Warning! Spoilers for Kang The Conqueror #1 below
Marvel just revealed Kang the Conqueror's ultimate failure - as he watched his one true love, Ravonna Renslayer, die in his arms. In Kang the Conqueror #1 by Marvel Comics, Kang takes his past self to the moment Ravonna was killed, admitting the shocking moment was the greatest failure of his life. Kang even gets quite emotional just revisiting the tragic moment.
Marvel Comics' new Kang the Conqueror series explores the time-traveling villain's origin and backstory like never before. In the debut issue, Kang went to the 30th Century to grab the past version of himself from the time stream to train him to become a conqueror. Kang the Conqueror's new series comes on the heels of the character's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - where Jonathan Majors played a variant of Kang in Loki on Disney+. Meanwhile, Gugu Mbatha-Raw played Ravonna Renslayer, who is Kang's partner in the comics. However, in the new comic, Kang's greatest failure is letting Ravonna die.
In Kang the Conqueror #1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Carlos Magno, Espen Grundetjern, and VC's Joe Caramagna, Kang teaches time-displaced Nathaniel Richards the rules of time travel, how to shoot, and how to kill. He even takes him to some of his greatest defeats as Nathaniel watches the Avengers take him down. But, when Kang shows him the death of Ravonna Resnlayer, Richards sees a side to his future self he didn't know existed. Kang drunkenly watches Ravonna die and proceeds to stay silent for days, only muttering the name "Ravonna."
Kang admits to Nathaniel that the moment was his ultimate failure and calls out his younger self for seeing him as weak. However, before Nathaniel can even respond to Kang, the villain tells him there's one vital lesson he should have learned from seeing the encounter: never love. Ravonna was Kang's greatest love, and he wants to make sure his younger self isn't impacted so hard by losing someone close to him. Sadly, when Nathaniel later falls in love in the issue, Kang destroys all signs of life - leading Richards to leave his old self in the past as an asteroid is about to wipe out the dinosaurs.
Ultimately, Kang's ultimate failure leads him to force Nathaniel never to love. He goes full supervillain when that doesn't happen and kills everyone connected with the young woman Nathaniel admires. Even many years after losing Ravonna Renslayer, the main Kang the Conqueror still isn't over not saving her - it's hung heavy over his life. Kang the Conqueror #1 is in comic book stores now.