Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania teases the origins of Kang the Conqueror with major connections to Marvel’s Fantastic Four as well as Doctor Doom. With Kang having been exiled to the Quantum Realm by other versions of himself, Quantumania’s first post-credits scene officially debuts the Council of Kangs, a literal army of Kang variants from across the multiverse who’ve come together in their shared mission of multiversal conquest. Clearly, what this sequence includes will be crucial to what comes next for the heroes of the MCU.
Kang has a handful of notable variants in the original comics, and many of them are introduced in the MCU through Quantumania’s version of the Council of Kangs. Led by Immortus, Rama-Tut, and the Scarlet Centurion, the trio summons all the other Kang variants in the multiverse to a massive arena. Curiously, each one arrives via the same portal technology resembling a classic device first seen in one of the very first Fantastic Four issues.
Kang’s Time Platforms Connect To The Fantastic Four & Doctor Doom
Debuting right alongside Doctor Doom’s first appearance in 1962’s Fantastic Four #5, the time platform was a device capable of traveling time and space developed by the Latverian dictator during his first battle with Marvel’s First Family. Likewise, Reed Richards ended up appropriating and improving upon the technology throughout the Marvel continuity while Doom built a second device to further his own schemes. To that end, the time platform was featured in the MCU’s Doctor Strange 2 to debut Mr. Fantastic as he arrived at the Illuminati’s meeting to judge Earth-616’s Stephen Strange.
Remarkably, the time platform technology is used by all of these different versions of Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s first post-credits scene. Depicted as rectangular blue energy portals (just like Mr. Fantastic’s), each one brings forth a different Kang who’s answered the summons of Immortus, Rama-Tut, and the Scarlet Centurion. Interestingly, the significance of Kang using the time platform goes way beyond a simple Easter egg, instead setting up major elements of Kang’s origins in the MCU.
Will The MCU Reveal The Origins Of Kang’s Nathaniel Richards?
With Quantumania confirming that the MCU character’s name is Nathaniel, there’s a strong possibility that he shares his comic counterpart’s surname as well, which would further strengthen the link to Doctor Doom and Mr. Fantastic. If so, the live-action Kang may have family ties to Reed Richards as one of his future descendants. After all, they both started out as genius-level scientists before acquiring their respective codenames. Similarly, the comics have also suggested that Kang may be a descendant of Doctor Doom, making Kang’s integration of his ancestor’s original tech even more significant.
It’s currently unknown how deep the MCU intends to dive into Kang’s history as Nathaniel Richards from the 31st century. However, the teased connections to Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Doom have the potential for exciting payoff in future installments. If there truly is a link between Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Kang the Conqueror and the other two Marvel Comics characters, chances to explore it could certainly come, especially if Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Doom’s stories end up intertwining with Kang’s as the Multiverse Saga continues.
