6 Kang The Conqueror-Related Questions We Have After Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania are ahead!

Back in September 2020, Jonathan Majors of Lovecraft Country and Da 5 Bloods fame was reported to be cast in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and it was said at the time that he was playing Kang the Conqueror. This past weekend, we finally saw Majors bring the time-traveling supervillain to life, which followed over and a year and a half after the actor made his MCU debut as the Kang variant He Who Remains in the Loki Season 1 finale. Quantumania depicted Kang trying to escape the Quantum Realm after decades of imprisonment, and while he failed to do so by the time the third Ant-Man movie ended, the threequel’s post-credits scenes showed that there are plenty of other Kangs to worry about in the coming years.

Jonathan Majors is confirmed to be appearing in both Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (no surprise there) and Avengers: Secret Wars, so MCU fans won’t be lacking for various versions of Kang the Conqueror anytime soon. That having been said, there are a number of Kang-related questions that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania left in its wake, so let’s go over these and afterwards cross our fingers that they’ll be answered someday.

Kang The Conqueror in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Is The Main Kang The Conqueror Really Dead?

Although Scott Lang successfully returned the power core to Kang the Conqueror’s ship that Janet van Dyne had enlarged decades earlier back to its normal size, Kang the Conqueror reneged on his agreement to free Cassie Lang. Fortunately, Cassie escaped on her own and ignited a rebellion against Kang, and this culminated in the climactic showdown between him and Scott. The battle ended with Scott throwing both red and blue Pym Particle Discs at the core, making it unstable. Before Kang had a chance to run into the portal that would take him back to our universe, Scott and Hope van Dyne were able to knock him into the core, and Kang was sucked into oblivion.

On the surface, it looks like Kang the Conqueror is dead, but is he really? After all, we thought Darren Cross had died in Ant-Man, but he was revealed in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to still be alive, albeit mutated into the polarizing MODOK. Maybe the unstable power core actually transported Kang into another dimension, and he’ll either face off with a different Marvel hero there or will somehow fashion a different means of returning to the main MCU reality. The chances of this happening are slim, but with comic book media, such implausible returns have all too often.

Kang (Jonathan Majors) in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

(Image credit: Marvel Studio)

Will We See A Past Version Of The Main Kang Later In The MCU?

Even if we assume that the main version of Kang the Conqueror did indeed die in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, that doesn’t mean we couldn’t see a past version of him someday, and I means this in two different ways. The first is that we get conventional flashbacks to Kang in upcoming Marvel movies, most likely Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. As the Marvel heroes clash with the various other versions of Kang, we could look back to see how the main Kang developed his time travel technology and started conquering realities.

The other alternative is the more fun one though, as I’m positing that a past version of Kang could literally appear later on in the MCU, as in directly interact with other characters. Remember, along with going through different universes, the guy also travels through time, meaning his life doesn’t progress in the same linear way as it does for everyone else. Is it possible this past version of Kang has a role to play in future MCU events, and said events then push him onto the path that lead to his imprisonment in the Quantum Realm?

Jonathan Majors in Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania

(Image credit: Marvel)

What Was The Main Kang’s Specific Beef With The Council Of Kangs?

Despite shedding so much blood and destroying entire timelines, Kang the Conqueror maintained that his actions were for the greater good. According to him, the MCU franchise’s multiverse is dying due to the actions of his variants, and eventually they found a way to trap him in the Quantum Realm so he wouldn’t interfere in his plans? But what exactly went down between Quantumania’s Kang and the other Kangs?

As we saw in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s mid-credits scene, the Council of Kangs clearly have no problem wreaking havoc, and now they have their sights turned to the heroes of Earth-616. So with both sides inflicting violence across the multiverse, just where did the main Kang the Conqueror’s ideology diverge from the other Kangs? And if the other Kangs are indeed destroying the multiverse, how exactly are they accomplishing this? There’s a lot more information about this war between the Kangs that needs to be disclosed.

Kang the Conqueror statue in TVA in Loki Season 1 finale

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Which Kang Is Leading The TVA?

At the end of Loki Season 1, Sylvie killed He Who Remains rather than accept his offer to run the Time Variance Authority alongside the Loki variant introduced in Avengers: Endgame. As a result, not only was a multiverse of timelines that can’t be pruned unleashed, Loki discovered that the TVA was being run by a different version of Kang, and adding insult to injury, Mobius and B-15 no longer recognized him. That latter problem seems to have been solved judging by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s post-credits scene, but we’ll get to that soon.

I had originally thought the Kang who served as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s main antagonist was the same Kang running the new TVA, but evidently that’s not the case. So then which Kang is in charge now? More importantly, is this Kang affiliated with the Council of Kangs, or like Quantumania’s Kang, is he pursuing his own agenda? Whatever answer that may be, it’s probably safe to assume what he has planned won’t be good for anyone else.

Marvel Comics artwork of Kang the Conqueror variant Victor Timely

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

How Does Victor Timely Fit Into The MCU Narrative?

In the final minute of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s runtime, we found ourselves in the early 20th century witnessing a Kang variant named Victor Timely giving a presentation about the nature of time. The Loki variant and Mobius were among the people in the audience, and while the latter didn’t see anything special about Victor, the former was frightened of him given his experience with He Who Remains. So evidently we can count on Victor also appearing in Loki Season 2, but how exactly does he fit into the overall MCU narrative?

In the comics, Kang the Conqueror established his Victor Timely identity when he decided to set his sights on conquering the 20th century through more secretive methods. Victor also worked with Phineas Horton, the scientist who created the android Human Torch (not to be confused with Fantastic Four member Johnny Storm) in 1939. I doubt the MCU will utilize that Human Torch connection, but more importantly, will Jonathan Majors’ version of Victor be a villain like his comic book counterpart and the other Kang variants we’ve seen so far? Or, in a strange twist of fate, could he be a Kang who’s working towards a more benevolent goal?

Marvel Comics artwork of Iron Lad

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Will The MCU Eventually Introduce Iron Lad?

We saw a lot of Kang variants at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but there was a notable one missing. Introduced in 2005’s Young Avengers #1, a teen version of Nathaniel Richards discovered his destiny to become Kang the Conqueror straight from his older self. But rather than embrace this personal future, Nathaniel fled from the older Kang and headed to the 21st century to establish himself as the superhero Iron Lad

Given all the Young Avengers characters who have appeared in the MCU over the last few years, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Iron lad enter the fray. Frankly, it would be welcome to have at least one Kang variant who’s a force for good and working to stop the Council of Kangs without becoming a tyrant like Quantumania’s Kang did. So will we see Iron Lad some day?

Needless to say if any of these questions are answered, CinemaBlend will let you know. In the meantime, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania now playing in theaters, the next theatrical MCU chapter coming up is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 this May. Check out what other upcoming Marvel movies are on the slate, and rewatch the available Marvel movies in order with your Disney+ subscription.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.