Spoilers ahead for Kang the Conqueror #2!
Rama-Tut is the darkest of Kang’s many variants, and he could give the Marvel Cinematic Universe its own version of Darkseid. In Kang the Conqueror #2, on sale now in print and digital, a young Kang travels back to ancient Egypt and runs afoul of Rama-Tut, who possesses a weapon that saps free will—much like the Anti-Life Equation Darkseid covets.
Kang the Conqueror made his MCU debut in the Loki season finale “For All Time. Always,” played by Jonathan Majors and referred to as “The One Who Remains.” He will make his film debut as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, set to release next year. The character’s comic book history stretches back to the early years of the Marvel Universe and much like the MCU, he did not debut as Kang; instead, he first appeared as Rama-Tut in 1963’s Fantastic Four #19 and then a year later as Kang in The Avengers #8. Kang has had other variants through the years, including Immortus, the Scarlet Centurion, and Iron Lad. Ahead of his MCU debut, Marvel has released a new limited series exploring Kang’s life and his many variants, and in Kang the Conqueror #2, his darkest variant, Rama-Tut, takes the spotlight. The issue is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, art by Carlos Magno, colors by Espen Grundetjern, and letters by Joe Caramagna.
A young Kang, then going by his real name Nathaniel Richards, has traveled back to ancient Egypt, meeting Ravonna Renslayer. The two fall in love and share adventures together and, inspired by Ravonna’s fearlessness, Kang takes the alias of Iron Lad. Ravonna and Iron Lad’s time is cut short when they are apprehended by Rama-Tut. He uses the Ultra-Diode Ray, which drains a person of their free will, to enslave Ravonna before forcing Iron Lad into his service, turning him into the Scarlet Centurion. Rama-Tut then sends the newly christened Centurion to the front lines of his fight against Apocalypse, and he never sees Ravonna again.
The Anti-Life Equation strips a person of their free will, much like Rama-Tut’s Ultra Diode Ray. This device makes Rama-Tut into a truly horrifying villain as he uses it on Ravonna, forcing her into slavery. While the comic does not say if Tut used the Ray on Iron Lad or not, Tut forced him into slavery as well. As a result of his enslavement, much of the good that was present in Nathaniel Richards/Iron Lad was driven out, paving the way for variants such as Immortus, Scion…and Rama-Tut.
Darkseid, and particularly his henchman Desaad, have made careers out of torturing, breaking, and brainwashing their opponents, and Rama-Tut is no different. While it is not known if Rama-Tut, or any of Kang’s other variants, will appear in the MCU, his quest to break and enslave people could make him the MCU’s Darkseid. Kang the Conqueror has had many variants throughout his almost sixty hear history, and his darkest, Rama-Tut, is seeking to stomp out free will and resistance, much like Darkseid.