What Is The Council of Kangs? The MCU's New Villain Group Explained

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania!There is a new villain group in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as the Council of Kangs has joined the multiverse. Marvel Studios began teasing the prominent role that Kang the Conqueror would play in Loki season 1 once Jonathan Majors debuted as He Who Remains. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania marks Kang's return to the Multiverse Saga as this variant attempts to escape from the Quantum Realm after he was exiled there. The Phase 5 MCU movie directly confirms who put him there and why, but the full reveal of the Marvel villains is held until the end.

Kang the Conqueror's introduction in the Multiverse Saga immediately signaled to viewers with knowledge of the comics that more of him was coming. The ability of the MCU to introduce variants explains how the character keeps returning after He Who Remains died in Loki season 1 and Kang died in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Any questions about just how significant of a role Kang would play in the future were answered by the time the credits finished rolling. Multiple Kang variants debuted as Marvel Studios confirmed Kang will return, but here is what the Council of Kangs is and an explanation of the newest MCU villains.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's Post-Credits Scene Introduces The MCU's Council Of Kangs

Kang from Ant-Mana and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki

The Council of Kangs is briefly introduced in the first of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's post-credits scenes. The movie repeatedly teased the mysterious group that was responsible for exiling Kang the Conqueror to the Quantum Realm after he attempted to stop their multiverse plans. After mentioning that it was other versions of himself that were behind his exile, the post-credits scene is where the full group is shown. A coliseum-like stadium is shown that is filled with likely thousands of Kang variants from across the multiverse, while three of the variants are positioned to be in charge of the rest.

The leader of the Council of Kangs shown in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's post-credits looks to be Immortus, the blue-skinned, long-bearded variant. This Kang variant is often depicted as the best version of the multiversal villain, as he has a master plan filled with manipulation to ensure that he is the one left in charge at the end of time. Immortus is joined by Rama-Tut (an ancient Egyptian pharaoh version of Kang) and possibly Scarlet Centurion (a heavily-armored and technologically advanced version of Kang). Immortus has called all Kang variants to this meeting of the Council of Kangs to discuss fighting the Avengers before they interfere with their plans.

The Council Of Kangs In The Marvel Comics & Biggest Differences Explained

Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) and the Council of Kangs (comics)

The Council of Kangs has been part of Marvel Comics since 1986 when the group first appeared in Avengers #267. They are led by a version of Kang known as Prime Kang and were created with the goal in mind of eliminating all inferior or divergent versions of themselves. This was all done as part of Immortus' ultimate goal of making sure he was the future that Prime Kang would grow into. The Council of Kangs is filled with variants of Kang Prime hand-selected to help him kill the divergent Kangs and take over their multiversal empires. The trick is that Immortus is working in secret to pit the Kangs against each other.

The biggest difference with the MCU's Council of Kangs villain team appears to be who is in charge. Immortus is not leading the group in secret, as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's post-credits establish him as the leader of the council. There is also the surprise that comes with Prime Kang seemingly not being part of the Council of Kangs. This is a noticeable shift for the Kang variants, as it takes away some of the power struggles at the top. However, the MCU could do this to set up a future twist where one of the other Kang variants is revealed to be the master manipulator.

The MCU has also slightly altered the Council of Kangs' motives. While Immortus still wants to defeat any Kangs who stand in his way, like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's Kang the Conqueror, it does not appear that he is orchestrating a multiversal war between the Kangs. That motive was instead given to He Who Remains in Loki, which is why some theories suggested he was Immortus. Instead, the Council of Kangs appears driven to keep its multiverse dominance.

Will The Council Of Kangs Be The Main Villain Of Avengers 5: Kang Dynasty?

Now that the MCU has established what is the Council of Kangs, they could be the main villain of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Marvel Studios signaled the prominent role that Kang would play in Avengers 5 with the title reveal, but it was previously thought that the same Kang the Conqueror variant from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would be the main villain. His presumed death in the finale means that will not be the case. The Council of Kangs should be Avengers: The Kang Dynasty's villain then, as the movie can center around the legion of Kang variants going on the attack against Phase 6's Avengers.

The Council of Kangs being the villains of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty creates a huge threat that Marvel Studios will likely scale down in some form. Since Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's post-credits scene primarily focused on Immortus, Rama-Tut, and Scarlet Centurion versions of Kang, these three variants could be the real threats in Avengers 5. Having the Phase 6 Avengers team fight thousands of Kangs would be unfair, but three of them are more manageable. That could mean Avengers: The Kang Dynasty sees all three Council of Kangs leaders attack the Earth-616 timeline, but they could also threaten other universes too.

When The Council Of Kangs Could Return In The MCU

Loki Season 2 Story Quantumania Setup Kang

The Council of Kangs will return in the MCU after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, so the big question is when and where this will happen. One of the safer and more immediate bets is Loki season 2. It is now confirmed that the Kang variant Victor Timely is a key part of Loki season 2's story after Loki and Mobius were shown watching him in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's second post-credits scene. Victor Timely critically was not confirmed to be part of the Council of Kangs, meaning he could be a rogue from the group or a variant that still needs to be recruited to the cause.

There are a few other MCU Phase 5 and 6 movies that the Council of Kangs could return in. Deadpool 3 is known to have some multiverse connections thanks to Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. It is quite possible that the film will make Fox's X-Men movies a branched timeline of the MCU, one where a Kang variant could inhabit and becomes aware of the threat Deadpool poses to their plan. The MCU could also use the Council of Kangs again in Fantastic 4. Marvel secretly teased Kang's connection to Reed Richards in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, so the Fantastic Four should be on the Council's radar.

Beyond the three MCU projects mentioned above, the Council of Kangs returning in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars is all but guaranteed. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's tease of the MCU villains is too big not to have a massive impact on the future. Since the movie kicked off Phase 5 and put plenty of storylines into motion for the Multiverse Saga, the Council of Kangs should be among the most important pieces of lore introduced in the lead-up to the two-part Avengers epic.

More: Everything We Know About Ant-Man 4 & Scott Lang's MCU Future