WARNING - This article contains spoilers from the season final of Loki
Loki has concluded, the multiverse is in madness, and the man behind the curtain has been revealed.
After speculation of Mephisto appearing in WandaVision and an old-man Steve Rogers cameoing in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier proved false, fans finally got their guy in Loki's finale...kind of.
Jonathan Majors made his long-awaited Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as the creator of the Time Variance Authority, He Who Remains. The character's tease of "evil" Variants of himself coupled with the knowledge that Majors will portray Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has everyone running with the idea that the conqueror himself showed face in the season finale.
Some have pointed out that Majors' behavior is most reminiscent of Immortus, a future version of Kang in the comics. In a recent interview, director Kate Herron cleared up some of this Kang confusion.
KANG? IMMORTUS? HE WHO REMAINS?
Isn't that the question of the day?
Loki director Kate Herron recently spoke with Deadline to clarify star Jonathan Majors' role within Loki.
Based on his behaviors, fans were quick to point out Majors' role operates similarly to Immortus, a version of Kang in the comics. When asked if Majors was partially Immortus or Kang himself in the season finale, the director likened the character to Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie, a role that has been speculated to combine elements of multiple personas from the comics:
"Kang is the Variant, but he’s also not technically Immortus. It’s a bit like Sylvie, right? She’s a unique character in relation to our story. He Who Remains is in the comics, but the version in our show was very different. He’s closer to Immortus, but he’s a unique character for our story. But Kang is a Variant of that character."
A BIT OF BOTH
Similar to how Sylvie borrows elements from Lady Loki and Enchantress, Jonathan Majors' He Who Remains appears to combine characteristics of both Kang and Immortus.
In the comics, He Who Remains is credited as the creator of the TVA and resides in the Citadel at the End of Time. The MCU adapted both of those elements from his persona on the page, but infused him with traits of the two aforementioned characters.
Similar to how Majors' He Who Remains is from the 31st century, the comic origin of Immortus places his birth in the 30th century. Immortus is considered Kang's "final" form, which aligns with much of Majors' dialogue in the season finale. Herron notes that Majors is "closer to Immortus" than He Who Remains in terms of behavior, but is not entirely that character.
It was easily inferred based on Majors' future MCU projects, but Herron's confirmation that He Who Remains is indeed a Kang Variant makes Ant-Man 3 all the more consequential.
Majors can be seen in the season finale of Loki exclusively on Disney+, where all episodes of the show's first season are streaming now.
MCU Writer, Editor, Podcaster
