Kang: 13 Facts About the MCU’s Time Conqueror

“Put away your childish weapons! They are no more than toys to me!”—Kang the Conqueror

As the latest epic in the Marvel Cinematic Universe moves forward, the big bad is now the time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror. Following decades of appearances in the comics, screen versions of the character have appeared on the Loki series and in the new movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. (I posted a movie trailer plus a behind-the-scenes video below if you want to watch them.)

Kang is one of the most dangerous, most exciting and most confusing villains from the Marvel Universe. Since his comic book debut in the early 1960s, Kang the Conqueror has become an iconic character that has crossed paths with lots of heroes from Marvel—and, it turns out, heroes from outside Marvel as well. (More on that in a bit.)

Now that he’s entering the MCU, it’s a good time to explore Kang the Conqueror’s history, odd angles, powers and motivations. So we’re going to outline some key points to keep in mind that will (hopefully) make it easier to follow what’s coming…

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13 Facts About Kang the Conqueror

#1 He is a time traveler from the 30th Century. (Among other times.)

From *Kang The Conqueror: Only Myself Left To Conquer*.

The Marvel Universe’s key time traveler, Kang is a genius from the future who is on a mission to, well, conquer all time and space. (Of course, Marvel superheroes—among others—keep stopping him.) In the comics, Kang has used his time-ship to visit every century—backward and forward.

Kang the Conqueror doesn’t have any magic or mutant powers. What he does have is that he’s a genius who is a skilled tactician and hand-to-hand combatant. Kang ages at a slightly slower rate than modern humans and is more resistant to radiation. He is an expert in time travel and in manipulating time.

As we continue to learn more about the MCU version, there are theories that the “time travel” elements in the Avengers movies—brought to the team by Ant-Man—may have opened the door for Kang.

#2 He uses advanced weapons and armies from the future.

Thanks to his access to every time period, Kang the Conqueror’s threat is powered by a bunch of future armor and weapons. He has mastered his future’s advanced technology, with his battle armor giving him strength, speed, stamina and durability.

Kang’s battle armor makes him strong enough to battle some of Marvel’s strongest champions. Kang also commands armies pulled from different timelines—and the soldiers are also equipped with future armor and weapons. Kang also relies on robots, including androids that grow in size as they’re hit.

#3 Kang’s first appearance was in Avengers #8.

The first time we see the green-and-purple armored timekeeper is in 1964’s Avengers #8, where Kang crosses paths with Avengers members Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Giant-Man and Wasp. Avengers Epic Collection: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes collects Avengers issues #1-20.

The story “Kang, The Conqueror!” was created by writer Stan Lee, co-plotter and penciler Jack Kirby, inker Dick Ayers, colorist Stan Goldberg and letterer Sam Rosen.

In the issue, Kang the Conqueror comes to rule Earth and captures most of the Avengers. The Wasp and boy sidekick Rick Jones get on Kang’s ship and free them. The Avengers battle Kang again and beat him by destroying how he controls his weapons. Kang escapes by jumping back into the timestream.

(But he’ll be back again in just a couple of issues. Because, you know, time traveler.)

#4 No, wait—Kang’s first appearance was actually in Fantastic Four #19.

So, while the bad guy’s first appearance as “Kang the Conqueror” is in that issue of Avengers, he tells them how he is also the fake pharaoh time traveler Rama-Tut—who had already appeared in 1963’s Fantastic Four #19. Of course, in that issue, he and the FF actually met in ancient Egypt. (Because, you know, time travel.) Fantastic Four Epic Collection: The Master Plan Of Doctor Doom collects Fantastic Four #19-32 and Annual #1-2.

The story “Prisoners of the Pharaoh!” was created by writer Stan Lee, co-plotter and penciler Jack Kirby, inker Dick Ayers, colorist Stan Goldberg and letterer Sam Rosen.

While studying an Egyptian exhibit, Reed Richards reads a hieroglyph and learns about a substance which may have restored the eyesight of a blind pharaoh. The Fantastic Four use Doctor Doom’s time machine to go back and get this formula so they can try restoring the vision of Ben Grimm’s girlfriend, Alicia Masters. After battling the FF, Rama jumped back into the time stream and ran into Doctor Doom, which apparently inspired him to become Kang the Conqueror.

Of special note is the fact that more than one Marvel Comics time-travel story passed through that ancient pyramid at the same time—with 1982 comic book issue Doctor Strange #53 and 1987 comic book issue West Coast Avengers #22 both intersecting with the original story from the FF’s comic book. The X-Men related mini-series Rise of Apocalypse also touches on the Rama-Tut era of ancient Egypt. (Thanks to Douglas Wolk for talking through the multi-series connections in his book All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told.)

#5 OK, Kang has lots of alternate versions.

So, this guy isn’t just Kang the Conqueror and Pharaoh Rama-Tut. He is actually lots of people. With all this time hopping—and the alternate temporal anomalies that it creates—Kang the Conqueror has multiple identities. And multiple bodies. And exists in multiple places. So, the comics version of Kang is complicated.

Seriously.

Complicated.

He is also Immortus. And Scarlet Centurion. As well as Kang Nebula (space pirate), Kang Kong (from a dimension with super intelligent apes), Iron Lad (who forms the Young Avengers to try and stop—well, himself), Victor Timely (who helped establish one of the first Marvel Comics superheroes, the original Human Torch), Chronomonitor #616 (who works for the Time Variance Authority) and Mister Gryphon (who is a businessperson version). His other titles include Blue Man, Victor Timely Jr., Victor Timely III, Blue Totem, Master of Men, Lord of the Seven Suns and Baby Kang. (You can also ask Spider-Ham about Kangaroo the Conqueror.)

If you thought the MCU would streamline the character, you might have missed how even his debut on the Disney+ series Loki sets up the possibility of lots of Kangs. That was an alternate universe version of the character named “He Who Remains,” who explains to Loki and Loki’s time-variant Sylvie how he’s been dealing with alternate versions of himself in the time stream.

(In fact, while one of the Kangs is gonna show up in the next Ant-Man and the Wasp movie, we don’t know whether that’s the version that eventually faces the Avengers.)

#6 And some of the alternate versions hang out together.

I think this is the second group listed. This panel comes from *Avengers Epic Collection: Heavy Metal* (which includes *Avengers* #292).

If I can follow all the info on this correctly, The Council of Kangs was a group of Kangs from alternate realities that wanted to get rid of all divergent Kangs in the Multiverse. The Council of Kangs was eventually recreated as part of the Kang Collective.

According to CMRO (The Complete Marvel Reading Order), the Council of Kangs appeared in Avengers #267-269 and Avengers Annual #21. Those issues are included in Avengers Epic Collection: Under Siege (which collects Avengers #264-277, Alpha Flight #39, Avengers Annual #15 and West Coast Avengers Annual #1) and Avengers Epic Collection: Fear The Reaper (which collects Avengers #348-359 and the “Citizen Kang” material from Captain America Annual #11, Thor Annual #17, Fantastic Four Annual #25 and Avengers Annual #21).

This group should not be confused with the Council of Cross-Time Kangs, which apparently was a group of several beings—including humans, aliens and other creatures—who had each defeated their versions of Kang and took his place(s). This group appeared in Avengers #291-297, Fantastic Four #338, Avengers Annual #21, and Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1-4. Some of those issues appear in Avengers Epic Collection: Heavy Metal (which collects Avengers #286-303 and Avengers Annual #17), Avengers Epic Collection: Fear The Reaper (which includes Avengers #348-359 and the Citizen Kang arc from Captain America Annual #11, Thor Annual#17, Fantastic Four Annual #25 and Avengers Annual #21), and Avengers Epic Collection: The Gatherers Strike! (which includes Avengers #360-366, Avengers Annual #22, Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective 1-4; Avengers Strikefile 1 and material from Avengers Anniversary Magazine).

#7 Kang might be related to Reed Richards—and maybe also Doctor Doom.

Kang’s real name (maybe) is Nathaniel Richards—which, in comic book terms, means he is probably related to Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic from the Fantastic Four. On the other hand, Kang has said that he’s related to Doctor Doom—which, given the complicated history of Richards and Doom, is a pretty weird idea. Over the years, different writers have been fascinated with this question and explored the possibilities in different ways.

“My original name does not matter. But I had a great ancestor, a warlord and a scientific genius. Some say his name was Richards. Others say it was Von Doom.”

Kang grabbed the mic to tell us his story as part of the Citizen Kang epic that stretched across annuals from Captain America, Thor, Fantastic Four and the Avengers.

#8 Kang once crossed over with Star Trek.

Technically, the “crossover” was X-Men and the crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation in the comic book Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men: Second Contact #1 (1998) by Dan Abnett, Ian Edginton, Cary Nord, Scott Koblish and John Kalisz. The X-Men have actually crossed over with the Star Trek universe a few times, including a comic book meetup with Kirk’s crew and another crossover with ST:TNG in the prose novel Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman.

This particular comic book crossover found Kang the Conqueror trying to create a temporal rift. Following the events of the Star Trek movie First Contact, the time lord brought the crew of the Enterprise-D to the X-Men’s timeline. The X-Men and the Enterprise crew worked together against Kang—with Kang’s ship destroyed when Captain Picard fires Quantum torpedoes to damage Kang’s “temporal resonator.”

#9 He replaced Iron Man. (More than once.)

Actually, there are three things that happened that go in this slot. Number One is that Kang pretended to be Iron Man (and bad stuff happened). Number Two is that Kang did something bad to Tony Stark and he had to be replaced (with another Tony Stark). And then Number Three is that Kang again became a replacement of sorts (but with good intentions). Let’s see if we can make this simple…

Part One: When Kang himself pretended to be Iron Man.

So, in the 1986 comic book Avengers #267, Kang the Conqueror appeared as Iron Man and killed all the Avengers. He even managed to kill the President of the United States, and started a war that would destroy the Earth. In this issue created by Roger Stern, John Buscema, Tom Palmer, Jim Novak and Christie Scheele, Avengers #267 revealed the Council of Kangs—who showed up after the violent opening and undid Kang’s plan to keep him from from destroying the world.

That arc is available in a few places, including Avengers: The Once And Future Kang (which collects Avengers #262-269, Avengers Annual #15 and Avengers West Coast Annual #1), and also Avengers Epic Collection: Under Siege (which collects Avengers #264-277, Alpha Flight #39, Avengers Annual #15, West Coast Avengers Annual #1).

Part Two: When Kang did something that made Tony Stark need to be replaced by…Tony Stark.

In the 1995 comics event called The Crossing, which lots of people at Marvel want to forget, Kang went back in time to the early days of the Avengers—and brainwashed Tony Stark to make him a bad guy. (Apparently, Kang also brainwashed Hank Pym, which was intended to explain his mental problems over the years.)

Anyway, Iron Man in the present suddenly was a bad guy and the Avengers had to replace him. So they went even further back in time to grab an even younger version of Tony Stark (before he was brainwashed) and bring teen Tony Stark back into the present to fight with grownup Tony. When the grownup Tony dies, the younger Tony becomes the official man in the armor.

For a while. Until the editors (or whomever) decided to pretend none of this happened.

(Apparently, Marvel is working to make this book hard to get. It’s currently only available on Amazon as a super-expensive hardcover edition.)

Part Three: When Kang himself became a version of “younger” Iron Man.

In the 2005 comic Young Avengers (which featured teen knock-offs of Avengers regulars), 16-year-old Nathaniel Richards—who would eventually grow up to be Kang the Conqueror—traveled into the past to create the Young Avengers to stop his future self. Now calling himself Iron Lad, he tells the others that a version of Kang from further in the future offered to help him be a bad a guy. Against the idea, the boy instead transported himself to the 21st century to ask for help. This story was by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. Find a collection of the original 12 issues at Amazon.

#10 Kang didn’t just fight The Avengers—he also crossed paths with (a version of) the Justice League!

Long before Marvel Comics and DC Comics did any official crossovers, Avengers writer Roy Thomas and Justice League of America writer Denny O’Neil created a sort of unofficial crossover. In 1969, Justice League of America #75 found the members of the JLA fighting evil duplicates of themselves (which at times behaved like Avengers members). Meanwhile, Avengers #69 pitted the Marvel team against a group of supervillains named the Squadron Sinister (which acted a lot like the Justice League).

We bring up that group here for two reasons. 1) It’s a Kang story. In Avengers #69, Kang was battling the Grandmaster (an Elder of the Universe). Kang’s champions were The Avengers, while the Grandmaster had chosen a supervillain team to battle them. 2) The Squadron Sinister was clearly a tribute to the JLA. The four villains in the group—Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum and the Whizzer—mimicked the DC characters Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and the Flash.

(Thanks to Reed Tucker for digging up the details on this unofficial Marvel/DC crossover in his book Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC.

#11 Ravonna Renslayer in the MCU is (possibly) different than her in the comics.

In the comics, Kang’s life story includes a tragic romance featuring Ravonna Renslayer. However, that love story is epic and strange because, you know, time travel. Oh, and apparently, she also has multiple incarnations throughout Kang’s loooong timeline. And there are lots of complications between the different versions of Ravonna and the different versions of Kang.

As for the MCU version, we meet her at the offices of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) on the show Loki. Portrayed by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, on the show we see Ravonna Renslayer perform some questionable activities. She will probably be back in Loki season 2 and maybe pop up in other MCU events.

We see more of Ravonna’s big picture in the book Kang The Conqueror: Only Myself Left To Conquer.

#12 All Kang really wants is complete control of time and space.

As described on the Marvel official website, “Immortus. Iron Lad. Rama-Tut. Scarlet Centurion. The Master of Time. He has had many names across the timestream, but only one dominates them all: Kang the Conqueror. With lofty ambitions to rule over time and space, Nathaniel Richards, AKA Kang the Conqueror, will alter any timeline, including his own. He travels through time to accomplish his goals, posing a grave threat to any reality he encounters.”

Thanks to his genius, his skills and his tools, Kang has wreaked havoc all over the Marvel Universe in multiple timelines. His ultimate intentions are to rule everything—every timeline, every planet, and every universe in the multiverse…

#13 Kang is his own worst enemy.

Kang doesn’t just fight a lot of superheroes—he is also constantly trying to prevent his own future or undo his own past. As such, he keeps creating variations of himself who sometimes get in the way of his take-over-the-world plans. As mentioned above, these variations include Rama-Tut, Baby Kang, Immortus, Iron Lad, Victor Timely and more. Kang even put together the Council of Kangs to get rid of redundant versions of himself.

Find out more info about Kang’s “endless cycle of creation and destruction” in the book Kang The Conqueror: Only Myself Left To Conquer, which collects the mini-series Kang The Conqueror (2021) #1-5.

The difference between Kang the Conqueror and Thanos

With Kang as the new big bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s easy to compare him with the MCU’s previous big bad, Thanos, whose plans overhadowed several Marvel movies. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania screenwriter Jeff Loveness recently shared the differences between Kang and Thanos:

“To me it’s all about the humanity. Obviously Thanos is a great, iconic villain, but he’s also a big purple CGI guy. He’s an alien from outer space. The thing I really wanted to lean into is that Kang is a human being. Kang’s also a very lonely character. We’re going to be seeing a lot of him in a lot of different ways going forward, but I really wanted to introduce the humanity and even the vulnerability of this character before he gets to such apocalyptic, Avengers-scale heights.” (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania writer says Kang the Conqueror is a "top-tier, A-list Avengers villain" | GamesRadar+)

Previews of Quantumania

Get ready to see Kang on the big screen! The two videos below include a trailer for the movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, plus the behind-the-scenes featurette The Legacy of Ant-Man. The behind-the-scenes video shows Kevin Feige, Paul Rudd, Jonathan Majors, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer and more talking about the new Ant-Man movie—and what’s to come in MCU Phase Five!

**Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania | New Trailer**

In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the heroes find themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that pushes them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

“Playing Kang the Conqueror is such a gift,” remarks Jonathan Majors in the IMDb featurette below. “This is the beginning. And he cannot be contained.”

**Exclusive: The Legacy of Ant-Man | IMDb**

Producer Kevin Feige says the MCU team always loves doing the unexpected with the character of Scott Lang. “Ant-Man is arguably the character that is the most underestimated. Ant-Man became the key to saving the universe in Avengers: Endgame. So, carrying that tradition we thought, ‘Well, let’s use this film to kick off Phase Five.’”

Actress Evangeline Lilly says, “Kang the Conqueror is terrifying. And if there was a maniac loose in the Quantum Realm, it’s him.”