Last summer, MCU fans got the first taste of the Multiverse Saga's next epic villain in Jonathan Majors' He Who Remains, who wound up serving as the primary antagonist for Season 1 of Loki. Now, he's set to take the next step in his journey toward Multiversal domination as he becomes the main villain in 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, now known as Kang the Conqueror.
Majors will now have the chance to portray the prime version of Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man 3, giving the MCU its biggest villain since Josh Brolin's Thanos made his mark on the Infinity Saga. Kang will take that terror to even greater levels in the Multiverse Saga due to the fact that he's such a powerful force throughout all of time, space, and other realities.
Due to his mastery of time, Kang has the ability to exist in numerous forms occupying a nearly unlimited number of places across the Multiverse, with He Who Remains being only the first of many Kang-related dominoes to fall in Loki Season 1.
But as fans saw from Episode 6 of Loki and the first trailer for Ant-Man 3, these two versions of Kang have a few notable differences despite being Variants derived from the same being. Ahead, The Direct will take a look at some of the biggest distinctions between the two powerful beings ahead of Ant-Man 3's debut.
Kang Variants' Choices in Fashion
While both versions of Kang have sported the purple color scheme that he's so well known for in the comics, there are a couple of noticeable differences in the wardrobe choices for He Who Remains from Loki and Kang from Ant-Man 3.
In Loki, Majors' Variant donned a set of long purple robes on top of his clothes, along with longer hair and a beard going across his jaw. In Ant-Man 3, Kang still uses the blue hue across his face just like his comic counterpart, but this version of Kang boasts a notable pair of scars running below his eyes and down his cheeks to pay tribute to the marks on his mask.
The Personality of Each Villainous Kang
Fans saw an unexpectedly goofy and wild take on Kang the Conqueror with He Who Remains, who showed an eccentric personality when Loki and Sylvie first found him in the Citadel at the End of Time. While this take on Kang was clearly knowledgeable about the Multiverse, he wasn't afraid to let his energetic personality loose on Loki's leading duo.
The Kang fans will see in Ant-Man 3 appears to be much more menacing in nature, having already built a mini-empire in the Quantum Realm as he shows the immense power that he possesses. It's clear already that he's not much of a joker, not letting out so much as a smile in the time he was on camera during the trailer.
How Each Kang Differs in Strength & Powers
The Kang Variant seen in Loki didn't show off a lot in terms of powers, using the advanced TemPad to teleport away from Sylvie and Loki, although he had enough power to control and run the Time Variance Authority. His death also sent the entire Multiverse into chaos, showing how much influence he had over space and time.
Based on what fans have seen from Kang in Ant-Man 3, it seems that this new version will boast power unrivaled by anybody else in the MCU outside of Thanos.
Ant-Man 3's Kang has also been described as the "warrior version of Kang," having learned multiple sets of combat skills over the ages and showing how imposing he can be. Marvel is clearly saving that power for later in the promotional tour, with only a small tease of his power being shown in the first teaser trailer.
Kang Traits That Stay the Same
Even with these differences between He Who Remains and Kang, there are naturally going to be some similarities between these two Variants due to their nature of coming from the same original being. This was seen for a moment in the first Ant-Man 3 trailer when Kang offered Scott and his family a way home if they helped him with something first.
He Who Remains showed that same knack for bargaining in Loki when he offered Loki and Sylvie the chance to take over his mission of ruling the TVA, but he also warned them that they would start an all-out Multiversal war if they killed him instead. It's clear that every form of Kang is just as adept mentally as they are physically, using that manipulative nature to exact as much control as possible over the Multiverse.
The MCU Gets Ready for Kang's Wrath
Potentially the most exciting part about this development is that Ant-Man 3's Kang will only be the first of many new Kang Variants after He Who Remains kicked things off on that front in Loki Season 1. Season 2 of that series will continue to dive into Kang's influence, and future films are already set to take that theory even further.
2025's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has the opportunity to bring the Council of Kangs from the comics to the big screen, adding countless other Variants to the story on top of He Who Remains and Jonathan Majors' Kang prime from Ant-Man 3. From there, things will only get more wild, although Ant-Man 3 will give fans a good taste of what to expect over the coming years from this supervillain.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will debut in theaters on February 17, 2023.
