Kang the Conqueror replaced Thanos as the MCU’s newest major villain, but the Infinity Saga’s Mad Titan could still return to make Kang seem stronger.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania!Kang the Conqueror has a chance to prove his true strength if Thanos returns in the MCU’s future. Josh Brolin portrayed the Infinity Saga’s big bad, built up over a number of years in the MCU, eventually going toe-to-toe with the Avengers in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame after brief appearances in The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. While the Mad Titan was defeated by Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, and the combined forces of the MCU’s heroes in Endgame, there’s a chance the brutal villain could return to the franchise, which could help to redeem Kang the Conqueror.
Since Thanos’ defeat in Avengers: Endgame, there have been questions surrounding his potential return to the MCU, which have only increased in recent months after rumors of multiple characters’ returns in Phase 6 have risen. Marvel Studios is now deep within the Multiverse Saga, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicking off Phase 5 and introducing the true Kang the Conqueror to the MCU. The Multiverse Saga has also introduced many variants of established characters, most prominently in Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, perhaps opening the door for many more Marvel characters to reprise their superhero careers in the MCU proper.
How Thanos Can Return In The MCU’s Multiverse Saga
Multiversal variants have started to become commonplace in the MCU since the onset of the Multiverse Saga, which means Marvel Studios has the perfect opportunity to reintroduce long-gone villains back into their MCU roster. One of the joys of Thanos as a character in Marvel Comics is that the supervillain constantly gets defeated by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but always returns to wreak havoc time and again. This would be a fun plot device to exploit in the MCU, even though Thanos’ two deaths in Avengers: Endgame were hugely satisfying, the Multiverse could contain even more versions of the Mad Titan for the Avengers to battle.
It’s possible that the MCU’s heroes could go up against a variant of Thanos, particularly since the villain will always have a vendetta against the Avengers, who have been thwarting his plans since The Avengers. Perhaps Marvel Studios would instead choose to completely move on from the Infinity Saga and focus on Kang the Conqueror, but with Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, which is rumored to be involving many returning characters from the MCU and other Marvel franchises, there is precedence for Thanos’ return. Not only would this be an epic story to tell, but Thanos’ return would help to make Kang the Conqueror seem even more unstoppable.
Kang The Conqueror Needs A Show Of Strength After Quantumania
Jonathan Majors debuted as He Who Remains in Loki’s season 1 finale, a variant of Kang the Conqueror who had spent his lifetime maintaining the Sacred Timeline, and pruning any timelines where a potential variant of himself could appear. After Sylvie killed He Who Remains in Loki, the full force of Kang and his variants was unleashed across the multiverse, with the first variant being seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, exiled to the Quantum Realm. Quantumania saw Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man, go head-to-head with Kang the Conqueror, though many were shocked when the size-changing Avenger was able to defeat the multiversal supervillain.
Kang the Conqueror is such a monumental threat due to the fact that there are an infinite amount of variants of him, with the majority of them dead-set on eliminating the Avengers from the multiverse. This means that, despite Kang the Conqueror’s apparent death in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the villain will be returning, especially after the Council of Kangs was glimpsed during Quantumania’s mid-credits scene. However, should the Conqueror variant of Kang return to the MCU, he’ll need a pretty massive show of strength in order to redeem himself from being defeated by Ant-Man, of all heroes.
Thanos & Kang The Conqueror Battled In Marvel Comics
Thanos’ return to the MCU could pose the best chance for Kang the Conqueror to prove his strength, especially if Kang was to quickly dispatch of the Mad Titan. It took the Avengers the entire span of Avengers: Infinity War to even come close to stopping Thanos, and still failed even then, only succeeding in Avengers: Endgame thanks to Tony Stark’s quick-thinking and sacrifice. A fight between Kang the Conqueror and Thanos in the MCU is possible, especially since the pair fought in Marvel Comics during 2021’s out-of-continuity Avengers: Mech Strike storyline, penned by Jed MacKay and artist Carlos Magno.
During Avengers: Mech Strike #4, the Avengers bring a young Kang into the present day to battle a version of Thanos who has hooked himself up to Celestial technology, granting him god-like powers. Thanos’ arrogance is no match for Kang the Conqueror, as the latter grabs Thanos by the neck and forces time through his body, aging him an eternity in a matter of seconds, and leaving only an armored skeleton behind. This was an incredible show of strength, so would certainly help to redeem Kang in the MCU, proving him to be a formidable opponent to the Avengers, who struggled to bring down the Mad Titan themselves.
Avengers 5 Could Debut King Thanos In The MCU
At Disney’s D23 Expo in September 2022, Marvel Studios unveiled a new Avengers-themed ride at the Avengers Campus at Disneyland, California. The new attraction would let riders battle alongside the Avengers against a new multiversal threat, that being King Thanos, a variant of Thanos who won at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Thanos’ ambition in Endgame was to wipe out the entire universe and build a new one, full of grateful inhabitants who knew nothing of the devastation before. If this had occurred, King Thanos is the variant that would have prevailed, and since the Avengers Campus ride is canon, it’s possible King Thanos could soon make his MCU debut.
The Multiverse Saga creates the perfect opportunity for King Thanos to make his big-screen debut, which would include a version of the Mad Titan with an even more inflated ego after succeeding in his genocidal mission. This would make his defeat by Kang the Conqueror even more satisfying, and help to make Kang seem like an even more terrifying threat for the Avengers. Perhaps this is even the incident which convinces the Avengers to travel the multiverse and beg other realities’ heroes for help. The Avengers learned a lot from their battle with Thanos, but will need all the help they can get in the fight against Kang the Conqueror.
