1 Kang Variant Supports Major New Avengers Team Theory

WARNING: Spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

One Kang variant in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania supports a huge theory about a new Avengers team forming in the MCU. For a while, there’s been speculation that Marvel is slowly laying the groundwork for a specific Avengers group from Marvel Comics to come together. A development in Ant-Man’s third movie builds further evidence for their introduction to occur in the near future.

Through Quantumania’s two post-credits scenes, Marvel made some significant leaps and bounds in terms of its setup for the MCU’s future. The live-action debuts of four new Kang variants teases some challenging battles for the heroes of the MCU in Phase 5 and Phase 6. Three of these Kang variants – Rama-Tut, Immortus, and someone who could be the Scarlet Centurion – look to be among the foes the Avengers will face in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Interestingly, one variant in particular provides a possible hint at which Avengers characters will be on hand.

Rama-Tut vs. West Coast Avengers In Marvel Comics

Rama-Tut, the Kang variant dressed to look like an Egyptian pharaoh in Quantumania, boasts an interesting link to the West Coast Avengers and one MCU superhero, Moon Knight. Introduced in the pages of Fantastic Four, Rama-Tut represents an earlier point in Kang’s timeline. Looking to satisfy his need for power, a time-traveling Nathaniel Richards – prior to becoming Kang – settled down in ancient Egypt and became its pharaoh. As Rama-Tut, the character crossed paths with a multitude of superheroes. One of his most memorable storylines involved the West Coast Avengers, a branch of the Avengers based in Los Angeles.

After dying in a battle with Rama-Tut, a time-traveling Hawkeye was resurrected by Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon and the deity Moon Knight gets his powers from. Apparently, Khonshu despised Rama-Tut for masquerading as a god and wanted him deposed. To that end, Khonshu used Moon Knight to arrange for Hawkeye’s team to return to the present as long as Hawkeye and the West Coast Avengers beat Rama-Tut for him. It was this event that brought Moon Knight into the team’s orbit, thus opening the door for Moon Knight to become an official member.

Rama-Tut Makes Moon Knight Joining The Avengers More Likely

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By adding Rama-Tut to the MCU, Marvel quietly gave Moon Knight a reason to join the fray in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or perhaps a different MCU installment. In Moon Knight’s Disney+ show, an Ammit minion was seen wearing a jacket that bore the emblem of Rama-Tut. This served as an early tease of the villain existing in Moon Knight’s corner of the MCU, and thanks to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his presence has been confirmed. Not unlike his comic counterpart, it’s far from an implausibility that Rama-Tut has unknowingly incurred the wrath of Khonshu.

After all, it makes sense that Rama-Tut interfering with the timestream, becoming the ruler of Egypt and essentially stealing the worshippers of Khonshu would do much to enrage the god. If that were to happen, it’s possible that Khonshu would arrange for a temporary partnership between his champion and the Avengers. At the direction of Khonshu, he could either travel to the past himself or join the Avengers before they head off to fight Rama-Tut in ancient Egypt. Regardless of how he winds up in the fight, Moon Knight’s participation would give the Avengers a capable ally for the battle with the Council of Kangs in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Fighting Rama-Tut as an Avenger would provide a working explanation for where Moon Knight fits into Marvel’s wider plans for the Multiverse Saga. Though the show worked as a standalone project, Moon Knight could always return for other MCU installments. But outside of a potential Moon Knight season 2, there’s no obvious place for the character in the MCU’s future. He doesn’t appear to be on Marvel’s Thunderbolts team, nor is there any impression that Marvel intends to make a Midnight Suns movie yet. Instead, Marvel may be setting him to be on the next Avengers team, which would make it all the more likely that Marvel is building its own interpretation of the West Coast Avengers branch.

How The MCU Is Already Setting Up Hawkeye’s Avengers Team

The inclusion of Moon Knight in the MCU’s Rama-Tut story would add yet another building block to Marvel’s West Coast Avengers setup. Several of the pieces it needs for this team are already falling in place. In the comics, the principal characters in the West Coast Avengers comic are Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Moon Knight, U.S. Agent, Wonder Man, Hank Pym, Moon Knight, War Machine, White Vision, Tigra, and Scarlet Witch. To have a proper adaptation of the group, Marvel would need to have at least a few of these characters in the lineup. And by all indications, a few indeed will be available.

It's exactly who Marvel is focusing on in the Multiverse Saga that brings so much attention to the idea of the MCU using the West Coast Avengers. Coincidence or not, three major WCA members (Moon Knight, U.S. Agent, and White Vision) were introduced in Phase 4 alone, putting them all on the table for future MCU movies and shows. U.S. Agent is in Thunderbolts, but there’s nothing stopping him from holding membership on two different superhero teams. As for White Vision, he could follow in the footsteps of the comic character, who joined the West Coast Avengers while on his journey to self-discovery. A stint with the team could be where his Vision Quest story leads.

Additionally, a fourth pillar of the West Coast Avengers team – Wonder Man – has a Disney+ series in development. Given that his show is being helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of The Kang Dynasty, he has good chances of finding a spot on the roster. Not only that, but key WCA characters such as Hawkeye, War Machine, and Hank Pym are still relevant to the MCU and could be positioned for roles in the fight against Kang. Hank, for his part, already helped beat Kang once in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and could be recruited for the same job in the MCU’s future. And with the MCU introducing Rama-Tut, who could easily find himself targeted by Khonshu, there’s certainly room for Marvel to pull some of these heroes, plus Moon Knight, together for a West Coast Avengers team-up.

MORE: Quantumania's Post-Credits Secretly Connects Kang To Fantastic Four & Doom