Ant-Man 3: 10 Things That Only Comic Book Fans Know About Kang
Kang the Conqueror is loved and hated as one of the most prominent villains the superhero story-lines ever had. Kang, played by Jonathan Majors, will debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with the upcoming film ‘Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania’. The character has had multiple appearances as the antagonist of different Marvel comics. Here are ten things comic-fans will remember from the comics.
1. The Time-Traveler from the Future
Kang is originally a technological genius from the 30th century. He traveled back in time to conquer all timelines. This explains his appearance in so many comic-series, facing off against heroes of the old and new.
2. Kang the Conqueror aka Pharaoh Rama-Tut of Egypt
Kang’s first trip through time landed him in ancient Egypt, where he conquered the land and was regarded as a God. He ruled as Pharaoh Rama-Tut while questing for En-Sabah-Nur or future Apocalypse. Apocalypse and Kang were in constant fights with the X-Men, and later he was defeated by the Fantastic Four.
3. A descendant of Mr. Fantastic or Dr. Doom
Kang’s real name is Nathaniel Richards. This indicates that he may have ties with Mr. Fantastic/ Reed Richards. He always considered himself as the descendant of Dr. Doom. He is a constant adversary of the Fantastic Four, so these connections make their enmity more intriguing.
4. Kang the Conqueror & Princess Ravonna
Kang conquered Princess Ravonna’s Kingdom in the year 4000 and assumed the title of ‘Kang the Conqueror.’ But he allowed her father to remain vassal, for he fell in love with Ravonna. Ravonna sacrifices herself to save Kang during a rebellion by his commanders and the Avengers. The Grand-master later resurrects her as Terminatrix.
5. Young Kang is ‘Iron Lad’
Kang’s defeat at the Avengers’ hands leads him to travel back in time and manipulate his younger version to kill them in the past. Young-Kang becomes ashamed of his future self. He steals parts of future-Kang’s armor and journeys back in time. He convinces Vision to form Young Avengers and joins them as ‘Iron Lad.’
6. The Scarlet Centurion’s Avengers
Kang had designed a Spiderman robot in the comics to fight other heroes. The original Spiderman destroyed it. He also picked the past versions of the original five Avengers to fight their future selves under him.
7. Kang and Ahura
Kang traveled with Ahura to the past to prevent the Secret Wars. He tricked Ahura into killing all past-Inhumans. The Inhumans had to kill adult Ahura but saved his younger version from the past. This speaks volumes of Kang’s role as a versatile Marvel villain.
8. Kang the Conqueror obliterated Washington DC
Kang and his son and the then-Scarlet Centurion Marcus toppled the world’s governments and assumed control. They destroyed Washington DC with the total population as a show of power. The Avengers defeated them, but the damage was irrevocable.
9. The Anachronauts
Kang defeated the ‘undefeatable’ Anachronauts comprising Apocryphus, Raa, DeathHunt 9000, Tyndar, Wildrun, and Sir Raston. The Anachronauts acted as the defendants of Kang’s homeworld and throne in Chronopolis.
10. Kang Prime and Immortus
Multiple time-travels led to duplication of Kang’s self and consciousness many times over. Kang killed all of his duplicates across timelines and became Kang Prime. His army wiped out the Cross-Time Kang Corps. Kang Prime absorbed all the memories of every Kang and was almost driven to insanity. Finally, he gave up his life as Kang to become Immortus of the Temporal Limbo Dimension, the Timelines’ Protector.
Kang the Conqueror has been a feared villain right from his first appearance. He killed and conquered to remove ‘boredom’ and stroke his ego. His appearance in the MCU is sure to give future films a fresh perspective and a new fight.
