MCU Theory: Kang The Conqueror Is A Loki Variant | Screen Rant
Kang the Conqueror, who may be Loki’s secret villain, could turn out to be yet another variant of the God of Mischief. Many have suspected from the beginning that Kang will make his MCU debut ahead of his appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. And right now, it’s looking like the theories about the time-traveling Avengers villain being in Loki were right all along.
Ant-Man 3, one of the final films in Phase 4, will finally introduce Kang the Conqueror, who is without question the most important Avengers villain that Marvel hasn’t used yet. Considering how important he is to the comics, there’s a strong chance that, similar to the approach that was taken with Josh Brolin’s Thanos, Marvel will build up to him slowly and give him a wide arc that extends far beyond one movie. Since Loki is a time-travel show, it did seem plausible that, if Marvel had any intention of setting him up early, the Disney+ series would be the best opportunity for that. To that end, some believed that Marvel’s plan was to give him a cameo in a post-credits scene as a time-traveler who might benefit from the chaos caused at the TVA by Loki, while others were thinking bigger, with the idea being that Kang would stand revealed as the man behind the curtain.
This outcome started to feel like a real possibility when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) uncovered the truth about the Time-Keepers, which is that they were a lie fabricated by some unknown individual or group. At the end of episode 5, the pair found a secret castle hidden away in the Void. The ending has left a number of fans with the impression that the character Loki is going to meet when he heads into the castle is Ant-Man 3’s Kang the Conqueror. This very well could happen, but Kang’s reveal may not be the episode’s biggest twist. Here’s why Kang could actually be a variant of Loki in the MCU.
Despite being one of the Marvel Universe’s biggest villains, Kang the Conqueror has an origin story that’s shrouded in mystery to this day. As a character who always wears a helmet, his face is rarely seen, and the Avengers know very little about who Kang really is or how he came to be such an experienced time traveler. As for who’s behind the mask, Marvel has confirmed that Kang’s real name is Nathaniel Richards, but hasn’t gone into a lot of detail about his backstory. He shares his surname with Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic – and the connection between them supposedly isn’t a coincidence. The presumption is that Kang is a direct future descendant of Mr. Fantastic. However, there are some stories that have genetically linked him to a different Marvel character: Doctor Doom. It may be that he’s related to the Latverian ruler in some way, but there’s no concrete evidence of any blood relation between the two in Marvel Comics.
Who is the MCU’s Kang the Conqueror? The movies could follow the comics and make him Nathaniel Richards, but this is one situation where doing so isn’t necessary. After all, it’s worth noting that such a reveal would have minimal importance to the current state of the MCU and the characters it entails. Neither Mr. Fantastic nor Doctor Doom have been introduced yet, which means they aren’t relevant at this moment. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will hit theaters in February 2023, and the Fantastic Four MCU movie has no release date yet, with July 28 being the earliest possible date. A Mr. Fantastic or Doctor Doom connection could work as an Easter egg or set up for their own introductions but would add little to his own character.
Also, the face behind the mask isn’t vital to Kang’s identity in the comics. Kang’s real name is indeed Nathaniel Richards, but it’s not brought up often. That’s because his backstory and origin have never been central to who he is. Whatever he was before and who he’s related to typically aren’t explored because they don’t ultimately matter. In the comics, he’s defined by his Kang the Conqueror identity, which is why he usually leaves the helmet on (not unlike how Doctor Doom is never seen without his metal mask). So since it’s not a necessity for Kang to be Nathaniel Richards in the MCU, Marvel can change his identity to fit with the direction that they’re going and the characters that currently populate its universe.
It could be that rather than just being related to an existing character, the MCU’s Kang the Conqueror actually is a known hero or villain, albeit from a different timeline. This was made possible by the Loki variants encountered in the show. Over the course of the series, Loki has met multiple incarnations of himself, including Sylvie, Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei), Alligator Loki, and President Loki. Out of all these, only the latter is played by Tom Hiddleston. This proves that, theoretically, confirmed Kang actor Jonathan Majors could play a version of Loki, regardless of the fact that they don’t look alike.
If this were to be the case, Marvel can make sense of it by explaining how Jonathan Majors’ Loki variant became the MCU’s Kang the Conqueror. It could be that some version of the TVA did exist at some point, but they were taken over by Majors’ Loki. He too could have been a prisoner forced into working with them, but eventually found a way to overthrow those in charge. After that, Loki took over the TVA and abandoned his Asgardian identity in favor of a new one. Having been swept up in his time travel activities, he completed his transformation into a new villain: Kang the Conqueror. In a way, this scenario feels like it would give the MCU an ultimate version of Loki, who is living up to his title of “God of Mischief” in an extraordinary fashion that brings new meaning to his godly status. Loki has engineered all sorts of schemes in the past, but controlling the TVA and the Sacred Timeline itself would be the biggest one by far. As a master of deception, Loki might have had what it took to fool everyone at the TVA.
Plus, Loki is remarkably long-lived, which is another reason why it would work for him to be Kang the Conqueror. Nathaniel Richards’s rule would be limited by the comparably short lifespan of a human, but the lifespan of a Frost Giant like Loki would give him the time he’d need to slowly take over the organization and then control it from the shadows for centuries. If Marvel takes this course in Loki, it can then move forward in Ant-Man 3 by showing that Loki has evolved from one Marvel villain into another, complete with new goals and ideas.