The trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania debuts Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, but is he the same as He Who Remains from Loki?
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumanias first trailer shows Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror and wonders if he’s the same as Majors’ He Who Remains from the Loki season 1 finale. Majors was confirmed to be appearing as Kang the Conqueror in 2020, before appearing in Loki if he remains. Given the multifaceted nature of stages 4, 5, and 6 of the MCU, as well as the characters both played by Majors, Kang and He Who Remains could be the source of some confusion among the public.
However, Kang the Conqueror as seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is not the same as He Who Remains, but is a multiverse variant of the latter. In LokiHe Who Remains was revealed as the head of the TVA, with his control over the Sacred Timeline, keeping the endless multiverses from colliding with each other. By doing this, He Who Remains blocked its more vicious multiverse variants from conquering the multiverse by keeping them separate. Ant Man 3 is expected to feature one of these variants, again played by Majors, this time with the more aptly named Kang the Conqueror.
What happened to Loki’s He Who Remains?
In terms of what happened to He Who Remains, the answer to that is vital to Kang’s appearance in AntMan 3. At the end of LokiSylvie, determined to kill the head of the TVA for destroying her timeline, killed He Who Remains. When neither Sylvie nor Loki took over the TVA, and with He Who Remains no longer alive, the Sacred Timeline began to split, creating the endless multiverse that will be explored further in the rest of the Multiverse Saga. Due to the death of He Who Remains, his more evil variant, Kang the Conqueror, is able to extend his conquest across the multiverse. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to explain how and why he is in the quantum realm and whether he is aware of He Who Remains and its other variants at all.
How many Kang variants are there in the MCU?
From Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, only two variants of Kang have been shown in the MCU so far. However, the Multiverse Saga can offer a difference from its main villain that Thanos and the Infinity Saga couldn’t. The nature of the multiverse, as well as the many variants of Kang in the multiverse that are said to compete for power, could mean that other variants will be introduced on both the good and bad sides of the fight. The first of these can be seen in Ant Man 3to be released early next year, with potentially many more.
From evil versions like Kang the Conqueror in Ant Man 3 to Immortus and Rama-Tut (suggested in Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight) for more benevolent creatures like He Who Remains and Iron Lad, Kang’s many variants can be explored in a myriad of projects in the upcoming MCU Phases 5 and 6. Projects like the upcoming Fantastic four Kang variant connections, as Nathaniel Richards (Iron Lad) is a distant relative of Reed Richards. Loki Season 2 will likely focus on the capture of Kang, as suggested by the finale scene, and may even have a different variant. Finally, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will likely benefit from the conqueror version of Kang shown in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
