Kang has the potential to surpass Thanos as the most infamous villain in the MCU if he kills two beloved characters in Avengers 5. Having made his presence known in The Avengers back in 2012, Thanos was gradually revealed in Marvel’s Phase 1 and 2 slates until finally making his appearance in Avengers: Infinity War in 2018. Phase 4 hasn’t rushed to replace the Mad Titan, but Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror is clearly the front-runner right now.

Kang’s story began on Disney+ with Loki. The Time Variance Authority’s dark curtain was pulled back by Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief and Sylvie, revealing He Who Remains as the puppet master. One of Mr. Remains’s variants from the year 31 was able to crack the multiverse’s mysteries and meet parallel selves from other worlds. but while some of these alternates were merely curious scientists, others – particularly Kang the Conqueror – used their power to control and oppress rival realities.

Loki and Sylvie were able to remove the only barrier to the flood, even though He Who Remains was able to fix the timelines and remove Kang from play. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will introduce Kang, and if The Avengers 5 does happen in Phase 5 or beyond, the MCU’s Kang as the villain will be in prime position to terrorize Earth’s mightiest heroes. After a monumental introduction, Kang’s appearance in The Avengers 5 would be the best possible payoff. However, to become a major threat, Kang must first kill two MCU characters.

Thanos Isn’t Enough For Avengers 5’s Biggest MCU Villain

With Thanos, Kevin Feige set a very high standard for himself. As a result, half of all life in the entire MCU was wiped out by the first uber-villain, while he became a cultural icon on the outside. For the time being, MCU Phase 4 has focused on smaller villains, but there will be another overarching baddie in the future. The inevitable comparisons to Thanos will swarm like Wakandan warriors from Doctor Strange’s magic portal if and when such a villain emerges. A comparison to Thanos can only be avoided if Marvel Studios goes to such extremes that any hints of inferiority vanish.

A future Avengers 5 film must overcome Thanos’ ridiculously high expectations in order to succeed. Another reason why Avengers 5 hasn’t been officially announced yet. Kang the Conqueror is a Marvel character who is currently in the running for the title of Marvel’s most powerful villain.

However, even though Jonathan Majors’ performance was only a variation of Loki’s He Who Remains, his erratic and unhinged manner hinted at a more dangerous and unpredictable threat to Thanos. A live-action performance by Jonathan Majors, as efficacious as Josh Brolin’s CGI version of Thanos, adds a more human, demonstrable brand of evil to the MCU.

A New Infinity Saga Can Be Written If The Multiverse War Happens

Prior to anyone even realizing it, the MCU’s Infinity Saga had already begun to take shape. Prelude to Thanos becoming Loki’s benefactor in The Avengers: The Tesseract, the realization of Nick Fury’s ‘idea’ in Iron Man. Following Thor: The Dark World, the Infinity Express went into overdrive, with the Reality Stone, the Power Stone, HYDRA’s Mind Stone research, and the Time Stone in Doctor Strange all in action.

With a multiverse war, Marvel is doing the same thing it has done before, with the same disregard for nuances. After Scarlet Witch, Loki, and Sylvie unleashed Kang, Spider-Man: No Way Home teamed up with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to trample on the fabric of reality. You can bet that Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania will continue to twist the knife before Phase 4 ends. Phases 1-3 of the MCU relied on the running spine provided by the Infinity Stones; similarly, Phases 4-5 will rely on the breaking of the multiverse to build toward Kang as the multiverse villain in Avengers 5.

In terms of potential, the MCU multiverse war has more potential than Marvel’s celebrated Infinity Saga. It didn’t take Thanos long to realize that the universe he cared most about was just one. Considering the Purple One’s crimes in the context of a larger multiverse, that claim about “half of all life” seems like some politician-level stat massaging, which is not to minimize the devastation and death he caused.

It’s hard to imagine a villain worse than the Mad Titan, who wants to annihilate all of the universes. He could bring to Avengers 5 a catalog of of different universes, all ruled by a single omnipotent villain, like Kang the Conqueror. What if… Infinity ? Ultron already demonstrated how out of his depth Thanos would be against a multiversal opponent.

Shivers ran down spines when the MCU’s greatest heroes came together in Avengers: Endgame to take on Thanos. If you live in a country that does this kind of thing, some of the audience members may have even applauded. There are heroes from the MCU, X-Men, parallel Avenger variants, and even ALLIGATOR LOKI in a multiverse war against Kang. A wild conglomeration of disparate superhero franchises could easily devolve into an absolute mess, but the same could be said of Avengers: Endgame once upon a time…

Both Ant-Man and Loki Must Be Eliminated By Kang

Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, is clearly capable of riding the MCU train from Loki to The Avengers 5, with a brief stopover in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania along the way. However, Thanos’ rise to prominence in the MCU required more than just a flashy glove and years of foreshadowing. Before the snap even happened, Josh Brolin made a name for himself in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by murdering a slew of important characters.

As the Mad Titan’s first victims, Heimdall, Loki, and Vision all succumbed to him. It’s only a matter of time before Kang the Conqueror joins Titan’s maddest son in the ranks of MCU arch-villains. Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki immediately come to mind.

Scott Lang, who has been a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2015, will have been a superhero for nearly a decade when he faces Kang in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania.

Scott Lang is a greater threat to the Conqueror than any other Avenger without the surname Strange. Lang, remember, was the one who provided the means to defeat Thanos. With his knowledge of the quantum realm, Ant-Man may be able to perform a similar feat to that of He Who Remains in defeating Kang.

That Scott Lang will be perched atop his final insect in 2023 is a source of alarming comfort. Quantumania would get an emotional kick, as well as a wider MCU relevance that Ant-Previous Man’s two solo efforts lacked. As a recast, Cassie Lang prepares to assume her father’s mantle; the audience is already aware of this. No superhero has ever been killed by Thanos in his own film—especially one as beloved as Scott Lang—so why did he kill him? Before the events of The Avengers 5, there are few things that could make audiences hate Kang more.

The second victim of Kang the Conqueror’s Disney+ series should be Loki. Even though Thor was one of the first Avengers to predict Thanos’ arrival, the redeemed and loved-up God of Mischief Loki is the only MCU character aware of the threat Kang poses following the end of Loki season 1. Hiddleston and Majors will undoubtedly face off in Loki Season 2, cementing their status as destined foes squaring off across the multiverse.

That beautiful relationship with Mobius that Loki had with Sylvie made him an extremely relatable character. It would be devastating for Marvel’s audience if one of their heroes died trying to protect the multiverse from Kang, making the villain in Avengers 5 even more despised than Donna was in Moon Knight. Kang’s confrontation with Marvel’s best in The Avengers 5 becomes more than just a fight for the multiverse; it’s a personal vendetta for the blood of Ant-Man and Loki.