Last Updated on March 6, 2023 by Dexter Roona
With the release of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, the latest big bad, Kang the Conqueror is big news. But what do we know about this new Marvel Movie villain? Here is the comic book origins story of Kang the Conqueror.
Kang the Conqueror is a well-known villain among fans in the Marvel Universe, with a very long and highly complicated back story. He is a Marvel villain who has appeared in many comic book storys, animated series, video games, streaming TV shows, and now he is the latest villain to hit the big screen from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But where did the new Big Bad, Kang the Conqueror come from and how did he become one of the most powerful and feared villains that we now see in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the comic book origins of Kang the Conqueror.
The Comic Book Origins Story of Kang the Conqueror
Kang the Conqueror was the inspired brainchild of writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and made his first appearance in The Avengers #8, comic book which was published back in September 1964.
In 64, the Avengers were a relatively new superhero team, having only been introduced in the previous year.
This fledgling version of the Avengers consisted of Thor the God of Thunder, Tony Starks Iron Man, Ant-Man, Wasp, and the Incredible Hulk (who would leave the team after issue #2).
In issue #8, the Avengers Kang is immediately established as a very powerful and dangerous villain, with advanced technology at hand and an army of highly trained soldiers backing him up.
He informs the newly formed Avengers that he has come from the future to conquer the present and that he has already conquered many other time periods.
Our heroes the Avengers are understandably skeptical, but Kang quickly proves that he is not to be underestimated.
One by one he defeats the Avengers using a mix of futuristic technology and old-fashioned tactics to outmatch and outsmart them at every turn.
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The Avengers do manage to regroup and formulate a plan to defeat Kang after discovering that his technology is powered by a rare mineral called “nuisanceite,” This new knowledge allows them to disable his weapons and defeat his soldiers.
Kang does manage to escape, but before he leaves he reveals that he is actually a time traveler from the 41st century and that unbelievably he is a descendant of Reed Richards who we know of course as Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four.
This bombshell revelation proves to be a major storyline in future arcs featuring Kang.
This early storyline cemented Kang as a complex and multi-layered villain, with ties to some of the most iconic heroes in the Marvel Universe.
Kang went on to become one of the Avengers’ most persistent enemies appearing in numerous storylines, often with different timeline variations of his origin and motivations.
In some stories, he was portrayed as a conqueror who sought to rule over all of time while in others, he was depicted as a tragic figure who was trying to prevent a future catastrophe.
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The Kang Dynasty
The “Kang Dynasty” arc, is one of Kangs most famous storylines which ran through several Avengers titles in 2001.
In this story arc, Kang travels back in time and conquers Earth during the time of the Egyptian pharaohs.
He attempts to reshape the earth to his liking and tries to erase any and all traces of the Avengers and their allies from history.
The Avengers are eventually able to stop Kang’s plan, but not before he unleashes a devastating attack on Earth that kills millions of humans.
The Kang Dynasty is a storyline that showcased Kang’s power and ruthlessness, as well as his complex relationship with the Avengers.
The Crossing
“The Crossing,” is another significant storyline featuring Kang which ran through several Avengers titles in 1995.
In “The Crossing,” Kang the Conqueror is revealed to have been replaced by a teenage version of himself from an alternate timeline with the twist being that this version of Kang is actually a member of the Young Avengers, a group of teenage superheroes from the future who had come back in time to prevent an alien invasion of Earth.
He poses as the original Kang and manipulates the Avengers into helping him but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the young Kang’s motives are not entirely pure.
In the end, it is revealed that the young Kang has been working with the villainous Immortus, a future version of Kang himself with the two villains plotting to merge all of time into a single, perfect timeline, with themselves as the rulers.
The Avengers, with the help of Iron Man and his allies, manage to stop Kang and Immortus, but not before some major changes to the Marvel Universe take place with Tony Stark’s appearance changing to a more futuristic design, and a new version of the character, known as Teen Tony, is introduced.
“The Crossing” was a controversial storyline that divided fans and critics alike
Some criticized the convoluted plot and character changes, while others appreciated the ambitious scope of the story. We loved it here at ActionFigureGeek.
