One man, many variants
Kang is less a single character than a family of the same man spread across countless timelines. In the MCU he is a variant-heavy villain: different versions of him exist across the multiverse, and some are far more dangerous than others. The first one we meet calls himself He Who Remains, and he is the figure behind the Time Variance Authority in Loki.
The idea is simple to explain and fun to watch unfold. One version of this man discovered the multiverse, met other versions of himself, and war followed. Each variant thinks he knows best, and none of them trust each other.
His titles in order
- Loki (series, essential)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (film, essential)
Both are marked essential because they lay out the multiverse rules the Multiverse Saga started from. In Loki's second season Majors also plays Victor Timely, another variant, so the show contains more than one version of him.
Key turning points
Loki builds up to He Who Remains slowly. The TVA claims it protects a single sacred timeline, and Loki and Sylvie keep pulling at that claim until they reach the end of time itself. What they find there is a chatty, unsettling man who explains why the multiverse is kept in check. His choice in that scene opens the door to everything that follows.
Quantumania brings out a very different variant. Kang the Conqueror has been exiled in the Quantum Realm, and his history with Janet van Dyne becomes the film's central mystery. He is cold where He Who Remains is playful, and the movie uses him to show what a fully dangerous version looks like. Stay for the credits, which hint at how many more of him are out there.
Who he crosses paths with
On screen, Kang's story mostly runs through two groups. In the Loki series it is Loki, Sylvie, Mobius and the TVA staff. In Quantumania it is the Ant-Man family: Scott Lang, Hope, Hank Pym, Cassie and above all Janet, who knows him from her years trapped below. Our list of every MCU character has pages for all of them.
Jonathan Majors and the role
Jonathan Majors plays He Who Remains, Victor Timely and Kang the Conqueror, giving each a different voice and body language. Outside the MCU he is known for HBO's Lovecraft Country, The Last Black Man in San Francisco and playing Damian Anderson in Creed III.
There is a real-world twist fans should know about. Marvel parted ways with Majors after his legal case, and Kang's planned role in the saga changed. The next Avengers film was renamed Avengers: Doomsday, with Doctor Doom as the big threat. Loki and Quantumania still matter for the multiverse rules, but do not expect Kang to be the endgame villain any more.
What order to watch
Watch Loki first, starting with the first season, which ends with He Who Remains. Then watch Quantumania to meet Kang the Conqueror. If you want the full Victor Timely story, finish with Loki's second season, which came out after Quantumania and gives Timely a complete story.