Did Marvel Unintentionally Waste Everyone’s Time With Kang the Conqueror?

Comic-Con seemingly confirmed what fanboys across the globe were hoping — the Marvel Cinematic Universe is making a comeback. Despite a rough last few years, thanks to inconsistent movie quality, lower-than-usual box office returns, and the lack of a clear endgame, this week’s Hall H panel was Marvel’s most promising in a while. In addition to screening footage for Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts, studio head Kevin Feige announced Avengers: Doomsday (alongside the previously confirmed Secret Wars), with Robert Downey Jr. returning to the franchise as Doctor Doom.

Yet, as exciting as this all was, one can’t help but wonder if the last few years, which saw the studio building up the multiversal Kang as the Avengers’ next big foe, were rendered a waste of time. In all fairness, it’s hard to blame Marvel entirely, as they had no idea of the massive legal headache Kang actor Jonathan Majors would become. Still, entirely ditching the character and fundamentally changing the Multiverse Saga’s direction make the studio’s already frustrating last few years arguably an even greater annoyance, even if Doomsday rightfullyhas fans excited.

Marvel Didn’t Initially Plan for Kang

It’s easy to forget nowadays, thanks to his legal problems, but it’s hard to overstate how exciting Jonathan Majors’ rise was to witness even just 18 months ago. Coupled with breakout performances in indie films like The Last Black Man in San Francisco, TV shows like the underrated Lovecraft Country, and critical adoration, he seemed like a star in the making. And audiences weren’t the only ones who noticed.

Rumors claim Marvel executives were so impressed with Majors’ character, Kang the Conqueror, in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that they changed course for the future of the MCU. Phases Four, Five, and Six, collectively known as the “Multiverse Saga,” would now have Kang as the overarching villain. Considering Kang has always been a fan-favorite villain in the comics, this was initially an exciting prospect; Thanos was a tough act to follow, but a time traveler assisted by multiple variants of himself seemed a worthy successor. When Majors made a scene-stealing debut in Loki’s first season finale, the hopes that he’d be a great villain were seemingly vindicated.

Of course, everybody knows what happened next. Just over a month after Quantumania’s release, Majors was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. Weeks later, he was dropped by his agent and fired from numerous projects. Marvel (in)famously spent most of 2023 quiet about the situation, leaving onlookers concerned that they planned to keep Majors as if nothing had happened, especially when he appeared in Loki Season 2 later that year.

But in December, Majors’ trial concluded, and he was found guilty on two counts of assault and harassment. Within hours of the verdict, Marvel fired him. While many fans speculated whether Kang would simply be recast, their questions were answered when the fifth Avengers film, then known as The Kang Dynasty, was heavily reworked and, last week, renamed Avengers: Doomsday, with Doctor Doom as the franchise’s new big bad.

Was Kang Ultimately Pointless in the MCU?

While firing Jonathan Majors from the franchise was likely the right call, the studio’s decision to drop Kang completely does admittedly feel frustrating. Much of Marvel’s output post-Avengers: Endgame has been lacking a clear plan the way the Infinity Saga had. If the reports they hadn’t initially intended to make Kang the main villain for the Multiverse Saga are true, that seemingly vindicates that feeling. But at least Kang was an (ahem) endgame for the story arc, especially considering both seasons of Loki and all of Quantumania were entirely driven by his involvement.

Erasing Kang so abruptly also runs the risk of exacerbating fans’ fears of rushed storytelling, as Doctor Doom is set to debut in Avengers: Doomsday, and it’s possible his introduction could feel too abrupt this late in the Multiverse Saga. Thanos, in contrast, had a clear buildup since the first Avengers, along with brief appearances in post-credits scenes and the first Guardians of the Galaxy. On paper, Marvel’s easier choice on a story level was to recast Kang, especially since Marvel is no stranger to recasting (most notably with Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard and Harrison Ford filling in for Thunderbolt Ross after William Hurt died). Since Kang is a multiversal threat, it’d be easy for them to justify casting another actor in the role.

That said, considering how the MCU has utilized the character thus far, it’s not exactly like Kang would be missed. While his cameo in Loki was promising, all the buildup Kang got rendered his full debut in Quantumania extremely underwhelming. For an antagonist seemingly all-powerful, he didn’t seem that much more intimidating a presence than even Erik Killmonger, and he lacked the dark pathos that made Thanos such a compelling character. This is all before getting into how easily his Quantumania variant gets killed off or how quickly the Kang Council gets forced into the role of the Big Bad.

Additionally, since the Multiverse Saga is set to culminate with a film adaptation of Secret Wars, it doesn’t seem likely that the overarching storyline itself will change that drastically, and that’s helped by the fact that Doom plays a more significant role in that comic arc than Kang. Arguably, thanks to his countless cosmic-based plotlines, Doom is a more compelling multiversal threat than Kang ever was, so it very well may turn out that shifting to a more engaging villain may win back some of the fans alienated by Phases Four and Five.

Of course, Marvel couldn’t have foreseen how much of a liability Jonathan Majors would prove to be, just as most of the public had no idea. It’s not like the Multiverse Saga was proving to be the franchise at its peak even before he became a liability. Nonetheless, already frustrating films like Quantumania now feel even more pointless, considering they’ve built up to nothing of consequence.

However, considering Marvel’s rough few years, maybe moving forward to a more compelling villain is the shot of adrenaline they need. There is no Kang; there is only Doom. The MCU can be streamed on Disney+.