*DISCLAIMER: the news has only recently come out, but it was saddening to hear about the allegations against Jonathan Majors. I'm not going to join the speculation train for what this might mean for the MCU. I just hope this victim and any others receive the support they need.*
*Quantumania spoilers.*
One of the best parts of the latest Ant-Man and the Wasp film is its villain, making his big splash as the MCU’s newest Big Bad (sort of—more on that later.) Even though we already glimpsed one Kang at the end of Loki’s first season, Quantumania gives us a memorable introduction to another.
When the Ant-Man/Wasp crew get pulled into the Quantum Realm, they’re pulled into a micro-universe cruelly ruled by an outsider—someone who, like Janet, wound up there by accident years ago. He has a history in the Quantum Realm with Janet, and for a time, she helped him try to fix his damaged multiverse-traveling craft in the hopes that he could get them both home. But once she realized his true character, she understood that her own freedom wasn’t worth unleashing Kang back on the multiverse.
So who is this version of Kang? As per his title, he’s a conqueror, traveling to different universes and taking them over, building tyrannical empires wherever he goes. A council of his own Variants conspired to trap him in the Quantum Realm, ridding the multiverse of his warfare and insatiable lust for power.
Janet is able to stop Kang from escaping, but not before she’s helped him repair enough of his ship that he has the technology to take over the Quantum Realm. I don’t recall if it’s ever stated when this happened in relation to Janet’s rescue at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp, but by the time we return to the micro universe in Quantumania, it’s been thoroughly subjugated by Kang. He has a palace, ships, and a robot army to do his bidding, and they keep the people of the Quantum Realm under his brutal thumb.
One thing I really enjoy about Kang is that, as a villain, he’s both larger-than-life and remarkably understated. His power, intelligence, and abilities are enormous, such that he was only ever stopped initially by other versions of himself. Bringing Scott, Hope, and co. into direct conflict with him really feels like sending this group of characters up to the big leagues. But at the same time, his manner is uncompromisingly tyrannical and yet somehow also unassuming. He often speaks quietly and calmly. It’s an assurance, maybe, that comes from his power—he doesn’t really have to throw his weight around because his many resources will do it for him. His rage is threaded through every fiber of him, but it simmers under his skin, only rarely bubbling over to the point that he raises his voice or lashes out.
Given all this, it’s kind of disappointing that Scott, Hope, and the others are actually able to dispatch him. It gives the end of the film a somewhat anticlimactic feel, and it takes some of the air out of Kang’s sails that a second-string Avengers teams could seemingly take him down in a single movie. But the credits scenes confirm that Kang’s place as the MCU’s new Big Bad doesn’t exist within a character. Rather, it exists within an entire line, as we see the whole Council of Kangs convening to react to recent events. I’m of two minds about that going forward. On the one hand, I don’t doubt Jonathan Majors’ ability to make each Kang distinct while still feeling like variations of the same man. On the other, if Marvel isn’t careful, the next few phases could start to feel like a game of whack-a-mole with Kangs. I hope they’re thoughtful as they go into the coming films.
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