Who Are the Characters in the Credits Scene?

The following submit accommodates SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

“If you think I’m evil, well, just wait till you meet my Variants…”

Marvel’s Loki ended with that ominous line from Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains, the mysterious head of the Time Variance Authority. This lonely, eccentric, seemingly omnipotent man who lived in a citadel at the finish of time defined to Loki and his variant Sylvie that he was a scientist from the thirty first century who found the existence of alternate realities. Each one in all these divergent universes had their very own scientist from the thirty first century, and a lot of them had been hellbent on conquest. These numerous conquerors began a multiversal warfare, which He Who Remains finally gained.

To forestall future wars and variants, he (who stays) then created the “sacred timeline,” a singular universe protected and patrolled by the TVA to make sure that no new variants arose. When He Who Remains is discovered at the finish of Loki he warns that killing him will spark the return of the multiverse, and the return of extra variations of him — much more evil variants of the man recognized to comedian followers as Kang.

He Who Remains’ promise got here true in the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania post-credits scene. The remainder of the film has targeted on only one Kang (additionally performed by Majors), who was exiled to the microscopic universe generally known as the Quantum Realm by his variants. Over the course of Quantumania, this Kang reveals a couple of key particulars of his backstory: His variants from all through the multiverse have banded collectively, and in doing so have imperiled all of actuality. Only he can cease them — however at the finish of the movie Ant-Man and the Wasp defeat Kang. Which means the different Kangs are coming.

And then they present up — a whole bunch and a whole bunch of them — in the post-credits scene.

This “Council of Kangs” (or generally referred to in comics as the “Cross-Time Kangs”) comes straight out of Avengers comics; the picture above drawn by Marvel nice John Buscema initially appeared in June 1988’s The Avengers #292. In Marvel’s comics, as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, time journey doesn’t rewrite historical past the manner it does in, say, Back to the Future Part II, the place the Biff of the future provides his youthful self the Grays Sports Almanac, which results in an alternate current the place Biff guidelines over Hill Valley as a on line casino magnate.

Instead, whenever you alter the previous of the Marvel Universe, you create a wholly new divergent timeline. The previous timeline nonetheless exists and continues on its path, whereas a brand new timeline is created primarily based upon the change. And as a result of Kang the Conqueror has been touring by means of time for a very long time (sorry), he’s created many alternate realities — every with its personal variant of the authentic Kang. (In the scene we see Kangs who appear to be Jonathan Majors, and even a couple of that look radically completely different, together with one which seems to be an alien Kang.) And ultimately these multitudinous Kangs determine to work collectively. And that’s the group we see throughout Quantumania’s closing credit.

But this sequence additionally exhibits us a trio of extra Kang variants separate from the Council of Kangs, planning in some sort of separate antechamber. (Comics villains love an excellent antechamber; that’s the place all the evil schemes are hatched.) These three variants, all performed by Jonathan Majors, are clearly extra essential than the relaxation. Two of them are instantly recognizable from Marvel Comics; the third is a little bit of an ongoing thriller.

The first of the three is dressed in the fashion of an Egyptian pharaoh. This Kang variant is named Rama-Tut and he’s really the very first model of Kang that confirmed up in Marvel Comics. In 1963’s Fantastic Four #19, the FF journey again to the previous, and battle a despotic dictator named Rama-Tut, a fugitive from the far future who had traveled again in time and conquered historic Egypt. By the finish of the challenge, the Fantastic Four defeated Rama-Tut and ship him again [Christopher Lloyd voice] to the future.

When Kang the Conqueror debuted the following fall in the pages of The Avengers #8 that story retconned the two characters as the identical man at completely different factors in his life. This second story revealed that Kang was born in a utopian future in the thirty first century, the place all the pieces was stunning, excellent, and boring. Kang discovered a time machine and used it to return to historic Egypt and change into Rama-Tat. On his manner again to his personal time, his time machine malfunctioned and despatched him even farther into the future. Now he was in the forty first century, which was the reverse of the future the place he was born; this Earth was ravaged by an apocalyptic warfare. Rama-Tut settled in to his new residence, conquered the entire place, and took the title Kang.

In later comics, Kang would change into Rama-Tut once more, however for the functions of Quantumania and the MCU, that’s irrelevant. All you have to know proper now could be the Kang variant in the pharaoh outfit is a man who dominated over historic Egypt.

The second of those Kang variants seems a lot older than the different two and wears a really elaborate hat. That’s Immortus, one more model of Kang who has alternately helped and hounded completely different variations of the Avengers by means of the years. He debuted simply two points after Kang in The Avengers #10. Initially, he was handled as a completely separate character; one other dangerous man who might management time. Rather than struggle the heroes with know-how from the future (which was Kang’s gimmick), he would pluck figures out of the previous to struggle for him. So Immortus might ship Billy the Kid or Genghis Khan or whoever he felt wish to battle Captain America or Iron Man.

Later tales revealed Immortus was in truth one other model of Kang. His transformation into Immortus is extraordinarily sophisticated, unfold out throughout a long time of tales, and contains a number of retcons, however right here is the fundamental gist: After Kang spends untold ages conquering and combating, he ultimately involves see the futility of his actions. As an older man, he grows extra considerate and if no more benevolent, then at the least rather less aggressive in his actions. This variant ditches his Kang identification and adopts the title “Immortus.”

In some tales, Immortus appears to be actively aiding the Avengers. In others, he’s much more harmful than Kang. In a pair, Kang and Immortus really struggle one another. Essentially, Immortus has been touring by means of time so lengthy and seen a lot stuff, that he has elaborate (and infrequently inscrutable) grand plans for the timeline that solely he is aware of (and generally solely he understands). Whether serving to or harming the Avengers, it’s all the time to go well with his personal ends.

And then there’s Quantumania’s third Kang variant (nonetheless performed by Majors) who wears silver armor and seems to be youthful than the different two. He’s … to be completely trustworthy, I don’t know what variant of Kang that is alleged to be. In phrases of who that might be, there are actually solely two different important Kang variants from the comics. The first is named Scarlet Centurion, one more double of Kang (or, generally, Kang’s son) who enjoys touring by means of time and messing with the Avengers. The different is Iron Lad, and is a youthful model of Kang from earlier than he turned Rama-Tut. This variant decides he needs to be a hero, reasonably than a conqueror, and travels again in time to the current day Marvel Universe to begin his personal staff of Avengers.

(I do know, that is actually complicated.)

The third Kang variant in Quantumania’s post-credits may very well be both a type of guys — however he doesn’t actually appear to be both of them. As the title Scarlet Centurion suggests, the character all the time clothes in purple; this variant is in silver. And he’s younger like Iron Lad is in the comics, however as his title suggests, Iron Lad’s armor seems like Iron Man, and this variant’s armor doesn’t. So whoever he’s, Marvel’s retaining his identification a thriller for now.

These three Kangs agree that the heroes of Quantumania (and, by extension I suppose, the Avengers) must be stopped from meddling with the Kangs’ plans for the multiverse. Precisely what these plans could be aren’t actually made clear — all we recognized is the Kangs can be again, and that they intend to begin their very own dynasty all through the multiverse. One that would doubtlessly result in one other multiversal warfare — maybe even a secret one.