NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
Marvel introduced the new villain for Phase 5, Kang the Conqueror in Season 1 of Loki but we were ready to see who he really was in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, well, at least that’s what we thought. In Loki, Kang was more of a schemer of sorts. Think Thanos giving a lecture on a college campus. But with Ant-Man, I was expecting something more. I wanted to see the variant who wanted nothing but to destroy everything around him. Instead, we got the Bruce Banner/Tony Stark/Ultron that we saw in Avengers 2: Age of Ultron.
I guess it all makes sense since the Ant-Man cast is more science than warriors. There was no need to throw a Thanos-type villain in a movie where the main hero is not known for fighting. While Ant-Man is indeed an Avenger, he’s on a different level than Hulk, Captain America, or even Thor. Scott Lang is not the guy you call to help you win a fight in a German Airport unless you really have to make that call.
From the trailers leading up to the movie’s release, you would expect a darker tone than the first two in the series. Truth be told, it never got to that. Kang did have his moments where he showed dominance but he also had those moments where you could see he was not up for the violence. He wanted to leave the Quantum Realm, not start a true war down there.
Which Kang Variant Is In Ant-Man
As Janet explained to her husband and daughter, the Kang she met was a brilliant scientist. Although she would see into his mind, she did see a version of him that was violent, however, viewers were robbed of that. For a good 5 minutes or so, we saw what Kang could do as he had no problem taking out people but as quickly as that came, it was gone. What makes this version of Kang so weak was that he was not stopped by any hero, instead, it was an army of ants that did the dirty work. Do you really think that Thanos would let experimental ants ruin his plans for global domination?
Then there was the epic battle between Kang and Ant-Man. For a man that was just shooting lasers from his hands, he had a hard time beating Scott in a hand-to-hand fight. Where was that evil Kang we just saw 5 minutes ago on the bridge before the ants took him out?
As upset as I was, I did have to remind myself that there are other variants of Kang the Conqueror out there in the Multiverse. As he stated in his fight with Ant-Man, he has killed many Avengers before. I find that hard to believe. It couldn’t have been this variant that did the killing. It had to be another variant.
But that’s also not to say that this variant won’t or can’t kill. We did learn that many lost their lives but was it at the hands of Kang or his henchmen? What I can do is applaud Marvel for the way the storyline is looking to take form. Maybe Quantumania was not the right movie to introduce him. To see him in Loki made sense as it showcased his ability to use timelines. In Ant-Man, all we really learned about him was that he was exiled by unknown forces. Hell, we could have gotten that information from Loki.
Then comes the finale montage of the movie and Scott remembers something Kang said to him. He said that something bad was coming and that everyone will die if he doesn’t leave the Quantum Realm. So, a good reference was made there as we look at the different variants of Kang. This version wanted revenge on the people who sent him to the Realm. Maybe his beef is not with the Avengers or anyone else but the ones who exiled him. He just wants to get out by any means necessary to win the war.
Then you take into account the ever-so-popular Marvel end-credit scenes and there were two good ones at the end of the movie. One will be showcased in Season 2 of Loki but it was the other credit scene that should have fans excited. We know there is more than one Kang. And while this one appeared to be mild-tempered, the ones that are coming next won’t be so gentle with the rest of the universe. So, maybe they did get it right after all.
