The MCU is setting up Kang the Conqueror for a massive role in the Multiverse Saga that will likely culminate in Avengers: Secret Wars. While Kang's rule over the multiverse has potentially already begun, the odds are strong that the time-traveling despot from the comics will continue to become the MCU's new Thanos for a brand new saga. Similarly, Kang will likely be the primary villain for both Avengers films coming in 2025.
As was revealed at Marvel's mega-panel at San Diego Comic-Con, MCU Phases 4-6 are considered the Multiverse Saga. Just as the first 3 phases were the Infinity Saga, this new saga will seemingly feature an overarching villain working behind the scenes before coming to full prominence during the concluding films. Having already been set up to become a major multiversal threat in Phase 4, Kang is perfectly positioned for such a role which would include Avengers: Secret Wars.
While the Secret Wars events of the comics saw the Beyonder and Doctor Doom as the villains who created their respective versions of Battleworld, it's doubtful that any villain other than Kang the Conqueror will serve that role in the MCU. By the end of the Multiverse Saga, Kang will have had multiple appearances in the MCU as he prepares to make his dynasty absolute. Here's how Marvel Studios is setting up Kang the Conqueror for a truly huge role in this new MCU saga.
Kang Is Now The MCU's Real Thanos Replacement
In the prior Infinity Saga, several of the MCU's films were naturally connected by the Infinity Stones and the major villain Thanos who wanted them all to wipe out half of all life in existence. Believing that this would save the universe from its own destruction, Thanos brutally achieved his goal in Avengers: Infinity War. However, thanks to the Avengers and time travel in Avengers: Endgame, the Mad Titan's actions were reversed, and he was ultimately defeated. However, this was after a decade of setup where the presence of Thanos was felt across the entire MCU from the very beginning in Phase 1. Aside from Loki (who ultimately became a hero), no other villain had as many appearances as Thanos did in the Infinity Saga.
Now, Kang is being set up for a similar trajectory in the new Multiverse Saga with multiple appearances and a strong underlying presence across various series and films. Thus far in the nearly concluded Phase 4, Kang the Conqueror (played by Jonathan Majors) has been freed and has taken over the Time Variance Authority thanks to the actions of Sylvie in Loki season 1. Debuting at the birth of a renewed multiversal freedom after the destruction of the Scared Timeline, it's assumed that Kang will be featured in Loki Season 2 as well.
Likewise, it's been confirmed that Kang will serve as a primary villain in Ant-Man in the Wasp: Quantumania, the first film in the MCU's Phase 5. Furthermore, Phase 6 will end the Multiverse Saga with 2 Avengers films, the first being Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, in 2025. Essentially, it's already confirmed that Kang will have at least one appearance in each phase of the Multiverse Saga, though he'll probably have more that have yet to be revealed. It's extremely unlikely that Kang's story will end with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Given all of this Thanos-level setup, Kang will likely be the primary antagonist for the saga's culminating film Avengers: Secret Wars, which will release only five months later.
Why Kang Is A Better Secret Wars Villain Than A New One
While 1984's original Secret Wars comics event saw the powerful Beyonder pulling heroes and villains from Earth to the realm known as Battleworld, the MCU's version will likely adapt the more multiverse-focused Secret Wars from 2015. In that story from Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribíc, the multiverse was destroyed via massive collisions of realities known as incursions (a concept already introduced in the MCU via Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). However, Doctor Doom managed to create a new realm of existence known as Battleworld, which was effectively a patchwork of realities where he was both god and emperor.
While Marvel Studios could certainly introduce Doctor Doom in the MCU (and probably will at some point), it's unlikely he'll be the main foe in Avengers: Secret Wars. Given all of the setup that will be seen in the next few years, it would be surprising if Kang the Conqueror wasn't the villain to create and/or oversee a Battleworld-type realm of his own (perhaps created by his actions in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty). Based on what's been seen already in Phase 4 and the recent reveals about where the MCU is headed, the odds are strong that Kang will be the Thanos-level villain who needs to be defeated in the culminating Avengers: Secret Wars.
