Avengers: Infinity War showed us how powerful Thanos was in comparison to the Avengers. The power difference between the Mad Titan and nearly every single hero in the MCU seemed seismic and insurmountable. The Hulk got beaten to a pulp when attempting to engage the Mad Titan one-on-one (without the power of the Infinity Stones). The combined might of Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and the Guardians could not stop Thanos on his quest to “balance the universe.” Thanos, in the end, succeeds in his mission; he obtains all six Infinity Stones and wipes out half of all life in the universe. In Endgame, the Avengers eventually defeated Thanos by traveling back in time and recovering each of the Stones to bring everyone back.
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Kang, however, is a whole different kind of villain. And as one of Kang’s more civil variants “He Who Remains” told us in the season 1 finale of Loki, “You kill me, you destroy all this, and you don’t just have one devil, you have an infinite amount.” As we know, Sylvie chose to kill He Who Remains. This decision had seemingly immediate and serious ramifications, causing the Sacred Timeline to branch out and paving the way for Kang the Conqueror (a far more sadistic, murderous, power-hungry variant of He Who Remains) and other Kang variants to wreak multiversal havoc. Thanos posed a huge threat to the officially dubbed Earth-616 Universe. In comparison, Kang poses a threat to the entirety of the Multiverse. Here are all the reasons why Kang poses a much larger threat to the Avengers than Thanos ever could.
A Multiversal Traveler
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Kang is a villain who is very familiar with the Multiverse. In fact, Marvel Comics lore tells us that one of Kang’s variants is a man named Nathaniel Richards. As outlined by CBR, Nathaniel is a distant descendant of Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic of The Fantastic Four. After the SDCC 2022 reveal for Phases 5 and 6, we now know that The Fantastic Four will be the first film of Phase 6 of the MCU, which also includes Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, followed up less than a year later by Avengers: Secret Wars. For fans of the comics, we know what Secret Wars is all about: universes fighting each other in a battle to survive. They have slowly been laying the groundwork for this to happen — particularly in Multiverse of Madness when Mr. Fantastic describes what an “incursion” is: when two universes collide, destroying one or both in the process. We see what an incursion would look like when Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer are cast into Sinister Strange’s reality.
In addition to his extensive knowledge of the Multiverse, Kang has access to highly advanced technology, being from such a distant age in the future. It would not be surprising if Kang shows off some of this futuristic tech in the future MCU projects he is slated to appear in like Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (it is highly likely that he will appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, but that has yet to be confirmed). Regardless, having this extensive multiversal knowledge will certainly give Kang a significant edge over our heroes as they strive to save the multiverse.
Ruler of the TVA
Marvel Studios
The season finale of Loki gave us He Who Remains, who warned, “I’ll see you soon,” after Sylvie stabs him in the stomach. The consequences of her actions were immediate as we see the Sacred Timeline begin to branch out of control, and when Loki returns to the TVA, there is no longer three statues of the proven-to-be-fake Time Keepers. There is only one statue: Kang in his more comic-appropriate attire. This essentially verifies everything He Who Remains warned would happen.
With complete control of the TVA, Kang has not only an army, but one with some of the most advanced technology in existence as well. The pruning sticks, the portals that the TVA use to travel from timeline to timeline — these are pieces of technology that are well beyond even the knowledge of Tony Stark, the man who figured out time travel, or any of the other Avengers that we’ve met so far. Did we forget to mention the beast known as Alioth? A creature created by rips and tears in reality during the first Multiversal War, capable of consuming virtually anything. Those are just a few of the tricks Kang will have up his sleeve. Thanos may have had the Black Order and seemingly limitless fodder, whether they be Chitauri or Outriders, but Kang could wipe Thanos’ forces out quicker than Iron Man did in Endgame.
Most importantly, this Kang variant is the polar opposite of He Who Remains. He Who Remains wanted continued stability throughout the Multiverse, even offering Loki and Sylvie the job. He laid everything out for Loki and Sylvie. “Stifling order or cataclysmic chaos,” he warned. Unfortunately for the Multiverse, Sylvie offs the dictator; and sure enough, a much more sinister variant fills the vacuum. The only individual who has the knowledge to match Kang is perhaps Reed Richards. Given that they share a biological lineage, it makes sense that Richards (if anyone) would be able to outsmart Kang the Conqueror or even compete with him on a technological level. Kang could prove to be too big a threat for The Fantastic Four to handle. Thus, they must seek out help from the Avengers leading into Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. The Fantastic Four is slated to come out less than a year before The Kang Dynasty, so it would not be surprising if Kang rears his head in the film.
Time Through the Eyes of The Conqueror
Marvel Comics
Another advantage Kang will have over the Avengers is the ability to see time as a circle rather than a straight line. Kang sees everything happening all at once. Time will undoubtedly be on the side of The Conqueror, as he has extensive knowledge of the Nultiverse and the flow of time. Kang simply wants to conquer. He is known as the “Master of Time.” Kang uses the TVA to do his bidding, but in reality, he does not need the TVA. He is so powerful and with the brains and technical know-how to match, Kang could wreak multiversal havoc whenever he pleases. One of the main reasons Kang is a much larger threat than Thanos ever could be is because of his ability to see time, to know the future, past, and present all at once. This will make it hard for the Avengers to create a game plan to defeat Kang because he will likely see it coming. The Avengers will need to get very creative as they square off against the Conqueror.
Knowledge of the Quantum Realm
As discussed, Kang has extensive knowledge of the Multiverse, of time, and how make things even more challenging for our heroes. Furthermore, Kang has extensive knowledge of the quantum realm. The Avengers used the quantum realm to travel through time and recover the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Endgame. Ant-Man spent five years — well, five hours for him — inside the quantum realm, and Hank Pym’s wife Janet Van Dyne spent decades in the quantum realm. Still, they have very little knowledge of how the quantum realm functions. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will undoubtedly have a focus on the quantum realm. The Pyms and Scott will probably have to look to the quantum realm for answers when Kang shows up, or they could encounter Kang within the quantum realm. In Marvel Comics lore, per Screen Rant, there is a city in the quantum realm known as Chronopolis. There is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment when Hank is in the quantum realm where we see a city way in the background. The creative team behind Ant-Man and The Wasp have yet to address this, and we think we know why. That city is most likely Chronopolis, where, in the comics, Kang sits upon his throne. This is likely to be explored in the upcoming third installment in the Ant-Man franchise, but for now we will continue to speculate.
Kang Whack-a-Mole
Lastly, what is perhaps Kang’s most dangerous tool in his arsenal is the fact that there are infinite variants of The Conqueror. Thanos is terrifying, but you kill him, and he is dead and gone. Killing Kang is more like playing whack-a-mole, and time travel shenanigans won’t be as easy to pull off against him. As we’ve established, Kang sees time differently, which will prevent the Avengers from being able to pull any surprise tactics to defeat The Conqueror. Marvel Comics featured a Council of Kangs at one point — a group of Kan variants, sometimes working together, sometimes working against one another’s interests. This group is led by Kang Prime. In one iteration, the Council of Kangs eliminates all “rogue” Kangs, having being tricked by Immortus, one of Kang’s older variants, into ensuring that Kang Prime would eventually become Immortus, thus completing the cycle and leaving Immortus in control of the Multiverse and the flow of time. These events ring similar to the MCU’s Loki Disney+ Series, as Immortus was the inspiration (in part) for He Who Remains. In comparison, He Who Remains doesn’t seem like such a bad guy; he manages the flow of time to ensure sacred timeline stays intact. He Who Remains also spoke of a time when there was peace between him and his variants, a time when they shared their technological advancements with one another. This could have been the Council of Kangs to which he was referring. Nonetheless, He Who Remains was the last Kang standing after the first Multiversal war.
As we now know from the SDCC 2022 MCU Panel, the next Avengers film is going to be called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. According to Marvel Comics lore, The Council of Kangs was recreated as part of the Kang collective. While “collective” and “dynasty” have slightly different meanings, they both imply that there are a lot of Kang variants out there. We will definitely see the Avengers, and company, have their hands full as they attempt to play this life-and-death game of Kang whack-a-mole. One Kang may prove hard enough to kill as it is, but bring in a dynasty of Kangs with multiversal knowledge, combined with knowledge of the quantum realm, a unique view of the flow of time, and an arsenal futuristic technology, then Kang may prove to be too big of a threat for our heroes to overcome.
