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Kang the Conqueror

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Kang the Conqueror
File:Avengers 129.jpg
Cover of Avengers #129 (Nov. 1974), featuring Kang the Conqueror battling the Avengers.
Art by Sal Buscema.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceas Rama-Tut:
Fantastic Four #19 (Oct. 1963)
as Kang:
Avengers #8 (Sep. 1964)
Created byStan Lee
Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter egoNathaniel Richards
Team affiliationsCouncil of Kangs
Cross-Time Kangs
Notable aliasesIron Lad, Rama-Tut, Victor Timely, Scarlet Centurion, Immortus
AbilitiesGenius-level intellect
Master tactician and strategist
Skilled armed/unarmed combatant
Access to advanced technology
Slowed aging

Kang the Conqueror is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Avengers #8 (Sep. 1964), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. In 2009, Kang was ranked as IGN's 65th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

Fictional character biography

Nathaniel Richards was a scholar born in the 30th century of an alternate, more advanced timeline of Earth-616. Bored with the perfection of his society, Richards became fascinated with history and discovered the time travel technology created by one of his ancestors, Victor Von Doom.[1] Richards then traveled back in time to ancient Egypt c. 2950 B.C., in a Sphinx-shaped timeship, and became the Pharaoh Rama-Tut, with intentions of claiming En Sabah Nur — the mutant destined to become Apocalypse — as his heir.[2] He was briefly blinded in a crash, but a radioactive herb restores his sight after he scares the natives by firing his ray-gun. Richards's rule lasts until being driven off after a defeat at the hands of the time-displaced heroes of the 20th century, the Fantastic Four, who had travelled back in time after seeing a record of a cure for blidness, which they hope to get for Alicia, (with some help from a time-traveling Doctor Strange[3] and Khonshu[4]). The Fantastic Four are placed under mind-control by Kang's Ultra-Diode Ray, but Doctor Strange turns the Thing back freeing him from its control; he frees the Invisible Woman, who helps free the other members, and Richards escapes into time.[5] He returns to rule, and encounters the time-traveling West Coast Avengers.[6]

Embittered by this defeat, he travels forward to the 20th century of an alternate timeline due to temporal disturbances, being Earth-689, and meets his ancestor Doctor Doom, first encountering him adrift in outer space near Jupiter and returning him to Earth as though he fears him he cannot bring himself to strike down a man who had caused such trouble for the Fantastic Four. They suggest they might be the same being, but at different points in time, so will not attack the Fantastic Four together, as they claim if one is defeated, the other will be unable to exist.[7] Richards then tries to return to the year 3000, but accidentally lands in 4000 due to an electrical fault. This world is inhabitated by warring factions that do not understand the technology created by their more advanced ancestors. Kang designs armor for himself based on Doom's using 40th century technology, and calling himself the Scarlet Centurion manipulates the Avengers from this timeline — the original team — into apprehending all heroes and villains after their defeat of the Space Phantom. The Centurion then transports the Avengers from the mainstream Marvel universe (Earth-616) into the timeline while they were time-travelling, hoping that they will defeat their Earth-689 equivalents, and can then be disposed of. While the mainstream versions do defeat their counterparts, they are also able to force the Centurion from the timeline, where he battles the Squadron Supreme on an alternate Earth.[8] The Centurion then travels back to his home century, and reinvents himself as Kang the Conqueror and, using the resources at his disposal, establishes an empire. However this world is dying, so he decides to take over an earlier, more fertile Earth, and decides to take over the Earth of Doctor Doom.

On Kang's first foray into the 20th century where he expects to meet Doctor Doom, his attempt to conquer this time period is thwarted by the superhero team the Avengers, though he traps them in the ship using a tractor beam the Teen brigade frees them, and Giant-Man uses a weapon that wrecks his battlesuit, and his missiles. Kang releases radiation that beings from the year 4000 are immune to, but Thor uses his hammer to absorb the rays and send them back at Kang, after which he is forced to escape to another time.[9] Kang is furious and swears vengeance, and battles the Avengers to a stalemate, using a Spider-Man robot while Iron Man is briefly away from the Avengers, in a Temple with a nerve gas to weaken them after the robot lures them there by claiming the Masters of Evil have kidnapped Iron Man and taken him to the temple, but the real Spider-Man destroys the robot.[10] He returns, attempting to win the hand of Princess Ravonna of a puppet kingdom, by demonstrating his power to her father by battling the Avengers, who he kidnaps using a time machine he disguises as part of their mansion. Later after one of his commanders rebels he frees the Avengers to fight with him. However, Ravonna is mortally wounded by one of Kang's commanders Baltrog, who had rebelled against him, but is killed after shooting Ravonna when she lept in front of the blast meant for Kang.[11] Kang was unable to revive her, so kept her body in statis. Later he came from the 25th century and attempted to take over King Arthur's Court and change history by attacking the rest of the world, but Uatu the Watcher sent the Human Torch and Thing back in time, and they defeated him, forcing him to flee.[12] After an encounter with the Thunder God Thor utilizing his Growing Man that caused Kang to be hurled into Limbo,[13] Kang returns and enters into a wager with the cosmic entity Grandmaster in hopes of restoring life to Ravonna, and uses the Avengers as his pawns against the Grandmaster's newly created champions, the Squadron Sinister.[14] This also ends in a stalemate thanks to the intervention of the Black Knight; Kang unable to gain the power of life and death as he had wished - to save Ravonna and defeat the Avengers - so he requested the power of death to kill the Avengers, but since the Black Knight was not a member of the Avengers, he was able to defeat Kang.[volume & issue needed] Kang later has a brief encounter with the Hulk, who he utilizes in a scheme to change Earth during World War I, as he is unable to enter 1917 due to a time-storm. Kang attempts to trick the Hulk into killing his own ancestor by stopping the Phantom Eagle destroying a cannon that was about to attack the Allies—and thus potentially negate the formation of the Avengers. The Hulk stops the Eagle, but accidently destroys the cannon himself, and when Kang tries to keep the Hulk in 1917, he is hurled into the 'limbo between the millenium.'[15] Later he tries to capture the Avengers once more. This scheme is foiled by Spider-Man, the Human Torch, and the Inhumans.[16]

Several months later Kang reappears, seeking the Celestial Madonna for a mate, whom he believes is on Earth. The discovery that it is the Avenger Mantis leads to another confrontation with the Avengers. The Avengers are aided by a futuristic version of Rama-Tut, who had returned to ancient Egypt in his old age and ruled for ten years, and then placed himself in suspended animation to revive in the 20th Century. This Rama-Tut has abandoned his identity as Kang and seeks to counsel and change his younger, conquering self. While Kang is foiled in his quest for the Celestial Madonna, Rama-Tut is unable to prevent the accidental death of the Avenger the Swordsman.[17] As Kang escapes, the Avenger Hawkeye chooses to pursue him (courtesy of Doom's time-travel machine), which results in a final battle in the Old West in 1871. Aided by the futuristic Rama-Tut once more — who has evolved after a journey to Limbo and a study of time into Immortus[18] — Hawkeye, Thor, and ally Moondragon confront Kang, with the help of the Two-Gun Kid. In trying to defeat Thor, Kang draws on an excessive amount of energy and destroys himself.[19]

Resurrection

Years later the Hulk has an encounter in the future with Kang's still devoted minions,[20] and the Beyonder plucks a living Kang from his timeline to participate on the villains' side in the first of the Secret Wars.[21] He was revealed as a possible descendant of Nathaniel Richards from the 31st Century of an alterrenate Earth.[22] It was then revealed that while the original Kang was dead, his constant time-traveling had caused the creation of a number of other flawed "Kangs", and so the three stable versions of the villain form a council to eliminate the others and stop a proliferation of still more of their number from Limbo. The first Kang to reach Limbo had been drawn there after his Time-Ship was damaged by Thor's hammer when he tried to escape to his own era with the Growing Man. He realized his creation of alternate realities after he took Ravonna from the moment before her death, and then saw he had created an alternate reality in which he was slain. He destroys thousands of Kangs from many realitites, with two other cunning divergents who with him form the Council of Kangs, though he is really plotting to destroy them. The Avengers are drawn into the conflict by Kang trying to use them to destroy another Kang, and once again with the help of Immortus triumph. Immortus reveals he was behind these events and caused the temporal difficulties that sent Kang into the 20th and 41st Century. Now most of the Kangs have been destroyed, with only one "Prime" Kang remaining, who falls into nothingness in Limbo after being driven insane while trying to absorb the memories of the Kangs that were destroyed. Immortus then sent the Avengers back to their own timeline.[23]

Another Kang was later revealed to have survived, and is invited to join the Crosstime Kang Corps (or, the "Council of Cross-Time Kangs"), which consists of a group of various aliens posing as Kang, searching for a Celestial "Ultimate Weapon". This version of Kang calls himself "Fred" (by his own admission a humorous nod to Fred Flintstone, with a prehistoric name being appropriate for a time-traveler) and has a brief encounter with the Avengers while trying to stop the female space-pirate Nebula from interfering with a timeline.[24] The Prime Kang then attempts to manipulate the Avengers from a time vortex [25] and later encounters the Fantastic Four in a bid to capture Mantis and use her to defeat a Celestial and defeat the other Kangs,[26] while "Fred" is incinerated by a Nebula-possessed Human Torch during a later battle with the Fantastic Four in the timestream.[27]

File:Avengers8.jpg
Kang first battles the Avengers on the cover of Avengers #8 (Sep. 1964). Art by Jack Kirby.

Immortus reappears and reveals in a battle with the Avengers West Coast that he desires to be master of all time and plans to use the Avenger the Scarlet Witch as a nexus in order to control time. Immortus' plan is foiled when a group of beings called the Time Keepers — who charged Immortus with responsibility for the period of time from 3000 BC to 4000 AD — appear and use him as the nexus point to stabilize the damage done to the timestream by his interference.[28] Prime Kang then makes a brief appearance as an ally of Dr. Doom when the latter tries to steal the Infinity Gems.[29]

New Empire

The Prime Kang then appears and takes the android Avenger the Vision prisoner, and battles both the Avengers and a new foe — Terminatrix — who is revealed to be Kang's old lover Ravonna. Kang is critically injured when he intercepts a blow from Thor's hammer Mjolnir that was meant for Ravonna, who is distraught over his sacrifice and teleports away with him.[30] Terminatrix then places Prime Kang in stasis to heal and assumes control of his empire. However, she finds the empire under attack by a chronal being called Alioth, and is forced to summon the Avengers to assist. Terminatrix also revives Kang, who assists the Avengers in defeating Alioth, but not before allowing the entity to kill the entire Crosstime Kang Corps.[31]

A recovered Prime Kang later aids the Avengers and their companion Rick Jones against another scheme implemented by his future self, Immortus, who is now allied with the Time Keepers. When Immortus betrays the Time Keepers they kill him, and are in turn killed by Kang, though not before resurrecting Immortus by "splitting him off" from Kang. This then allows Kang to be free of Immortus as he has now fulfilled his destiny of becoming Immortus without being trapped by it.[32] After some months Prime Kang embarks on an ambitious scheme (the Kang War) to conquer the Earth, this time aided by a son, Marcus, who now uses the alias of the Scarlet Centurion. Kang first promises any who aid him on Earth a place in his new order, which puts Earth's defenses and the Avengers under strain as they fight off villain after villain. Kang then takes control of Earth's defense system, and after destroying the city of Washington and killing millions, forces a surrender. The Avengers continue to battle the forces of Kang's new empire, and eventually he is defeated by Captain America in personal combat. Although imprisoned, Kang is freed by his son Marcus, who is revealed to be only one of a series of clones. Kang then reveals that he is aware of Marcus' betrayal (Marcus fell in love with and aided the Avenger Warbird in defeating the Master of the World, thus indirectly aiding in his father's defeat as control of the Master's technology allowed the Avengers to defeat Kang) and kills him before retreating from Earth.[33]

Some time later, the hero Iron Lad is revealed to be an adolescent version of Kang who learned of his future history when Kang tried to prevent a childhood hospitalization. Attempting to escape his destiny, the young Kang stole his future self's advanced armor and travelled back to the past, forming the Young Avengers based on a security protocol acquired from the databanks of the now-dead Vision when he was unable to contact the now-disassembled Avengers to help him stop Kang. However, when his attempt to reject his destiny results in him killing Kang, the resulting destruction caused by the changes in history forces Iron Lad to return to his time and undo the damage by becoming Kang.[34]

Kang established a small, quiet town called Timely in northern Illinois around 1910, as a private retreat from the daily stresses of the Empire, where he occasionally resides as mayor Victor Timely.[volume & issue needed] It was during one of his vacation times that he took an interest in a young visiting college graduate named Phineas Horton, providing Horton with some insights during their talks which led him to eventually create the original Human Torch.[volume & issue needed]

Realm of Kings

Kang came to assist the Guardians of the Galaxy when they barely halted the spread of the space-time tear referred to as the Fault. He informs them that Adam Warlock has become Magus.[35]

Powers and abilities

Kang has no superhuman abilities, but is an extraordinary genius, an expert historical scholar, a master physicist (specializing in time-travel), engineer, and technician. Courtesy of 40th century technology, he has mastered combat and tactics, and is thoroughly versed in the principles of time travel. Kang wears highly advanced battle armor that enhances his strength; is capable of energy, hologram and force-field projection, has a 30 day supply of air and food, and the ability to control other forms of technology. Via his "time-ship", Kang has access to technology from any century.

As Rama-Tut, he used an "ultra-diode" ray-gun, able to sap the wills of human beings; at high-frequency, able to weaken superhuman beings and prevent use of their superhuman powers.

Other versions

Spider-Ham

In the Spider-Ham reality, Kang the Conqueror is depicted as a kangaroo named Kang Aroo.[volume & issue needed]

X-Men/Star Trek

In the X-Men/Star Trek crossover Second Contact, an alternate universe version of Kang disrupts a number of timelines, and is defeated by the combined effort of the mutant X-Men and the crew of the Enterprise-E.[36] His timehooks- the means the two teams used to travel in time- later draw the X-Men into the Enterprise's timeline when the hook the Enterprise used becomes exposed to verteron particles, creating a link to the other hook due to Nightcrawler being similarly infused with verteron particles when he teleports.

In other media

Television

  • Kang's Rama-Tut persona features in the 1967 Fantastic Four animated series[citation needed], and also has a cameo in X-Men: Evolution's third season as part of the origins of Apocalypse in the series.
  • Kang (in the persona of Immortus) appears in a cameo in the X-Men: Animated Series four-part episode Beyond Good and Evil.
  • Kang appears in The Avengers: United They Stand episode "Kang", voiced by Ken Kramer.
  • Kang first appears in the The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "Meet Captain America" voiced by Jonathan Adams.[37] Kang learns about the history of Captain America. Kang then discovers that what will happen to Captain America will have a huge effect on the future. Due to Ravonna getting temporarily exposed to energies rewriting his timeline, Kang resolves to conquer the past. In the episode "The Man Who Stole Tomorrow," he appears in the Avengers Mansion to attack Captain America even though Iron Man is also there. Captain America and Iron Man had a difficult time fighting Kang due to the fact that his technology is far more advanced. When the other Avengers appear, Kang ends up bringing them 10 years into the future where he reveals that something that Captain America will do will end up causing the sun to be a casualty when Earth gets caught up in the Kree-Skrull War. While the other Avengers end up distracting Kang, Iron Man hacks into Kang's floating throne and manages to bring everyone back to the present. Kang has Damocles extract him from Avengers Mansion after taking a hit from his own floating throne. When back on Damocles, he prepares his fleet to take over Earth. In the episode "Come the Conqueror," Kang brings an army from the future to help him conquer Earth. Iron Man manages to find Kang's ship in space. In the episode "The Kang Dynasty," Kang the Conqueror fights the Avengers and an Ultron Synthezoid near the time space drive until Iron Man arrives finding a way to defeat him. When Iron Man has Ultron access the time space drive, Wasp arrives with the guards explaining the situation on Kang's love for Princess Ravonna and what would happen if they sent Kang back to his own time. In the aftermath of the battle, Damocles is compromised by S.H.I.E.L.D., Hank Pym is working with Mister Fantastic and other geniuses to find a way to keep Ravonna alive, and Kang is remanded to Prison 42.

References

  1. ^ Mentioned in Avengers #11 (Dec. 1964)
  2. ^ The Rise of Apocalypse #1 - 4 (Oct. 1996 - Jan. 1997)
  3. ^ Doctor Strange Vol. 2 #53
  4. ^ West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #20-23
  5. ^ Fantastic Four #19 (Sep. 1963)
  6. ^ West Coast Avengers #22 (Jul. 1987)
  7. ^ Fantastic Four Annual #2
  8. ^ Avengers Annual #2 (Sep. 1968)
  9. ^ Avengers #8 (Sep. 1964)
  10. ^ Avengers #11 (Dec. 1964)
  11. ^ Avengers #23 - 24 (Dec. 1965 - Jan. 1966)
  12. ^ Strange Tales #134
  13. ^ Thor #140 (May 1967)
  14. ^ Avengers #69 - 71 (Oct. 1969 - Dec. 1969)
  15. ^ Hulk #135 (Jan. 1971)
  16. ^ Marvel Team-Up #9 - 11 (May. 1972 - Jul. 1973)
  17. ^ Avengers #129, 131-132 (Nov. 1974) and Avengers Giant-Size #2 (1974)
  18. ^ Thor #282
  19. ^ Avengers #141 - 143 (Nov. 1975 - Jan. 1976)
  20. ^ Hulk #286 (Aug. 1983)
  21. ^ Secret Wars #1-12 (May 1984 - April 1985)
  22. ^ Fantastic Four #273
  23. ^ Avengers #267 - 269 (May - Jul. 1986)
  24. ^ Avengers #291 - 297 (May - Nov. 1998)
  25. ^ Avengers #300 (Feb. 1999)
  26. ^ Fantastic Four #323 - 325 (Feb. - Apr. 1989)
  27. ^ Fantastic Four #337 - 341 (Feb. - Jun. 1990)
  28. ^ Avengers West Coast #48 - 62 (Sep. 1989 - Sep. 1990)
  29. ^ Infinity War #1 - 6 (Jun. - Nov. 1992)
  30. ^ Captain America Annual #11; Thor Annual #17; Fantastic Four Annual #26 and Avengers Annual #21 (all 1992)
  31. ^ The Terminatrix Objective #1 - 4 (Sep. - Dec. 1993)
  32. ^ Avengers Forever # 1 - 12 (Dec. 1998 - Dec. 99)
  33. ^ Avengers #41 - 55 (Jun. 2001 - Aug. 2002) + Avengers Annual 2001
  34. ^ Young Avengers #1-#6 (2006)
  35. ^ Guardians of the Galaxy #19
  36. ^ Second Contact (1998)
  37. ^ "Twitter / Christopher Yost: @VenomMelendez Maria Hill". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2010-12-28.
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