Kang Is Already A Better MCU Villain Than Thanos In 1 Major Way

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’s Kang the Conqueror is the MCU’s next Thanos, and the time traveler antagonist is already a better villain than the Mad Titan in at least one way. Following his introduction as He Who Remains in Loki season 1, Jonathan Majors will play Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and will then return for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Other Kang appearances in the MCU cannot be ruled out, especially in Loki season 2 and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Although Kang and Thanos are very different characters, with the former having a long history not only with the Avengers but also with The Fantastic Four, it cannot be denied that every Avengers villain after Thanos will be compared to the Mad Titan. The MCU cannot escape the Thanos and Avengers: Endgame comparisons thanks to a high bar set by the success of the Infinity Saga. That said, Marvel’s Multiverse Saga is setting up Kang the Conqueror to be an even better villain than Thanos at least in terms of buildup.

The MCU Didn’t Really Build Up To Thanos

Given how Thanos’ MCU debut happened six years before Avengers: Infinity War, it’s easy to conclude that the MCU built up to Thanos for half a decade. Also, considering that the Infinity Stones were teased since Captain America: The First Avenger, an argument could be made that the MCU was building up to Thanos for almost a decade. However, when it comes to Thanos as a character, the MCU did not build up to the arrival of the Mad Titan. Thanos appeared for a few seconds in The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron as well as a couple of minutes in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Marvel teased Thanos as a major villain that would eventually fight the Avengers. However, when it comes to screen time, Thanos was not developed prior to Infinity War. It was only in the third Avengers movie that audiences really got to know who Thanos was and what his true goals were. Infinity War opens with Thanos and the Black Order pretty much summarizing who the Mad Titan was and what he wanted, which proves how the MCU had not really built up to Thanos. The expectation was there, especially for those familiar with the Marvel comics, but that was very much it.

Kang Will Have Been Loki And Ant-Man & Wasp’s Villain Before Avengers 5

Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror sitting behind desk in Loki season 1 finale

Unlike Thanos, Kang is not only being teased but also developed before his eventual fight with the Avengers in The Kang Dynasty. Where Thanos only appeared in two MCU end-credits scenes and one brief moment in Guardians of the Galaxy, Jonathan Majors will have played Kang at least twice in significant roles before The Kang Dynasty. While He Who Remains only appeared in Loki season 1’s finale, the Kang variant was revealed to be behind all the events of the Loki series. He Who Remains explained his and Kang’s plans, thus making it a much better character introduction than Thanos ever had.

Kang will also get to be the main villain in a solo MCU movie before facing the Avengers, something that only Loki had done so far with Thor and The Avengers. Audiences will get a chance to follow Kang through an entire movie, Ant-Man 3, which will make Kang’s role in Avengers 5 even more exciting. Although Infinity War found the perfect balance between developing Thanos as a character and telling an Avengers story, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will not have to go through the same challenge as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to establish who Kang the Conqueror is.

Kang’s MCU Arc Is Shaping Up To Be Better Than Thanos’

The Infinity Stones set the narrative for the Infinity Saga, and it led to a sense of interconnectivity across the MCU’s first decade of movies that previous superhero films had never achieved. Still, Thanos’ pop culture impact comes mainly from Infinity War and Endgame, both of which treated the Avengers villain as the main character. Thanos was a very well-written villain, but his character arc was limited to two movies only. In fact, considering that Infinity War Thanos dies right at the beginning of Endgame, the more complex version of the Avengers villain really had one movie to shine.

Thanos returned in Endgame, yet it was the more simplistic version of the character. The "2014 Thanos" was still unsure about his crusade and was years away from key moments of his life such as Gamora’s death. Kang’s MCU arc, on the other hand, can be more extensive and consistent. Granted, Kang’s story can happen through multiple universes and timelines, but the overall Kang arc has already begun with Loki and will lead to The Kang Dynasty. Jonathan Majors will have played the main villain in at least two MCU stories before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with Kang having a bigger potential in the Multiverse Saga than Thanos in the Infinity Saga.

More: How Powerful Is Kang The Conqueror Compared To The Avengers