Since Kang made his debut into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans have been wondering whether or not he would make a worthy opponent against the infamous titan, Thanos. The question of which villain is stronger is a difficult one to answer and fans may never receive concrete evidence that proves their theories, depending on where the franchise is headed in the future. Perhaps Thanos will be making a return now that the timeline has been split wide open, but as of right now, there’s no indication that he’ll be coming back.
Instead, fans should be asking themselves who will be the better villain, not the stronger one, because Kang could outshine Thanos in more ways than one. Thanos took a backseat role for many years in the MCU because he preferred to have others do his dirty work for him. Loki, for example, caused the battle of New York in Avengers because Thanos ordered him to do so. Thanos also spent years training Gamora and Nebula to be skilled fighters, so that they could run his errands and kill in his name. Even when Thanos attacked Gamora’s planet in Avengers: Infinity War, there was no evidence of him doing any of the actual killing, because he was more interested in giving orders, watching his army cause bloodshed and trying to convince the young Gamora that he would be her new family.
RELATED: Did Thanos Have A More Nefarious Reason For The Snap?
It can be argued that Kang has done the same thing, hiding in his citadel beyond the end of time, while the TVA cleans up the multiverse messes as they all operate in secret. Now that the timeline has been destroyed, multiple Kang variants will be released throughout the universe. Even though Kang was invisible to the rest of the multiverse, he played an active part in scripting the events that occurred throughout the universe and manipulating the progression of time. Kang promised to return after the events of the Loki season 1 finale, so it’s safe to assume that he will be taking a much more hands-on approach in the future.
Thanos could only wipe out half of the universe, whereas Kang is in control of all of it- or was, until the moment that Sylvie killed him. There was just one Thanos, so he could only do so much in terms of causing problems for the Marvel heroes. There are multiple variants of Kang that have just been released into the multiverse, so the level of damage they can do is much greater. These variants will likely participate in other upcoming MCU films.
Before Infinity War and Endgame, Thanos only popped up for brief moments during post-credit scenes, but was never featured in any actual movies before the big showdown. Kang, however, has already proven himself to be an ever-present threat that will cause chaos in multiple areas of the MCU multiverse. A Kang variant will be in the 2023 film Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, but there are several other films scheduled to be released before Ant-Man 3 where Kang could also appear. These movies include Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The Loki season finale confirmed that all of the Kang variants are itching for a fight and it’s their release from imprisonment that will inevitably bring chaos to the multiverse. Therefore, it seems entirely plausible that the heroes will be fighting these Kang variants up close and personal in Doctor Strange 2 and Spider-Man 3. Spider-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2 are multiverse-focused projects that will require heroes from all parts of the universe to team up and put an end to the war between the timelines.
If Kang is going to show up in films after Doctor Strange 2 and Spider-Man 3, this could mean that the heroes are unsuccessful in their attempt to defeat his variants and restore balance to the universe. This is where Kang and Thanos differ, because the Avengers were able to defeat the bad guys Thanos sent to destroy them, winning multiple battles before they eventually had to face off against Thanos himself and win the war. It seems as if the heroes are going to have a rough time winning the fight against Kang during Phase 4, or perhaps they’ll have to beat him more than once, picking off all of the variants before it all comes down to final battle. In any case, Kang will be physically more present, which sets him apart from Thanos.
Getting on a more personal level with the heroes by fighting them more over and over again could make Kang a more compelling villain, because he’s doing everything himself, rather than watching from afar. The Loki finale implies that the version of Kang viewers have already met will be gone, while the other variants will be more direct in their approach to sieging the multiverse. The Kang variants have every intention of getting their hands dirty while they fight against themselves, and the Marvel heroes, for the ultimate power over the universe. Surely, this will make for more interesting action and raise the stakes in all upcoming Marvel projects.
MORE: Ryan Reynolds Offers Update On Deadpool 3 And Possible Filming Start
