Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania reveals why Kang the Conqueror was exiled to the MCU’s Quantum Realm and who sent him there. Existing as one among several variants in the vast multiverse that has opened up, Kang the Conqueror was properly introduced in Peyton Reed’s new Ant-Man film after being teased in Marvel Studios’ Loki season 1 on Disney+, where Jonathan Majors debuted as He Who Remains. In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, MCU audiences finally get more insight into this time-traveling despot and his primary rivals.
In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it’s revealed that Janet van Dyne and Kang have a history together back when they were both stranded in the MCU’s Quantum Realm. Although she helped Kang rebuild his multiverse-traveling ship without knowing his true motivations, Janet stole its energy core to ensure Kang would never be able to leave after discovering his dark past. As Quantumania continues, Kang confirms he was exiled to the Quantum Realm by none other than himself – variants of Kang whom the film’s Conqueror claims feared him and chose to imprison him in the subatomic universe outside of time and space.
The Council Of Kangs Exiled Kang To The Quantum Realm
Kang the Conqueror explains to Janet van Dyne that his other variants exiled him to the Quantum Realm due to his attempts to eradicate them. Essentially, his mission was to become the only Kang in the multiverse – under the pretense of saving the multiverse from his other selves – a version he will forge himself as he sees fit. However, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s end-credits scene confirms that the Council of Kangs did indeed unite against him, and presumably any rogue Kangs just like him, despite seeming to be a corrupt group of villains themselves.
Led by a trio of powerful Kang variants, including Immortus, the Egyptian Pharaoh Rama-Tut, and a version of the Scarlet Centurion, the Council of Kangs consists of a veritable army of conquerors. Kang’s multitude of variants had been brought together in response to “the exiled one” being defeated in the Quantum Realm by Ant-Man, the Wasp, and Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie, now portrayed by Kathryn Newton, who reveals a suit of her own in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. As such, there appear to be thousands of different Kang variants, making them a sizable threat that will likely play a major role in Phase 6’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Why Was Kang Exiled To The Quantum Realm?
With Kang having used his powers to destroy countless worlds and entire timelines in an effort to erase his variants from existence, it makes sense that the Council of Kangs would want this particular version sent to the Quantum Realm. It’s the one place where he could no longer affect time and space or harm them. Likewise, the exiled Kang the Conqueror is not unlike He Who Remains from Loki, another, perhaps more peaceful, variant of Kang. He Who Remains managed to create the self-contained “Sacred Timeline”, effectively stopping any more Kang variants from appearing before his demise at the hands of Sylvie unraveled it.
However, the multiverse has now been reopened and Kang’s many variants have been unleashed on the MCU, coming together as a formidable and perhaps unstoppable force in the form of the Council of Kangs. Both He Who Remains and Kang the Conqueror have provided warnings of the destruction their variants can cause – a point which is highlighted at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as Scott Lang is left with an impending sense of dread. It seems that, despite his exile, Kang the Conqueror might not actually be the greatest threat facing the MCU’s future.
How Kang Can Escape The Quantum Realm (Despite His Death)
Speaking to The Wrap in February 2023, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania director Peyton Reed suggested that Kang the Conqueror might not actually be dead after being thrust into his exploding multiversal power core. He mentions how the audience sees “Scott Lang struggling with that question” and notes that the “no body, no certainty” rule might be in effect – Kang’s dead body wasn’t actually seen, so there’s always a chance he could return. Some theories suggest Kang the Conqueror has been dragged into the Probability Storm seen during Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which would perhaps allow him to return in a future MCU project.
