After months of speculation, contemplation, and consternation, we have the most credible piece of evidence yet of the direction Marvel plans to take with its next major villain in the MCU. Deadline reported on September 14th that Jonathan Majors (of Lovecraft Country fame) has been cast to play Kang the Conqueror in the next Ant-Man movie, currently without a firm release date.
By the time you read this blog, there likely isn't any actionable advice I can give you. Unless you like setting records for most money spent on a particular comic. By mid-day on September 14th, I was already seeing low-grade CGC copies of Kang's first appearance on eBay sell for $100 over fair market value. With that surely being only the beginning.
For a major Marvel villain, Kang has been percolating for some time on the MCU rumor mill. Now that it is a full-on boil, we should re-learn who Kang is. How does he fit into the Marvel universe?
The History of Kang
Perhaps more so than any other villain, Kang's backstory is a long and winding road. When you hear references to Nathaniel Richards, Rama-Tut, Kang, Immortus, or Iron Lad, they all at one point or another have been the same character.
Each of these has their respective keys. I will focus on speculation for the three most popular Kang origin issues in our industry.
Fantastic Four #19
The first appearance of Kang is actually a somewhat controversial topic, with three different issues staking their own claim as the "first" appearance of the Conqueror.
Fantastic Four #19 is the definitive first appearance (in comics) of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, AKA Nathaniel Richards. (You will learn there are going to be a lot of AKAs in this story). Richards is from the 30th century and traveled back in time to ancient Egypt after recreating a time machine. After getting stranded there, he was able to live as a pseudo-god due to his knowledge of things in the future.
The FF4 encounters him in Egypt after using Dr. Doom's time machine to go back and search for materials Nathaniel Richards brought from the future that could cure blindness. Our heroes become enslaved for a period of time but are eventually able to escape but can't bring back the blindness cure.
It's early Silver Age storytelling. Just go with it.
For a very early FF4 book (July 1963), this book had a very reasonable market value. In mid-September, you could even get a CGC 9.0 for about $1,200. The latest CGC 6.0 copy in our database sold in May for less than $500.
Since that time, however, prices have soared, as expected. The most extreme example I saw was a recent eBay sale of a CGC 8.0. Before news broke about Kang, FMV was $600, and this sale on September 14th was for $1,199. Raw copies graded VG are flying off of eBay shelves at around $200. The same book could be had for $100 or less in April.
Avengers #8
In the opening page of Avengers #8, the gang is summoned by the Pentagon to investigate a unique alien sighting. When they arrive, they are greeted by a cocky, purple-and-green clad super-species stating his name is Kang the Conqueror.
In between battles, Kang for some reason decides to tell the Avengers his backstory, which is that he is a time traveler who used to rule in ancient Egypt AKA Pharaoh Rama-Tut. When the Pharaoh finally rebuilt his time machine to prepare to return to the year 3,000, he overshot by 1,000 years. Somehow and ended up in the year 4,000.
The year 4,000 on earth is a desolate wasteland ruled by barbarians, so finding nothing of value there to conquer, Rama-Tut picks a random year from the 20th century to travel to, claiming he will be the supreme ruler of that century. Somehow he does not overshoot by a thousand years this time.
The Avengers battle and eventually banish Kang from the earth after some tedious conversations about acid-based solvent capsules. It is certainly not the last time we hear from Kang the Conqueror, though.
This issue ends up being quite a bit more expensive than Fantastic Four #19. The community has settled on this issue as the definitive first Kang appearance (and technically it is), and the price reflects it. Pre-MCU news, this book was trading at around $2,000 for a CGC 9.0 and $600 for a CGC 6.0 copy.
In the time since news broke, we have seen extreme price increases here as well. Exhibit A: a CGC 6.5 copy sold for $925 when there has only been one recorded sale in history over $600 before mid-September.
Avengers #10
In Avengers #10 we see a mysterious figure appear in a meeting between Baron Zemo and the Executioner. They quickly realize their mutual disdain for the Avengers and begin to plot against them. A series of events leads to the group kidnapping Rick Jones and the Avengers trying to locate them.
They eventually succeed, but as supervillains are often known to do, he manages to escape the clutches of the Avengers without as much as an explanation of who he is. That would be for the best because his story takes some strange turns over the years.
What happens next is a series of loopy, convoluted time-travel events where we learn that Nathaniel Richards is, in fact, Immortus, AKA Kang, but decided to return to ancient Egypt and take up the name of Rama-Tut again after amassing a vast kingdom across the universe.
Confused yet?
Over the years, Immortus would actually battle his future (past) self of Kang and fall on both sides of battles with the Avengers. He would later become a master of time travel and the realm of Limbo, becoming a pupil of the Time-Keepers.
In the history of Kang, Avengers #10 is a clear third place among these three books. The fact that they all feature various first appearances of Nathaniel Richards (AKA Rama-Tut, AKA Kang, AKA Immortus), makes it a key nonetheless.
This will be an interesting book to watch, as it is clearly the cheapest of these three early books. The latest sale of a CGC 9.0 in our database was in July when it sold for only $460. Did this book get a price bump after the Kang news? It looks like not so far. eBay lists one CBCS 7.0 copy sold in the three days following September 14th. So, this later iteration of Nathaniel Richards doesn't seem to be moving the needle.
Where Does Kang Fit In?
As has been discussed ad nauseam across the comic book blogosphere, when Scott Lang and Tony Stark introduced the concept of time travel in Avengers: Endgame, it unlocked a whole universe (and multiverse) of possibilities for the MCU.
It would be fitting then that a new Ant-Man movie would introduce a villain most closely associated with flying through time. Imagine how cool it would be to see Ant-Man back in ancient Egypt. Or exploring the backstory of Nathaniel Richards across millennia. For a detailed theory on how this might work, read this piece by Nicholas Raymond. Kang not only can expand the MCU's scope in time travel but also tie into Cassie Lang which would segue into the Young Avengers.
There are too many Kang storylines across the decades to pick where the MCU might go. In this case, an origin story ramping up the idea of time travel might just be the best thing they could do.
Are you excited about Kang? Let me know in the comments!
