Kang Dynasty's Leaked Plot Has the Avengers Working With a Wild New Ally
Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe looks for an epic start with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania next February.
It will feature the heroes' next great threat, the antagonist of the eponymous Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. According to a rumored plot leak by Heavy Spoilers, an unlikely ally will emerge in the Avengers' inevitable battle against Kang the Conqueror: A variant of Kang himself.
In the Marvel Comics, Kang is Nathaniel Richards – a 31st-century scholar and descendent of Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. He eventually discovers time travel technology created long ago by Reed's arch-nemesis, Dr. Doom. He travels through time, seeking dominion over the galaxy in various eras.
Kang is consistently near the top of "Best Marvel Comic Villains" lists, a ruthless warlord consistently at odds with the Avengers.
An alternate version of Kang was introduced in the Disney+ show Loki as He Who Remains, played by Jonathan Majors. He is a variant of Kang who guarded the sacred timeline at the End of Time. He was killed by Loki and Sylvie, leaving the Timeline broken and the Multiverse untethered.
With the Timeline unguarded, chaos wreaked the multiverse in MCU 's Phase 4. While not yet mentioned in the films, it was because of He Who Remains' death that the events of Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: Far From Home happened as they did.
The rumor states that He Who Remains will appear in 2025's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, eons before his ascension to Keeper of the Sacred Timeline. He'll still be going by Nathaniel Richards, joining the Avengers in their battle against his evil variant Kang the Conqueror.
The prevailing theory on the two upcoming Avengers movies is that The Kang Dynasty will end with Kang victorious, not unlike Thanos' victory at the end of Infinity War in 2018. The 616 universe will be conquered and the heroes – a few of whom are already familiar with the multiverse – will turn to their alternate selves in various universes in Avengers: Secret Wars, set for release the year after Kang Dynasty.
If both of these rumors are true, Nathaniel Richards (the earlier version of He Who Remains) will guide the Avengers through the multiverse, gathering an army to battle Kang.
While these are just rumors, several MCU rumors over the years have been proven true – including the Quantum Realm's importance in Endgame, Spider-Man's variants appearing as past actors in No Way Home, and Steve Rogers eventually wielding Mjolnir – though even more have been proven false.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will release on February 17, 2023. Several questions will surely be answered after the anticipated movie, and Kang's role going forward may become a little bit clearer.