AfterAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandLoki,everyone is obsessed with the MCU’s newest big bad, Kang the Conqueror. He was the primary selling point of theAnt-Mansequeland is now the driving force behind the entire franchise. Only time will tell where this story goes. There’s also the major problem involving the star who plays Kang. Now that Jonathan Majors is facing serious legal troubles, it’s possible that Kang could be recast. If that happens, it could be easy to establish a previously introduced character as the new Kang not to disrupt the storyline.
So now the question has to be asked, who are the characters already established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that could have been Kang all along? Some of these characters are obvious choices, while a few may be long shots. Now that pretty much every Marvel film ever produced is part of the same Multiverse, it definitely gives us more options. So who in the MCU could already be Kang? Here are our ten best options!
The High Evolutionary
The character most likely to be a Kang variant is The High Evolutionary fromGuardians of the Galaxy Vol.3.There are a staggering amount of similarities between the two characters. Both are megalomaniacs who enjoy building their own empires, delivering long-winded monologues and seem to torture others for the fun of it. While that describes quite a few villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the similarities go much deeper than that. Both have the same dark purple color scheme. Both have the power to manipulate gravity at will. Both claim to be saviors while acting as conquerors. Seeing as these two villains were back-to-back MCU movie bad guys, it would be very sensible for them to be variants of one another.
This could also solve a BIG problem for Disney. Jonathan Majors has been in some trouble recently that has led many to assume that he would be recast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fans have noticed that he was a major selling point for the cinema release ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,but when the film dropped on Disney+, his involvement in the film was downplayed. Chukwudi Iwuji could easily take over if needed.
Though it would be weird to seeEzra Miller keep his job as The Flashwhile Majors loses his despite having similar controversies.
Related:Jonathan Majors Facing Up to One Year in Prison, Attorney Calls Assault Case a ‘Witch Hunt’
Harley Keener
Long before Majors was cast as Kang, MCU fans thought that another character was destined to become the legendary conqueror. That character was none other than Harley Keener fromIron Man 3.He was Tony Stark’s protégé for a short time in the film. It seemed like this was going to be a one-off appearance with no further significance to the MCU. Then, he surprised everyone by reappearing inAvengers: Endgame.He was one of many Marvel characters to be invited to Tony Stark’s funeral. Many fans thought this was a hint about his future as Iron Lad.
For those that don’t know, Iron Lad was one of the founding members of the Young Avengers. The team consists of many characters who already exist in the MCU, ranging from Cassie Lang to Kate Bishop to Eli Bradley and even the sons of Scarlet Witch. The team has also featured Kid Loki and Miss America, who have both been introduced to the MCU as well. It seems like this team is destined for their own film or Disney+ series.
The twist is that Iron Lad is eventually revealed to be a younger version of Kang who is hoping to escape his fate. It’s one of the most iconic storylines from the team’s history, so it would be surprising if they don’t feature it in some way. Using Harley Keener would certainly provide an extra level of drama for this reveal.
Ravonna Renslayer
While Kang was eventually revealed to be the main villain ofLoki,albeit by his He Who Remains variant, Ravonna Renslayer was one of the primary antagonists for most of the series. She’s even been hinted to have an even bigger part in the second season of the series and beyond. This makes a lot of sense, considering the fact that her character is a love interest of Kang’s in Marvel Comics.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe could take things in a slightly different direction by revealing that Ravonna is actually a variant of Kang’s herself. It does make a twisted kind of sense that Kang would brainwash a variant of his to run the Time Variance Authority. For an egotist like Kang, who else could possibly be trusted to watch over all of time?
This wouldn’t even keep them from showing Ravonna as a love interest of Kang’s. Sylvie and Loki’s strange relationship proves that variants can often be attracted to one another. Kang marrying an alternate version of himself seems right in line with his brand of twisted multiversal narcissism.
Aside from the High Evolutionary, there’s one character who also shares a great deal with Kang. That would be the Eternal Phastos. Eagle-eyed fans thought that Kang’s microscopic empire in the Quantum Realm was made from technology that Phastos showed off inEternals.It would make a lot of sense that Kang was an Eternal considering his long history of conquering that would require immortality, among many other abilities. Also, it’s worth noting that Phastos was already fed up with humanity inEternalsafter watching them develop nuclear weapons. It wouldn’t be a stretch to see him completely lose it and become a time-traveling conqueror with no regard for human independence.
There’s also the option that Kang could be directly related to Phastos. InEternals,we saw that Phastos had a son with his husband Ben Stoss. It would be fascinating to see Jack Stoss grow up to become a brutal conqueror. If he learned how to create technology in the same way that his father did, he could easily become the biggest threat in the Multiverse.
That and it would be nice to see the MCU do something withEternals.Ever since the film was released, its characters and events have barely even been referenced. Including that giant Celestial poking out of the ground…
The one person who has made the most appearances in Marvel films is Stan Lee.He cameoed in 37 Marvel movies, 22 of which were in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All of these characters could have been revealed to be Kang variants. There’s still a possibility that through CGI, Stan Lee could become a Kang in the background.
What’s really sad about this is that if Stan Lee were still alive, this would DEFINITELY happen. That big scene where there was an army of Kangs assembled by the likes of Immortus, Rama-Tut, and the Scarlet Centurion would have featured a Stan Lee cameo without any doubt.
The MCU hasn’t seemed eager to feature a posthumous Stan Lee cameo since the ones he filmed were shown onscreen. While it’s still possible to see more of Stan, the MCU might not be interested in featuring that.
Apocalypse
It’s clear that what we call the Marvel Cinematic Universe includes much more than just the Marvel Studios films now. Projects likeDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home,andDeadpool 3all confirm that pretty much any film based on a Marvel property is part of the grand MCU multiverse. That means any villain from any Marvel film could potentially be a Kang variant. That opens up a TON of possibilities.
As far as the Twentieth Century FoxX-Menuniverse is concerned, there’s really only one candidate to be a Kang. That would be En Sabah Nur, AKA Apocalypse. He’s a blue-faced megalomaniacal monster who wants to conquer the world. That definitely sounds like a Kang.
Marvel also has a long history of combining comic book villains into one movie character. It would be pretty easy to merge the stories of Apocalypse and the Kang variant Rama-tut. Both are Ancient Egyptian warlords who tend to speak in long-winded monologues.Deadpool 3could reintroduce Apocalypse in a new way that makes him a threat to the entire MCU multiverse. That and it would give the character a chance to make us all forgetX-Men: Apocalypse.
Miguel O’Hara
Miguel O’Hara is an obsessive, intense guy who travels through dimensions trying to stop entire worlds from being erased by any means possible, especially if it means building an army of variants of himself to do his bidding. No, I’m not actually describing Kang the Conqueror, but rather Miguel O’Hara fromSpider-Man: Across the Spiderverse.
Funnily enough, it was actually Miguel who confirmed that the Miles MoralesSpider-Manmovies were actually in the same multiverse as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So it would be just as easy for him to be a variant of Kang as he is a Spider-Man. Miles and Peter B. Parker both mention that Spider-Man 2099 is not quite like the rest of the Spider-Men. Maybe that’s not where his destiny lies.
It could be a great twist for the end of the nextSpiderverseto show Miguel go from being a Spider-Man to another member of the Kang army. He is definitely intense enough to take on a whole team of Avengers.
Related:Across the Spider-Verse: Why Fans Want a Miguel O’Hara Redemption Arc
The Beyonder
One big clue abouthowAvengers: The Kang Dynastymight endis that it is being followed up withAvengers: Secret Wars.That means that it’s pretty unlikely that the new group of Avengers will be able to stop whatever Multiversal challenge Kang has in store.Secret Warsis a reference to multiple Marvel Comics storylines where Marvel universes crash into one another, forcing Marvel heroes and villains to fight against one another in giant, epic showdown.
There’s a giant god-like villain that might also be introduced known as The Beyonder. He’s a being of seemingly-infinite power who likes to create what he calls “Battleworlds” where super-powered individuals fight for his amusement. It’s a little late in the game for the MCU to introduce such a big concept such as The Beyonder. It wouldn’t be hard for the MCU to merge this character with the Kang storyline.
The Kang Dynastycould easily end in a similar fashion toAvengers: Infinity War,where Kang gains a whole new level of power, just like Thanos did when he finished his Infinity Stone collection at last. Kang could become The Beyonder and throw our heroes into a Battleworld. That would make for some thrilling cinema.
Sam Wilson
One of the biggest struggles the Marvel Cinematic Universe has right now isselling the world on a new Captain America. Chris Evans was iconic as Steve Rogers, and it has been a challenge for Anthony Mackie to fill his shoes.Captain America: Brave New Worldmay fix this problem by providing a bold new adventure for Wilson. It doesn’t quite explain how the low-powered hero would presumably lead the new Avengers against a Thanos-level threat like Kang.
What would make Wilson’s involvement inAvengers: The Kang Dynastymuch more interesting is if Kang were actually a variant of Wilson himself. To see a version of Wilson become so disillusioned with his job as Captain America that he becomes the greatest threat to the Multiverse would definitely provide enough drama for Mackie to show his skills as an actor in ways even Evans wasn’t able to.
If nothing else, it could be interesting to see Kang as a descendant of Wilson. Maybe even as one of his nephews who look up to their Uncle Sam as a hero.
The Watcher
There’s one other character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we know likes to observe and interfere with other places in the Multiverse. That would be The Watcher. While he appeared in every episode ofWhat If?there was never an episode actually dedicated to his origin. For all we know, he has a very different origin story than he does in the comics.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it could easily be revealed that The Watcher is a version of Kang who decided to observe the entire multiverse instead of conquering it. Now that he has already abandoned his vow never to interfere, he could actually become an ally to the Avengers as they deal with that giant Kang army. Seeing how he helped the Guardians of the Multiverse deal with Infinite Ultron, he could potentially be their saving grace.
That and it would allow Jeffrey Wright to play the Watcher IRL for the MCU. More Jeffrey Wright is literally never a bad thing. If he also ends up playing Kang, that’s just even more good news.Related:Stan Lee Documentary Trailer Brings the Marvel Legend’s Story To Disney+
