kang's story then splits off into two timelines. In one, he goes to the 40th century to heal. In the other, he discovers an even bigger conspiracy: The Council Of Cross-Time Kangs, which consists of beings throughout the multiverse who have killed Kang and taken his armor. This group includes Kang-Nebula, a woman who took over the Avengers in order to pierce a phenomenon known as the Time Bubble. The other Kangs move against her, resulting in all of the Kangs being lost in the timestream. 

Living in the Time Bubble

The Prime Kang offshoot lost in the timestream finds himself threatened by the mystical Inferno event , in which a demon attempts to take over the Earth. This Kang can only appear as a sort of ghost — but this is enough to create a new team of Avengers who are crucial in saving the day. The other Kang in the 40th century goes after Mantis again, within the same era, after learning that she is trying to retrieve her son from the alien Cotati she entrusted with raising him. In the end, however, Mantis and the Fantastic Four defeat him.

Prime Kang finds himself trapped in the Time Bubble, an impenetrable field that prevents time travel in a 15-year sweep. It was created from Galactus' dead body by the scheming Black Celestial in order to collapse the entire universe. Nebula lures the Fantastic Four and various Avengers there to pierce the bubble, but all of the various Kangs are killed. It seems like the only one left is the one in the 40th century. 

Citizen Kang

The 40th century's Kang busily expands his empire. Spanning 600 years, it all connects through the city of Chronopolis. At some point, however, he realizes that his desire to rule all of time is blocked by various entities with their own territories, like the Time Variance Authority, a creature called Alioth, and the Congress of Realities. 

Kang-Nebula, it turns out, has survived the Time Bubble, and reveals herself as an alternate version of Ravonna. Assuming the identity of Terminatrix, she uses the Fantastic Four as pawns to attack Kang, who uses the Avengers similarly. They eventually fight, and Kang sacrifices himself to save her. She is forced to put him in stasis as he once did to another version of her, in an effort to find a way to bring him back to life — if only to kill him upon waking.

The Council Of Cross-Time Kangs is attacked by Alioth, an ancient, time-spanning entity. Terminatrix comes into conflict with a future version of herself named Revelation, who rules many thousands of years in the future. Revelation helps revive Kang as Alioth helps eliminate the pesky Council — which is all according to Kang's plan. He and Ravonna reconcile, and rule peacefully together. 

Destiny War

After years of happiness with Ravonna, Kang grows old and bored. Eventually, he is finally ready to go back to ancient Egypt and become Immortus, as he is destined to do. However, he sees a vision of his servitude to the Time-Keepers as Immortus, and it enrages him. He decides to wage an all-out war against Immortus, who is being pressured by his masters to destroy Earth because of the threat it poses to the rest of the galaxy. Kang determines a strategy to get rid of his time rivals, and destroys the technology that allows him to transfer his mind to a new body upon his death. He wants to live on the edge.

Kang teams up with an Avengers group whose members are all plucked from different eras against Immortus and his endless armies from across time. Immortus destroys Chronopolis, and his forces kill Ravonna. Kang escapes, and entrusts an object called the Heart of Forever to the Avengers. This object powered Chronopolis, and gives its wielder the power to alter time without creating a divergent reality. The Avengers' job is to protect the Heart and Rick Jones, who Immortus is trying to kill.

Kang and the Avengers eventually battle Immortus' forces at the end of time. The Time-Keepers try to physically force Kang's transformation into Immortus, but Kang resists and kills them. A separate version of Immortus emerges, as Kang has finally triumphed against the inevitable. 

The Kang Dynasty

Now that his destiny has become his own, Kang is eager for conquest. With his grown son Marcus  acting as the new Scarlet Centurion, Kang takes his giant sword-shaped spaceship, Damocles Base, and declares war on Earth. He claims it's for the Earth's own good, as many threats are headed its way.

Of course, the Avengers oppose him, but Kang is not playing around this time. He conquers the Earth and forces the Wasp, as Avengers' chairwoman , to surrender directly to him. Marcus is supposed to take out the defenses of the Master of the World, but things go awry when he meets Carol Danvers and is immediately charmed. He helps her win the defenses to the Avengers' side. This winds up giving the Avengers just enough of an edge to eventually defeat Kang, with Captain America beating him down in an epic space battle.

Kang is imprisoned by the Avengers, and actually accepts his fate, happy that his son will rule in his stead. But Marcus rescues him from his cell, and continues to lie about helping Carol. Kang is fully aware of this betrayal, but was going to let it go, if Marcus had simply left him to die a legend. Kang reveals that Marcus is actually the latest of many cloned attempts at an heir, and kills him. He cannot abide an heir who lies.

The devil you know

Kang is nothing if not practical, and something that threatens multiple realities also threatens his own interests. Case in point: When Adam Warlock is forced to act to prevent a catastrophe, he creates a future where he becomes the sinister Magus, and wipes out other timelines — including many that include Kang's rule. Kang reacts by rescuing every reality's surviving Starhawk and the Guardians of the Galaxy and using them as his forces. After a number of Guardians die, Star-Lord manages to kill the Magus, restoring the timelines and neatly taking care of Kang's problem.

Kang later realizes that in one timeline that threatened his empire, Ultron killed the Avengers and prevented Kang's rule. So Kang sends team after team of heroes against Ultron, all of whom are killed. Of course, if you strain the timeline too much, it breaks. Kang creates a time bleed and time loop around his battles with Ultron, forcing Immortus to step in. He convinces the Next Avengers (the children of the modern team) to recruit the current Avengers to talk sense into Ultron before all the fighting ever began. Knowing that all of time stands to be annihilated, Ultron agrees to surrender. Kang destroys him, restoring the timeline.

The Apocalypse Twins

Kang is simultaneously obsessed with securing a successor and worried that powerful children might one day group up and overthrow him. The Celestial Messiah, Apocalypse, and the various Marcuses are all the focus of this tension at various times, but his obsession with the Apocalypse Twins nearly tops them all.

Born to a mutant woman named Ichisumi, Kang kidnaps the twins in their infancy. He raises them harshly, telling the young mutants that they will never live in peace with humans. Kang makes a fatal mistake when he allows them to steal a powerful weapon, travel back to 21st century Earth, and kill the Celestial leader, Arishem. They then found a new world just for mutants, and not only leave Earth to be destroyed by Celestial retaliation, but also set up a tachyon dam to prevent anyone from altering history.

Kang eventually finds a way through by projecting the minds of his pawns, the Chronos Corps, into the 21st century. His plan works, and he is able to access that timeline and defeat the twins, as well as absorb energy from the Celestial executioner, Exitar. Immortus, ever the spoilsport, sends his own team of Avengers to stop him, with Havoc cutting Kang off from the energy. Kang's overall scheme to gain ultimate power fails, but he does manage to successfully protect his timeline.

Adopting Ahura

You think Kang would learn not to kidnap other people's kids, but no. After Thanos destroys Attilan, home of the Inhumans , Kang kidnaps Ahura, son of the Inhumans' leader, Black Bolt. At this point, Black Bolt is chiefly worried about the destruction of the universe, so he allows Kang to keep him safe.

Black Bolt later changes his mind and moves to get his son back, but Kang is aware of this betrayal. He defeats Black Bolt and trains Ahura in the ways of conquest. He has Ahura attack various eras, which winds up killing all of the Inhuman royal family's ancestors, wiping them from history. Kang doesn't expect Ahura to ever discover this morbid fact, but he does. Enraged, Ahura kills Kang and takes up his mantle. Ahura then goes back in time to kill his birth parents.

The Inhumans one-up Kang by rescuing Ahura from before he was tainted by Kang. The result is a clean slate for him — but it also means that Kang isn't dead. He attacks the Inhumans with a huge army, but Ahura possesses Kang and fixes all the damage he has done to his family. Then he makes Kang leave the Inhumans alone forever. It is the most thorough defeat of Kang's career.

A variety of Kangs and a variety of futures

Thanks to the timestream being so glitchy and Kang's indifferent carelessness, he often accidentally creates different versions of himself. One of them is Mr. Gryphon, who is trapped in the early 21st century. Unable to time travel, he sets about conquering Earth. Lacking an army, he uses his advanced knowledge to create a financial empire. He tries to bring a Chitauri fleet to Earth, and when that fails, tries to take Thor's hammer, because of its time-bending properties. Thor knocks him into the timestream instead.

Another forward-looking version of Kang sees an all-powerful version of Thanos in the future, who is about to destroy the entire multiverse. Thanos captures Kang, but Adam Warlock frees him. Kang distracts Thanos, and Warlock retrieves the present-day Thanos to stop the future Thanos. 

What's next for Kang? Probably more conquering, time-jumping, and heir-seeking. It's a safe bet that he'll find some way to involve his favorite playmates, the Avengers, in his machinations. While he's never been completely successful, he has never stopped trying — and that's why fans love him. 

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Kang went from Marvel’s weirdest villain to the MCU’s future

He rides a giant sphinx

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For nearly 60 years, the time-traveling malcontent Kang — who makes his big-screen debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania this week after a tease in Loki season 1 — has been a staple of Marvel Comics . Yet if you mention his name to a Marvel fan, don’t be surprised if a certain familiar look comes into their eye; that glazed, vacant, middle-distance stare of instant apathy that can only mean:

“Oh, God. Kang again? ”

In space, no one can hear you scream — but that doesn't stop an evil-doer from trying. This week, Polygon celebrates all forms of sci-fi villainy because someone has to (or else).

The trouble is that Kang, with his one-dimensional villainy and retro-Silver Age sneering, has become synonymous with impenetrable storylines that are about 10 steps too complicated for their own good: navel-gazing, self-referential comics that obsess over their own continuity for continuity’s sake. You would think, if you were a multidimensional warlord from the far-flung year of 3000 A.D., that life would at least be interesting. But boredom, ironically, is a sensation that Kang himself would be the first to sympathize with.

This, readers, is an unconscionable crime greater than any Kang himself could have devised. There is, or ought to be, nothing boring about a garishly costumed, flamboyantly over-the-top, multidimensional time-traveler who periodically dresses up like an Egyptian pharaoh for kicks. All of which is to say, Kang is great when Kang is recognized for what he is: the silliest damned villain in the Marvel multiverse.

Who is Kang?

Born Nathaniel Richards in a distant 31st century where war, conflict, and struggle are unknown, the man who would become the Conqueror found it all utterly, interminably dull. Resolving to emulate the deeds of great warlords from Alexander and Genghis Khan onward, he thus jetted backward through time for the cheap thrill of conquering everything and everybody in his path. (If you’re wondering, Kang is a distant descendant of Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, but that’s less a central building block of his character and more a piece of trivia.)

For comic writer Kurt Busiek, that simple premise is the key to unlocking what makes Kang interesting in the first place. As the writer of more than one major Kang storyline during his tenure on the Avengers title, Busiek would be the first to admit that he has, in his words, “some skin in the game” when it comes to this character. But as he tells Polygon via email, “I think he works best when he isn’t treated as some generic time-traveling villain… Any story where Kang uses time travel to sneak around and set things up for him to win easily in some coming conflict seems to me to miss the point of the character. He doesn’t want easy. If he did he could have stayed at home.”

Busiek has homed in on the powerful secret to good Kang stories throughout history, the basic fact about the character that so many writers seem to miss. Kang the Conqueror is ridiculous. He is chaotically over-the-top and flamboyantly evil, and he’s the first person in the world to admit it. He doesn’t even have superpowers: Just an endless array of deus ex machina future tech. He is gloriously, willfully, and unapologetically weird . And that’s just the way Marvel should keep him.

To understand that central weirdness, you need to go back and look at Kang’s very first comic appearance — a story in which he isn’t even Kang at all.

Born in Arizona (in the year 3000)

In 1963, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were still just at the cusp of their most fruitful years of creative partnership. Even so, they already had it in them to produce the periodic glimmer of mad genius in their work. In that year’s Fantastic Four #19 , the foursome travel back in time to ancient Egypt in search of lost medical technology, only to be immediately taken captive by soldiers of the mad Pharaoh Rama-Tut: in actual fact, a megalomaniacal, ray gun-wielding time-traveler.

Every part of Rama-Tut is unignorably, and seemingly deliberately, ridiculous, from a panel showing him drawing his inspiration from 1950s TV cowboy dramas to his getup that strongly resembles the costume from a 1978 Steve Martin routine. Most impressively of all, the time machine he takes back to the past turns out to be the actual, literal Sphinx: the panel showing him bringing the monument to a crashing thud after zipping through space-time remains a thing of beauty six decades later.

Even at the outset, then, there was nothing about Rama-Tut that readers would have been expected to take particularly seriously, even by the standards of Silver Age Marvel Comics. He was also a character that might have been just as easily forgotten, were it not for an odd and surprising decision just shy of one year later. In 1964’s Avengers #8 , the Kirby and Lee team introduce us to a brazenly self-confident warlord from the future, intent on picking a fight with the Earth’s greatest heroes.

This, for the first time, is Kang in the identity and purple-bedecked costume in which we’d come to know him. And right out of the gate, he exhibits all the preposterously extra personality you might expect, from his sexily arrogant insouciance to his obnoxious certainty in his own success. When we first catch sight of him, he’s lounging like a Playboy centerfold on what can only be described as an invisible flying beanbag chair, and lackadaisically declaring, “No need for such unseemly speed! Time means nothing to Kang, the Conqueror!!” (Thor’s deadpan reply, “I find his confidence disturbing,” is a model of perfect Stan Lee comic timing.)

But most important of all is a surprise reveal: Kang is none other than a future version of Rama-Tut, having been knocked off course on his way back from Egypt and shot forward to his own future before zipping back to our own present. This was unusual! A bit of unexpected, and totally unnecessary, linking of continuity that gave a simple character just enough head-spinning complication to be mind-trippy in an early-’60s sort of way. It was a brilliant, oddball move from Kirby and Lee, and it made Kang just bizarre enough to become a fixture in the Marvel firmament.

And it was about to get weirder, because two months later, Lee (this time alongside journeyman Kirby replacement Don Heck) introduced a third time-traveling ne’er-do-well , this one going by the name Immortus. Unlike the immediate Kang/Tut connection, it’s unlikely that Lee had any idea at this early stage that he was multiplying Kang’s identity yet again.

And yet, despite themselves, they were, which brings us to the next absurd thing we need to understand about Kang: No matter how much continuity-loathing readers might hate him, it’s not nearly as much as he hates himself.

Time can change me

Roughly a decade after Kang and Immortus were first introduced in Avengers , writer Steve Englehart opted to draw a connection between the two characters, establishing that Immortus was, in fact, the farthest-future iteration of Kang, mellowed out and now dedicated to stopping the more disastrous mistakes of his brash, boneheaded younger self.

Englehart explained his reasoning to Polygon via email: “When I wrote my first Kang story, people told me no one had ever written a coherent time travel story; there were always things that didn’t connect. I tried my best to solve that myself, and I think any Kang story that connects all the dots has the potential to be good, while any story that hasn’t been thought all the way through is never gonna get there.”

Englehart’s editor and predecessor as Avengers writer, Roy Thomas, concurs, explaining via email, “Any time travel story mostly just has to involve the reader in either solving an historical question or in bringing about (or avoiding!) a particular historical outcome. That was the basis [...] of the handful of Kang stories I wrote.”

No surprise, then, that writers have increasingly made halting his own alternate selves one of Kang’s central preoccupations from Englehart’s day to our own. Years later (or maybe earlier, this is Kang we’re talking about, after all), writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung would introduce the character of Iron Lad in their 2005 Young Avengers : an ersatz junior Iron Man, revealed (to the surprise of both readers and teammates) to be a teen version of Kang desperate to avoid his future of villainy.

Kiddie Kang may not have been successful, timelines being cruel bastards in the end, but his desperate war against his adult self remains one of the most purely enjoyable Kang stories in recent years. And if all of this twisting and turning through the timeline is starting to sound like more trouble than it’s worth, don’t worry: Kang has a solution to that, too.

Kangdom come

From Kang’s earliest days, Marvel has had the wisdom to embrace the contradictions and time loops in his biography for what they are: gloriously stupid and perfectly bizarre. Consider the early instance (from Kirby and Lee’s Fantastic Four Annual #2 ) in which Rama-Tut has a chance encounter with fellow time-lost villain Doctor Doom while floating through space-time. After briefly considering killing one another, the two of them are halted in their tracks by a sudden freakout that they might actually be the same person from different points in the timestream. The ensuing standoff is the Kirby/Lee sci-fi version of your best stoned dorm room conversation. It might be the greatest Marvel Comics sequence ever published.

Indeed, so many Kangs ended up populating the various Marvel timelines and multiverses, and so many writers turned to the trope as an easy shorthand or story escape card, that the situation gradually became untenable for character and publisher alike. So it was with this in mind that writers Roger Stern and Walt Simonson, alongside artist John Buscema, introduced the Council of Cross-Time Kangs, a Kang Gang assembled from across all timelines, dedicated to keeping the unrulier Kangs and their universes in line. The gathering turns out to be big enough to fill a whole-ass arena, hootin’ and hollerin’ their way to world domination.

It’s the most bonkers concept in a career devoted to them, and it exemplifies the Kang ethos in a nutshell: Kang is everything, everywhere, and everybody he needs to be. It’s always, constantly, too much, and therefore doomed to failure, but that doesn’t matter. The fun is in the idiocy to begin with.

So when Kang stories fail, it’s because latter-day comic writers, working in the shadow of Watchmen and Dark Knight and the conviction that comics aren’t just for kids, can’t wrap their heads around the notion of stories becoming beautiful by grace of their unabashed stupidity. They trip over themselves by feeling the one thing Kang himself never feels: embarrassed by Kang.

They might do well to remember Busiek’s words of wisdom when it comes to the character. “He’s not Dr. Doom, he’s not the Red Skull, he’s not Magneto,” Busiek says. “He’s Alexander the Great in purple pinstriped hip boots at the head of a sci-fi army. And every battle is do or die, because otherwise you ain’t really alive.”

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Screen Rant

Marvel perfectly explains how kang's time travel powers actually work.

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"Venom's In Good Hands Now": Marvel's New Venom Officially Debuts, as [SPOILER] Steals the Symbiote

New venom is a groundbreaking reinvention of symbiote lore, making him tony stark's fault (theory explained), marvel officially reveals venom's new weakness, changing symbiote lore forever.

Warning: contains spoilers for  Venom #9

Marvel Comics finally explained how Kang the Conqueror 's time-travel powers actually work. While he does not possess any real superhuman abilities, Kang always displayed a mastery of time that goes beyond simply having access to the most advanced technology. Thanks to a newfound partnership with Eddie Brock, aka Venom , Kang had the chance to explain just what it takes to be a true master of time.

Kang made his debut as an iconic foe of the Avengers, but his actual origins are a bit convoluted.  The Conqueror started out as Nathaniel Richards, a descendant of Fantastic Four's Reed Richards. He was born in the 30th century, when the world was in a constant state of peace and prosperity. Sickened by his contemporaries' lack of stimuli and challenges, Nathaniel found a time machine and used it first to travel back to ancient Egypt, where he set himself up as a Pharaoh Rama-Tut before being ousted by the Fantastic Four, and then to the war-thorn 40th century, which he conquered, finally becoming Kang. From there, he began to expand his conquest throughout history, frequently taking other identities such as Immortus, and developing a fixation for the Age of Heroes and the Avengers .

Related:  Kang's Ultimate Victory Over the Avengers Was Rewritten Because of 9/11

Compared to his future self Immortus, Kang never cared much about respecting the balance of the time flow and not altering timelines. However, in  Venom  #9, by Al Ewing, Bryan Hitch, and Alex Sinclair, the Conqueror reveals that actually altering the past or the future requires a great deal of skill and mastery of precise rules. Due to Venom's new abilities as the King in Black , Eddie Brock has become "lost in the timestream," unable to remain in one moment for too long. Kang teaches him about the structure of time, and that only mastery of very advanced techniques can change what has already been established. An amateur like Eddie can only " plan further routes on what's already been mapped, " and play with the cards that have already been dealt.

Kang's lesson is very important to understand the full scope of his abilities. Until very recently, the character had always been presented as a somewhat careless time traveler, who had no qualms about altering the past or the future. However, this did not explain how, over the centuries, Kang managed to become an even bigger threat than Thanos , just because he possesses a technology that many other characters in the Marvel Universe (such as Doctor Doom) have access to. Now, it's clear that Kang does not just have the means to  travel in time, he can actually  alter it, changing what has already been established, something that requires a lot more than a time machine to do.

This revelation explains why Kang is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. Rather than create new "branching timelines", his actions are capable of actually altering the flow of events. This is a skill that Kang acquired after centuries of practice, study, and experimentation, and puts him above and beyond the majority of time travelers. By finally explaining how Kang the Conqueror 's time-traveling abilities actually work, Marvel established why he is one of the most dangerous characters in the entire Multiverse.

Next:  Galactus & Kang's Combined Form Is the Ultimate Villain the MCU Needs

Venom  #9  is available now from Marvel Comics.

Kang the Conqueror - the powers and origin of the MCU villain

Everything you need to know about Kang the Conqueror, the next big MCU supervillain

Kang the Conqueror is now starring in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, after actor Jonathan Majors made his debut as Kang Variant He Who Remains in season 1 of the Loki Disney Plus series.

And spoiler warning for Quantumania - it may be an MCU 'Empire' moment like Avengers: Infinity War was to Endgame considering Kang the Conqueror will return and presumably be ruling over a dynasty the Avengers have to go up against in 2025's Avengers: Kang Dynasty , that leads directly into 2026's Avengers: Secret Wars.

One of Marvel Comics ' greatest and oldest supervillains, debuting nearly 60 years ago in 1964's Avengers #8 , Kang is the master of time and space in Marvel comic books, a conqueror (as his title suggests) of multiple eras and worlds in the Multiverse.

Time travel in genre fiction is often head-scratching and paradox-inducing, and Kang's history is by no means an exception. His six-decade history is highly complex and sometimes daunting (a less kind way would be to say confusing), especially considering his incessant habit of creating variant identities like he Who Remains.

But despite all his complex continuity, Kang is also regarded as one of the Avengers' greatest villains with legitimate depth and nuance as a character. And with his connections to the wider Marvel Universe, including the Young Avengers, Iron Man, and especially the Fantastic Four, the character seems poised to become a lynchpin of the new phase of the MCU.

With Kang's MCU introduction now on the books in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and the concept of his variants set to play a significant role in what's next for the MCU, Newsarama is firing up the TemPad (or Time Platform, to use comic book parlance) and taking you on a deep dive through the history - or histories - of Kang the Conqueror, and how his many lives could fit into the MCU.

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Who is Kang?

Answering the question of who Kang is might be the hardest part of understanding him.

Kang was originally a 31st-century scientist named Nathaniel Richards – a descendant of both Reed Richards and Doctor Doom, more on that later - but it's not so cut-and-dried as that. 

Kang has taken numerous identities throughout his history, often interacting with Marvel's heroes as a variety of villains, some of whom have even appeared simultaneously to oppose each other. This has created a huge web of appearances of Kang, some of which are contradictory and many of which take place at similar points in the timeline of the Marvel Universe, but at wildly different points in Kang's life.

While it would be all but impossible to quickly run down every time Kang has shown up or to create a true timeline of his appearances, there are some significant things to know about him that are likely to inform his role in the MCU.

As we said, Kang started out as Nathaniel Richards – a descendant of both Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, and his arch-enemy Victor Von Doom.

Kang (then still simply Nathanial Richards) first discovered time travel through the power of his ancestor Doom's time platform, using the technology to travel to ancient Egypt and become the pharaoh Rama-Tut – a villain who was defeated by a time-displaced Fantastic Four, who set the timeline right and sent Nathaniel Richards far into the future.

This is where the identity of Kang comes in.

Arriving hundreds of years into the future of his own timeline, Nathaniel uses his knowledge of time travel and the technology of many different eras to conquer this future world, taking the name Kang, and vowing to conquer other eras as well, with his goal to eventually rule the entirety of history all at once.

Since then (and before then, and after then, and... time travel is a lot), Kang has challenged the Avengers numerous times, always attempting to defeat them and conquer Earth – and he's employed multiple identities to do it.

In fact, Kang has had so many different identities that there's literally an entire organization of his different incarnations, many of whom really don't get along, called the Council of Cross-Time Kangs (Loki episode 6 even makes a nod to the Council - we'll get into it).

So who are the other identities Kang has employed? Here are just a few.

Kang's primary alt-identity is Immortus, a much older version of the villain who has often run afoul of both the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, and who is an agent of the Time-Keepers , the last living beings of the Marvel Universe in Immortus's timeline. 

He is tasked with maintaining the integrity of the timeline, something he's often taken harsh and downright villainous tactics to pursue. He appears to have been adapted into the MCU under the name 'He Who Remains,' a separate Marvel Comics character who is not a Kang variant.

And we mentioned Rama-Tut, an early enemy of the Fantastic Four, and Nathaniel Richards's first villainous identity, who traveled in a flying pyramid.

Then there's Iron Lad of the Young Avengers – an armored hero who took his inspiration from Tony Stark, and who was actually a teenage version of Kang attempting to try his life over again as a hero. Iron Lad tragically returned to his own timeline due to issues with changing the past, leaving his life and memories as a hero behind to fulfill his destiny as Kang.

There's the Scarlet Centurion, an alien warrior who had a disturbing and complex relationship with Carol Danvers (AKA Captain Marvel), but ultimately proved to be another identity of Kang's – one which he later passed on to his son Marcus, an Avengers villain/supporting character with his own complex story.

Finally, Kang's other major identity is that of Victor Timely, a turn-of-the-century American living in Illinois in the early 1900s – who eventually inspired Professor Phineas Horton to build the original android Human Torch who fought alongside Captain America in World War II. The android body of the Human Torch was later used to build the Vision – who went on to try to defeat Kang by kidnapping him as a child, resulting in an even more fractured version of Kang with even more identities.

Interestingly, Kang's identity of Victor Timely gets a few nods in Loki, with the MCU version of Kang's lover Ravonna Renslayer 's real name revealed as Rebecca Tourminet, an alias she used while Kang was going by Victor Timely, as well as the appearance of Alioth, an old enemy of Kang who is his most powerful rival in comic books, and who played a big role in Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective , which introduced Ravonna's Rebecca Tourminet alias.

That said, the version of Kang who comes to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is based on the main version - though with at least one of his variants already onscreen, and a whole host of them waiting in the wings, it's very possible we'll see some of his other identities pop-up as well.

How does Kang fit into the Marvel Universe?

As we said, Kang has deep connections to many Marvel heroes. Most obviously, he shares a name with Reed Richards' father Nathaniel Richards. Complicating things even more, the original Nathaniel Richards (Reed's father) is also a time-traveler and in some realities has also been Kang, though in most cases they are descendants who share a name.

He's also a descendant of Doctor Doom, Reed's arch-enemy, and used Doom's time-travel technology to develop his own tech and weapons. He's even teamed up with Doom to challenge Marvel's heroes more than once.

And of course, there's Kang's Iron Man connection, not just through Kang's time as Iron Lad, but through one of the most notorious (and disliked) Avengers stories ever. In ' The Crossing ,' Kang manipulates Tony Stark into becoming a villain, at which point he dies and is replaced with a teen version of Tony Stark from earlier in the timeline, all of which was eventually reversed through even more comic book science.

Kang also once teamed up with the Apocalypse Twins, mutants who were twisted by the X-Men villain Apocalypse to be his successors. Interestingly enough, it's that story that develops Kang's connection to the Wasp, who is trapped in a dystopian future world by Kang where she marries Havok of the X-Men and even has a child, though the relationship and the child were eventually erased when Wasp and Havok returned home (though not all the memories of that time went away).

Weirdly, the one time Kang fought Ant-Man and the Wasp by themselves, it was in a corporate tie-in comic for Synchrony Bank in which Ant-Man learns to open a savings account (yes, really).

Most importantly, Kang once actually managed to conquer the Avengers' whole timeline in the story Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (which lends its name to the just-announced film), taking over the world and imprisoning almost everyone who might be able to stop him, including Earth's Mightiest Heroes. 

Of course, he was eventually defeated – but not before he and Captain America fought to the finish as a pair of gigantic holograms clashing in space above the Earth.

What are Kang's powers?

Kang actually doesn't have any powers of his own – but he is a gifted military strategist and combatant and has access not just to extensive weaponry from across all eras of history including the far future, he has unparalleled time-travel technology.

That weaponry includes his vaunted Damocles Base, a massive time-traveling starship shaped like a sword, which holds a massive arsenal of its own.

In the past, Kang has managed to launch attacks across multiple time periods at once, including in the story Avengers Forever , in which Immortus brings together a team of Avengers from across different eras to challenge his younger self.

And aside from his weapons, Kang is sometimes backed by an army of potentially trillions of soldiers from all across time and space, which he has often employed against his enemies.

Likewise, Loki episode 6's variant Kang, He Who Remains, demonstrates that he doesn't seem to have powers of his own, but advanced knowledge of what will happen in his entire timeline up to a certain point, and the technology to manipulate time around him both in response to, and in preparation for his enemies.

All of that said, Kang does have one major weakness – his strict and strange code of honor, which has often led to his downfall. Though he's sometimes bent or tried to break these rules, Kang has a personal code that prevents him from defeating his enemies through treachery, such as going back in time and killing them as children. 

To Kang, conquest only counts if it is won through hard combat – and only if your enemies know you've beaten them.

How could Kang affect the MCU?

Kang is more than just a simple villain – he's a gateway to a whole different side of the Marvel Universe, including the Fantastic Four, the Young Avengers , Doctor Doom, and much more, almost all of whom have been confirmed or bandied about as potential expansions for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Kang's inclusion as a villain for Ant-Man is interesting – aside from Kang's run-in with Wasp as part of an Avengers team, Kang doesn't have many specific comic book connections to Ant-Man's world. But in the MCU, Kang may be a perfect fit for an Ant-Man villain. 

For one thing, it's Ant-Man's knowledge of and access to the Quantum Realm that made the time-travel aspect of Avengers: Endgame possible, so it could be the case that Kang even uses similar Quantum Realm technology - which would put him square on a collision course with Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Before then though, we now know a few more key details about Kang and his place in the MCU. For one thing, he's now directly tied to the TVA in an alternate timeline, with his statue (complete with Jonathan Majors' likeness and Kang's comic book costume) shown in the offices of a Multiversal version of the embattled organization.

And for another, Loki episode 6 confirms that it was indeed a battle of Kangs from many worlds that set up the Multiversal war laid out in Loki episode 1, which occurred when many different Kang variants developed Multiverse traveling tech at the same time. 

First banding together in an uneasy alliance - similar to the Council of Cross-Time Kangs from comic books - the variants all eventually went to war to become the one true master of the Multiverse, with He Who Remains (again, apparently based on Immortus) seeming to win by creating the TVA and pruning every timeline that gets too close to challenging him.

Now, with He Who Remains seemingly dead at Sylvie's hands, the Multiverse seems to be rapidly, uncontrollably expanding, likely leading directly to the circumstances of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Beyond all of that, there are all the ways Kang's presence could affect other Marvel characters' introductions to the MCU - namely the Fantastic Four, or potentially even the X-Men.

For one thing, there's the possibility that this version of Kang/Nathaniel Richards actually is Reed Richards's father - which would open up a whole other can of worms about the future of the MCU and how the Fantastic Four may come to join the film franchise, especially if that meant MCU Reed Richards would be born in the 31st century.

And of course, there's the chance that Kang and his Multiversal mayhem could be the ticket to bringing in the X-Men in some form or fashion - especially considering Deadpool is making the jump from Fox's X-Men franchise to the MCU in November 2024's Untitled Deadpool Movie, and bringing Hugh Jackman's Wolverine along with him.

Whatever the case, the floodgates that have been opened by the first appearance of one of Kang's variants in the MCU mean that anything - and anyone - is now fair game for the MCU, especially with Secret Wars on the horizon.

Kang is bar-none one of the greatest time-traveling villains of all time . 

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

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20 Things You Need To Know About Kang The Conqueror

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10 Best Female Villains of the MCU

Robert downey jr.'s doctor doom may have a unique parallel to the new ultimate universe, 10 mcu legacy characters that could appear in the next avengers movies.

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.

RELATED: 7 Ways Quantumania Sets Up Phase 5 Of The MCU

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.

RELATED: 10 Most Mysterious Marvel Villains, Ranked

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.

RELATED: Marvel: 13 Times Kang The Conqueror Actually Won

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 characte r 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.

RELATED: 10 Ways Victor Timely Could Change The MCU's Timeline

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.

RELATED: 10 Questions We Still Have After Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

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.

RELATED: Marvel: Every Version Of Kang The Conqueror, Ranked

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.

NEXT: 9 Ways Quantumania Is The Best Ant-Man Movie

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Kang the Conqueror

Victor Timely was a scientist from the 31st Century who discovered the Multiverse 's existence and joined the Council of Kangs in ruling over the foreseeable realities. Deeming the council's actions to be destroying the Multiverse, Timely sparked the Multiversal War , seeking to conquer as many worlds as possible as Kang the Conqueror . However, the council decided to banish him to the Quantum Realm , where he allied with Janet van Dyne to rebuild his Time Sphere , until he was betrayed after van Dyne discovered his true nature. Kang was once again trapped in the Quantum Realm, using that time to conquer part of it and build an empire in Axia .

Years later , after taking Darren Cross under his wing, Kang had ordered the capture of Ant-Man and Cassie Lang , holding the latter prisoner unless Ant-Man would succeed in claiming the Multiversal Engine Core to escape the Realm with his new empire and enact a new dynasty. However, Kang's attempts were thwarted by a revolution by the Freedom Fighters . In his last opportunity to escape, he had a brutal duel against Ant-Man, which resulted in Kang being shrunken and decimated by his own Engine Core, though his death inadvertently alerted the Council of Kangs about people interacting with the Multiverse, prompting them to take their own measures.

• 1.1 Multiversal War
• 1.2.1 Meeting Janet van Dyne
• 1.2.2 Rebuilding the Time Sphere
• 1.2.3 Van Dyne's Betrayal
• 1.3.1 The Rise of the Conqueror
• 1.4.1 Negotiations with Ant-Man
• 1.4.2 Retrieving the Core
• 1.4.3 Dynasty Preparations
• 1.4.4 Uprising in Axia
• 1.4.5 Final Stand-Off
• 1.5.1 Worse Fate
• 1.5.2 Council of Kangs' Meeting
• 1.5.3 Monitored by the TVA
• 2 Personality
• 3.2 Abilities
• 4.1 Other Equipment
• 4.2 Vehicles
• 5 Facilities
• 6.2 Enemies
• 7 Appearances
• 9 Behind the Scenes
• 10 References
• 11 External Links

Biography [ ]

Multiversal war [ ].

Kang beginning the Multiversal War

While living on Earth in the 31st century, Victor Timely discovered the existence of the Multiverse , which consisted of alternate universes and alternate versions of himself . Timely's Variants had been discovering the Multiverse at the same moment and made contact, sharing knowledge and technologies with each other, in an effort to improve their timelines. [4] However, Timely realized that the reckless actions of his Variants was causing chaos that was spreading throughout the entire Multiverse. He saw the ultimate demise of the Multiverse due to the collisions of the universes and Incursions .

Kang conquers timelines

Timely decided to take control, adopting the name of Kang the Conqueror, and sought to conquer as many timelines he possibly could, starting the Multiversal War between his Variants. [2] All Variants had been fighting one another in an ultimate struggle to annihilate other timelines and leaving only the one they had conquered. During his conquest, Kang fought and killed the Avengers from numerous timelines, to the point when he could not tell one from another. However, the Multiversal War was eventually put to an end, when one of the Variants weaponized Alioth to emerge victorious and created what he called the Sacred Timeline , keeping other Variants from entering it. [4]

Exiled to the Quantum Realm [ ]

Meeting janet van dyne [ ].

With He Who Remains ' death, the Sacred Timeline branched, which allowed his Variants, including Kang, to re-establish contact with it. [4] The Council of Kangs , having deemed Kang too dangerous, chose to banish him into the Quantum Realm in an attempt to prevent a new war, since Kang was still seeking to conquer the Multiverse . [2] Kang was ambushed [5] and put into his Time Sphere , where he was exiled to the Quantum Realm, a dimension where time and space do not abide to the human laws of physics.

Kang is banished to the Quantum Realm

Due to his Multiversal Engine Core being sabotaged, Kang stranded through the realm, until the Time Sphere crashed and Kang was confronted by the predators of the realm. However, he was saved by Janet van Dyne , who was also trapped in the Quantum Realm, and Kang helped her by shooting down one of the predators that nearly pounced her. He introduced himself as a scientist who traveled into the Quantum Realm before his ship crashed off-course, and van Dyne helped him in need. She asked if the Time Sphere could get them out of the Quantum Realm, and Kang replied that it could take them anywhere they wanted. Van Dyne had the Time Sphere being brought to her homestead near the crash site, so they could investigate together. [2]

Rebuilding the Time Sphere [ ]

Back at her homestead , Janet van Dyne helped Kang to examine the Time Sphere and find the way to make it operational again. They realized that the problem was with the Multiversal Engine Core and worked tirelessly to recharge it, however, nothing worked. Van Dyne would later remarked that she never met a person like Kang, remarking how lost he was, and that they found friendship in each other. Kang would listen to van Dyne telling him about her life, about her daughter Hope , whom she called "Jellybean".

As Kang and van Dyne talked, she confided to him that during the last time she saw Hope, van Dyne lied that she would come back to her. Kang told van Dyne that with his Time Sphere, he could give her back the time she could have spent with her daughter. He mused that time is a cage that keeps them all trapped, but turns out to be much smaller than it seemed, after you get out of it. He promised van Dyne that he will do everything he can, so van Dyne could upkeep her promise by coming back to Hope at the very exact moment she promised. [2]

Van Dyne's Betrayal [ ]

Kang regaining all his powers and armor

Years later, Kang and Janet van Dyne finally succeed and reactivated the Multiversal Engine Core , which would finally be their way out of the Quantum Realm . However, as they were putting the core into the Time Sphere , it relayed Kang's memories of the Multiversal War to van Dyne which horrified her. Kang was slightly confused by van Dyne's sudden mood change and assured her that they can leave, but she suddenly asked him who Kang is. Kang told her that it was who he needed to be and tried to reason with her, saying that he owes van Dyne and wants to keep his promise by bringing her back to her daughter . Van Dyne asked him what will he do after he gets out to the Quantum Realm, to which Kang replied that he is going to win and activated the Time Sphere, gaining access to his armor .

Kang getting betrayed by Janet van Dyne

Kang assured van Dyne that he has the power to make it so she never left Hope in the first place, but van Dyne only asked him about the worlds that will die after he gets out. Kang replied that he will spare her world and her daughter, while also remarking that she has no way to stop him. However, van Dyne used her Wasp Suit to steal the core and escape, but Kang created a shock wave to destroy the homestead and knock van Dyne down. He started approaching her and demanding the core back, prompting van Dyne to use the Pym Particle Discs to enlarge the core, rendering it unusable and trapping Kang in the Quantum Realm, without a chance of getting out. [2]

Conquering the Quantum Realm [ ]

The rise of the conqueror [ ].

Despite being trapped, Kang recovered his power and the access to the 31st century's technology and weaponry, which allowed him to conquer the Quantum Realm . He built his own empire , using the Quantumnauts as his troops, and ruled over his empire with an iron fist. Janet van Dyne and some of the Quantum Realm inhabitants became Freedom Fighters , seeking to bring down Kang's regime, but their attempts were fruitless. Kang came across of Darren Cross in a malfunctioning Yellowjacket Suit , who was also trapped in the Quantum Realm. Kang rebuilt his disfigured body and turned him to the Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing, making Cross his personal servant.

Eventually, van Dyne was able to be liberated from the Quantum Realm by Hank Pym and his Quantum Tunnel , which left Kang without any chance to escape. Some of the former Freedom Fighters chose to switch sides and pledge their loyalty to Kang, such as Krylar . Kang was informed by M.O.D.O.K. that Cassie Lang was using the Quantum Satellite to send signals to the Quantum Realm, which could potentially be used as their way out. Kang had M.O.D.O.K. to hijack the signal and open the rift, which brought van Dyne, Cassie, Pym, Scott Lang , and Hope van Dyne into the Quantum Realm, putting out an order to capture all of them alive. [2]

One Last Chance of Getting Out [ ]

Negotiations with ant-man [ ].

Kang introduces himself to Scott Lang

While Krylar 's attempt to capture Janet van Dyne , Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne , Kang sent out M.O.D.O.K. to attack the Freedom Fighters settlement and capture Scott and Cassie Lang . As he approached them at the Celestium 's prison cell, Kang spoke to Scott and remarked that he is an interesting man. Scott tried to intimidated him by saying that he is an Avenger , but Kang was unimpressed due to all the Avengers he had killed throughout his life, briefly mistaking Scott for Thor .

Kang intimidating Scott and Cassie Lang

Kang told Scott that he is a man who had lost a lot of time, just like him, and they could potentially help each other, noting Scott's skills as a thief. M.O.D.O.K. tried to butt in and mentioned the last time Scott stole something from him, but Kang threw him against the wall with his telekinesis for speaking in his presence. He retorted that Janet was a better helper, which prompted a surprised reaction from Scott, and Kang was not surprised that Janet never told anyone about him.

Kang telling Scott Lang what he wants

Kang claimed that Janet stole his only ticket out of the Quantum Realm and Scott was the only man who could steal it back and return it to Kang. As Scott asked why would he help Kang, he informed him and Cassie that only he could stop the arrival of his Variants , claiming they exiled Kang because they were afraid of him. Kang then claimed that in exchange, he could help all of them to get back home, but Scott responded by rejecting his offer.

Kang making his deal with Scott Lang

Kang then begun telekinetically torturing Lang, threatening to trap him in an infinite loop of watching Cassie die over and over, until Scott would beg Kang to kill him for good. Scott was visibly afraid of that, and when Cassie tried to tell her father not to listen to the threats, Kang turned his attention to Cassie and began torturing her as well. Kang gave Scott a choice of whether he wanted his daughter to live or die, threatening to break her, until Scott eventually accepted the deal with Kang. He then let both him and Cassie out their cells, and as Scott demanded him to not hurt his daughter again, Kang replied that he must bring him what he wanted. [2]

Retrieving the Core [ ]

Kang brings Ant-Man to the Engine Core

Kang then opened a portal, bring him, Ant-Man , M.O.D.O.K. , and Cassie Lang to the ruins of Janet van Dyne 's homestead and what used to be the Multiversal Engine Core . M.O.D.O.K. informed Ant-Man that his mission is to get through the eye of the storm and shrink the core back down, while Kang said that he will know what he is looking for when he finds it. Cassie suddenly broke away from the troops and hugged her father, while Kang ordered them to stand down and not shoot her. As the two said their goodbyes, the Quantumnauts took Cassie away, while Kang witnessed Ant-Man jumping into the storm.

Kang confronts Ant-Man and the Wasp

The mission was successful as Ant-Man managed to shrink down the core with the Wasp 's help, so Kang stepped in after they were joined by Janet who told Ant-Man that Kang cannot have the core. Kang retorted that Janet was not trustworthy, referencing her previous betrayal that had him trapped in the Quantum Realm for years. Seeing Ant-Man holding the core, Kang questioned what would be his next course of action, asking if he needed to take the core by force. Ant-Man asked Kang about his daughter and reminded Kang of their deal to let them both go after he gets the core, but Kang replied that Cassie will be fine without him.

Kang then used his telekinesis to take the core, so Ant-Man and the Wasp both attempted to attack Kang, but he effortlessly knocked them away. Janet then witnessed Hank Pym crashing because of M.O.D.O.K.'s revenge attempt, but before she could run off to her husband, Kang stopped her in her tracks. He remarked that Janet left him to die in the Quantum Realm once before, wondering for how long her family would be able to survive there, and opened a portal to take her to the Celestium . [2]

Dynasty Preparations [ ]

Kang awaiting Janet van Dyne 's arrival

Kang had Janet van Dyne to be brought to him, while he was sitting in his Time Sphere and awaiting her. Kang questioned what did she saw back in the day, which made Janet turn against him, and she replied that what she saw was a megalomaniacal monster Kang actually was. Kang told her that he holds a power to witness the end of the Multiverse itself and could not look away from it no matter what, and when Janet what was the reason for that, Kang answered that it was himself.

Kang explains his plan to Janet van Dyne

He showed her the branches of the Multiverse and revealed that his Variants was playing with them like children, causing chaos and unwittingly bringing the Multiverse to its doom, so he decided to take control. Janet argued that what he did was starting a war and all he wanted is to wipe away any universe that poses a threat to him, calling him a monster again. Kang, however, claimed that he was merely a conqueror, and he must burn down the old world to build a new one in its place.

Kang vowing to destroy all of his variants

She retorted that Kang never cared about saving anyone and only wanted the revenge on his Variants for his loss. Kang lashed out, claiming that Janet had no idea what he truly lost, saying that he will burn all of his Variants out of time for what they had done to him. Janet could barely believe that Kang would murder trillions to achieve his revenge, but Kang replied that it hardly mattered in the end. [2]

Uprising in Axia [ ]

As the preparations of the Multiversal Engine Core were in progress, Kang had Janet van Dyne to witness the empire he had built and the army he was going to bring for his conquest. He then addressed his Quantumnauts with a speech, stating that together they will forge a history and take revenge on those who dared to banish him, as the Kang Dynasty shall conquer the eternity. However, his speech was cut short, as the broadcast was hijacked by Cassie Lang who rallied the Freedom Fighters and other Quantum Realm inhabitants to rebel against Kang and his forces. Kang then ordered M.O.D.O.K. to find Cassie and kill her once and for all, while his troops held Janet in her place.

Kang coldly taunting Janet van Dyne

Kang then put the core into its place and ordered to begin the launch, however, the Celestium was suddenly attacked by Giant-Man , who was furious at Kang for breaking their deal. In response, Kang sent out his forces to bring Giant-Man down, but he was rescued by the Freedom Fighters who started an uprising in Axia . As the Freedom Fighters fought his troops and Giant-Man was approaching his citadel, Kang ordered to launch the core immediately, covering the Celestium with a force field. He initially could not breach it, but with the Wasp 's help, he managed to get through and damage the citadel, prompting Kang to escape the rubble.

Kang descends to put down the rebellion

Once Kang stood back and witness the ruins of his empire, Janet told him that it was over now, to which Kang only replied that it is never over. Kang then personally descended to participate in the battle, killing any Freedom Fighter on his way.

Kang holding back Jentorra 's attacks

Being confronted by Jentorra and Xolum , Kang effortlessly knocked them both away and reflected Xolum's energy beam back at him, which killed him. As the Freedom Fighters were falling back, Kang was faced by Ant-Man, the Wasp and Stature, who immediately charged at him. Kang fought off both the Wasp and Stature, but Ant-Man managed to pummel him into his own citadel, before Kang knocked him back.

Kang confronts Ant-Man , Wasp and Stature

Kang then ranted about how he has defeated many rebellions, killed many Avengers, and questioned their belief that they can beat him, remarking that Lang "talks to ants". Just then, Hank Pym arrived with an army of technologically advanced ants that started laying waste to Kang's forces and attempted to attack Kang himself.

Kang holding back M.O.D.O.K. 's attacks

Kang put out a force field, barely managing to hold off the ants, but still being able to force through them. However, M.O.D.O.K. suddenly arrived, having had a change of heart due to Stature's advice, and manages to disable Kang's force field at the cost of his own life. Kang was left defenseless against an army of ants that instantly swarmed him and damaged his armor, carrying him away. [2]

Final Stand-Off [ ]

Kang fights Ant-Man one on one

Kang managed to survive the attack of ants and furiously attack Ant-Man , right after his allies managed to get out of the Quantum Realm through the portal. Having his armor heavily damaged, Kang immediately rushed toward the portal in an attempt to gain his freedom, only to be knocked away by Ant-Man. The two engaged in a fight, in which Kang repeatedly stomped down on his head to the point that his helmet broke. Kang remarked that Lang should have looked the other way and not involve himself in his business, to which Lang replied that he was never great at that and charged at him. Kang ultimately bested Lang in a fight, saying that he could have gone home and be with his daughter , but threw it away due to thinking that he could win.

Kang gets sucked into a vortex

As Kang had Lang in a headlock, he suddenly responded by saying that he only needed for both of them to lose and hit the Multiversal Engine Core with blue and red Pym Particle Discs . Realizing what he had done, Kang immediately let go of Lang and rushed towards the portal once again, but was knocked back by the Wasp who came to aid Lang. She proceeded to blast Kang with her stingers , until Lang delivered a finishing blow and punched Kang into the unstable core. As the core started to collapse, Kang was sucked into a vortex and screamed from pain, before disappearing in the one last burst of energy. [2]

Worse Fate [ ]

Returning to his normal life, Scott Lang began to ponder on Kang's words that a threat bigger than him was coming. He became increasingly paranoid as to whether or not killing Kang was the best idea, remembering how Kang said that everyone would die if he did not escape. Lang tried to brush it off but his doubts remained as he tried not to think about Kang. [2]

Council of Kangs' Meeting [ ]

Meanwhile, Centurion called Rama-Tut to tell him that the exiled Kang had died. Immortus soon arrived and revealed that the fallen Kang was defeated by Ant-Man . Concerned that the Avengers were slowly discovering the existence of the Multiverse and would destroy everything they had built, Immortus decided to call upon the Council of Kangs to handle the issue. [6]

Monitored by the TVA [ ]

Kang's reports being studied at the TVA

Kang's conquest and attempted escape of the Quantum Realm did not go unnoticed by the Time Variance Authority . However, the TVA did not have to intervene since he was successfully defeated by both Ant-Man and Wasp . [3]

Personality [ ]

On the surface, this iteration of Kang was calm and collected, merely showing a desire to escape the Quantum Realm and initially helping Janet van Dyne return to her own timeline to see Hope. He pretended as a traveler lost in time and hid his true nature from van Dyne until the latter found out his true plans through touching his Time Sphere. Beneath this calm and controlled demeanor was a ruthless and cunning conqueror, prone to losing his temper when he did not get what he wanted, as he had been trapped in the Quantum Realm for so long and wanted to leave desperately, to exact revenge on his enemies and to conquer timelines. As his plans to start a new dynasty were foiled by Ant-Man and his allies, Kang became increasingly violent and desperate in his ways and decided to kill Ant-Man and his family even though he promised to spare them if they delivered Kang what he wanted.

This Kang held deep enmity for the Council of Kangs who imprisoned him and swore to burn them out of time. This desire of revenge against his enemies was his greatest weakness and blinded his rational mind, preferring to beat Scott Lang ruthlessly for foiling his plans instead of just escaping when given the chance to do so. This also made Kang prone to emotional outbursts when he suffers from a defeat.

Kang was also extremely ambitious and power-hungry. Before his exile, he had conquered a number of realities and killed countless heroes to establish power. He held no empathy for the people of these timelines and simply massacred them all. In his own twisted way, he believed that conquering the multiverse was to save it from his Variants in the Council of Kangs and prevent incursions from happening. In this sense, he believed that he was doing the right thing and justified his killings and murderous rampages with a “royal purpose”. Kang, due to his instability, was vulnerable to self-deception, since the main justification for his actions was that he saw a creator god of realities by destroying others. Kang even stated that if he couldn’t escape the Quantum Realm, all of reality would be destroyed by his Variants, showing that this Kang truly believed himself to be doing the right thing. Even after being banished, Kang conquered the Quantum Realm which was essentially his prison for eternity, and built his own empire on top of the homes of the original inhabitants, displacing them and forcing them to group as Freedom Fighters, showing that he held no empathy for other people and cared only for his own interests and desires. He also grouped a giant army which he used to monitor and force the inhabitants of the Quantum Realm into oppression, and to wipe out resistance entirely.

This Kang saw normal people living in different timelines as lesser beings and worthless to him. As Kang possessed the ability to travel through different timelines and universes, he was essentially erased from the equation and thus was able to see the Multiverse in its entirety, consisting of countless timelines. Kang sees himself as superior and that others' lives do not matter as they cannot see beyond their universes. He viewed timelines as simply as new lands to conquer so as to "preserve peace" among timelines.

Kang was also deceptive, as shown from how he hid his true nature from van Dyne in the Quantum Realm and merely masqueraded as a traveler lost in time, gaining the trust of van Dyne so that she could help him rebuild the Multiversal Engine Core to allow Kang to continue his conquest after escaping.

Kang also exerted an extremely condescending manner to both his subjects and his enemies. Considering his cruelty to M.O.D.O.K. , Kang only viewed his subjects as pawns to achieve his own goals as he killed Darren Cross immediately after Cross changed sides and became worthless to Kang. He only saved Cross as he saw what Cross could do for him, viewed Cross as a mere replacement for van Dyne in helping him escape, and treated Cross harshly, demanding him not to speak in his presence. To his enemies, Kang was much crueler, using his powers to render his enemies unable to move and forcing them to work with him, such as forcing Ant-Man into working for him after torturing his daughter Cassie in front of her father, and warning Ant-Man that he would have to see Cassie die endlessly if he didn’t comply, showing Kang’s tendency to mentally torture his enemies into submission. During the uprising, Kang brutally killed many Freedom Fighters without a thought even when the rebels escaped. Kang looked down on Ant-Man, stating that he only “talked to ants”, and underestimated his abilities during the Uprising in Axia as he didn’t expect the heroes to be able to beat him at all, Kang himself having killed countless Avengers from different realities before. Even as ruler of the Quantum Realm, Kang did not show any empathy to the inhabitants whose homes were displaced by Kang himself, and chose to rule with an iron fist, viewing them as lesser beings and thus neglecting their freedom. He also mercilessly killed many members of the Freedom Fighters as they attempted to thwart him in the Uprising of Axia.

Despite his ruthlessness, Kang seemed to at least have some honor, as he offered to change the timeline of Janet van Dyne such that she would not waste decades of time and with her daughter, as his token of thanks for her help in repairing the Time Sphere . He also offered to keep Janet van Dyne's timeline safe from his conquering once he escaped as he sees himself in debt to van Dyne. He seemed to truly see van Dyne as a friend, at least before van Dyne turned against him and joined the Freedom Fighters.

Powers and Abilities [ ]

• Superhuman Strength : The armor enhanced Kang's strength to superhuman levels. He was able to flick away Ant-Man and Wasp 's combo attack with a wave of his hand, an attack that would have knocked out most of the enemies. He was also capable of grabbing and throwing the inhabitants of Axia during the Uprising with ease.
• Superhuman Durability : The armor enhanced Kang's durability to superhuman levels, allowing him to survive numerous circumstances that would have otherwise killed a normal human. The armor's durability allowed him to survive being knocked away large distances by the Multiversal Engine Core 's enlarging, the collapse of his tower, numerous blasts from the Wasp's Stingers , being punched many times against a wall by Scott Lang in his Giant-Man form, being held by Cassie Lang in her giant mode, and being ripped apart by an enormous swarm of technologically advanced ants .
• Superhuman Speed : The armor enhanced Kang's speed to superhuman levels, enabling him to swat Wasp out of the air before she could react and even flick her and Ant-Man away in their miniature forms.
• Superhuman Agility : The armor enhanced Kang's agility to superhuman levels, making him capable of evading and dodging attacks from Ant-Man and Wasp even in their miniature forms.
• Superhuman Stamina : The armor enhanced Kang's stamina to superhuman levels, allowing him to battle against countless Freedom Fighters , Ant-Man , Wasp and Cassie Lang without showing any signs of exhaustion.
• Superhuman Reflexes : The armor enhanced Kang's reflexes to superhuman levels, seeing Ant-Man and Wasp when in their miniature form and flicking them away with a wave of his hand. Kang was also able to accurately fire an energy blast at Janet van Dyne while she was flying away in her miniature form.

Kang attacking the Freedom Fighters

• Telekinesis : The armor gave Kang telekinesis, which he could use through various hand gestures, allowing him to move, rotate, and even slowly crush whoever it was targeted at. Kang could also completely remove all motion from a moving object, freezing Janet in place and Jentorra 's spear in mid-air. He also used this ability against Scott Lang and Cassie Lang when they were imprisoned, torturing Ant-Man and his daughter to force them into working for him.
• Force-Field Generation : The armor allowed Kang to create blue force-fields, which could temporarily withstand large swarms of enemies such as technologically advanced ants or intense explosions such as the enlarging of his Multiversal Engine Core to massive proportions.

Kang opens up a portal to the Engine Core

• Platform Creation : The armor allowed Kang to create circular, blue platforms made of energy that allowed him to levitate in any direction, or allow him to get to the battlefield from his throne room by levitating down and attacking his enemies.
• Technopathy : His armor was able to interact with ambient technologies around him emulating a form of technological interfacing. He was able to unlock the cell that had held Ant-Man and Stature during his conversation with them.

Abilities [ ]

• Genius-Level Intellect : Being a version of Victor Timely, Kang has massive levels of intelligence. Able to manipulate, outmanoeuvre, outsmart, outfight and outdo any threat and opponent, he is a force to be reckoned with. In time, he was able to create a massive empire with just his armor as a starting point, including aircraft, weapons, architectural marvels and other equipment that he needed, after being left stranded in the Quantum Realm without a way to escape. He is also hinted to be smarter than his variant selves, with Rama-Tut's inquiry to Centurion if he was truly deceased proving that he may be capable of faking his own death.
• Master Tactician : Kang, being a Conqueror, is an extremely seasoned tactician. Before being banished to the Quantum Realm, he had already used tactics and power to destroy and annihilate timelines. After being banished, he posed as a harmless traveler to gain the trust of Janet van Dyne so that the latter could help him rebuild his Multiversal Engine Core . After regaining his a fraction of his powers and his suit, Kang easily became the ruler of the Quantum Realm, putting down a number of revolutions led by the Freedom Fighters and other inhabitants. He also built his own army and warcrafts to prepare to enact his dynasty when he could escape.
• Master Scientist : Kang was definitely gifted in the sciences and other similar disciplines as his variants, whereby his mastery of them had enabled him to discover inter-dimensional travel and advanced technology. Being a scientist from the 31st Century, his mastery was probably higher. Kang was aware of phenomena such as Incursions and the Multiverse and had great knowledge of them.
• Master Engineer : In the art of invention and the understanding of machinery, Kang was an undeniable master. From his armor to the Time Sphere, from the epic scale of his Empire to his weapons, aircraft and technology, his mastery was evident. His armor was able to simulate superhuman endowment with his Sphere capable of multiversal travel.

Kang furiously fighting against Ant-Man

• Master Marksman : Kang was a master marksman. He was able to accurately shoot thousands of Freedom Fighters without missing. He even managed to blast Janet van Dyne out of the air, despite her being shrunk down and a significant distance away from him. His hand-eye coordination was so greatly developed that he was able to perceive a shrunken Ant-Man and Wasp and swat them aside, when they launched an attack against him after claiming his Core from them. During the Uprising, he was able to vaporise a revolutionary who was charging towards him without even looking at them.

Equipment [ ]

Other equipment [ ].

Kang putting his armor back on

• Kang the Conqueror's Armor : Kang possessed a neuro-kinetic suit of armor that provided him with numerous abilities that he used throughout his conquest of the Multiverse and later while ruling his empire in the Quantum Realm .
• Multiversal Engine Core : Kang created the Multiversal Engine Core as a power source for his Time Sphere to travel anywhere in space and time of the Multiverse. Due to its inner workings being capable of manipulating the fabric of Ant-Man's existence when enlarged, it can be said that this technology is more than meets the eye.

Vehicles [ ]

• Time Sphere : Kang built the Time Sphere to travel across the Multiverse. When it was deactivated by the Council of Kangs , he used it as the throne of his empire in the Quantum Realm. The technology was neuro-kinetic as his armor, and responded to his mental commands.

Facilities [ ]

• Celestium : Kang established a citadel in the city of Axia as his base of operations in the Quantum Realm . This citadel was the heart of his Empire, where he ruled it with an iron fist. As part of his intellectual, technological and engineering achievements, he was able to bind his Time-Sphere technology to the Citadel, allowing him the capability of leaving the Quantum Realm with his entire military might to another destination within the Multiverse.

Relationships [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• Chronological

In chronological order:

In an indefinite temporality:

In narrative order:

• In the comics, Kang the Conqueror is a time-traveling enemy of the Avengers and the ruler of Chronopolis, as well as the love interest of Ravonna Renslayer . His real name is Nathaniel Richards , which is also the name of his ancestor from the 20th century, the father of Mister Fantastic .

Behind the Scenes [ ]

• Xavier Lake was a stunt double for Jonathan Majors in the role of Kang the Conqueror.
• Audric Tchouani was a stand-in and a double for Jonathan Majors in the role of Kang the Conqueror.
• Ed Goka and Kyle Reece Bell were stand-in for Jonathan Majors in the role of Kang the Conqueror.
• Jernel Chisholm and Charles Ohanwe were acting doubles for Jonathan Majors in the role of Kang the Conqueror.
• Theodore Smith , Kamara Benjamin Barnett , and Jernel Chisholm were a body doubles for Jonathan Majors in the role of Kang the Conqueror.
• According to Jeff Loveness , this variant of Kang is the most dangerous out of all his variants.
• Jeff Loveness implied that Kang the Conqueror has some connection to the Ten Rings , utilising similar ring technology to them. [7]
• Marvel Future Fight ' s tie-in game mode for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has Kang introduce himself as Nathaniel Richards.

References [ ]

• ↑ Loki: 2.03: 1893
• ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
• ↑ 3.0 3.1 Loki: 2.06: Glorious Purpose
• ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Loki: 1.06: For All Time. Always.
• ↑ Assembled: 1.15: The Making of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
• ↑ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Mid-credits Scene
• ↑ Avengers 5 Writer Seemingly Confirms Kang 'Infinity Stones' Theory

External Links [ ]

• 2 Deadpool & Wolverine

‘Quantumania’s’ Kang the Conqueror is Marvel’s next big villain. Here’s his backstory

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This story does not contain spoilers for “ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ,” but does discuss events from previous Marvel Cinematic Universe installments such as “ Loki .”

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next big bad is about to make his big screen debut in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

Directed by Peyton Reed, “Quantumania,” out Friday, will formally introduce Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, the supervillain expected to play a big role in the next series of Marvel Studios’ film and TV projects as they march toward “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” announced for 2025.

The first to face this new big bad of the MCU’s Phases 5 and 6 will be the multigenerational Lang-Van Dyne-Pym clan, who can also collectively be called Ant-Mans and the Wasps. The current Ant-Man, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), is basking in the aftermath of saving the world with the Avengers, while his partner, Hope van Dyne, a.k.a. the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), and daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) are busy trying to make the world a better place. But they, along with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), eventually find themselves back in the quantum realm and pitted against Kang.

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Fans will recall that this is not Majors’ first appearance in the MCU. He made his debut as a character called “He Who Remains” during the first season of “Loki.” The name Kang is never mentioned in the series, but there were plenty of clues that pointed to Majors’ character being a version of Kang.

A self-proclaimed master of time, Kang has a long history in comics dating all the way back to his debut in the 1960s. Here’s everything you need to know about Kang (and He Who Remains) before watching “Quantumania.”

Who is Kang the Conqueror?

The time-traveling supervillain known as Kang the Conqueror was introduced in the pages of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s “Avengers” No. 8 in 1964. The issue sees him arrive out of thin air in a mysterious UFO in order to subjugate Earth. The Avengers — including then-members Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne — are called on to try to stop him.

In the comics, Kang’s original identity is Nathaniel Richards, a 31st century scholar of sorts who stumbles upon plans for a time machine created by one of his ancestors. Some details of his backstory have changed over the years as different incarnations of Kang wreaked havoc in various storylines, but he generally uses his technology to travel to all around the multiverse in order to manipulate events in his efforts to conquer all of time.

Some of his notable stops in time include ancient Egypt and the 41st century. Comic book Kang is also known for his (obsessive) love for Ravonna Renslayer — a name that should be familiar to those who watched “Loki.”

Kang is most frequently pitted against the Avengers, but he’s also tussled with other teams such as the Fantastic Four. While the Fantastic Four have yet to formally be introduced into the MCU, a Reed Richards variant had a cameo in last year’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” On the rare occasion he is not busy being a warlord trying to conquer all reality, Kang — or alternate variants of him — has fought alongside these superhero teams.

What is Kang’s connection to “Loki”?

The Season 1 finale of “Loki” introduced an character known only as He Who Remains . The series followed a God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) plucked from time by an organization monitoring the timeline in order to prevent the creation of the multiverse. The various versions of individuals from different timelines or realities are known as variants.

It turns out this organization — known as the Time Variance Authority — was established by He Who Remains, ominously described as the one who “created all and … controls all,” and he has been pulling all the strings behind the scenes. But before he became He Who Remains, as explained in the episode, he was a scientist who lived on Earth in the 31st century. After this 31st century scientist discovered the existence of the multiverse, he figured out a way to contact other versions of himself from these various timelines who also made the same scientific discovery.

According to He Who Remains, not all of his variants were “pure of heart.” Some saw these new realities just as new worlds to be conquered, which led to a multiversal war. In order to prevent this catastrophe, He Who Remains figured out a way to prune the multiverse into one timeline meant to be preserved at all cost.

He Who Remains offered the two Loki variants that arrive at his home base at the Citadel at the End of Time the chance to carry on his life’s work of maintaining the one existing timeline. But he was killed by one of them (Sophia Di Martino), which unleashed the multiverse and the infinite possibilities that could lead to a multiversal war within the MCU.

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Are there any other notable versions of Kang?

Yes! Before his first appearance as Kang, the time-traveling villain was first introduced in Lee and Kirby’s “Fantastic Four” No. 19 (1963) as the pharaoh Rama-Tut. When the Fantastic Four travels to ancient Egypt in search of a cure for blindness, they discover the ruler is a time-traveling thug from the 31st century. It’s later revealed that when Rama-Tut made his escape, he traveled to other points in time before his eventual encounter as Kang with the Avengers.

Other Kang variants in the comics include Immortus, a future Kang who has decided to work to preserve timelines and realities in exchange for immortality — much like the MCU’s He Who Remains — as well as Iron Lad, an adolescent Nathaniel Richards who travels to the 21st century to try to stop Kang from happening. (Iron Lad, coincidentally, becomes particularly close to Cassie Lang.)

The Scarlet Centurion is another alias used by Kang after he’d spent some time with Marvel comics villain Doctor Doom (one of his potential ancestors that has yet to appear in the MCU). At other times, Kang variants have been known as Victor Timely, an inventor and mayor of a small Wisconsin town, as well as Mister Gryphon, a businessman. There have also been comics storylines that feature so many different Kangs that they formed a council that killed versions they deemed unworthy.

Marvel fans will just have to wait to see which Kang variants come into play in “Quantumania” and beyond.

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Everything you need to know about Kang, the MCU’s next Thanos

Kang the Conqueror has arrived to dominate the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania . Jonathan Majors’s villainous character is set to shake up the MCU as the big bad of the Multiverse Saga, making for an Avengers-level threat far greater than Thanos.

He has powers like Iron Man

His ancestry, he is a nexus being, he used to be iron lad, he was once a pharaoh, scarlet centurion, the birth of kang, he conquers earth.

Now that the stage is set for the Conqueror to wage war with the MCU, here’s everything audiences need to know about Kang and his long history in Marvel Comics.

Though Kang is a superpowerful being, he doesn’t technically have any superpowers. His strength comes from his intellect, which has allowed him to construct a advanced armor using a rare material from the 40th century.

Like Iron Man, this suit gives him super strength, and it can shoot energy beams, create force fields, and produce antigravity fields and hover pads. The suit even allows Kang to travel through time and transfer his consciousness into another body.

Born in the 31st century as Nathaniel Richards, Kang is said to be descended from Reed Richards’ time-traveling father, also named Nathaniel, who brought peace to Kang’s war-torn reality. However, the comics have also suggested that he is a descendant of the Fantastic Four’s mortal enemy, Doctor Doom.

Whatever his lineage may be, Kang has proven himself to have an extraordinary intellect rivaling that of Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom. His relationship with both geniuses may also factor into Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four film.

According to Marvel lore, Nexus Beings are entities that can influence probability and alter the future and reality itself, making them important to the flow of the time stream. Each universe has a single Nexus Being, and they each serve as the focal point for the mystical energies of their own realities.

Kang shares such a title with a few known figures across the multiverse, with some of the notable examples being the Scarlet Witch, Odin, Vision, and Jean Grey. In the multiverse lore, some real-life figures are also Nexus Beings, including Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy.

In the comics, Kang travels back in time to save his younger self from a group of bullies and reveals the boy’s future as a supervillain. Horrified by his future self’s actions, the young Nathaniel steals Kang’s time travel tech and flees to the past, choosing to take a more righteous path and become a superhero.

He dons high-tech armor modeled after Iron Man’s, forms a new team of heroes called the Young Avengers, and even dates teammate Cassie Lang. Unfortunately, this heroic streak doesn’t last, as he eventually fulfills his destiny by becoming a villain like his older counterpart.

Kang was introduced to Marvel Comics when he was ruling over ancient Egypt under the guise of Pharaoh Rama-Tut. He had decided to travel to this era and become this false god-king after growing bored with his time of origin for being devoid of war.

However, his rule ends when the Fantastic Four travel back in time and lead a rebellion against him.

After his reign as Rama-Tut ends, Kang accidentally travels to the present day in Earth-616, where he encounters Doctor Doom. Since Doom is possibly Kang’s ancestor, the latter is inspired to create an identity similar to his, becoming the Scarlet Centurion.

He tries to take over the modern era by stripping the Avengers of their free will. Though he succeeds and creates another timeline where he is in control, the Scarlet Centurion is defeated by Earth-616’s Avengers, driving him to relinquish his new identity.

Though Kang was already a time-traveling tyrant when he debuted, he didn’t officially become known as Kang until after his loss as the Scarlet Centurion. Following his crushing defeat at the hands of the Avengers, he flees from the present day and accidentally ends up in the 40th century.

Since this future Earth has been ravaged by war, he assumes the identity of Kang the Conqueror and easily seizes control of the planet before taking over the entire galaxy.

The “Kang Dynasty” comic book storyline saw Kang and his army succeed in conquering the Earth in Marvel’s mainstream universe. His invasion involves him destroying the United Nations and annihilating Washington D.C. and its inhabitants, forcing the planet to surrender to him.

Though this may seem to pale in comparison to how Thanos wiped out half of the universe, the fact that he made the entire Earth submit to him of their own free will is especially terrifying. As a result, audiences might see this global invasion come to fruition in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty .

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Before the House of the Dragon season 2 finale, HBO released a teaser video previewing several new and upcoming television shows coming to the network and Max, including The Last of Us season 2, A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, and The White Lotus season 3.

The first footage from The Last of Us features Pedro Pascal's Joel speaking with Catherine O' Hara's mysterious character, who asks if he hurt Bella Ramsey's Ellie. "I saved her," Joel tearfully replies. The teaser features glimpses of several new additions to the season 2 cast, including Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina, and Jeffrey Wright as Isaac. The Last of Us season 2 premieres in 2025.

Shrinking season 2 is heading to Apple TV+ this fall.

Apple announced that Shrinking season 2 will premiere on Wednesday, October 16. The streamer teased the news in a brief video featuring the ensemble cast.

When it comes to the streaming service Max. the HBO world is your oyster with tons of library content from the network to stream. Think everything from classics like The Sopranos to new shows like House of the Dragon (and yes, that means Game of Thrones, too). Max's list of shows includes many that are Max originals, like Peacemaker, along with co-productions, such as Harley Quinn.

The price for a Max subscription has increased recently, but with such an extensive library of content with an impressive resume of Emmy-nominated and winning shows, you're getting both quality and quantity. If you're looking to find the best shows on Max (formerly HBO Max) right now, we have put together this continually updated list to help you find the perfect option in every genre. This list includes new shows worth watching once they come out as well as an update on quality shows returning with new seasons.

Nathaniel Richards Kang the Conqueror

The time-traveling despot Kang the Conqueror is aptly named, using all his resources and technology from the future to rule as many universes as possible while there’s still time.  

Nathaniel Richards was born in the alternate timeline Earth-6311, aka Other-Earth. In this reality, the Dark Ages never occurred and technology developed without interruption. Their timeline having diverged circa 300 AD, the people of Other-Earth made their first moon landing in 900 AD, which became the first year of their new calendar. After a peaceful era, during which a lunar colony was established, a Great War between the colony and Earth destroyed the moon and plunged Other-Earth back into a primitive state. Nathaniel Richards of Earth-616, attempting time travel, reached Other-Earth and settled there; he used his knowledge to help rebuild that world and married Cassandra, daughter of the Matriarch of the Eyriennes. He became known as both the Warlord (erroneously) and the Benefactor.

Approximately 1900 years later, in the calendar year 3000, Nathaniel Richards’ descendant and namesake was born into an age of peace and enlightenment thanks to his ancestor’s efforts. At age 16, the young robotics student Nathaniel develops a working Growing Man stimuloid model. However, his throat is slit by a bully, Morgan, causing him to spend the next year hospitalized. While recovering, he studies cross-dimensional recordings of the heroic age of Earth-616, brought to his reality by the Benefactor. At age 25, Nathaniel discovers the Benefactor’s citadel, his former fortress, and a long-sealed chamber, which contains part of a time machine, and plans for its operation.  

Long-Lived Time-Travel Expert

Like others from his native era, Kang ages at a slightly slower rate than modern humanity and is more resistant to the effects of radiation; though, he can be harmed by concentrated doses. He is an expert in time travel and the manipulation of time, and has mastered his future’s advanced technology. He is an expert strategist, a veteran of armed and unarmed combat, and has an indomitable will to succeed through struggle.

Kang’s full-body armor (composed of an unidentified future metal) enables him to lift 5 tons, and can project a gravito-electromagnetic force field around him that is extendable up to 20 feet and can even shield him from a direct nuclear strike. The suit has its own self-contained atmosphere, food supply and waste disposal system. Its weapons include anti-graviton particle projectors in his gauntlets, rendering weightless objects up to 2.2 tons; concussive force blasters equivalent to up to several thousand pounds of TNT; circuitry accessing his ship’s time machine (or other such resources), allowing him an “automatic recall” of a few seconds, as well as enabling him to peer into various timelines; and various other weapons that are regularly updated. Kang formerly used technology that transferred his mind into an alternate body upon the point of death.

Kang typically carries various weapons, such as an anti-matter defense screen generator, a “vibration-ray” projector, an electromagnetic field- amplifier, neutrino-ray warhead missile launcher, electrical paralysis generator, nerve gas sprayer, and a “molecular expander,” which seemingly enlarges molecules to giant-sized projectiles. 

Kang commands a vast armada of warriors from across the galaxy of his future era, armed with advanced weaponry. He uses numerous robots, most notably his Growing-Man stimuloids, packed with the “Growth Pollen” of the world Kosmos, which causes them to grow in size and strength by absorbing kinetic energy. This Growth Pollen uses the same energy accessed via the size-changing “Pym Particles” discovered by Dr. Henry Pym, AKA Hank Pym .

Kang’s primary base in 40th century Earth-6311 is the Center. He also maintains a secret dwelling in the realm known only as Purgatory and strongholds in various alternate realties. His former base Chronopolis, powered by the Heart of Forever, served as a crossroads into virtually every era in human history. Chronopolis laid just out of phase with the time stream and was therefore undetectable. Its palace and inhabitants were unaffected by temporal divergence or the passage of time. 

Kang formerly employed a 20' long space-worthy vehicle housing his time machine, which utilized an undetermined energy to generate a chronal-displacement inertial field that could reach all eras of all timelines by accessing the transtemporal realm of Limbo. Kang has used a number of other vessels, such as his Sphinx ship and Damocles Base, an immense sword-shaped orbiting headquarters, which allowed Kang to temporarily conquer all of Earth.  

Enemies Across Time

Kang is his own worst enemy, constantly trying to prevent the future or undo the past. By doing so, he inadvertently creates variants of himself who sometimes hinder his world-conquering goals. Such variants include Immortus , Rama-Tut , Iron Lad , Victor Timely, Baby Kang , and the Council of Kangs .

Kang forms the Council of Kangs to rid the universe of his redundant variant selves. He eventually faces the Council of Cross-Time Kangs, a group of aliens, creatures, and humans who take on his appearance and defeat robots used by Kang intended to help him rule several realities at once.

In his travels through time, he becomes a time-misplaced menace to the Avengers , the Fantastic Four , and other heroic teams. He will occasionally team-up with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes when the time calls for it.  

Just In Time Allies

Upon first meeting Princess Ravonna Renslayer  of the kingdom of Carelius, she rejects him, but ultimately comes around, only to die while saving him. Kang becomes obsessed with saving her, going to great lengths traveling through time, sometimes failing, but other times succeeding. Though, he makes an enemy of her when she becomes Terminatrix . When he makes a sacrifice for her, she again stands by his side.

Kang gathers and leads an army of time-displaced superhumans known as the Anachronauts . The team includes Apocryphus (Earth-1952), the son of Sersi the Eternal from an alternate future; Deathhunt 9000 (Earth-928), a cybernetic warrior from an alternate 21st century; Raa (Earth-616), a caveman who possesses a piece of the Bloodgem; Sir Raston, AKA Black Knight (Earth-616), nephew of the original Black Knight; Ssith (Earth-616), one of Set’s Serpent Men who served the Elder God 12,000 years ago; the ancient Trojan warrior and nigh-invulnerable Tyndar (Earth-616); and Wildrun, AKA Red Wolf (Earth-616), the 18th century mortal champion of the Cheyenne Nation’s wolf spirit, Owayodata.

Kang kidnaps the Apocalypse Twins upon their birth, but the twins grow up to meddle with time and destroy Kang’s future. In response, Kang travels to several dying realities before their collapse and rescues Ahab (Earth-13044), Venom (Earth-9997), Iron Man 2020 (Earth-8410), Doom 2099 (Earth-928), Magistrate Elizabeth Braddock (Earth-12928), Deathlok Abomination (Earth-11045), and Stryfe (Earth-4295). They are known as the Chronos Corps.

6'3"

• Marvel Universe

Other Aliases

• Blue Man, Victor Timely, Victor Timely Jr., Victor Timely III, Blue Totem, Scarlet Centurion, Rama-Tut, King of Kings, Master of Men, Lord of the Seven Suns, Iron Lad, Baby Kang
• Schooled in robotics

Place of Origin

• Other-Earth (Earth-6311), 31st and 40th centuries
• Known to authorities

Known Relatives

• Ramades , Marcus Kang I-XXII, Marcus Kang (Scarlet Centurion) , (sons, deceased); Nathaniel Richards , Cassandra Richards, their son Nathaniel Jr., and matriarch of the Eyriennes; Tara Richards , Reed Richards , Franklin Richards , Valeria Richards (all ancestors); various Eyriennes (common ancestry); Victor von Doom (alleged ancestor); Rama-Tut , Scarlet Centurion , Immortus , Victor Timely , Mister Gryphon , Iron Lad , Baby Kang , and numerous other alternate dimensional counterparts and their offspring

Group Affiliation

• Time Variance Authority
• Council of Kangs

Drastic Times, Drastic Measures

Following encounters with alternate reality Fantastic Four teams seeking to thwart his future self, which faded from his mind, Nathaniel remained a man of adventure in a time of complacency. In the chamber, Nathaniel saw the machine as a way to escape his life of boredom and misery. Nathaniel spent years rebuilding and redesigning the time machine for his needs. He planned to loot various time periods for weaponry and technology while making his base in ancient Egypt. To play upon the ancient Egyptians’ religious beliefs, he created a sphinx-like idol to house the time machine and traveled back to Earth-616’s Egypt circa 2950 BC. The ship malfunctioned and crashed, blinding and stranding him there, but his technology allowed him to subjugate the natives. As Pharaoh Rama-Tut, his vision restored, he ruled as a god for a decade, during which he encountered Samira, Mistress of the Nile, who became his enemy; Pharaoh Amenhotep, whom he imprisoned within a pyramid where Amenhotep consumed blood to survive, eventually becoming a vampire-creature; and time-travelers such as Killpower and the Genetix team. Circa 2945, Rama-Tut sired an illegitimate son, Ramades , with a slave woman. Eventually, a struggle with the Fantastic Four, which also involved the young En Sabah Nur, AKA Apocalypse , the moon god Khonshu , and modern-era heroes Dr. Steven Strange, AKA Doctor Strange , and the Avengers, forced Rama to flee that time period in his now operative time machine.

En route to the future, a “time storm” diverted Rama to the modern era, where he rescued a space-lost Victor von Doom, AKA Doctor Doom , and passed himself off as Doom’s possible future self (though speculation regards Doom as Kang’s possible ancestor; possibly because Nathaniel Richards allegedly sired Kristoff Vernard, who was believed to be Dr. Doom for a time). Damaged by the time storm, Rama-Tut’s control module skipped several years into the future and crashed in Egypt, where he tried to force fellow time-traveler Blaquesmith to aid him but was defeated by the mutant Cable , though Rama managed to launch back into the timestream. Inspired by Doom, he took the armored identity of the Scarlet Centurion, traveled to another timeline (Earth-689) and duped its Avengers into neutralizing all their fellow heroes so he could rule; but he was defeated by the visiting Avengers of Earth-616 and cast outside time. He would later learn of alternate realities diverged from this event in which the Scarlet Centurion conquered Earth (Earth-8110) or used the X-Men as his pawns (Earth-98702). Diverging subsequent to the Earth-689 adventure, another Scarlet Centurion conquered 40th century Earth-712 or “Earth-S,” home of the Squadron Supreme .

Richards sought to return to his native time, but temporal disruptions hurled him into Earth-6311’s 40th century, a bleak world decimated by global wars. Unable to escape to a more hospitable era, he assumed the name Kang the Conqueror, set himself up as a warlord, bent the barbaric people to his will and transformed them into an army. Kang conquered the planet, sparing only the tiny kingdom of Carelius due to his interest in the king’s daughter, Ravonna Renslayer (later Terminatrix ). Kang’s life became progressively non-linear, as each foray in time produced at least one divergent-time-stream counterpart; it is extremely difficult to identify which Kang counterpart was involved with each encounter. Further, Kang’s past incarnations each spawned numerous divergent realities and selves throughout their adventures (see Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Iron Lad).

Conquering everything within 100 light years of Earth, Kang next attacked his ancestor’s native world in the modern age of marvels, but the Avengers forced him to flee. Seeking a new power base, Kang established himself in 1901 AD as Victor Timely, a brilliant inventor and industrialist who founded the city of Timely, Wisconsin, became its first mayor, and transformed it into a technological marvel over the next century. Over time, “Victor” appeared to age and be replaced by his son and his grandson in turn (Kang in new guises); in 1929, as Victor Timely Jr. he recruited Phineas Horton into Timely Industries, and in 1980, “Victor Timely III” developed a prominent computer company. The city also housed a portal to Kang’s base Chronopolis (created by one of the counterparts whose memories he now possessed) where he gathered warriors from various eras to serve as his strike force, the Anachronauts. Still seething over his defeat at the Avengers’ hands, Kang sent Timespinner, a Spider-Man robot, to battle them, though it was destroyed by the real Spider-Man (Peter Parker). Kang also traveled to 6th century Camelot and defeated a Merlin imposter (later Merlin Demonspawn), intent on creating an alternate reality in which his Britain would conquer the globe, preventing the formation of the Avengers; but he was defeated by the time-traveling Thing and Human Torch, apparently sent by Uatu the Watcher . Kang next joined a mass of villains attacking the wedding of Reed Richards, AKA Mister Fantastic , and Susan Storm Richards, AKA Invisible Woman , unknowingly drawn there by Doctor Doom’s Emotion-Charger device.

Returning to the 40th century, Kang completed his conquest of the Milky Way galaxy, crushing empires like the Universal Church of Truth. He even invaded and conquered other dimensions, such as Kosmos, where he gained technology to create his powerful Growing Men. Kang then brought the Avengers forward in time to Carelius’ kingdom, intending to subjugate them or defeat them in front of Ravonna. When both the Avengers and Ravonna defied him, the furious Kang easily conquered the small kingdom; however, when he attempted to force Ravonna to marry him, he caused unrest in his troops for failing to follow his own edict of slaying all conquered rulers. Kang’s troops, led by General Baltag, turned on him, but he allied with the Avengers to defeat them. Impressed by Kang’s risking his life for her, Ravonna leapt in the path of a blast from the defeated Baltag, saving Kang, but apparently dying in his place.

The devastated Kang placed Ravonna in stasis while he sought to restore her; for the 18 months, he spent half of each day mourning his greatest failure. The cosmic Grandmaster challenged Kang to a contest of champions, offering him the power of life or death, with which he could revive Ravonna. Using the Avengers as pawns, Kang was victorious — but at the last second, he instead chose the power of death, intending to slay the Avengers. Foiled by Dane Whitman, AKA Black Knight , Kang had to live with the knowledge that he had squandered his chance to save Ravonna. Perturbed at having lost and feeling sympathy for Ravonna, the Grandmaster removed Ravonna from stasis, replaced her with a pseudo- organic doppelganger, revived her, and told her of Kang’s betrayal. Kang later tried to use the Hulk to destroy Bruce Banner’s ancestor to prevent the Avengers from ever forming, but the Hulk foiled this plot. Kang then sent a robot double of himself to capture the Avengers during a war with rival time lord Zarrko the Tomorrow Man. Still aching from his lost love, Kang gathered Ravonnas from other timelines, but even the most compliant of them could not satisfy him, as they were not the Ravonna from his past; he slowly ceased to care about Ravonna.

One of Kang’s most relentless campaigns was his quest for the Celestial Madonna, a woman fated to give birth to the most powerful being in the universe. Wanting to be that being’s father, Kang narrowed the Madonna’s identity to aged sorceress Agatha Harkness , enigmatic martial artist Mantis , and Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch , abducting all three. Rama-Tut, actually Kang’s own future self, arrived to help the Avengers thwart his plot. Mantis was finally revealed as the Madonna, and when Kang could not claim her, he tried to kill her; but his fatal blast was intercepted by Jacques DuQuesne, AKA Swordsman , who died instead. Kang and Rama-Tut were then pulled into Limbo by Immortus, a potential future self of both men, but Kang imprisoned Immortus and used his technology to create the Legion of the Unliving , a team of reportedly deceased pawns drawn from past eras. The Avengers defeated the Legion, and Kang fled.

Kang soon returned, and he made four jumps to the past around roughly the same moment in time, creating three other divergent selves to occupy the Avengers while he tried to abduct Mantis at her wedding, but the divergents were defeated, and Immortus foiled Kang by substituting a Space Phantom as his captive.

Kang next made a base in Tombstone, Arizona, circa 1873 AD, intending to use it as a stepping stone to conquer the modern age. Opposed by cowboy heroes Blaine Colt, AKA Kid Colt, Lincoln Slade, AKA the Phantom Rider, Johnny Clay, AKA Rawhide Kid, Ringo Kid, and Matt Liebowitz, AKA Two-Gun Kid, as well as time-traveling Avengers, Kang disintegrated when his force field shorted out in battle with Thor Odinson, AKA Thor ; however, a fail-safe device transported Kang’s consciousness to an alternate body, as it had during many other near-death experiences.

Though taking place in rapid succession in the modern era, the planning involved with the Celestial Madonna and Old West agendas accounted for ten years of Kang’s life. From a base near the end of time, Kang sought the power of a reality-altering Cosmic Cube, but he was instead trapped within the Cube by Cable. Kang later conquered the alternate 40th century Earth-791014, in which Earth served as an amusement park for the solar system’s other planets’ colonies. From this base, Kang facilitated an attempt by the Inuit (Eskimo) Aningan Kenojuak to reclaim Captain America as the “God in the Ice” worshipped by his people years before while he was in suspended animation. At some point Kang encountered the First Line , a team of heroes preceding the Avengers. The virtually omnipotent Beyonder brought Kang and other Super Villains to his “Battleworld,” pitting them against a similarly gathered group of heroes. Suspecting Doctor Doom might betray them, Kang blasted him, but Doom survived and had the robot Ultron incinerate Kang. Shortly thereafter, having briefly usurped the Beyonder’s power, Doom restored Kang to life. Kang was subsequently recruited into Mephisto ’s Legion Accursed in a failed effort to slay the Beyonder.

Returning to his 40th century base, Kang found it ravaged by rebels loyal to Baltag. He continued his empire’s expansion off-planet, conquering the Shi’ar Imperium; but to recover his base on Earth, he sought out a Growing Man stored in the modern era and battled Thor, who banished him to Limbo. There Kang chanced across Tenebrae, the stronghold of Limbo’s master Immortus, containing Immortus’ apparent corpse. There, Kang observed a view screen showing the struggle in which Ravonna was blasted by Baltag. Distraught by the scene Kang groped at the controls, causing a divergence (Reality-8657) in which he teleported Ravonna to his side, saving her from death, though in that reality, his counterpart met death from Baltag’s assault. Kang soon discovered that there was an abundance of divergent versions of himself and he initiated a plot to eliminate them all, despite Ravonna’s efforts to turn him from violence. Unwittingly manipulated by Immortus, Kang soon formed the Council of Kangs, choosing a few of his most capable counterparts as allies, and began eliminating redundant Kangs from each alternate reality. One of these divergents had sought to destroy all realities save Reality-9892 where he hoped to wed that Earth’s Ravonna; but after inadvertently slaying that Ravonna, he was swiftly eliminated by the Council. One Kang prepared robot duplicates to replace the slain counterparts so that he could control them and thus rule the empires of every Kang in existence. At the same time, Kang also re-took his 40th century base via his Growing Man. After the Council had finished wiping out the rest of their counterparts, the “prime” Kang slew the rest of the Council, involving the Avengers in the final struggle.

Immortus then appeared, explained that he was Kang’s future self (though many of the Avengers already knew this), and showed Kang a psyche-globe containing the memories of all of the slain divergent Kangs, claiming that its power made him supreme ruler of Limbo. Kang tore the globe from Immortus’ hands, only to go mad as the minds of all of the other Kangs merged with his. The last Kang—now every Kang, since he possessed all of his counterparts’ memories—fled into Limbo. To save himself, Kang used his helmet’s temporal circuitry to create an additional divergence/counterpart, dividing his madness between two Kangs. One made his way to Chronopolis (created by one of the counterparts whose memories he now possessed) to recuperate, while the other, still addled, was recruited by the Cross-Time Kangs, a group of beings who had defeated or slain alternate Kangs and usurped the Kang identity. The Cross-Time Kangs led Kang to believe that they represented a higher order, composed of various Kangs who had each survived a local “Kang war” within their own Council of Kangs, but this has since been disproved. This divergent Kang (identified as Kang- 123488.23497 by the Cross-Time Kangs, though he took the name Kang Fred), along with the Cross-Time Kangs’ leader (Chairman Kang) and another Kang (from Earth-Mesozoic-24), learned of a plot by “Kang-Nebula” (actually a power-hungry Ravonna) to obtain the “ultimate weapon” contained within the Time Bubble, a period of time in Earth-8810 surrounded by an impassable temporal barrier. This trio of Kangs followed Kang-Nebula and her mind-controlled Avengers pawns into the Time Bubble, where they were cast into the temporal vortex surrounding it. Clinging to existence, the divergent Kang sent his Growing Man to help foil the demonic invasion Inferno, which threatened to destroy life on Earth. When Kang-Nebula later manipulated the Fantastic Four into penetrating the Time Bubble, the trio of Cross-Time Kangs attempted to stop her from obtaining the weapon, but were either destroyed or incapacitated. The divergent Kang was incinerated by the Human Torch under the control of Kang-Nebula.

Taking control of Chronopolis, the “prime” Kang sought revenge on Mantis in the modern era, joining forces with the alien Cotati race, who sought to keep Mantis’ child, the Celestial Messiah, for themselves. Mantis was assisted by the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer , but the Cotati escaped with the child, and Mantis sent her spirit after them.

Kang later joined Doctor Doom during the “Infinity War” in seeking to wrest a set of reality-altering Cosmic Containment Units from the Magus , the dark side of Adam Warlock. Kang then took over the Cross-Time Kangs, learned an assassin was stalking him, and exposed his would-be killer as Ravonna, now calling herself the Terminatrix. Intrigued by her warrior nature, Kang battled her, but in a reversal of past events, sacrificed himself to save her from an assault by the Avengers. Overcoming her hatred for Kang, Ravonna impersonated him and took over the Cross-Time Kangs, during which time she was manipulated by Revelation, her alleged own future self, who sought to guide Ravonna into following her life path. When Chronopolis was attacked by the immensely powerful temporal entity Alioth , Ravonna revived Kang, and with the aid of the Avengers they sacrificed the Cross-Time Kangs, using their energy to imprison Alioth once again.

Ravonna and Kang were at last reunited, and she posed as Victor Timely’s fiancée, Rebecca Tourmenet, for a time before they returned to Chronopolis to rule side by side. After encountering Sue Storm Richards, AKA Invisible Woman , regarding the fate of her then-missing husband, Kang was temporarily snatched out of time by the powerful being Akhenaten of Earth-4321, who sought to eliminate any threat time-travelers who might pose to his past. However, Kang, now almost sixty, grew weary of administrative matters. Missing the days when he was worshipped in a small land, Kang returned to ancient Egypt circa 2930 BC as Rama-Tut, and smashed his chrono-sphere. As Rama-Tut, he was also briefly imprisoned by Akhenaten, but otherwise spent ten years benevolently enjoying his people’s adulation. In 2920 BC, he encountered the Avengers, who had been trapped in the past by a time machine that could only travel backwards in time. He was unable to help them as he had destroyed all of his technology, so they went further into the past and faced his earlier, more hostile self in 2940 BC, where Rama’s enemy Khonshu helped the Avengers back to their own time.

Determined not to become Immortus (whose subtle manipulations he despised), the elder Rama-Tut tried to break the cycle by placing himself in suspended animation with the aid of his wizard Shamaz, reviving in the modern era (assisted, as planned, by an unwitting Jacques “Jack” Duquesne, AKA Swordsman ) to battle his past Kang self during the Celestial Madonna struggle. Failing to change the course of events, Rama used devices granted by Immortus to re-enter the timestream; feeling like a powerless failure, he revisited his accomplishments through the centuries, but all seemed meaningless to him now.

Resigned to his fate, the now 75-year-old Rama headed for Limbo; however, upon glimpsing a chrono-flash of Immortus bowing to the powerful Time-Keepers , he was infuriated by the idea of becoming anyone’s lap-dog, and vowed to overcome his destiny (though a divergent elder Rama-Tut did settle in Limbo and eventually became the initial incarnation of Immortus). Rama-Tut returned to Chronopolis, resumed his Kang identity and ignored Ravonna as he turned his rivals against each other, using Alioth to devastate the Time Variance Authority and setting the Delubric Consortium against Revelation. He then destroyed the mind-transfer fail-safe device he had so often used to cheat death, feeling that it took the risk—and thus the enjoyment—out of conflict. After a brief battle with the X-Men and an enterprising starship crew, Kang formed an alliance with Gustav Brandt, AKA Libra , the Kree Supreme Intelligence and the Avengers against Immortus and the Time-Keepers. Ravonna, the Anachronauts and even Immortus were apparently slain and Chronopolis was destroyed; but when the Time-Keepers tried to eliminate Kang’s threat by forcing him to evolve into the more passive Immortus, Kang resisted so forcefully that he diverged a new Immortus while remaining Kang himself. Kang then destroyed the Time-Keepers (who had been weakened by the divergent chronal energy backlash).

Renewed by this victory, which left his future uncharted, Kang engineered a series of successors, choosing multiple ideal mates to create exceptional warriors, each of whom he named Marcus. These children were sent back in time and trained from birth to be warriors worthy of inheriting Kang’s empire. Following a failed effort to conquer the realm Otherworld, Kang, alongside Marcus XXIII (outfitted as the Scarlet Centurion ), used Damocles Base, his massive armada, and alliances with various criminal forces (including rogue Atlanteans and Deviants) to conquer Earth-616; but the Avengers led a rebellion that ultimately defeated and imprisoned Kang. Marcus freed Kang in hopes of restoring their dominion, but Kang knew that Marcus had held back during the war more than once because of his attraction to Avengers member Warbird. Unable to forgive this betrayal, Kang slew Marcus. Disheartened, Kang told his computer to postpone development of Marcus XXIV.

Apparently unnerved and not heeding his knowledge of creating divergent selves, Kang attempted to manipulate his own past, saving his 16-year-old self from the attack by Morgan. Kang granted young Nathaniel a suit of neuro-kinetic armor and provided a glimpse into his future as Kang. Horrified by his ruthless, destructive future self, Nathaniel rejected Kang and used his armor to escape to modern day Earth, seeking the Avengers so they could help him defeat Kang. Finding the Avengers disbanded, Nathaniel, now going by Iron Lad, gathered together a replacement group who called themselves the Young Avengers . Kang confronted this group and convinced Avengers founders Captain America and Iron Man to hand Iron Lad over to him to avoid further temporal divergence. In the ensuing struggle, Iron Lad apparently slew Kang but then returned to his native era to fulfill his destiny as Kang to restore the damaged timeline. As Kang, Iron Lad continued to monitor the Young Avengers from an undisclosed future location. Iron Lad’s armor, which retained replicated impressions of Nathaniel’s brain patterns, emotions and memories, subsequently joined the Young Avengers as the new Vision. It remains to be seen whether this young Kang will somehow follow Kang’s early history and go on to become Kang or whether sufficient changes have occurred to diverge a new reality.

Seeing the mutant Apocalypse Twins Uriel and Eimin as a threat to his future, Kang kidnapped them moments after their birth and raised them in year 4145, imparting upon them that mutants and humans could never live in harmony. Uriel and Eimin grew up to oppose him, but Kang was cruel and placed them in a concentration camp on Earth-13044 operated by Red Skull. There, they learned the cruelty of humans. Once Kang returned them to 4145, the twins stole Jarnbjorn from his trophy room and used it to slay a Celestial Arishem the Judge on Earth-616. The twins attempted to move the mutant population off world before the Celestials destroyed it, a plan that the Avengers Unity Division opposed. The mutants were able to establish a new world, Planet X.

Kang responded by gathering other super-beings from other worlds being destroyed and formed the Chronos Corps. Kang sent the minds of the Avengers Unity Division into their past selves to prevent Earth’s destruction. Havok and the Wasp joined him but had a daughter and expressed concern about her erasure. Kang teleported her into the timestream to convince them to do what needed to be done. Success was near and the Avengers averted the Earth’s destruction and destroyed the tachyon dam that the twins created to keep Kang from changing the past. Kang returned to this time and began absorbing energy from the wounded Celestial, hoping to conquer the universe. Havok overpowered him and Kang retreated into the timestream with the Chronos Corps. The twins were defeated and Earth’s destruction was averted, so reality continued on its course, though Planet X survived in a divergent reality (Eart-13133).

Kang then worked with Immortus and Iron Lad who waited for the last Avenger. It was Captain America who had ended up in their time with a damaged Time Infinity Gem. They contained the gem and indicated that the current crisis that threatened the multiverse could be averted if they allowed him to continue on his present course. But Cap couldn’t stand that there were people in danger and stole the time gem, returning to his era in Earth-616.

When the Inhuman King Black Bolt destroyed Attilan in a battle against Thanos , the Inhumans were scattered. Kang teleported Black Bolt’s son Ahura to his fortress and raised him. Black Bolt found him and put him through Terrigenesis, and then struck a deal with Kang, that he could take Ahura through the timestream so that he would survive the coming Incursions which were going to destroy the multiverse. Kang agreed on the condition that should the multiverse be restored, he could keep Ahura forever. When the multiverse was restored, Black Bolt wanted his son back and despite Ahura’s initial resistance, once he learned the truth about Kang’s manipulations, he turned against him using his powers of psychic projections to control Kang’s actions to never again harm the Inhumans.

When there was a problem with the timestream, Kang started to split into variants of himself. One of them, Mr. Gryphon became stuck in modern-day Earth-616.

Sometime later, Kang travelled to the year 4657 and witnessed how the stygian darkness consumed worlds. In studying it, he came upon an omnipotent future Thanos who captured him and placed him in stasis. It wasn’t until Adam Warlock liberated Kang, Kang caused a distraction using Starfox and Pip the Troll and it enabled present Thanos to reset the timeline.

When Gamora  used the Infinity Gems to create another universe, several amalgams were created, which left Kang combined with the young embiggening hero Kamala Kang, AKA Ms. Marvel , creating an alternate persona, Kamala Kang . Though the powerful mutant telepath Emma Frost and trickster god Loki Laufeyson, AKA Loki , helped restore them to their original bodies and minds.

• Kang Corps (Earth-21924)/Members
• Cosmic Avengers (Earth-616)/Members
• Council of Kangs (Multiverse)/Members
• Council of Cross-Time Kangs (Multiverse)/Members
• Legion Accursed (Earth-616)/Members
• Hel-Rangers (Earth-15513)/Members
• Savage Avengers (Earth-616)/Members
• Single Characters
• Male Characters
• Height 6 ft. 3 in. (1.91 m)
• Weight 220-239 lbs (99.79-108.86 kg)
• Humans (Homo sapiens)
• Living Characters
• Formerly Deceased
• Earth-6311/Characters
• Killed by Ultron (Earth-616)
• Killed by Victor von Doom (Earth-616)
• Killed by Thanos (Earth-616)
• Secret Identity Characters
• Multiple Citizenship
• Stan Lee/Creator
• Jack Kirby/Creator
• 1964 Character Debuts
• Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)/Quotes
• Power Grid/Intelligence/Gifted
• Power Grid/Strength/Peak Human
• Power Grid/Strength/Superhuman (800 lbs-25 ton)
• Power Grid/Speed/Normal
• Power Grid/Speed/Warp
• Power Grid/Durability/Enhanced
• Power Grid/Durability/Bulletproof
• Power Grid/Energy Projection/None
• Power Grid/Energy Projection/Multiple Types
• Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Experienced Fighter
• Time Travelers
• Richards Family
• Armor Users
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• Secret Wars (1984 Event) participants
• Force Field
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• Destiny War Participants
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Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)

Nathaniel Richards has had various incarnations over the years and each identity has its own, ever-expanding history. For the sake of clarity, this article will only cover, essentially, the history of Nathaniel Richards during his time as Kang. For more information on the other identities of Nathaniel Richards, please refer to the entries on Iron Lad , Kid Immortus , Rama-Tut , the Scarlet Centurion , Immortus , Mister Gryphon , and Doctor Doom .

In addition, there are many alternate versions of Kang in existence. For the sake of clarity, it is commonly accepted that each alternate Kang that has interacted with Earth-616 is a direct divergence from the "Prime" Kang of Earth-6311 . While differentiating between each of these divergent Kangs is difficult, all those that are tied in with the Kang-Prime are listed here for reasons that will become evident to the reader.

• 1.1 Origins
• 1.2 To Conquer the Modern Age
• 1.3 Princess Ravonna
• 1.4 Game of the Galaxies
• 1.5 Tomorrow War
• 1.6 Celestial Madonna
• 1.7 The American Frontier
• 1.8 Secret Wars
• 1.9 Council of Kangs
• 1.10 Council of Cross-Time Kangs
• 1.11 Cotati
• 1.12 Infinity War
• 1.13 Citizen Kang
• 1.14 Terminatrix Objective
• 1.15 Destiny War
• 1.16 Kang Dynasty
• 1.17 The End & JLA/Avengers
• 1.18 Iron Lad
• 1.19 Heroic Age
• 1.20 Apocalypse Twins
• 1.21 Avenge the Earth
• 1.22 Original Sin
• 1.23 The Shield
• 1.24 Inhumanity
• 1.26 Infinity Conflict
• 1.27 The Absent Throne
• 2.2 Abilities
• 3.1 Equipment
• 3.2 Weapons
• 3.3 Transportation
• 7.1 References

The many identities of Nathaniel Richards Left to right: Kang, Immortus, the Scarlet Centurion, Iron Lad, and Pharaoh Rama-Tut

Origins [ ]

Nathaniel Richards was born in the 30th century of Earth-6311 , a reality where humanity never went into the dark ages. After centuries of advancement and warfare, peace was brought to the land by a time-traveller from Earth-616 named Nathaniel Richards . Because Richards brought peace to this war-torn future, he was known as the legendary benefactor. [18] The Nathaniel Richards born to this reality is said to be a descendant of the Benefactor through Reed Richards , although other records also indicate that he may also be a descendant of the Latverian monarch known as Dr. Doom . [19] At the age of 16, intervention from his future self, as Kang the Conqueror, resulted in young Nathaniel trying to prevent his eventual transformation into Kang, briefly becoming the young hero known as Iron Lad . [20] The youth also briefly had a stint as a super-villain known as Kid Immortus . [21] However Nathaniel Richards eventually returned to his native time to finally follow his proper destined path, possibly with his memories as Iron Lad erased, however at this time there is no conclusive explanation and the events leading to this are as yet unrecorded. As an adult, Nathaniel discovered a time machine and having grown bored of his peaceful time, traveled back in time to ancient Egypt on Earth-616 . There he set himself up as a Pharaoh Rama-Tut until he was ousted from this position by the Fantastic Four . [3] Rama-Tut tried to flee back to his own era, but he was caught in a time storm and was forced to appear in the modern era of Earth-616. A chance encounter with his possible ancestor Dr. Doom, [22] inspired Nathaniel to abandon his Rama-Tut guise and assume one similar to Doom. In his first attempt, Nathaniel created the identity of the Scarlet Centurion , but abandoned this identity after being defeated by the Avengers . [7] [8] [9]

Becoming "Kang"

Resuming his Rama-Tut guise, Richards attempted once again to return to his native 30th Century. The time-storm caused him to overshoot his own era and he ended up in the war torn 40th Century. There Rama-Tut found a war torn future where barbarians battled with technology from past eras of which they had no knowledge of how they worked. Seeing his own personal knowledge on how these weapons operated, Rama-Tut found it simple to reinvent himself and conquer this era. Creating the identity of Kang the Conqueror, Richards began to do just that. First Kang conquered the Earth, [5] [23] [9] then began conquering the galaxy, taking over entire empires, including that of the Badoon . [15] But even this was not enough and Nathaniel's mind continued to turn back to the modern age of heroes and sought to conquer it as well. [5] [23] [9] [15] One of his earliest observations of the past was when Kang briefly appeared over Times Square in New York City, circa 1939. This caused brief hysteria and some media coverage, but otherwise his appearance was dismissed as a hoax by the authorities of that time. [24] It has been stated that part of Kang's motivations for wanting to conquer the modern age was due to incomplete historical records that spoke of a Celestial Madonna who would sire the most powerful man in history. Kang was determined to learn the identity of the Madonna and ensure that he was the father of that child. [25]

To Conquer the Modern Age [ ]

When Kang appeared for the first time in the modern age of Earth-616, his ship landed outside of Washington D.C. Blasting a landing strip with his ship, Kang held off the United States Army with his advanced weapons and ordered that he would only speak with the leaders of the world. In response the United States government contacted the Avengers to deal with this unique crisis. [5] [23] [9] [15] [26] [27] When the Avengers arrived to face Kang, his first show of power showed him easily capable of fighting off Earth's Mightiest Heroes. After revealing his origins to them and another battle, Kang easily defeated his foes and took them prisoner. [5] [23] [9] [15] [26] [27] However while in the process of trying to imprison Captain America , the Star-Spangled Avenger broke free and battled Kang. Detecting that Rogers was from the 1940s, Kang arbitrarily decided that he did not belong and sent Cap hurtling back in time to the year 1945. [28] The only members not captured were the Wasp and Captain America's sidekick Rick Jones . The two then began to plot how to free their comrades. [5] With the help of Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, they managed to rescue Captain America from 1945 [29] then rallied Rick's Teen Brigade . The group pretended to want to side with Kang, completely fooling the conqueror who allowed them aboard his ship. [5] Rick, [26] Teen Brigade, [5] and Captain America [29] all worked together to free the captured Avengers. [5] [26] [29] The Avengers then confronted Kang and battled him anew, severely damaging his armor. [5] [26] [29] Kang then attempted to launch a Neutrino Missile, but this weapon was destroyed by Iron Man . [5] [26] Kang then attempted to expose the Avengers to lethal rays of radiation, but this was focused back on him by Thor , [5] [26] forcing Kang to flee back to his own era. [5] [23] [9] [15] [26] [29] Kang has also stated that during this encounter he placed a time probe to monitor for the appearance of the Celestial Madonna. [25] Unforeseen by Kang at this time, each of his travels into the past created divergent versions of himself, all of which ruled their own divergent empires and continued their own schemes. [30] One particular Kang referred to himself as the "Prime" Kang, although he has admitted that he cannot be certain for sure. [15]

Posing as Victor Timely

Following this humiliating defeat, a divergent version of Kang [15] decided to set up a beachhead in the 20th Century from which he could begin planning his conquest of the modern age. He traveled back in time to January 1, 1901 where he established the town of Timely, Wisconsin under the guise of Victor Timely and became the town's mayor. He also established factories and a business, Timely Industries. Teaching his staff the basic principles of robotics. Kang also established the realm of Chronopolis which originally started as a fortress out of synch with time in the exact area of Timely, but it eventually grew and branched off to become a massive crossroads between Earth's past, present, and future. [2] Kang used Chronopolis to monitor his conquests and when he was away from Timely, he had robotic stand-ins that would seemingly age and eventually "Victor Timely" died. He was replaced with "Victor Timely Jr."

Victor Timely Jr. circa 1929

In 1929, Kang while posing as Timely Jr, employed Phineas Horton , and through this employment Horton eventually developed the technology that brought the original Human Torch android to live in 1939. By the 1980s, and using the guise of Victor Timely III, Kang had made Timely Industries a successful technology manufacturer. Timely technology indirectly were responsible for much of the later advancements and some of this technology eventually went into the equipment used by Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, the cybernetic arm of detective Misty Knight and the design for Roxxon Oil 's Deathlok cyborg among others. [2]

Victor Timely III circa 1980

During this time the "Prime" Kang continued to observe the Avengers, keeping track of their exploits and line-up changes. [15] He also focused on his further conquest of the 40th century, waging war against the Shi'ar and the Skrulls . Through his monitoring of the Avengers he also learned of another time-traveler calling himself Immortus , who unknown to Kang, was his future self. [31] When one divergent Kang returned his attentions to the Avengers again, he built an android based on the novice hero Spider-Man and used it to try and lure the Avengers into a trap. However this plot was foiled thanks to the intervention of the real Spider-Man who defeated his robotic doppelganger. [32] [33]

Another divergent version of Kang [15] decided to try and conquer the modern age of heroes by taking over a past century in the hopes of erasing his foes from existence. He began monitoring the 6th century, and when the heroic Black Knight was away battling his foe Morgan Le Fay he attacked the kingdom of Camelot . [33] He quickly incapacitated the wizard Merlin and bested King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table . He then took over the kingdom of Camelot and began using his advanced intelligence to help the knights construct sophisticated weapons for that era in the hopes of conquering the Earth. However Kang's attempt to take over the 6th century was witnessed by the Watcher who brought the Fantastic Four's Human Torch and the Thing into the past to stop Kang. While the Thing battled Kang's forces, the Torch freed Merlin. When the wizard disabled Kang's power source, the two heroes easily defeated him, forcing Kang to flee back to his own time. [34] The true Kang still continued to monitor the Avengers, witnessing their first line-up change which included Captain America, Hawkeye , the Scarlet Witch , and Quicksilver . [35] He was later possibly the Kang that was manipulated by his possible ancestor, Dr. Doom, who used his emotion-changer device to gather an army of super-villains to attack the wedding of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl . [36] Kang was involved in a massive battle between the gathered super-villains and the heroes who were attending the wedding. [37] The battle came to an abrupt end when the Watcher provided Reed Richards with a time displacer which he used to send the villains back to where they came from, with all memory of their attack erased, [36] [33] [37] however through reviewing recordings of his exploits Kang eventually remembered this battle. [33]

Kang briefly returned to the 40th century to continue his conquests of worlds there. [15] He later discovered the dimension of Kosmos and its size-changing properties that are tied to Pym Particles . He conquered this dimension and enslaved its native Kosmosians forcing them to assist in the creation of his Growing Men constructs. [38] [15] Once the Kosmosians completed their task, Kang hid the Growing Men in various eras to hide these potent weapons from his enemies. [39]

Ravonna sacrifices her life for Kang

Princess Ravonna [ ]

In his native 40th Century, the true Kang had fallen in loved with Princess Ravonna Renslayer a princess of an Earthly kingdom. Due to his love for Ravonna, Kang allowed her father to remain in rule of his kingdom but pressured Ravonna to marry him in order for her father to continue to maintain his autonomy from Kang's empire. Ravonna refused his hand in marriage and Kang sought to prove his power to her by transporting the Avengers Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch to his era and defeating them in battle. Later when Captain America learned that his fellow Avengers were kidnapped, he issued a challenge to his foe and was brought to the future and defeated him as well. These defeats did nothing to impress Ravonna, and Kang ordered his forces to attack, just as the Avengers recovered to defend the kingdom. [40] [33] [15] Kang and his army easily overtook the small kingdom and the Avengers were once more defeated and taken prisoner. However, when Kang decided to spare Ravonna and her father, this earned the ire of his commanders who saw this mercy as weakness. Chief among these was his the commander known as Baltag who sought to usurp command of Kang's armies. With his forces turned against him, Kang realized that his love for Ravonna was greater than conquering this kingdom and he grudgingly realized that only the Avengers could help him fight off Baltag and his forces. The Avengers proved to be a great help defeated the army, it's commanders taken prisoner. Seeing Kang show compassion and caring, Ravonna decided to accept his romantic advances. Just as Kang was returning the Avengers to their own time, Baltag broke free and tried to shoot Kang in the back. Ravonna saw this and threw herself in the path of the weapon's beam and was struck down. Baltag was then executed. Ravonna seemingly died in Kang's arm, suggesting that perhaps their love was never meant to be. [41] [33] [15] However, Kang refused to let his love perish and used 40th century science to keep her in a state of suspended animation, not dead but not alive either. [42] [33] [15] Many of the alternate versions of Kang also experienced similar tragedies. [30]

The true Kang decided to put aside his pain and seek out even greater adventure, in his native time he clashed once again with the Shi'ar, forcing them to surrender. This did little to fill the void in his life and Kang soon desired to restore Ravonna to life. [15] However finding a means to do so did not occur directly as one of his Growing Men was unearthed in the modern age of Earth-616. Returning there to retrieve it, Kang engaged in another battle with Thor. Recovering his Growing Man, Kang then attempted to flee in his time machine, but Thor used his hammer Mjolnir to capture it in an infinity vortex, seemingly destroying Kang in the process. [39] [33] In reality, another divergence was created with one Kang ending up in the timeless realm of Limbo [23] [15] while another ended up back in his native 40th century of Earth-6311. [33] The Kang that ended up in Limbo found the citadel of Immortus. Unaware that was a future version of himself, Kang began using his equipment to study history. Coming across the moment when Ravonna was about to sacrifice her life for him, Kang activated a device that pluck Ravonna out of the time-stream, creating a divergent reality in which Kang was slain in her stead, an incident that horrified Kang. [43]

Game of the Galaxies [ ]

The divergent Kang who ended up back in the 41st century of Earth-6311 crushed a small rebellion [33] before he continued to find a means to revive Ravonna. After many fruitless attempts to restore her, the Elder of the Universe known as the Grandmaster appeared before him. The Grandmaster offered Kang a challenge: To pit champions of his choice against those of the Grandmaster's own making. If Kang's champions won, he would be given the power over life and death. If Kang lost, the Grandmaster would then obliterate the Earth. Kang agreed to the terms and was given a year to gather his chosen champions. [42] [15] Kang chose his old foes the Avengers to represent him. After plucking the Black Panther from his homeland of Wakanda , Kang then sent one of his Growing Men to New York City. There his creation kidnapped Tony Stark from a hospital where he was recovering from a heart attack to lure the Avengers into a beam that brought them to the future. The Avengers agreed to battle for Kang on the condition that Stark was returned to the present to seek medical treatment. Captain America, Goliath , and Thor were then transported to modern day Earth where they were to battle the Grandmaster's created minions the Squadron Sinister . [44] [33] The trio were joined by Iron Man, and they went to four different locations to stop each Squadron member from stealing a national landmark, while Kang and the Grandmaster observed events from the future.

Kang harnesses the power of death over the Avengers

In New York City, Captain America prevented Nighthawk from stealing the Statue of Liberty. Iron Man stopped Dr. Spectrum from absconding with the Taj Mahal in India. In Egypt, Thor stopped Hyperion from taking the Sphinx. Goliath traveled to London where he attempted to stop the Whizzer from stealing Big Ben. However interference from the heroic Black Knight caused the Grandmaster to call the battle a forfeit and transported Goliath and Whizzer back to the future, inadvertently transporting the Knight's Ebony Blade as well. [45] [33] With the first round in forfeit, Kang agreed to another match between the Grandmaster. This time they sent the Vision , Yellowjacket and the Black Panther to France circa 1941 to battle the original Invaders : Captain America, the Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch. While this battle raged, the Black Knight used his mystical connection to the Ebony Blade to transport himself to the future and free the other Avengers who were being held in stasis. When the Avengers sent to 1941 succeeded in defeating their contemporaries they were brought back to the present just as their contained comrades confronted Kang. Although Kang was technically the victor, his 'draw' in the first round meant that the Grandmaster would only give him the power of life or death. Unwilling to let go of his hatred over the Avengers, Kang chose the power to kill the Avengers rather than the power to save Ravonna. However, he was felled by the Black Knight who at the time was not a member of the Avengers, and thus immune to his powers. With his defeat, Kang lost his powers over death and the Grandmaster sent the Avengers home before departing himself, leaving Kang along to regret the choice that he had made. [46] [33]

Tomorrow War [ ]

Kang's Empire on the map of the Realm of Known Time

Records of which Kang engaged in what activities are hard to determine beyond this point, however it has been confirmed that the Prime Kang was still monitoring events in Limbo. [15] One version of Kang found a means of prolonging his life by developing a device that would transfer his mind into a cloned body in his native timeline upon death. [47] Determined that the best way to conquer the modern age was to start by affecting history in the 20th Century during World War I . Through his observations he learned that the fighter ace known as the Phantom Eagle was destined to destroy a German mortar cannon that would have changed the face of the war. If prevented from doing so, a French ancestor of Bruce Banner -- the man destined to become the Hulk, and a founding member of the Avengers -- would be killed. This Kang theorized that with the death of this ancestor the Avengers would never come to be. However when Kang attempted to travel to the year 1917 he was prevented from breaching that time period thanks to a time storm. Instead Kang decided to trick the Hulk, believing his near limitless strength could breach the barrier. Appealing to the Hulk's hatred of his alter-ego, Kang successfully sent the Hulk into the past. However, the Hulk inadvertently destroyed the cannon while trying to stop the Phantom Eagle. The time storm then began a slingshot effect, which Kang fought against but ultimately lost. While the Hulk was hurtled to his proper time, Kang himself was thrown into time and was seemingly lost in the time stream. [48] [49] [15] This Kang cheated this fate by transferring his mind to a new body. [49]

One Kang went on to find another beachhead from which to launch his attacks on the modern age, deciding to set up operations in the 23rd century of Earth-6297 , due to the fact that possible future abolished all weapons and was powerless to stop his invasion. This earned the ire of that of a rival time traveler and would be conqueror, Zarrko the Tomorrow Man . Kang then used this front to capture the Avengers and imprison them in this future. With a time storm stopping him from breaching Kang's citadel, Zarrko recruited the modern day heroes Iron Man and Spider-Man, bringing them to the 23rd century knowing their presence would weaken the time storm. When the two heroes confronted Kang, Zarrko betrayed them and got the drop on Kang. [50] [49] Zarrko then decided to use Kang's own plan to conquer the modern age using Kang's "Time Bombs", devices that would revert the people and technology of the era back to a more primitive time. While Zarrko and Kang were busy in a stand-off, Spider-Man revived and escaped back to his own era in a time machine. There he recruited the help of the Fantastic Four's Human Torch to locate and deactivate the Time Bombs. [51] Learning from the Torch that the FF's allies the Inhumans could assist him in using the last functional Time Bomb to return to the future, arriving just moments before Spider-Man originally left, Spidey and the Inhumans managed to get the drop on Zarrko and Kang. While Black Bolt freed the Avengers, Spider-Man rounded up Zarrko, but Kang managed to escape in the chaos leaving behind an empty suit of armor. [52] [49]

Celestial Madonna [ ]

Soon, one divergent Kang became aware that the Celestial Madonna was reaching her developmental protection as a new dawn star began shining in the sky of the modern age, suspended over Avengers Mansion . Kang traveled back to the modern era to collect the Celestial Madonna determining that it must be one of three women who were in residence at the mansion: the Scarlet Witch, the enigmatic Mantis or the elderly sorceress Agatha Harkness . [53] Kang unleashed his Macrobots upon the Avengers who were easily overpowered. Kang then took the three women as well as Thor, Iron Man, and the Vision prisoner. Kang then left the Swordsman behind, considering him the weakest of the Avengers and thus beneath his notice. Kang and his prisoner relocated to a secret lab hidden within an Egyptian pyramid built in Kang's honor during his days as Rama-Tut. There he plotted to begin World War III by encasing each of the male Avengers in one of his Macrobots and sending them to assassinate key political figures in the United States, China, and Russia in order to spark nuclear Armageddon. In breaching the pyramid, thanks to the mystical guidance of Agatha Harkness, the Swordsman awoke the ancient vampire Amenhotep as well as the slumbering form of Rama-Tut who had been in suspended animation for over 5000 years in an attempt to stop his past self -- as Kang -- from continuing on his current path. [54] [49]

Rama-Tut vs Kang the Conqueror

The future Rama-Tut prevented the Swordsman from slaying Kang [25] and brought him back to New York where they recruited Hawkeye, who at the time was not an active member of the Avengers. [55] The trio stopped the Macrobot using the Vision to slay the United States Secretary of State at the UN Building in New York. They then traveled to China where they stopped the Macrobot leeching Iron Man's powers to try and eliminate the Chinese government's ruling class. Furious at this inference, Kang scrapped his plan to assassinate a Russian politician and unleashed the Thor powered Macrobot on the heroes which was also defeated. During the conflict the Avengers freed all the comrades, including the three captive females. Also during the fight, Kang revealed the true identity of Rama-Tut and learned that he is his future self. With the same man from different eras face to face, time ruptured revealing to all gathered that Mantis was destined to be the Celestial Madonna. With his plans being thwarted at every step, Kang decided that if he could not have the Celestial Madonna nobody could and tried to shoot Mantis. Despite interference from Rama-Tut, the shot was true, but before it could strike Mantis the Swordsman stepped in its path sacrificing his life for hers. Meanwhile Kang and Rama-Tut's scuffle sent them crashing into the controls of Kang's time-sphere and both men were lost in the time stream. [56] [49] Both men were plucked out of the time stream and transported to Limbo by Immortus, and Immortus pretended to ally himself with Kang by imprisoning Rama-Tut. Immortus then gave Kang access to his devices to get revenge against the Avengers. Kang used this to gather various super-humans just moments from their deaths to form his Legion of the Unliving . These minions included the Frankenstein's Monster , Wonder Man , the original Human Torch, Midnight , the Ghost , and Baron Zemo . He then transported the Avengers to Limbo to battle his minions. [57] [49]

Kang led his Legion into the vast labyrinth of Limbo to slay the Avengers and reclaim Mantis. However his control over the Legion began to weaken the longer they were active in Limbo, the first to break free from his control being the Frankenstein's Monster. The Legion managed to slay Iron Man and seriously damage the Vision in their hunt for the heroes. [58] During the battle, Kang sent Baron Zemo back to make sure that Rama-Tut and Immortus did not escape. Meanwhile, his control on the Human Torch failed and with the help of the Frankenstein's Monster he managed to partially repair the Vision. Midnight on the other hand faced Mantis and was defeated. Wonder Man later fell battling Thor who then turned his vengeance on Kang for the death of Iron Man. Unable to withstand the blows of Thor's hammer, Kang once more fled into the time stream. Zemo was later defeated by Hawkeye who then freed Immortus and Rama-Tut. Immortus then brought Iron Man back to life, repair the Vision and sent the members of the Legion to face their destinies. Immortus then convinced Rama-Tut to return to his own destiny as well before revealing to the Avengers that he himself was a future version of Kang before sending the Avengers home. [59] [49] It was later revealed to the Avengers that Mantis was to form a union with a member of the plantlike Cotati race who had taken on the form of her deceased lover the Swordsman and Immortus offered to officiate their wedding [60] When the wedding was being planned in Vietnam, Kang reappeared in the present to make one more attack on the Avengers to try and capture Mantis. To this end he appeared in that era at three different moments, making three Kangs present. After taking down the communist heroes known as the Titanic Three , the three Kangs distracted Thor, Iron Man and Hawkeye who managed to capture all the duplicates. However the "real" Kang then kidnapped who he thought was Mantis and escaped into space. However, Immortus already knew what Kang was planning, and had his minion the Space Phantom take the form of Mantis, storing the real Celestial Madonna safely in Limbo. By the time the Space Phantom revealed his true form, it was too late for Kang, as Immortus succeeded in marrying Mantis and the Cotati and they transformed into pure energy and left to meet their destiny in the stars. [61]

Kang attempts to conquer the 19th Century

The American Frontier [ ]

This Kang decided to once more attempt to alter the course of the modern age by conquering an earlier era, this time targeting the 19th century. However while travelling through the time stream, he was confronted by Hawkeye who was using Dr. Doom's time-platform to try and reach the 12th century. The two battled it out, but ended up throwing themselves into the same era, only some time apart. [62] Appearing in the year 1873, Kang built an inn and saloon in the town of Tombstone, Arizona, convincing the locals that his mask was to cover a wound sustained in the American Civil War. He then used a device to sap the will of the locals and used them as slaves to build a massive citadel within the inn. Unaffected by this was the western hero known as the Two-Gun Kid who found happenings suspicious. He called out on other heroes of the west to help him investigate. The first to answer his call were the Rawhide Kid and Kid Colt . When they went to confront Kang, he revealed his true nature to them, unleashing a dinosaur summoned from the prehistoric past to drive them away. [63] While this was occurring three more time travelling Avengers --- Yellowjacket, Hawkeye, and Songbird --- arrived in that era mistaking the chronal anomalies occurring were part of their on going Destiny War . Kang detected their presence, and not knowing who they were or what their intentions were took away the time-sphere given to them by Kang's future self before trying to kill them in a cave in. [64] Back in town, Two-Gun Kid was joined by the Ringo Kid and the Night Rider and they attempted another attack on Kang. Kang took this moment to reveal his hidden citadel and then unleashed a biologically engineered lizard creature against the cowboys sending them fleeing. While Kang was distracted, the three time travelling Avengers managed to break into his citadel and escape in their recovered Time-Sphere. [65]

Eventually the version of Hawkeye who battled Kang in the timestream appeared in 1873 and quickly allied himself with the Two-Gun Kid and his friends to battle against Kang. [62] Learning that Hawkeye ran afoul of Kang in the timestream, his fellow Avengers Thor and Moondragon were led to him by Immortus. They were confronted by Kang in the timestream but managed to fight him back. [66] The duo were reunited with Hawkeye and they joined him and the cowboys in stopping outlaws hired by Kang from robbing a rail shipment of uranium. [62] With Thor taking on his mortal guise of Donald Blake, he, Hawkeye, Moondragon, and the Two-Gun Kid infiltrated Kang's fortress. There Kang unleashed a massive mutated coyote to battle the heroes. Since Thor was in his mortal form, Kang did not recognize him and Blake was able to slip away and break into Kang's control room. There he changed back into Thor and the two fought it out. Kang was no match for the Asgardian thunder god's limitless strength and increased his force field too high causing it to seemingly disintegrate him. With Kang's seeming demise his fortress vanished. With Kang's seeming demise, Immortus led the Avengers to believe that he was erased from history as well, [67] however this was revealed to be a ruse on Immortus' part. [23] This version of Kang survived as well, using his mind transmitter to swap to a newly cloned body in the 40th century. [49] [2] [68] This was witnessed by the "Prime" Kang who decided to develop a similar technology in order to cheat death himself. [68]

Kang disintegrating

By this time the Prime Kang had formed a Council of Kangs in Limbo, consisting of himself, and two of his most cunning divergent selves. Seeing their alternates was insults to their legacy, they brought each alternate Kang to Limbo and executed them. [30] One of the first recorded Kangs to be eliminated by the council was a Kang who conquered the the 41st Century of Earth-8386 where he forced the people to slay each other for his own amusement. Following his death, a massive statue was placed to continue manipulating the people of this world to kill themselves until it was destroyed by the Hulk of Earth-616. [69]

Secret Wars [ ]

Kang slain by Ultron during the Secret Wars

Sometime later the Earth-616 universe was visited by the Beyonder the powerful being sought to understand desire and summoned a group of heroes and villains. The heroes included the Avengers, three of the Fantastic Four, the X-Men , Magneto , the Hulk, and Spider-Man. The villains gathered were Galactus , Dr. Doom, Ultron , the Wrecking Crew , the Enchantress , Dr. Octopus , the Lizard , the Molecule Man , the Absorbing Man , and one of the many divergent Kangs. The Beyonder then created Battleworld , a patchwork world comprised of chunks of various planets. He then told both sides to slay their enemies and all they desired would become theirs. Teleported planetside, Kang and the other villains set up operations in a high-tech facility. When Dr. Doom suggested that they rescind their petty desires to try and make contact with a seemingly all-powerful god, the other villains balked at this prompting Doom to bury them in debris and try to seek out the heroes. Unscathed by this attack, Kang watched as Doom flew away in an alien craft and blew it out of the sky. When the gathered heroes tried to assist Doom, he realized that they were unworthy of his plans as well and attack. He was soon joined by his fellow villains who were led by Kang while Doom fled. [70] [49] During the ensuing battle the heroes captured Kang, the Enchantress as well as Thunderball , Piledriver , and Bulldozer of the Wrecking Crew and imprisoned them at their own headquarters. The other villains fled back to Dr. Doom who had reprogrammed Ultron to be his loyal bodyguard and executioner. [71]

Doom discovered that a suburb of Denver, Colorado was part of Battleworld [72] and empowered two of its natives into Volcana and Titania to bolster his ranks. He then launched an attack on the heroes headquarters, freeing Kang, and the Wrecking Crew. They were unable to rescue the Enchantress due to the fact that she was freed and ventured off with Thor earlier. [73] [74] After successfully launching an attack wherein an entire mountain was dropped on the heroes, Thor and the Enchantress returned teleporting before the gathered villains. Kang and his comrades then piled onto the thunder god and seemingly slew him. [73] [74] Seeking to avenge his previous betrayal and ensure loyalty, Dr. Doom later ordered Ultron to slay Kang, and the conqueror from the 40th century was atomized before his comrades. [12] [49] Thor and the other heroes survived their apparent deaths and continued to clash with their foes until Dr. Doom managed to steal the power of the Beyonder. [75] With the power of the Beyonder, Doom sought to bring peace to the universe and to show his good faith to the heroes gathered he used his vast powers to resurrect Kang and return him to his proper place in time. [13] When recounting these events, Kang himself did not mention his resurrection, implying that he cheated death thanks to the device that transferred his mind to his new body. [49] There is no explanation for this omission. Ultimately, the heroes rebelled against Dr. Doom and with the help of the Beyonder defeated him. With the villains having escaped Battleworld, the Beyonder banished Dr. Doom and returned the heroes home. [76]

Kang resurrected by Dr. Doom

Soon the Beyonder arrived on Earth and assumed human form to learn about human desire. [77] During his time on Earth, his existence became viewed as a threat to the natural order of the universe. [78] This prompted the demon Mephisto to create the Beyondersbane a device that utilized energies stolen from the Beyonder as well as that of Eternity . With the Beyondersbane only having a limited time before reaching critical mass, Mephisto devised a delivery of this powerful energy: an army of super-villains called the Legion Accursed. He sent out his agents to make offer various villains their hearts desire in exchange for destroying the Beyonder. All these villains had to do was touch the Beyonder to unleash the power that would theoretically destroy him. Kang was one of the many villains who agreed to the deal joining Mephisto's Legion Accursed. They attacked the Beyonder while he was meditating on a secluded island. However they ultimately failed thanks to the Thing who came to the Beyonder's defense, holding the villains at bay long enough for the Beyondersbane to hit critical mass. When the device self-destructed the pact Kang and the others made with Mephisto became null and void and they were all teleported back to their points of origins. [79] Eventually, an army of heroes battled the Beyonder to the end, a battle that ended in the Beyonder's seeming demise and ending his threat for a time. [80]

Council of Kangs [ ]

The Council of Kangs (Multiverse)

By this time, the Prime Kang and his two counterparts succeeded in apparently eliminating every alternate version of Kang in existence, the last being their Earth-267 counterpart. By this time the "Prime" Kang had been constructing robot duplicates of the eliminated Kangs to run their empires from remote and began plotting to eliminate his final two counterparts. He allowed one of his two counterparts to infiltrate his secret sanctum where the Prime Kang then pretended to let him in on his secrets. Then after shocking the other Kang by revealing his still-living version of Ravonna , the Prime Kang shot him dead, as part of a plan to eliminate the Avengers and the third Kang . To this end he transported the Wasp, Hercules , and the Black Knight to Limbo. He then sent out a robot to confront the Avengers challenging them to find his citadel and fight for a means to return home. [30]

The "Prime" Kang

When the heroes attempted to get information from the Space Phantom, Kang seemingly slew him before their eyes before unleashing a horde of Dire Wraiths upon them. While the Avengers were occupied the Prime Kang set up the dead body of the second Kang at a control console and contacted his third counterpart to trick him into returning to Limbo as they were under "attack" by the Avengers. Joined by Captain America, Captain Marvel , and the Sub-Mariner, the Avengers reached Kang's citadel where they found the dead Kang. This coincided with the arrival of the third Kang who blamed the Avengers for murdering his counterpart and a fight broke out. When the third Kang realized that they had all been lured into a plot, the Prime Kang incapacitated them and imprisoned them in stasis beams. When they revived, the Prime Kang informed those gathered that he would eliminate them. [81]

Kang vs Immortus

The Prime Kang then revealed to his prisoners his own personal history and where he came to diverge from the other Kangs and his formation of the Council of Kangs (Multiverse) to eliminate his inferior duplicates. All the while he was talking, Hercules struggled against the stasis beam with his prestigious strength, causing it to overload. Noticing this, Ravonna remained quiet, not revealing this fact to Kang. Eventually the strain proved too much and the Avengers broke free. Ravonna revealed her betrayal and while she held the third Kang prisoner, the Avengers went after Kang-Prime. As the Prime Kang fled, the third Kang convinced Ravonna to let him go free to get revenge and she relented allowing him to leave. When the third Kang caught up with the Prime, he tried to shoot his counterpart with a concealed weapon unaware that Kang-Prime had booby-trapped it and it exploded in his face killing him instantly. The Prime Kang was the only one left he remained defiant in front of the Avengers until Immortus appeared with Ravonna by his side. Immortus revealed that through the career of each Kang, he was there manipulating things behind the scene to ensure that the path that leads Kang to becoming Immortus is the only path Kang would ever take. Immortus explained that he manipulated the Prime Kang directly, allowing him to enter Limbo, placing a fake body, and setting in motion the formation of the Council of Kangs. Immortus then showed off the fruits of his labor: the Psyche-Globe, which contained the memories of every slain counterpart of Kang. Seeking this knowledge for himself Kang struggled with Immortus and seized the Psyche-Globe from his hands. However when Kang tried to use the Psyche-Globe it bombarded his mind with all the memories all at once threatening to drive him mad, as Immortus had planned. Kang then fled into Limbo and when the Avengers tried to follow after him Immortus stopped them telling him that this was all ordained and sent the Avengers back to their proper place in time. [23] [49] [15] With his sanity quickly fleeting Kang triggered the time circuitry in his helmet creating two necessary divergent to divide the madness between. One returned to the 40th Century to recover, [15] while the other became Kang-123488.23497 . [82]

Council of Cross-Time Kangs [ ]

By this time a group calling themselves the Council of Cross-Time Kangs was organized. They consisted of various other beings and aliens that slew their own realities version of Kang and usurped his identity. There are conflicting explanations as to why they were formed. Kang-Prime has previously stated that he was responsible for their creation [2] while he has later considered them nothing more than pretenders and fools unworthy of his name. [15] By their own explanations they are apparently a higher order that sat above various alternate Councils of Kang, each member being the sole survivor of a culling of their alternate selves across the Multiverse . [82]

Meanwhile, the Prime Kang attempted to heal his apparent loss of Ravonna by bringing numerous alternate reality Ravonna's to slave over him, but soon he grew not to care about her any longer. He then decided to turn his energies against the first woman who betrayed him: Mantis. [2] Confident that the Inferno would cover his reappearance in the time stream from the Council of Cross-Time Kangs, attacked Mantis in New York City just as she was being rescued by the Fantastic Four. Immobilizing the Fantastic Four he kidnapped Mantis hoping to use her power as the Celestial Madonna to unleash the power of the Dreaming Celestial slumbering in Mount Diablo, California. Not only did the Fantastic Four follow after him, but as did the sorcerer known as Necrodamus . When Kang arrived in California, he was shocked to find that Mantis was stripped of her powers gained from the Cotati and began pondering how to breach the barrier when the Fantastic Four arrived. Kang managed to escape the Fantastic Four but upon doing so he realized that someone had kidnapped Mantis. [83] Kang managed to track Mantis back to New York City where he found her a prisoner of Necrodamus who was preparing to sacrifice her to the demons of Limbo once the planets became aligned. Forced to team-up with the Fantastic Four to suit his own ends for Mantis, he accepted an idea provided to him by Ms. Marvel . With the Human Torch's flame powers being mystically enhanced, Kang transported the Torch outside of the orbit of planet Mercury. The Torch then buried a device deem into the planet, allowing Kang to pull the planet slightly out of alignment preventing Necrodamus from slaying Mantis. The dark gods then punished Necrodamus. With their mission over, Kang teleported away leaving the Torch stranded in space. [84] While Kang was gone the heroic X-Men and X-Factor ended the demonic infestation of New York. [85]

Knowing that Mantis sought the Fantastic Four's aid to recover her son from the Cotati, Kang went to warn them. They agreed with him that the only means to prevent her from taking their savior was to kill her. Kang brought the elders of the Cotati to New York and summoned the Priests of Pama to help. However when they arrived, the Fantastic Four were reunited with the Torch thanks to the Silver Surfer and they defended Mantis, defeating the Cotati and their priests. When Mantis forced the Cotati to flee with her superior mental powers, Kang fled back into the timestream once more. Following this, Mantis left her physical body to try and convince the Cotati to release her son in on the mental plane. [86] [2]

Infinity War [ ]

Kang and Dr. Doom working together

Some years later the Magus , the evil persona of Adam Warlock , was orchestrating a complex conspiracy to obtain he Infinity Gauntlet and rule the universe collected a number of Cosmic Cubes and constructed a massive fortress in another dimension. On Earth, Dr. Doom detected the massive energy source and the power it was drawing from Earth. Unaware of its source and seeking to obtain this power for himself but needing an ally, Doom contacted Kang in the future. Both men agreed to work with each other while secretly plotting to betrayal when they reached their prize. [87] Tracing it to its receiving source on Earth, the two prepared a ship and headed off to find it. [88] [89] They found the location of the energy source moments before the arrival of Galactus, his herald Nova , the Silver Surfer, and the Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange who were also seeking to locate the source of the energy as Galactus tied it to the sudden incapacitation of Eternity. Seeing their arrival, Doom and Kang cloaked themselves from the view of the new arrivals. [87] When Galactus and his allies opened a portal to travel to the dimension the energy source was coming from, the two villains followed, cloaked from view. [88] [89]

Detecting the approach of Galactus, the Magus attacked from afar destroying the world devourer's ship. Doom and Kang were able to slip past the wreckage and continue on the trail. Appearing in another dimension they found another trail to follow and they continued on their path. Detecting that Warlock and his Infinity Watch and the mad Titan Thanos was following after them they were more than pleased when a group of heroes -- also trying to track the source of the energy -- appeared and began battling with the Watch. [90] The two eventually made it through to the other side of the dimensional gate and materialized in front of the Magus' citadel. Sneaking inside, the pair found the power source and rigged explosives on the Cubes in the event they might lose their battle with its owner to ensure that nobody could claim it if they failed. [91] By the time they secretly reached the control room they found that the Magus had captured Adam Warlock and the Infinity Gauntlet. At that very moment Galactus was petitioning the Living Tribunal to restore the power to the Infinity Gauntlet as the Magus had planned all along. The pair then suddenly attack the Magus, but he was too strong for Kang who was easily incapacitated. The Magus fled, and before Doom pursued after him, he killed Kang with a gauntlet blast. [14] [15] While Doom failed to obtain the Infinity Gauntlet, Adam Warlock and his allies eventually stopped the Magus. [92] As with previous instances, Kang's apparent demise did not prove to be permanent here as his mind was transferred to a new body in his own era. [15]

Citizen Kang [ ]

By this time Kang's empire spanned some six centuries with his domain of Chronopolis touching various points in time. He also formed his Anachronauts warriors gathered from various eras to be his elite warriors. [49] However further expansion into the multiverse was deadlocked between other opposing time controllers including the ancient creature Alioth , the Time Variants Authority, the Congress of Realities, Revelation a future version of Ravonna, [93] and the Delubric Consortium. [15] When the Vision discovered that parts of his body were created by Timely Industries in the year 1939, he went to Timely, Wisconsin to investigate and was subsequently captured by Kang. Weeks later when Captain America went to look for him, Kang had him banished to the year 2700 BC. Meanwhile, long since having escaped the Time Bubble, Kang-Nebula - revealing herself to be Kang's long lost love Ravonna - attempted to obtain the help of Dr. Druid to assist her in stopping Kang. [9] Meanwhile, Kang traveled back in time to seek out an alliance with Prester John in the realm of Avalon sometime in the 10th century. When John refused to join Kang, the time traveler banished Prester John to the year 911 AD hoping that John would change history by preventing an alliance between King John the Simple and the Viking leaders. Kang also banished Thor to this era and he made time continue on its intended path. [33]

Eventually Ravonna - now dubbed the Temptress - convinced Dr. Druid and the Fantastic Four to assist her in stopping Kang. Using the Fantastic Four's time machine they traveled to Chronopolis. There they also ran into the Avengers who were searching for their missing teammates. This led to a battle between the two groups when the Avengers presumed that Ravonna was once more manipulating people. As the two hero teams clashed, Ravonna managed to slip away and Kang unleashed his Anachronauts upon the heroes. [49] The FF and the Avengers were easily overpowered and imprisoned in Kang's citadel. Kang then revealed his current plans for invading the modern era: Revealing that he was behind Timely Industries he had components in almost every technological device made over the last 100 years and would use this to pave the way to his victory. Ravonna made her presence known and seemingly slew Kang, but this turned out to be yet another divergent version of Kang. The real Kang soon appeared, and impressed on this new vengeful incarnation of Ravonna, Kang challenged her to a battle. If Kang won Ravonna would stay in Chronopolis and become one of his Anachronauts. If she won, she would win the right to kill him. During the course of the battle, the heroes broke free from their prison and began battling the Anachronauts. During the course of the battle, Thor attempted to toss his hammer through the barrier that protected the two combatants. However the hammer was too strong and pierced the field. Seeing that it was about to strike Ravonna, Kang pushed her out of the way and took the blunt of the blow, severely crippling him and leaving Kang on the brink of death. Realizing the irony of the situation, Ravonna vowed to restore Kang to full health, if for nothing more than to finally get her revenge and kill him. Carrying Kang away, Ravonna allowed the heroes to leave. [2] [15]

Kang in suspended animation

Terminatrix Objective [ ]

Now calling herself the Terminatrix, Ravonna put Kang in stasis and in order to keep his empire in order and safe from the Council of Cross-Time Kangs, she began posing as Kang the only beings aware of her deception being the Anachronauts. She also began investigating eras earlier in time and discovered the temporal creature known as Alioth who ruled those eras and threatened to consume Kang's empire as well. Later, Ravonna's future self Revelation summoned three Avengers: Thunderstrike , War Machine , and US Agent , to stop the Terminatrix from reviving Kang. In retaliation, the Terminatrix summoned Avengers of her own: Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. [94] While the two teams of Avengers were manipulated into fighting each other, the Terminatrix was lured to the year 9999 AD by Revelation. [95] While Kang remained in stasis his body was visited by some of the Time-Keepers, who feared that without the revival of Kang, the multiverse would suffer a Chrono-Synclastic Entropy event when Alioth finally invaded Chronopolis. Relatively, in the year 9999 Revelation convinced Terminatrix that she actually sought to assist her in defeating Alioth and provided her with advanced medicine from her point in time to cure Kang of his injuries. However before the Terminatrix could return to Chronopolis, Alioth attacked. [93]

As the Avengers battled Alioth, the Terminatrix returned and used the device given to her by Revelation and it successfully restored Kang to full health. Kang, Terminatrix and Revelation then recovered the Avengers as Alioth absorbed the Council of Cross-Time Kangs, killing them all. Equipping the Avengers with devices to protect them from the chronal-beast, Kang also gave them a weapon to destroy it: the Chrono-Key. When they attacked Alioth in the council chambers, the Chrono-Key transformed into Tempus , a chronal being that absorbed the latent chronal energy with the dead bodies of the Cross-Time Kangs, and Tempus was able to pull Alioth creating a time barrier preventing Alioth from becoming a threat to Chronopolis. Angry at the loss of lives the Avengers tried to confront Kang but he quickly banished them from his realm. Then when it appeared that he and Ravonna would finally reconcile their differences, she stabbed him in the back intending to revive him so that they would be considered equals in an attempt to deviate herself from the possible future where she would become Revelation. [96] Kang has later stated that he intentionally orchestrated the release of Alioth in order to eliminate the Council of Cross-Time Kangs and rule over his empire alone without their interference. [15]

Eventually Ravonna did restore Kang, and their old animosities came to an end. They returned to the 41st century to rule together however Kang soon quickly grew bored with his position which was becoming more and more bureaucratic. By the time he reached age 60, Kang had grown tired of this life and sought a more simpler time. Kang then decided to leave his entire empire under the command of Ravonna and resumed his guise of Rama-Tut and returned to Ancient Egypt for a time. [15]

Destiny War [ ]

Kang battles the forces of Immortus

During his time as Rama-Tut, the former Kang assisted the Avengers and Immortus stop his past self from taking the Celestial Madonna. After which he returned to the time stream to find a new direction in life. Thanks to events occurring at the end of time, [97] Rama-Tut diverged into two distinct individuals. One saw his mortality and decided to travel to Limbo, where he eventually became Immortus. [98] The other looked into the time stream and saw how Immortus was basically a slave to the Time-Keepers and became angry. Finding a new fire inside him, Rama-Tut denounced his future self and his indentured life to the Time-Keepers. Tut returned to the 41st Century and resumed his guise of Kang the Conqueror with new zeal.

His first order of duty was to eliminate all rival time travelers from the playing field. He unleashed Alioth upon the TVA, and the Delubric Consortium upon Revelation. Deciding that the only way to truly relish his conquests he decided to no longer rely on an easy way out and destroyed the device that would transmit his mind into a new body upon physical death. Kang then began studying Immortus and his masters the Time-Keepers in order to learn how to avoid this eventual fate. He learned that the Time-Keepers were created at the so-called "End of Time" on Earth-794282 by the final TVA agent known as He Who Remains . Through these observations he learned that the Time-Keepers had attempted to ensure that the universe ended with them and considered the Earth its gravest threat. During his investigations he made allies with the Kree Supreme Intelligence and the modern era reformed criminal Libra . Together they learned that the Time-Keepers and Immortus were attempting to alter the course of human destiny by killing long time Avengers associate Rick Jones, as he contained the power of the Destiny Force. [15]

At this point in the modern era, Rick Jones was seemingly dying as a result of the energies of the Destiny Force. [99] Knowing that the Supreme Intelligence had previously controlled the Destiny Force in Rick [100] and brought him to the Blue Area of Earth's Moon where the Intelligence was being held prisoner by agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. [101] After Rick was left with the Supreme Intelligence for observation, Immortus sent his agent Tempus to eliminate the young man. However Kang arrived just in time and began holding off armies of soldiers plucked from various periods in history by his future self. During the fight, Rick awoke and with help from the Supreme Intelligence was able to channel the Destiny Force and summon a group of Avengers from different points in history which included Captain America, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, Goliath , and Hawkeye from Earth-616, as well as Captain Marvel and Songbird from one possible future to help Kang. [102] With the help of the Avengers and Rick's Destiny Force, Kang was able to fight off the troops summoned by Immortus. With the immediate trouble gone, Kang sent the Avengers off with Libra to seek safety while he returned to Chronopolis to prepare to wage war against his future self. However when Kang returned to his domain Immortus immediately launched an attack against him. [103]

Chronopolis was being decimated, with the majority of the Anachronauts, including the Terminatrix, being slain by time-twisting explosion. It soon became apparent that Immortus was seeking the Heart of Forever a powerful energy source that made it possible to change history without creating divergent realities. The Avengers soon arrived to lend a hand, but Kang ushered them off in his time machine ordering them to remain out of the time stream so that Immortus could not follow them. As this was happening Immortus gained access to the Heart and used it to collapse Chronopolis, its entire population and all its chronal energies into the powerful Forever Crystal . [104] Immortus then went about pruning various realities to ensure that humanity does not follow the destiny that put them at the risk of being destroyed by the Time-Keepers, while the Avengers tried their best to oppose him. [105] Meanwhile Kang had survived the destruction of Chronopolis, escaping to a hideout hidden in the realm known as Purgatory . There he reflected on his past life up to that point before he was contacted by Rick Jones and the Supreme Intelligence and informed that the Avengers were captured and that the Time-Keepers were preparing to make their final gambit. [15] They found the Avengers being placed on a mock trial by the Time-Keepers in the 26nd Century of Earth-9812 where the Avengers have become an intergalactic empire, the future which the Time-Keepers were seeking to avoid. [106] With the help of Rick's Destiny Force, Kang and the Avengers were able to break through the Time-Keepers force fields, but they and Immortus fled to the end of time on Earth-794282 to use the Forever Crystal in a Chrono-Cannon to wipe out all timelines that would create a future like Earth-9812. There Immortus refused to hand over the Crystal and was seemingly slain. Kang and the Avengers attacked again. They then unleashed an army of evil Avengers from alternate realities. When Kang fought back against the Time-Keepers who then attempted to speed up Kang's destiny and force him into transform into Immortus. The Avengers, joined by the Rick Jones of Earth-98120 who was bonded to his era's Captain Marvel, summoned heroic Avengers from other eras to help fight the bad. [97]

The Time-Keepers try to force Kang's transformation into Immortus

Through sheer sense of will, Kang managed to fight off the Time-Keepers attempts to force his transformation into Immortus. In the end the Avengers triumphed, destroying the Chrono-Cannon and Kang executed the Time-Keepers in retaliation. However before he could get a hold of the Forever Crystal, Captain America smashed it. Kang was also in for another shock when he found Immortus, now a separate entity from him alive and well. When it was deduced that Kang's destiny was no longer tied to that of Immortus, the conqueror realized that he had achieved the greatest victory of all and teleported away. The Avengers were also returned to their respective eras. [107]

Kang Dynasty [ ]

Kang and the Scarlet Centurion prepare for war

Now with a free destiny, Kang began focusing again on his desire to conquer the modern era. To this end, he manipulated the hero Captain Britain into accepting the role of king of Otherworld , removing him from the playing field when it came time for a potential invasion. [108]

Returning to his empire, Kang then spent the next few decades in that era preparing his armies and ensuring only the most perfect specimens were selected. Additionally he organized a harem of genetically ideal women and began copulating with them. [109] Each child from these unions he named Marcus and began training them to be the ideal warrior. With each failure, he killed his offspring and sealed them in a private chamber aboard his massive space station the Domocles . [110] His last attempt elided Marcus XXIII . Marcus Kang proved to be a success, and was trained in the art of combat, war, and strategy from his father. When Marcus reached adulthood Kang gifted him with his old identity of the Scarlet Centurion. [111] They then began monitoring the Avengers in the modern age so that Marcus could learn his foes, Kang told him to pay particular attention to Captain America. At this time the Avengers were at their highest ebb and a completely global force that was trying to strike at their various foes first before they could terrorize the free world. Kang the Centurion then began observing the Avengers battle with the Presence in Russia, [112] and their battle with Hulk-like creatures created by Jonathan Tremont of the Triune Understanding [113] before deciding it was time to launch their attack. [114] Arriving in the modern era, Kang coached his son on how to battle his campaign before sending him to sent a declaration of war to the United Nations in New York City. When Marcus arrived, he clashed with the Avengers and found himself instantly smitten by their member Warbird . When the Avengers refused to stand down, Kang appeared and decided to give them a show of power. He had his Damocles base fire a powerful blast and destroy the United Nations Building, but used force fields to save those inside. Kang then issued an ultimatum to the Avengers and gathered government officials: surrender or face invasion. [115]

Kang then warned those gathered that there were many dangers ahead in the future, showing them glimpses of of the possible futures on Earths 691 , 1745 , 2042 , 6311 , 8394 , 8410 , 9014 , 9930 , 10742 , 115000 , 17342 , 45017 , 70395 , and 107342 warning that if they did not side with him humanity would die in any one of these possible futures. Kang also outlined his destiny for mankind in this era, turning them into a massive army to conquer the entire universe. Unknown to those gathered, Kang also broadcast his speech to every television, computer and radio in the world in order to cause panic and chaos across the globe and also bring out would be allies in the conflict ahead. His speech prompted the Atlantean barbarians under the rule of Attuma to attack Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island, and renegade Deviants to attack Wuwei, China. Despite all this, a representative from the United Nations denied the chance to surrender telling Kang that the people of Earth would fight. Kang advised them that he would be attacking soon, targeting France first before departing, warning them that if they attacked his base directly instead of fighting off the invasion he would react harshly. [116] Kang and Marcus then returned to the Damocles to prepare for war observing the Avengers battles with the Presence, Attuma and his hordes, the rogue Deviants, the terrorist organization known as AIM , the Wizard , and other threats. [117] Meanwhile Kang sent his son to gather those who pledged loyalty to his cause. Among the first crop was the villain known as Whirlwind whose demands for star treatment only angered Kang prompting him to teleport the super-villain back to Earth to warn others to not make such bold demands in the future. While on Earth, the Avengers began liquidating their threats, but the United States government was pressuring them to deal with Kang. [118] Kang also spent this time observing the reformation of the Thunderbolts and their battle with Graviton and considered them no threat to his plans. [119]

Getting ready to strike, Kang then ordered his son Marcus to begin mobilizing his ground troops for an assault. Meanwhile on Earth, the Avengers were dedicating themselves to defending France. However the United States government was only giving them 96 hours before they launched a fleet of Sentinel robots to deal with Kang, a decision that Captain America thought was a bad one, but he accepted. Things became more complicated when the so-called Master of the World made his own bid to take over Earth, erecting massive defense perimeters around every major city in the world. [109] Kang eventually launched his ground attack on France, and began preparing for the next salvo. Meanwhile the Avengers broke into three teams: One to defend France, another to deal with the Master, and a third group led by Captain America to try and take down the Damocles base. [120] Marcus later went to Earth and assisted Warbird in taking down the Master despite her reservations with him, leading to the first in a series of small betrayals against his father. [121] When the Avengers later attacked the Damocles base, Marcus intentionally allowed them to break through the force field that protected it unaware that his father was standing over him. Kang chose to hide his knowledge from his son and instead focused on battling the Avengers. At that moment the United States government then launched their Sentinels at Kang's orbital base. Kang appeared in a massive holographic image, and took control of the Sentinels since they were comprised of parts built by Timely Industries. Kang then destroyed the Avenger's ship and left them floating in space and turned his holographic image and army of Sentinels on Earth. [122]

Kang's retaliation was swift. He launched a massive attack on Washington D.C., decimating the entire capital despite the Mighty Thor's attempts to try and stop him, leaving the city destroyed and millions of people dead and reduced to bones. Soon the United States officially surrendered and Kang insisted that the Avengers de facto leader, the Wasp, be the first to sign the declaration of surrender. [123] Meanwhile the Avengers trapped in space were rescued by Quasar and the Living Lightning . Before returning to Earth, they had to stop Jonathan Tremont from taking control of a massive ship alien prayer ship with the help of their teammate Triathlon . After their victory they soon learned that Kang had taken the Earth. [124] Kang soon had nearly the entire world in his hands, but there were still pockets of resistance and he had them captured and placed in camps. In one such camp, the Scarlet Witch helped Wonder Man escape so that he could join the other Avengers still free and fighting Kang, using her Hex Powers to make it appear that Wonder Man died when Kang ordered him executed for a failed escape attempt. [125] Kang then focused his efforts on the last of the resistance but they began defending themselves with the Master's defenses, and their ranks were increased with the help of Namorita and the Atlanteans, as well as Warlord Kro and his Deviants, and the Presence and his mate Starlight , forcing Kang and his forces to retreat back to the Damocles. That base was suddenly approached by the Triune Ship. When Kang used his holographic projection to attack the ship he was shocked to see that the Triune craft was able to replicate the technology and do the same with Captain America. [126]

However Captain America proved the superior fighter and Kang was forced to retreat back into his ship. The Avengers, with the unlikely aid of Jonathan Tremont managed to piece the force field around the Damocles and Warbird then compromised the energy core. With the ship starting to explode, Kang ordered a full retreat and forced Marcus into an escape pod, sending him back to the 40th Century, telling his son to let him die in battle and begin his own destiny before the Damocles fell to Earth. [127] The remains of the Damocles crash landed in the town of Gaithersburg, Maryland and miraculously Kang survived the crash but his armor was severely damaged. The Avengers arrived soon and Kang challenged Captain America to a one-on-one battle. This was a battle that Kang ultimately lost and he was finally taken prisoner. Soon Kang's empire was dismantled and the Earth began to repair the damage. Kang meanwhile found himself locked in a secluded prison in Montana. There he was rescued by his son Marcus, despite his protests to be left. Kang eventually relented and returned to his ship. There Kang revealed that he knew of his son's betrayals and revealed the truth of his birth. Kang then expressed his disappointment that his son would not only betray him, but deny his wish to die in combat -- or at least by execution from his enemies and become a legend. Deeming his son as much a failure as all the versions before him, Kang fatally stabbed his son. When his computer asked if Kang wished to awaken the next Marcus, he delayed the order, allowing himself a moment of grief now having lost everything. [110]

The End & JLA/Avengers [ ]

Following this, Kang was briefly imprisoned along with other time traveler by Akhenaten of Earth-4321 until he was defeated by Thanos and his prisoners freed. [128] Later, Earth-616 was being merged with a distant cosmic by the being known as Krona which altered history where the two vastly different universes coexisted together. According to this new reality, Kang battled with the so-called Lord of Time over a Chronal Egg. Both manipulated the Avengers and the Justice League of America into clashing with each other. The heroes won the battle, but these events were erased from history when Krona's merging of the two universes was halted by those self-same heroes. [129]

Nathaniel Richards and his future self, Kang the Conqueror

Iron Lad [ ]

Kang later traveled into his own past, saving his teenaged self from bullies in the hopes of helping the young Nathaniel Richards achieve his destiny as Kang the Conqueror sooner. Showing the boy his destiny, Kang also equipped him with Neuro-Kinetic armor, which proved to be a mistake. Unwilling to become a villain, the young Nathaniel Richards fought back against Kang and then escaped into the time stream and ended up in the modern era. Learning that the Avengers had disbanded, he uncovered a secret protocol within the remains of the Vision and used it to form a group of young heroes who eventually came to be called the Young Avengers , and calling himself Iron Lad. [130] With the formation of the group, former Avengers Iron Man and Captain America attempted to convince the youths to disband. During their discussions at the ruins of Avengers Mansion, they were attacked by one of Kang's Growing Men. Upon the constructs defeat, it signaled Iron Lad's location to Kang. [131]

Slaying Kang

Kang clashed with Iron Man, Captain America, former private eye Jessica Jones , and the Young Avengers. He warned them that if Iron Lad did not return to his own time and follow his destiny to become Kang, history would be irreparably changed in catastrophic ways. Kang's appearance in the modern age alongside his younger self caused this change in history to accelerate. While the Young Avengers geared to fight Iron Lad's future self, the Avengers saw firsthand the changes that were being made and resolved to try and help Kang restore the natural order. When the Young Avengers fought back, they were easily trounced by Kang who turned Iron Lad's own armor against his teammates. [132] Kang then opened a time portal to bring Iron Lad back to his own era, but was knocked in by Iron Lad's teammate Stature , sealing it. Kang returned momentarily and threatened to kill Captain America, but the Young Avengers fought back even harder than before. Their ranks increased when Iron Lad converted his armor into a new incarnation of the Vision . While Kang was distracted, Nathaniel managed to sneak up behind him and fatally stab his future self through the chest with a sword, killing him. [133] With the future rapidly changing and members of the Young Avengers being wiped from existence, Iron Lad realized the futility in his staying in the present and willingly returned to the future to follow his destiny and become Kang the Conqueror. This caused reality to return to the status quo. [134] Kang was apparently restored to life as a result.

Heroic Age [ ]

When Adam Warlock became the Magus once again in order to stop the Fault, a hole in time in space caused by a T-Bomb, it ensured that the future of Earth-7528 where the Magus and his Universal Church of Truth ruled the universe was the dominant future. This caused the destruction of many possible timelines, the lone survivors being each reality's version of Starhawk . Kang was warned of this impending doom from a surviving Time-Keeper before being frozen in Limbo ice. Kang sought refuge in Limbo and gathered the army of Starhawks. Witnessing members of the Guardians of the Galaxy trapped in the year 3009 of Earth-7528, Kang and the Starhawks rescued them. Having had their ages changed due to the Fault Kang restored them to their proper ages and informed the group of the danger to history. He offered them only one solution: kill Warlock. He then gave the Guardians' leader Star-Lord a Cosmic Cube to help do the job. Despite the team's reservations, Kang transported them back in time to moments before Adam Warlock turned into the Magus to do the job. Star-Lord eventually succeeded in slaying the Magus, but not before many of his teammates and allies were slain. However with the Magus now dead, reality resumed its proper course. [135]

Kang soon became aware of the possible future of Earth-10071 where the robot Ultron slew that reality's Avengers paving the way for domination of Kang's own era. To stop this, Kang gathered an army of heroes to destroy Ultron, but failed. In retaliation, Kang went back and gathered more and more super-humans and failed over 20 times. [136] His constant time travels caused too much of a strain on time and broke it causing chaos across the time stream, causing different eras to bleed into each other while causing the battle between Ultron on Earth-10071 to continue in a perpetual loop. This prompted his future self, Immortus, to pose as Kang once more and convince the Next Avengers to allow himself to travel back in time to recruit the Avengers of the modern era to fix the fracture in time. [137] The Avengers eventually traveled to Earth-10071 and learned of the situation and agreed to deal with Ultron. [136] They went back in time prior to the battle with Ultron and convinced the robot to lose the battle, pointing out that in fighting Kang would lead to the damage done to the time stream and that Ultron would no be destroyed as well. Ultron agreed, and when the time for the battle came, Kang and his forces easily destroyed him. With such a quick victory, Kang returned his warriors to their proper points in history. Disappointed with the lack of a challenge, Kang returned to his own time to continue searching for a suitable conquest. With the defeat of Ultron, reality diverged to a new future of Earth-10943 , and the damage to the time stream was repaired. [138]

Kang and the Apocalypse Twins

Apocalypse Twins [ ]

With the birth of the Apocalypse Twins , Kang began to see them as a threat to his future time and began orchestrating a means to not only eliminate the threat of mutants to his future time, but also to gain mastery of all time and ensure that his rule reigned unopposed. To this end, Kang kidnapped the twins, Uriel and Eimin just moments after their birth, taking them into the future to raise them. [139] He then traveled back in time to the year 1013 AD and took on his Rama-Tut guise and began manipulating once sought after heir, Apocalypse, convincing him that he was destined to rule the world by feeding him half truths about the coming future. Through his gained trust, he tricked Apocalypse into fighting a young Thor in Scandinavia, knowing that the armor given to Apocalypse by the Celestials would be immune to Thor's ax Jarnbjorn . Seeing that he was losing the fight, Thor fled back to Asgard to petition his father Odin to give him the power to defeat Apocalypse. As expected, Odin turned down this request due to the oath Earth's pantheon gods made to not interfere in the work of the Celestials. Posing as Thor's brother Loki , Kang used Thor's anger to trick him into working together to find a solution to stop Apocalypse. Kang then uncovered a spell hidden in Odin's library that could give Jarnbjorn the power to destroy Celestial armor. Kang then resumed his Rama-Tut guise and tricked Apocalypse into going after Folkbern Logan a soldier in England who was an ancestor of the modern day hero Wolverine . When Apocalypse and his Horsemen attacked England to slay Logan, Thor arrived and battled him, slaying these Horsemen and gravely wounding Apocalypse, although Apocalypse teleported away and lived on for centuries thereafter. When Thor returned to Asgard to celebrate, he was berated by Odin who warned that his actions that day would one day have grave repercussions on the world. With the first part of his scheme complete, Kang returned to the modern era where he recovered Jarnbjorn from Brazil where it was embedded in the body of the deceased sorcerer Baron Mordo in a Brazilian tomb. [140]

Kang then began raising the Apocalypse Twins in the year 4145, teaching them that mutants and humans could never live in harmony together and that the twins would grow up to oppose Kang himself and they would meet defeat. To show them how the fight for supremacy was a lost cause for the twins, Kang forced them to live out years of their lives in mutant concentration camps run by the Red Skull on Earth-13044 . There they were forced to live in a camp run by the cyborg known as Ahab . When Uriel and Eimin attempted to escape Kang watched over them gloating, and allowed them to be captured by Ahab and his Hounds. When Ahab caught them, Kang stood back and watched as Uriel was forced to blind his sister by cutting her eyes out with his wings. [141] Convinced that they had learned enough about human cruelty, Kang took the now teenaged Apocalypse Twins back to his future of 4145 to continue their training. He sent them on a mission to Earth-26111 to slay Colonel America . This instead led to a battle with the Morlocks and Uriel and Eimin were forced to slay their leaders Havok and Rogue . After their failure, he brought them back to his own time and showed them his trophy room, including Jarnbjorn. [142]

Avenge the Earth [ ]

Kang watches powerless as his timeline is destroyed

However before Kang could continue his conditioning of the Apocalypse Twins, they stole Jarnbjorn and returned to the modern era of Earth-616. Using the weapon they slew a Celestial Gardener , just as it was summoned by Genocide and the Horsemen of Apocalypse . They then started a campaign to create a mutant rapture, to move the mutant population to a new world before the Celestials sought retribution. This plot was opposed by the Avengers Unity Division in vein. Ultimately, the Apocalypse Twins succeeded in manipulating the Scarlet Witch into succeeding in their plan, and the Earth was destroyed by Exitar the Executioner . In order to prevent Kang, or any other time travelers from going back in time and stopping them, the twins also constructed a tachyon dam that protected the entire timeline. [143] It was by this point that Kang's latest incarnation of Marcus realized that the Apocalypse Twins escaped and attempted to warn his father. However Kang was already being told what the Apocalypse Twins were up to thanks to holographic recordings that were rigged to go off just as Kang's timeline was beginning to be erased. [141]

Kang began gathering other beings from futures that were being wiped out thanks to the work of the Apocalypse Twins. Forming the Chronos Corps which consisted of Stryfe of Earth-4935 , Venom of Earth-9997 , Dr. Doom of Earth-6375 , Iron Man of Earth-8410 , Magistrate Braddock of Earth-12928 , Ahab of Earth-13044 , and the Abomination Deathlok of Earth-11045 . [144] However he and his forces were unable to affect changes in the present day thanks to the tachyon dam. About a decade later, the mutants had established themselves on a new world called Planet X . By this time both Havok and the Wasp had gotten married and had a human child named Katie . In order to create a safer world for their daughter, Alex and Janet managed to destroy the tachyon dam that existed in their era, allowing Kang and his Chronos Corps to breach that point in history, which allowed them to also recruit Thor to their cause. [145] Kang came up with a plan to restore the Earth, but with the tachyon dam in the past preventing them from going further, Kang came up with a plan to send the minds of the surviving members of the Avengers Unity team into their past bodies and preventing the destruction of Earth. When Havok protested due to concerns he had over the fate of his daughter, who could be erased from history by such a move, Kang teleported her away into the timestream in order to force his and the Wasp's support. In attempting to free the captured Wolverine and Sunfire Kang and his minions clashed with the X-Council and X-Force as well as the Apocalypse Twin 's minions Banshee and Daken . [146] Succeeding in their task, with the help of Magistrate Elizabeth, Kang managed to send the minds of Thor, Wolverine, Havok, the Wasp, and Sunfire back in time to the moments leading up to the destruction of Earth. [147]

Cosmic powered Kang

The heroes travel into the past and with the help of Rogue and the Sentry managed to keep Exitar at bay while they recovered Jarnbjorn from the Apocalypse Twins. As Thor wounded Exitar, the other members of the Unity Team destroyed the tachyon dam, allowing Kang and his forces to arrive in that era. This was the final culmination of Kang's schemes and he had his Abomination Deathlok push Thor into the cosmic energy spewing from the wounded Celestial. Kang then began attempting to absorb the cosmic energy, hoping to attain godhood and conquer all time. [6] The Avengers clashed with Kang's Chronos Corps and were assisted by the arrival of Immortus and his Infinity Watch while Havok and Sunfire attempted to prevent Kang from absorbing more energy from the Celestial. While Sunfire defeated the Apocalypse Twins, Havok overpowered Kang and severed him from the Celestial energies. Defeated, Kang fled into the timestream taking his Chronos Corps with him. However he left Ahab behind to find the Red Skull and ensure that the future of Earth-13044 came to pass. [148] Because Exitar was prevented from destroying the Earth and the Apocalypse Twins were defeated before they could complete their rapture, reality continued on its natural course, although the Planet X reality endured in a divergent reality designated Earth-13133 .

Original Sin [ ]

Kang eventually ended up working with two of his alternate selves, Immortus and Iron Lad, at a point in time and space called the "end of the road" to await the arrival of the "last Avenger". [149] This came in the form of Captain America who was being hurtled forward through time thanks to the damaged Time Infinity Gem . He was rescued from the fractured timestream by Iron Lad after surviving an experience some 51,028 years in the future. [150] Iron Lad then brought Cap before Kang and Immortus. When the Time Gem reappeared the three time travelers trapped it in a bottle of "No-Time" to prevent it from functioning and sending Cap through time yet again. They explained to Cap that the current crisis threatening to destroy the multiverse was destined to fail if they allowed Cap to continue going forward, Iron Lad's future selves having already lived this moment. However Cap refused to stand back and do nothing when lives were in danger and broke the Time Gem free, and was transported back to his own era before the three incarnations of Kang could stop him. [149]

The Shield [ ]

After Attilan , the city of the Inhumans , was destroyed by Black Bolt during his fight with Thanos , [151] the Inhumans that were scattered were found except for Black Bolt's son Ahura . Kang had teleported him to his fortress and took him under his wing. When Black Bolt eventually found Ahura, he submitted him to the Terrigenesis process and made a deal with Kang: Kang would take Ahura to safety into the time stream in order to save him from the death of the universe brought about by the Incursions . Kang accepted but with the condition that even if the Multiverse was restored, Ahura would be his forever. [152]

After the collapse of the Multiverse , Kang was recreated by God Emperor Doom as a Hel-Ranger of the Shield . After hunting Hulks in the north , a future version of himself suddenly appeared before Kang, warning the Hel-Rangers that the Shield would fall in twenty days, and that Thanos would doom them all, before dying due to temporal mines. [153]

Fifteen days later, the Hel-Rangers were still unable to find Thanos. A powerful army of the Ultron Engine began to approach the Shield, led by a cyborg Nick Fury , the presumed dead commander of the Hel-Rangers who now called himself the Fury. Kang discovered that the timestream was filled with chronomines placed by Thanos, and he was unable to navigate through or request help from chronoallies. [154] After the Fury was distracted by the Unite and America Chavez , Kang grabbed the Fury and pulled him into the timestream, bombarding him with chronomines. [155] On the twentieth day, Thanos convinced the Thing to rise up against Doom, and the Shield collapsed. Despite the chronomines, Kang went back in time to try and warn the Hel-Rangers before it was too late, suffering the exact fate Kang witnessed twenty days earlier. [16]

Inhumanity [ ]

With the Multiverse restored and Kang resurrected, Black Bolt reneged on his deal with Kang and decided to get his son Ahura back. With the help of Reader , Black Bolt traveled back 13,000 years into the past, where Kang would leave Ahura in the care of Randac in Attilan to accommodate him to Terrigenesis and then retrieve him some time later. However, Kang caught onto Black Bolt's betrayal and forced him to retreat. [17]

The Inhumans decide to rescue the untainted Ahura from his future fate by travelling back in time 13,000 years ago to the moment Kang delivered Ahura to Randac. After Kang left, the Inhumans arrived to Attilan to retrieve him. Ahura didn't believe what his fellow Inhumans said and remained loyal to Kang until he was shown with the Historikon what he would have been manipulated to do, and how that future would have played out. Kang subsequently returned to the scene with an army consisting of soldiers from different periods of time in order to retrieve Ahura. After being captured, Ahura manifested his Inhuman ability to create psychic projections of himself to possess Kang, forcing him to leave, fix the damage he had done to the Inhumans' history, and never attempt to harm his people again. [156]

Due to a glitch in the timestream, Kang found himself being split up into various versions of himself. One of those versions, Mr. Gryphon , found himself stuck in modern day Earth-616. [157]

Infinity Conflict [ ]

When Kang travelled to the year 4657 where he saw an omnipotent Thanos battling a horde of dark creatures which ended in his defeat leaving reality to be consumed by the stygian darkness. After observing how this darkness consumed the worlds, Kang sought to find the source of the problem. His search lead him to the planet of Zelchia , where a mutant native developed the power to teleport. Kang tried to end the threat by killing the native, but other teleporting mutant natives emerged. With this task failed Kang sought to study the darkness, but his ship was damaged and was left stranded in the year 4012 where he encountered Starfox . After some negotiating Kang send Starfox back to the point where the Titan send his past self in exile. After Starfox's plan to avoid the threat succeeded, Kang returned to Zelchia in the year 2127 where Thanos, controlled by his omnipotent future self, awaited him and after Thanos assured that the plan was a success Kang left. [158]

The omnipotent future Thanos then trapped Kang in stasis, since he was potential threat to his plans. After Thanos absorbed the Living Tribunal and the One-Above-All , Adam Warlock freed Kang and told him his plan to stop Thanos from destroying the entire Multiverse . As the omnipotent Thanos was about to end it all, Kang prevented Starfox and Pip the Troll from travelling through time, causing Thanos to get distracted and allowing present Thanos to take hold of his powers and reset everything to prior the machinations of future Thanos. After preventing Eros from stealing his technology, he rescued Adam and agreed to travel through time once again to fetch the green Soul Gem . [159]

The Absent Throne [ ]

On his flagship Kang was visited by himself and the King in Black Tyro from the near future, granting him modified Battle- Symbiotes for his army. Now knowing what was about to happen, Kang expected the past Tyro to manifest in his ship to implore him to help evade his inevitable fate . Kang agreed to help Tyro, teaching him about the universe, helping him remember his human face and training him. The two became friends, and as gratitude Tyro spawned War Symbiotes for Kang's past self to use. Once that was over, Tyro looked through the timestream, and learning what was about to happen he cast aside all of the humanity that was left and rechristened himself as Meridius. Meridius then demanded Kang continue to assist him on his personal agenda, threatening to take control of Kang's symbiotes and have them turn on him. Kang expected this to happen and wasn't displeased in the slightest, having no problem in helping Meridius. Kang brought Meridius near the end of the eighth cosmos where the Symbiotes' Last Hive awaited the beginning of the ninth . Kang had his ships attack the symbiotes, paving way for Meridius to infiltrate the weakened Hive, at which point he murdered them mentally and used their bodies to create the Garden of Time . [160]

Now part of Meridius' group known as the Absent Throne , Kang was met with Meridius' past self, Eddie Brock possessing one of his symbiotes . After a brief confrontation, Kang immediately befriended Eddie, knowing full well that their encounter would continue the time-loop to ensure Meridius' existence, and offered to help him navigate the timestream. Kang taught Eddie about time travel, until the latter was able to return to his present. [161]

Kang is a human from the 31st century with no innate superpowers.

Increased Lifespan : Kang is over 70 years old chronologically, but the people of his era have improved biology to the point that they seem to age much slower than 21st century man. Thus he appears to be a man in his mid-40s. [15]

Superior-level Intellect: Though it is hard to gauge Kang's intellect given his futuristic origins, his genius is nothing short of super-human by modern standards. He commands technology beyond the most sophisticated designs of Stark Industries and Doctor Doom, and has made breakthroughs in time travel and in robotics. Kang is the only known time traveler (other than his counterpart Immortus) who possess the ability to travel through time without creating divergences. In fact Kang has the combined knowledge and experience of his counterparts from across the Multiverse. [15] Furthermore, while employing the vast resources of his empire, and when using his time-ship to penetrate the trans-dimensional realm of Limbo, from which all future eras are accessible, Kang theoretically has access to technology from any century, and presumably from alien worlds as well. Hence, in combination with the multiple resources available to him, Kang showed to have in his possession rare artifacts such as the last Cosmic Cube , demonstrating expertise to effortlessly manipulate it. [135] It may also include artifacts such as the Forever Crystal , which is capable to erase whole realities from existence. [164]

Political Savvy: Kang is a brilliant military tactician and a peerless general. Using his considerable charisma, Kang was able to raise an army and conquer his first world within mere weeks of building his armor. Kang has conquered everything within 100 light years from Other Earth, totaling "a thousand thousand" worlds, [15] which include the counterpart Badoon and Shi'ar empires of his reality, extending to several other dimensions. Though he considers it a chore, Kang is also a capable statesman. Kang is portrayed as commonly underestimating the amazing power provided by a Cosmic Cube, suggesting that he prefers to conquer worlds via more conventional and less exceptional means. [15]

Kang conquers

Skilled Combatant: Kang is a master of both armed and unarmed combat. He has managed to go toe-to-toe with Captain America, and single-handedly held back Immortus' time-tossed army for several minutes during the Destiny War.

Paraphernalia

Kang using one of his armor's many abilities

• Enhanced Strength: Gives Kang the ability to lift 5 tons.
• Enhanced Durability: The armor has a built in force-field that extends from 2 feet away from his body, outward to 20 feet in all directions. It can withstand even a nuclear strike at point blank range.
• Anti-Gravity Device: Kang has a device in the gauntlets of his armor that allows him to render objects weighing up to 2.2 tons weightless.
• Video Communicator: Built into the right wrist is a video communicator, which he can use to stay in contact with his bases from any point in the time-stream.
• Chronocloning: Kang can intentionally multiply himself through these divergences. Kang considers these diverged selves to be expendable and their deaths simply mean more timelines to conquer. [162]
• Concussive Bolts: Kang can fire concussive blasts from the fingertips of his gauntlets; these blasts have the force of several tons of dynamite.
• Weaponry: By cracking his fingers, Kang can summon any number of weapons which are transported to him through time-stream instantly.
• Electric Shock: By flexing his muscles, Kang can activate a powerful electric shock.
• Hover Pad: Kang has often made use of a hover-pad in his battles.
• Survival Kit: Kang's armor has a self-contained atmosphere, 30 day supply of food, and waste disposal system.
• Body Transference: Until recently, Kang employed nano-technology in his helmet's circuitry that enabled him to transfer his mind into a new body at the moment of death.
• Kang's Light of the Centuries Sphere : A sphere that can transport people through space and time. It can also hold people captured in itself. [42] It travels at faster than light speeds, [48] probably fueled by a virtually inexhaustible energy source, or alternatively by accessing hyperspace.

Kang's Light of the Centuries Sphere

• Kang's Time Scanner

Transportation

Kang's Trophy Room

• Kang keeps a Trophy Room at the edge of space-time, which contain paraphernalia from various heroes and villains
• The longest time Kang had been in the present was over 136 hours when assisting Doctor Doom. [165]
• Kang is aware of the misconception about him being the father of Reed Richards, although it is technically the opposite. [165]
• Kang has a habit of saving the simplest battles of his campaigns for last, despite the fact that going back to complete them is intensely boring for him. [162]
• 214 appearance(s) of Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 17 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 52 minor appearance(s) of Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 108 mention(s) of Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 17 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 4 invocation(s) of Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 247 image(s) of Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 28 quotation(s) by or about Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 10 victim(s) killed by Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)
• 10 item(s) used/owned by Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)

Links and References

• Nathaniel Richards (Kang) on Marvel.com
• Nathaniel Richards (Kang) on Wikipedia.org
• Marvel Directory
• A Brief History of Kang (Does not cover Avengers Forever or later)
• ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6
• ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Avengers Annual #21
• ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Fantastic Four #19
• ↑ Thunderbolts #14
• ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 Avengers #8
• ↑ 6.0 6.1 Uncanny Avengers #21
• ↑ 7.0 7.1 Avengers Annual #2
• ↑ 8.0 8.1 What If...? #29
• ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Captain America Annual #11
• ↑ Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Vol. 2) #42
• ↑ Savage Avengers #26
• ↑ 12.0 12.1 Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #4
• ↑ 13.0 13.1 Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #11
• ↑ 14.0 14.1 Infinity War #5
• ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 15.17 15.18 15.19 15.20 15.21 15.22 15.23 15.24 15.25 15.26 15.27 15.28 15.29 15.30 15.31 15.32 15.33 15.34 Avengers: Forever #9
• ↑ 16.0 16.1 Siege (Vol. 2) #4
• ↑ 17.0 17.1 Uncanny Inhumans #1
• ↑ Fantastic Four #273
• ↑ What If...? #39
• ↑ Young Avengers #2
• ↑ Fantastic Four (Vol. 2) #8
• ↑ Fantastic Four Annual #2 Captain America Annual #11 . It is later revealed in Avengers #269 that the frequent time storms that thwarted Kang were created by his future self, Immortus as per Avengers #269 in part of a complex plan to curtail possible divergent realities created by Kang's time travels.
• ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 23.7 Avengers #269
• ↑ 1939 Daily Bugle #1
• ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Avengers #129
• ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 26.6 26.7 Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #4
• ↑ 27.0 27.1 Captain America: Man Out of Time #4
• ↑ Captain America: Man Out of Time #4 . As revealed in Avengers #4 , Captain America ended up in suspended animation during World War II and at the time was just recently revived in the modern era.
• ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 Captain America: Man Out of Time #5
• ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Avengers #267
• ↑ Thor Annual #17 . Immortus first openly clashed with the Avengers in Avengers #10 although as the Avengers: Forever series revealed, he had been manipulating the group as early as Avengers #2 . Kang did not learn that Immortus was his future self until Giant-Size Avengers #3
• ↑ Avengers #11
• ↑ 33.00 33.01 33.02 33.03 33.04 33.05 33.06 33.07 33.08 33.09 33.10 33.11 33.12 33.13 Thor Annual #17
• ↑ Strange Tales #134 Thor Annual #17 Avengers Annual #22 reveals that the Merlin that Kang fought here was the Merlin impostor of Earth-616 and not the true Merlin of Otherworld .
• ↑ Avengers #16
• ↑ 36.0 36.1 Fantastic Four Annual #3
• ↑ 37.0 37.1 Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1
• ↑ Thunderbolts #13
• ↑ 39.0 39.1 Thor #140
• ↑ Avengers #23
• ↑ Avengers #24
• ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Avengers #69
• ↑ Avengers #269 Avengers: Forever #9 . This was revealed to be another manipulation by Immortus to try and rein in Kang, eliminate all his divergences and ensure that Immortus was the final fate of Nathaniel Richards as revealed in Avengers #269
• ↑ Avengers #69 . Tony Stark suffered a heart attack battling an Iron Man Life-Model Decoy in Iron Man #18 and was rushed to the hospital in Avengers #69 . At the time, Iron Man's true identity was a secret even to his fellow Avengers . Stark underwent surgery and recovered in Iron Man #19
• ↑ Avengers #70
• ↑ Avengers #71
• ↑ This was hinted at in Fantastic Four Annual #25 , inferred in Avengers Annual #21 and clarified more thoroughly in Avengers: Forever #9 .
• ↑ 48.0 48.1 Incredible Hulk #135
• ↑ 49.00 49.01 49.02 49.03 49.04 49.05 49.06 49.07 49.08 49.09 49.10 49.11 49.12 49.13 49.14 Fantastic Four Annual #25
• ↑ Marvel Team-Up #9
• ↑ Marvel Team-Up #10
• ↑ Marvel Team-Up #11
• ↑ Avengers #128
• ↑ Avengers #129 . The Rama-Tut seen here is not the younger version of Kang who battled the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #19 , but a future version of Kang himself as revealed in Giant-Size Avengers #2
• ↑ Giant-Size Avengers #2 . Hawkeye quit the Avengers at the time in Avengers #109
• ↑ Giant-Size Avengers #2
• ↑ Avengers #131 . It was later revealed in Avengers: Forever #8 that this was all part of a plot by Immortus to have the Avengers learn the connection between the original Human Torch and the Vision to further manipulate their destinies as he saw fit. All the characters were plucked from just moments from their apparent deaths. Wonder Man was pulled from Avengers #9 , however it was later revealed in Avengers #152 that he was merely in a state of suspended animation. The Human Torch was not technically dead, but rather deactivated circa 1955 as revealed in Fantastic Four Annual #4 . The Torch's life and resurrections are quite complicated but are explained in Avengers: Forever #8 . The Ghost was slain in Silver Surfer #9 . Midnight was slain in Special Marvel Edition #16 at the hands of Shang-Chi however he was later resurrected in Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #29 . Baron Zemo was slain battling Captain America in Avengers #15 . The Frankenstein Monster was technically not dead, but was snatched from time during the events of Frankenstein #12
• ↑ Avengers #132
• ↑ Giant-Size Avengers #3
• ↑ Revealed in Avengers #134 & 135 . This also was part of his complex plot to manipulate the destiny of the Avengers as seen in Avengers: Forever #8
• ↑ Giant-Size Avengers #4
• ↑ 62.0 62.1 62.2 Avengers #142
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #4
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #5 . The Avengers who appeared here are from different points in history and were gathered by Rick Jones in Avengers: Forever #1 to stop Immortus and his masters the Time-Keepers from eliminating various alternate realities. This also put them in an uneasy alliance with a Kang from a number of decades in his personal future from this moment. For clarity it should be pointed out that Yellowjacket was taken circa Avengers #59 , Hawkeye was plucked from Avengers #99 , a Hawkeye from the past prior to the encounter with Kang listed directly above that occurred in Avengers #142 . Songbird comes from a possible future on Earth-98120 where she joined the Avengers. Both Yellowjacket and Hawkeye will not remember any of these events following the climax of Avengers: Forever as their memories faded as revealed in Avengers: Forever #12 . Thus neither character remembers this encounter after the fact. Also Kang does not recognize either Hawkeye or Yellowjacket despite having met them both previously. It should be assumed that Kang did not recognize them due to their disguises.
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #6
• ↑ Avengers #141
• ↑ Avengers #143
• ↑ 68.0 68.1 Avengers: Forever #8
• ↑ This world appears in Incredible Hulk #286 , however it was not revealed that Kang-8386 was slain by the Council of Kangs until a profile for Hero of the Day in World War Hulk: Gamma Files #1
• ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1
• ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #2
• ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #6
• ↑ 73.0 73.1 Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #3
• ↑ 74.0 74.1 Thor #383
• ↑ As seen in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #4 through 10
• ↑ As seen in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #11 and 12
• ↑ Secret Wars II #1
• ↑ Secret Wars II #6
• ↑ Secret Wars II #7
• ↑ Secret Wars II #9
• ↑ Avengers #268
• ↑ 82.0 82.1 Avengers #293
• ↑ Fantastic Four #323 , Mantis lost her powers during the events of West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #37 through 39
• ↑ Fantastic Four #324
• ↑ X-Factor #38
• ↑ Fantastic Four #325
• ↑ 87.0 87.1 Infinity War #1
• ↑ 88.0 88.1 Infinity War #2
• ↑ 89.0 89.1 Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #4
• ↑ Infinity War #3
• ↑ Infinity War #4
• ↑ Infinity War #6
• ↑ 93.0 93.1 Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #3
• ↑ Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1
• ↑ Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #2
• ↑ Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #4
• ↑ 97.0 97.1 Avengers: Forever #11
• ↑ Thor #282
• ↑ Incredible Hulk #470
• ↑ Avengers #97
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #7
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #1 . Each Avenger came from different points in history. Captain America from Captain America #175 , Hawkeye is from Avengers #99 , Yellowjacket is from Avengers #59 , while Goliath and the Wasp are both from Avengers (Vol. 3) #11
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #2
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #3
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #4 – 8
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #10
• ↑ 107.0 107.1 Avengers: Forever #12
• ↑ Excalibur (Vol. 2) #4
• ↑ 109.0 109.1 Avengers (Vol. 3) #45
• ↑ 110.0 110.1 Avengers (Vol. 3) #54
• ↑ Avengers #45
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #38
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #39
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #40
• ↑ Avengers #41
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #42
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #43
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #44
• ↑ Thunderbolts #57
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #46
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #47 . Warbird 's reservations toward Marcus Kang was due to his resemblance to Marcus Immortus the son of Immortus who manipulated Carol into a romance in order to impregnate her with himself so that he could escape Limbo . When this failed he returned to Limbo with her as his unwitting slave but she eventually escaped. See Avengers #197 through 200 and Avengers Annual #10
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #48
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #49
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #50
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #51
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #52
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #53
• ↑ Marvel Universe: The End #2
• ↑ JLA/Avengers #3
• ↑ Young Avengers #2 . The Avengers were decimated in an attack by their own teammate the Scarlet Witch in the Avengers Disassembled event as depicted in Avengers #500 through 503 . The Vision was destroyed by the Scarlet Witch in Avengers #500
• ↑ Young Avengers #3
• ↑ Young Avengers #4
• ↑ Young Avengers #5
• ↑ Young Avengers #6
• ↑ 135.0 135.1 Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #19
• ↑ 136.0 136.1 Avengers (Vol. 4) #4
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #1
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #6
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #5
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #6 . How Baron Mordo 's body ended up in this tomb with Jarnbjorn embedded in it is as yet unexplained, he was last seen alive in Iron Man/Thor #1
• ↑ 141.0 141.1 Uncanny Avengers #12
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #8AU
• ↑ Uriel and Eimin 's plot took place over the course of Uncanny Avengers #7 through 17
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #14
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #18.NOW
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #19
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #20
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #22
• ↑ 149.0 149.1 Avengers (Vol. 5) #34
• ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #33
• ↑ Infinity #3
• ↑ Uncanny Inhumans #0
• ↑ Siege (Vol. 2) #1
• ↑ Siege (Vol. 2) #2
• ↑ Siege (Vol. 2) #3
• ↑ Uncanny Inhumans #4
• ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #6
• ↑ Thanos: The Infinity Siblings #1
• ↑ Thanos: The Infinity Ending #1
• ↑ Venom (Vol. 5) #29
• ↑ Venom (Vol. 5) #8 – 9
• ↑ 162.0 162.1 162.2 Venom (Vol. 5) #25
• ↑ Uncanny Avengers #21 – 22
• ↑ Avengers: Forever #5
• ↑ 165.0 165.1 Doctor Doom #6
• ↑ Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide #2
• ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 6
• 1 Victor von Doom (Earth-616)
• 2 Cassandra Nova Xavier (Earth-616)
• 3 Wade Wilson (Earth-616)

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Kazan Travel Guide - Perfect Your Travel Itinerary

Home / Russia Travel Experiences / Kazan Travel Guide – Perfect Your Travel Itinerary

Craving a one-of-a-kind, awe-inspiring trip to a place of ancient histories, visually spectacular, and spiritual marvels? The Kazan Travel Guide has everything you need to get just that.

Kazan is the capital of the Tatarstan Republic, also known as Russia’s third capital. Just an hour-and-a-half flight away from Moscow, this beautiful and thriving metropolis has a centuries-old history. Founded in 1005, Kazan is one of Russia’s oldest cities (older than Moscow) with sites and architecture reminiscent of its glorious 12th-century reign by the river Kazanka. The multiethnic region is famous for the harmonious co-existence of many different religions, whose sculpted sacred sites are some of the world’s most beautiful buildings. You’ll find a sublime fusion of Tatar and Russian culture in this city, creating a glorious melting pot of different cultures. Whilst predominantly Muslim, you will find all religious backgrounds within the republic. Discover how easy it is to be entranced by the captivating Kazan – it is even worth making a detour on the Trans-Siberian Railway for.

This Kazan Travel Guide will help you plan everything down to preferred months of travel according to seasonal highlights, main attractions, meals from our pick of Tatar cuisine delicacies, methods of transport, and activities from morning until noon.

Table of Contents

Why travel to Russia’s Kazan?

Kazan kremlin.

This UNESCO listed fortified citadel is the most familiar landmark of Kazan. Kazan Kremlin is full of cozy parks, picturesque streets, delectable foods, and beautiful sites. Take a tour through the only surviving Tatar fortress in Russia and lose yourself in its Middle Ages era splendor with this heritage-listed site. Many of the Kremlin’s architectural wonders are sculpted by the famous Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Shirjay, recruited by the Tzar. Kazan Kremlin is also home to the Söyembikä Tower and museums, where Kazan’s extensive history and legends take centre-stage. Many also flock to the multi-faith place of worship for its glorious sculpted sacred sites such as Kul Sharif Mosque.

Söyembikä Tower

Kazan’s tiered tower of Soyembika, also known as the leaning tower or ‘Khan’s Mosque’ is the highlight of Kazan Kremlin. Its construction is recorded by scholars to date back as far as the 16th century, whose age-old history is expressed in some of its majestic colonial architecture. The colours are stunning in summer, and even in winter, the snow creates a fairytale-like scene. Once inside, you should pay attention to the haram carpet and elaborate details on the ceiling. Romantic and mystic legends surround the tower and the only woman to rule the Kazan Khanate for which it’s named after. It is said to be the same tower that led the beautiful Princess Syuyumbike to her death, built for her by Ivan the Terrible who seized Kazan in 1552 and then demanded they wed. Others tell a different history of a Soyembika forcibly detained here by Muscovite forces, before being taken to Kasimov where she died. For those interested in its story, be wary of self-nominated guides- the official Kazan guides are a purchase worth making. Despite its tragic history, many locals believe if you touch the tower and make a wish it will come true.

Kul Sharif Mosque

The Kul Sharif Mosque is Kazan Kremlin’s main mosque and one of the city’s most beautiful buildings. You will hardly be able to take your eyes off this one-of-a-kind structure. This attraction is not just for Muslims. It is open to all Kazan’s travellers, but it is preferred that women have their hair covered during their visit. The Kul Sharif Mosque takes the place of a former mosque conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552. From outside, the majestic lotus-flowered dome landmark sits atop a hill overlooking Kazan. Inside, it’s fitted with a modern yet classical interior where you can pray with the names of 99 gods inscribed on ceilings and window glass. On the ground floor is a Museum of Islam, where a tour in English may be available if there’s an English-speaking docent on shift. Otherwise, there are booklets in English that explain the whole exhibit. Whilst everything is free to all visitors, they ask you pay 3 rubles for shoe slip-covers to help keep its floors clean. It is recommended you go in the morning to avoid a queue to visit the Kul Sharif Mosque, boasting a reputation as one of the best mosques in the world.

Temple of All Religions

For those interested in the spiritual marvels of Russia, it is also recommended you see the Temple of all Religions located along the Volga river of Kazan . This is under construction, so it’s not a must-see, but worth the visit if you have time to kill before taking a train or bus. It boasts 16 towers all for various different religions- a stunning sight to behold from the outside.

Baumana street

The Baumana Street is the main tourist and pedestrian zone between the Kremlin and Tokai Square. Tatarstan restaurants, stalls of street painters, boutiques, souvenir shops, fountains that fulfil wishes and kiosks are just a few of its gems that are ready to assure your every need and charm your socks off. Monuments and fountains make for a perfect photo backdrop, with statuary ranging from a bronze carriage of Catherine II to the “thick lazy Cat of Kazan”, a tribute to its feline protectors who fended off mice. Whilst mingling with the locals, the rich chimes of Kazan’s bell tower help bring the vibrant Arbat to life. Baumana street’s historical attractions include houses of the 19 th century, a monument to Feodor Chaliapin, and a Russian baroque style Epiphany cathedral. For opportunists seeking for the perfect Russian souvenir, Baumana street is the place to buy everything: Matryoshka dolls, Tatar folk costumes, and one particular favourite of tourists is the Tatar national male headwear “Tubeteika”. This is a street that never sleeps- when the sun sets, it becomes a hub for nightlife.

Palace of Farmers

The Palace of Farmers is a vast and regal building like something out of a fairytale. Despite being a recent addition to Kazan’s collection of ancient sites, it looks to be built well over a century ago. This eclectic architectural piece boasts elements of Classicism style, the Second Empire, and the Belle Epoque. A magnificent, 65-foot tall bronze tree sculpture grows in the archway of the palace’s façade- a sight that makes for a mesmerizing photo backdrop. This is a governmental building related to agriculture, so the interior is not accessible. However, it’s worthwhile just to see its magnificently sculpted exterior. Located adjacent to the Kremlin and Kazan river embankment, the Farmer’s Palace makes for beguiling scenery for your riverside stroll. Manicured gardens out front create a serene, relaxing space in the summer sunshine, the site’s most popular season. When the sun sets, the Palace of Farmers comes alive with an array of spectacular light displays.

Raifa Monastery

Whilst known as one of the largest monasteries in Russia, Raifa Monastery had humble beginnings as a place of solitude where monastic followers could dedicate themselves to God. Found in a serene location by Sumy Lakes in a lush pine forest, this centuries-old site has been rebuilt time and time again. Its history tells of temple destruction, brutal plundering, arson, and has once made a home for juvenile delinquents. The history behind the monastery’s name is no exception to this trail of tragedies. In fact, the hermitage was established and named in memory of holy fathers tortured in Sinai and Raithu. Abandoned for over half a century, the ruins have been given new life with well doted on additions. This includes the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Cathedral of God’s Mother of Georgia, the Church of the Ss Reverend Fathers and bell tower, with beautiful onion-domed architecture and intricate iconography. It’s free to wander monastery grounds, where small shops and cafes populate the area. Arrive at this stunning rural monastery via a 40-minute drive from Kazan (with some free parking available), bus tour, or a scenic boat trip.

Sviyazhsk Island

Sviyazhsk Island, or “Conqueror City”, began as a fortress for Ivan the Terrible in 1551 when Kazan was an unassailable fortress. Frozen in time, visiting the Island is like going through a time machine with no fewer than 37 cultural-historical monuments. Its religious marvels are a must-see. Trinity Church is the last of its kind in Sviyazhsk- a wooden structure dating back to the time of Ivan the Terrible. Axe marks made by Yaroslavl carpenters can still be seen. The Dormition Cathedral boasts a glorious collection of 16th-century frescos. Its most famed is St Christopher with a horse’s head- a fresco that tells the story of a saint so handsome he pleaded to God for ugliness, to avoid unwanted attention from women. However, these monasteries have seen their fair share of horrors- the Soviet political repression saw them turn into prisons, concentration camps, and psychiatric hospitals. A local museum, Sviyazhsk State Museum of History and Architecture, is no stranger to these horrors. Here, inmates and prisoners were executed and their belongings are still on display in abandoned cells inside. A monument to the victims of political repression forms a two-meter-tall marble slab on the island.

The Ancient City of Bolgar

Not far from Kazan, Russia’s mysterious Muslim City, Bolgar, dates back to the 7th and 15th centuries. With such a powerful history, this Eurasian metropolis is one of Russia’s first UNESCO listed sites. It’s served as the capital of the Mongol Golden Horde, ruled by the founder of the Timurids Empire, and even the Prince of Moscow. A 1969 excavation for the State Historical and Architectural Museum and Reserve saw the city turned into a huge open-air museum.  Stone citadels, mosques, and tombs are some of its jaw-dropping remains from its glory days. Other attractions include the Khan’s palace, White Mosque, the hidden healing well of Gabdrakhman, a 700-year-old burial chamber for Bolgar nobility, and an interactive bread museum. The city of Bolgar has great religious significance, once the center of Islamic civilization in Europe. Here, you can find the largest printed Kora in the world weighing at 500kg. Bolgar remains a sacred pilgrimage destination to Tatar Muslims. The city of Bolgar is a three hours’ drive from Kazan along the scenic route of the river Volga.

Kazan from a boat

Kazan’s river station is flocked to by tourists eager to experience the scenic water route along the city’s shores. Travelling through Kazan with a Volga River boat trip is filled with incredible landscapes and jaw-dropping scenes. Gorgeous views of some of the city’s beloved icons include the Kazan Kremlin, whose structure sparkles like a jewel in the sun in all its Russian glory. The comfortable steam-ships on the rivers and lakes of Russia depart a few times a day to make for regular service (12:00, 15:00, and 19:00 on most days). Two-hour boat trips without stops, with a guided tour along Kazan’s coast. A total of 9 dams choke the river and halt its waters to a standstill- a glistening, magical scene that is a magnet for artists, writers and explorers. By its shores, the Volga river is a favourite for camping, relaxing, fishing, and swimming.

Kazan Cuisine Guide: A Foodie’s Haven

Kazan is the central home of Russia’s Tatar cuisine, boasting many restaurants and cafes that have earned its keep in the hearts of foodies across the globe. This Kazan Travel Guide will convince you why this is a haven for Russian and eastern cuisine.

Museum of Chak-Chak

The Museum of Chak-Chak (Çäkçäk) is named after the mouth-watering honey-baked balls of doughy goodness, a delicacy served at celebrations and festivities. This museum-turned food establishment is dedicated to traditional Tatar foods and drinks, particularly their national sweet foods. Bashkir dishes, chak-chak, bursak, and kak-tosh made from almonds are some of the recipes derived from Tatar enlightener kayum nasyri. These are only some of the most popular must-try dishes that cannot go unsampled. Here, guests drink tea and sample desserts whilst guides tell stories of the ancient Tatar people’s way of life, tradition and customs. If you want to learn the secret to cooking the perfect Tatar dish, this is the place to be.

Dom Tatarskoi Kulinarii (restaurant)

Dom Tatarskoi Kulinarii, or House of Tatar Cuisine, is one of the oldest national restaurants that has earnt its place in the heart of foodies from across the globe. Its dishes are based on Yunus Akhmetzyanov’s time-tested recipes and traditions – a beloved local guardian of traditional Tatar cuisine. Here you can find confectionary like Tatar sweets, and authentic dishes such as:

• Echpochmak: These are triangle-shaped pastries stuffed with mince and potatoes. A small hole remains at the top of the stuffed and folded dough. Halfway through the oven baking process, the pastries are filled with a spoonful of broth, ensuring that the meat (stuffed raw) is moist and tender.
• Gubadiya: Layered pie which contains cottage cheese or quark, minced beef or lamb and boiled egg, which is combined with raisins or mixed dried fruits (such as figs, prunes and apricots). This filling is then covered with melted butter before being baked into a mouthwatering dessert.
• Kazylyk: Originating from Tatar nomadic culture, this dish is a horse meat sausage which has been traditionally cured by air-drying in the sun and wind. It is often spiced with coriander or cumin, served in thin slices with pickled sliced onions
• Talkysh kaleve: This intricate dessert involves honey and sugar spun into a stringy fairy-floss which is then moulded into miniature cones and coated with a powder of melted butter and flour
• Manti: Tatar dumplings made from either spiced lamb, beef or horse meat, which can be mixed with pumpkin or squash depending on the region. They can be boiled or steamed in their own juices, typically served with butter, sour cream, onion sauce or red pepper powder.

In the evenings, your wining and dining with this Bauman street food will be accompanied by live music and the opportunity for master classes about preparing national dishes.

Kazan Travel Guide: Summer Highlights

Months & temperature.

  June, July, August: +24 – +27 C

Summer is by far the most popular and most frequented time of year to trek to Russia’s glorious Kazan city. The bustling, sunny and comfortable seasons of June, July and August are some of the best months to travel here. July is its hottest month at an average of 27 degrees- the perfect time to bask by the mesmerising Volga River.

The Sabantuy Tatar National Festival in June is jam-packed with competitions, sports events, dances, feasts, and music. This holiday hallmarks the end of spring crop planting and draws crowds of up to 40,000 in Kazan’s village of Mirny. Competitions of sportsmanship draw contenders near and far, both amateur and professional, in games like the egg-and-spoon race, sack races, horse races, and wrestling matches. Contenders for the more professional scenes like wrestling can earn prizes varying from home electronics to cars. The wrestling champion is declared ‘Batyr’ and lifts an overweight ram onto his (or her) shoulders for the cheering crowd. This festival is a marvel to behold, especially witnessing it for the very first time.

Similar to this: See also International handicraft festival ‘Spasskaya Yarmarka’ in August, Elabuga city

Kazan Travel Guide: Winter Highlights

  November, December, January, February – 0 to -10 C

For those far-reaching globetrotters, here is your chance for a true white Christmas- Kazan in Winter gets especially chilly in November, December, January, and February, the coldest months to travel. In November and December, there is a high chance of snow. Besides public holidays, winter outings mean fewer crowds, fewer queues and a more serene, quiet atmosphere.

The Nardugan Pagan Holiday Festival is popular in Kazan as an annual celebration honouring the winter solace. According to the ancient Tatar calendar, the birth of the Sun is December 22. This begins weeklong festivities and celebrations acknowledging the awakening of nature and the beauty of life. Dancing, traditional costumes, theatrical performances, Tatar baker’s delicacies, and fortune tellers are part of the joyous festivities.

For those creative art buffs interested in the sophisticated art forms of ballet and opera, see Kazan’s Shalyapin International Opera Festival (February), and the International Festival of Classical Ballet, Rudolf Nureyev Dance Festival (May).

Kazan Travel Guide: How to Get There

Kazan international airport.

Kazan’s international airport in the Laishevsky district is the only one in Russia that secured a win in the World Airport Awards of 2018. It’s equipped with paid and free parking, medical facilities, free Wi-Fi, shops, cafés and restaurants, a post office and more whilst being English friendly. The train terminal of inner-city travel is located within the airport. Find out more about travel options via the air through the Russian Official  Kazan Aero site, Aeroflot Airlines, or plan your trip with Google Flights.

Railway station

For visitors travelling to Kazan from within Russia, the Russian railway is connected to the city’s two main stations: Kazan-Passazhirskaya and Vosstanie-Passazhirskaja station. Trains from the Russian cities  Moscow , Yekaterinburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, St. Petersburg , Novosibirsk and Adler pass by these stations. The railway stations are fitted to meet your every need, supplying luggage storage, baby changing facilities, tourist info desks, ATMs, cafes and more.

Trans-Siberian Railway

Kazan is one of the top must-see stops on the Trans-Siberian Railway . The traditional Russian Trans-Siberian Railway route stretches from Moscow to Vladivostok, and has Kazan as one of its main stops. Even if you weren’t planning on visiting Kazan but will be making your way through the Trans-Siberian Railway, this is a detour you won’t regret making. Kazan is a 1000-year-old ancient city, still full of life, and the perfect place to lose yourself in (but not too lost, because their diverse transport system will be sure to get you back on track).

Enjoy a short Kazan city tour via this entertaining video:

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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's credits scenes, explained

What was revealed, and what is yet to be determined

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Phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is officially underway. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania sets the stage for the next several years of Marvel movies, teasing the studio's overarching storyline leading up to a major crossover event. So what did we learn about what's next from those credits scenes? Let's break it down — with spoilers ahead :

What happens in the first 'Quantumania' credits scene?

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania goes out with a Kang(s).

The film's first credits scene makes clear that if you cut off one Kang's head, many more will take its place. Although the main Kang of the movie is defeated and seemingly killed, countless alternate versions of him from throughout the multiverse assemble in what's known in the comics as the Council of Kangs .

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As a refresher, the Disney+ series Loki provided vital context on all this, introducing the idea of "variants," alternate versions of a character from another timeline. At the end of time, Loki meets a Kang variant, also played by Jonathan Majors, known as He Who Remains. He explains that in the 31st century, versions of himself from different timelines made contact, and they began to share technology and knowledge. But some of them only wanted to conquer the multiverse, leading to a war between the Kang variants. He Who Remains claims that he ended this "multiversal war" by creating the Time Variance Authority to erase the other timelines so there is now only one version of himself.

But He Who Remains says that if he's killed, the timeline will begin branching again, and an "infinite amount of me" will "start another multiversal war," warning, "If you think I'm evil, just wait until you meet my variants." Sure enough, He Who Remains dies in the Loki finale, and the effects of this ripple back through the present. That's why, in Quantumania , there are now once again countless timelines and countless Kangs, who can meet up because they all know how to traverse the multiverse.

So in the credits scene, we see that some of these Kangs are working together. They exiled one Kang variant, the main villain of Quantumania , into the Quantum Realm, after he apparently started a multiversal war. It sounds like he may have had a similar goal as He Who Remains, as this Kang was wiping out entire timelines and claims that time was "broken" by his variants. He warns Scott Lang that he's the only one who can "stop what's coming," e.g. the other Kang variants. So might he have been seeking to become the one true Kang, killing all the other versions of himself to stop them from messing with the multiverse and restoring a single timeline where he's in charge?

In the end, the Council of Kangs learns that Scott and Hope killed the exiled Kang. "They're beginning to touch the multiverse, and if we let them, they will take everything we've built," one of the Kangs says, likely also referring to the multiversal chaos of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . What they have built isn't totally clear. But perhaps these Kangs are plotting to conquer their respective timelines and fear the Avengers of our universe could try to stop them or even combine all the timelines together again.

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It's then revealed that every single Kang variant has been called together, and they're preparing for battle. We can presume this is happening outside of time based on a shot of the branching timelines that resembles the Loki finale. This is all leading to the next Avengers film, 2025's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty , and the scene suggests the Avengers will have to face off against not just one Kang, but thousands of them.

Who are the Kang variants in the credits scene?

There are too many to even count, but the one who seems to be in charge — the Kang with a raspy voice, who calls all the others together — appears to be Immortus .

In the comics, there are also many versions of Kang as a result of the character traveling through time. One of them is called Immortus, and he's an older Kang from the future. Immortus is the one who created the Council of Kangs, "a group of Kang divergent counterparts that judge other Kangs," in an effort to "eliminate all Kangs across time," as Marvel.com explains . He's typically meant to be more peaceful than the regular Kang, though that doesn't appear to be the case in the MCU, probably because He Who Remains in Loki was already sort of like Immortus from the comics.

We also see a Kang in Quantumania who appears to be Rama-Tut . In the comics, that's the version of Kang from when he went back in time to rule ancient Egypt. This was the form we saw him in during his very first appearance, and since the Fantastic Four battled Rama-Tut, this raises the question of whether he could appear in the 2025 Fantastic Four film. Chronologically, in the comics, Kang takes on the Rama-Tut identity before he becomes Kang the Conqueror.

It's a little unclear who the third Kang in this last scene is, though he could be based on Iron Lad . In the comics, that's a younger version of Kang, who is created after adult Kang travels into the past to prevent an incident where he was attacked and hospitalized by bullies, leading the younger Kang to himself travel into the past. This heroic version of Kang goes on to form the Young Avengers. Another option is that this could be Scarlet Centurion , a version of Kang who wears armor inspired by Doctor Doom's, though it could also be a totally new Kang variant.

There's also a green Kang in the bottom left of the last shot who looks like he might be a Skrull, one of the shapeshifting aliens from Captain Marvel . So could the next time we see a Kang variant be in this year's Disney+ Secret Invasion show, which involves Skrulls infiltrating the Earth?

Either way, the MCU's rules would suggest these are all separate Kang variants from their own timelines, rather than the same Kang from various points in the same timeline.

What happens in the second 'Quantumania' credits scene, and who is Victor Timely?

The film's second credits scene looks like it's just pulled straight out of Loki season 2.

In it, we see Jonathan Majors playing yet another Kang variant in the early 20th century named Victor Timely, whom Loki and Mobius are observing. In the comics, Victor Timely was an identity of Kang after he traveled back in time to 1901. As Victor Timely, an inventor, he founds the town of Timely, Wisconsin , becomes its mayor, and introduces various advancements in technology while hiding his identity as a man from the future.

This scene confirms for the first time that Majors will be in Loki season 2. The first season ended with Loki winding up in the wrong timeline after the death of He Who Remains, a timeline where Kang appears to rule the Time Variance Authority. So this scene suggests the second season will involve Loki trying to warn the Time Variance Authority about the threat of Kang, possibly traveling the multiverse with Mobius in an attempt to stop all the Kangs one at a time.

Is the 'Quantumania' Kang variant really dead?

One big surprise with Quantumania is that the Kang we meet in the movie may not be the one who the Avengers will face, as he apparently dies at the end.

This raises the question of who the "main" Kang villain will be by the time we get to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty . It's possible there won't really be one, or it could be Immortus, as he seems to be leading the Council of Kangs. But another possibility is that the Kang of Quantumania actually didn't die and was merely sucked into his energy core. If that's the case, one popular fan theory has been that Kang, potentially even this variant of him from Quantumania , could end up being the MCU's version of the Beyonder.

In the comics, the Beyonder is a cosmic being who, during the original Secret Wars storyline, kidnaps Marvel characters and forces them to fight on a planet called Battleworld. Marvel is currently building to 2026's Avengers: Secret Wars as its next Avengers: Endgame -level event. So if the plan is to adapt the Battleworld plot, the thinking is that Kang could fill the Beyonder role. This could mean the Kang of Quantumania will somehow turn into the Beyonder after surviving the events of the film and gaining powers through the energy core. Alternatively, when this movie's Kang warned Scott that he's the only one who can stop what's coming, maybe he was talking not just about the Council of Kangs, but about the Beyonder, the most threatening variant of himself. It's also possible the main Quantumania Kang and Victor Timely could be one and the same.

For now, though, the Council of Kangs at least believes that this Kang is dead, and it might make sense to introduce a new Kang variant as the big bad so that viewers who skip Quantumania won't be overly confused by The Kang Dynasty . But we'll get a better sense of where this is all going when Loki season 2 debuts sometime this summer.

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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Shannon Beador Recounts 'Surreal' Experience of Going to Jail After DUI: 'I Pretended I Was in a Bedroom' (Exclusive)

In the early hours of Sept. 17 in Newport Beach, the reality star was arrested for a DUI after crashing her car into a planter box attached to a house

Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty 

Shannon Storms Beador is looking back on her time in jail and the lessons she's learned from the experience.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, the Real Housewives of Orange County star, 60, opened up about her brief stint in jail after she was taken into custody for  her headline-making DUI and alleged hit-and-run in September 2023.

After prefacing that she tends to be "very claustrophobic," Storms Beador recalled the moment an officer escorted her to her cell.

"I said to the policeman, 'Oh no, I can't go in there. That's too small. I can't go in there.' And there were no bars for air. It was a door. They go, 'Well, this is the bigger one.' So I walked in to see, and they shut the door. And then I'm like, 'No, you gotta let me go. I can't be here,'" she recalled.

To offset her claustrophobia, the Bravolebrity told PEOPLE that she "laid down on the bed and I faced the wall."

"So I was just pretending I was in a bedroom, like, 'Oh no, you were just in a bedroom,'" she continued. While she was uncomfortable, Storms Beador acknowledged she was there to serve her "fine" of five hours in jail.

"I was injured. I had blood all over me," she continued. "And when they let me out, literally, it was like in the movies. They opened up this garage door. I didn't even know where. I'm like, 'What am I supposed to do?' [and] they go, 'You can go.'"

"I had no shoes on. It was surreal and it is something that I will never let happen again. I'm never going to make poor decisions like that again. I'm not going to," she concluded.

Storms Beador was arrested in the early hours of Sept. 17 in Newport Beach after crashing her car into a planter box attached to a house. Police recorded a .24 blood alcohol level (three times the legal limit).

She was booked on two misdemeanors and spent a few hours in jail before being released on a citation. The reality star would later be sentenced to three years of probation, which came with a required order to complete 40 hours of community service and a nine-month alcohol program.

The reality star also told PEOPLE what it was like to tell her daughters Sophie, 22, and twins Stella and Adeline, 20, about her arrest.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"They were shocked," Storms Beador recalled of her girls, whom she shares with ex-husband David Beador.

"I'm a huge lecturer on never drinking and driving, and for me at my age to be setting such a poor example was just devastating," she added. "I made a horrible, horrible decision. I think about it every day, and I'm so grateful that I didn't hurt anyone."

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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