There was probably no bigger surprise at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego than Marvel’s unexpected casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in the next Avengers film. Since then, fans have been debating whether he is really the best choice for the legendary comic book villain. But I’m concerned about something else: The Multiverse saga has lost its big villain. Was all the story building across several series and films now for nothing?
Doctor Doom replaces Kang as Avengers 5 villain: Was it the wrong decision?
Originally, Avengers 5 was called Additional title The Kang Dynasty and was supposed to bring the multiverse villain Kang the Conqueror, first introduced in Loki, into contact with the ranks of Marvel superheroes. However, after Kang actor Jonathan Majors was convicted of domestic violence, Marvel had to rethink its plans for the continuation of the ongoing MCU saga.
Marvel Comics / Disney
Kang the Conqueror
One Recasting the character or a complete restart were the options. With the announcement of Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel is now drawing a line under the Kang chapter. This course correction is not only related to the Majors case, but is also due to the waning interest in the current Marvel saga in recent years and the disappointed reactions to Kang’s big screen debut Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
The record-breaking success of Deadpool & Wolverine has proven that nostalgia is apparently the key to getting Marvel fans back into the cinemas. Of course, my fan heart beats faster at the thought of seeing Robert Downey Jr. back in the MCU. An Avengers villain with the face of Tony Stark? That promises exciting potential for conflict. In the context of the story that was built up beforehand, I am still disappointed.
Kang deserves better than to be simply wiped out
Maybe I’m in a minority, but the story of the supervillain Kang, who travels through universes and timelines, has captivated me from the beginning. Not least because it is about one of the most exciting villains in Marvel Comics Unlike Thanos, thanks to his infinite number of variants, he becomes an overpowering threat that is almost impossible to defeat.
Sure, Thanos was also a fantastic villain. But in the end, he only played a major role in two Avengers films after being built up as a threat in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and some post-credit scenes. Kang, on the other hand, had so much more potentialmaking life difficult for the Marvel superheroes in various series and films with alternative versions over the years. Ultimately, he only appeared in the two Loki seasons and Quantumania.
Disney
What will become of the Kang Variant War?
From a story perspective, the change of course to Doctor Doom as the new arch villain is also problematic. The finale of Loki Season 1 promised something big. The Kang variant He Who Remains promised an epic time loop story that maneuvered the MCU or the True Timeline into an endless loop of destruction and reconstruction: The Kangs’ multiversal war was inevitable. But there is little left of it now.
Will the universe-spanning problem called Kang now simply eliminated away from the cinema screen? The second season of Loki already opened a loophole for this: the TVA began hunting Kang variants and the god of mischief literally holds the entire multiverse in his own hands. For three years I invested my fan love in the multiverse saga, time loop theories and the next big MCU threat. And now Tony Stark, of all people, is breaking my heart.
Kang vs Doctor Doom: All hope is not lost yet
I’m sure that the next Avengers chapter will excite many fans (including me). However, I would personally have preferred a recasting of the character to a complete course correction. The MCU has long been familiar with recastings – such as the Hulk recasting from Eric Bana to Mark Ruffalo. And rumors about a possible Kang successor by Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo had suggested a worthy replacement.
Instead, Marvel Studios is taking the path of least resistance. This is partly understandable. Jonathan Major’s ruined reputation hangs over the character like a dark cloud and the unpredictable reactions to a recasting entailed a high risk. But Is there still hope for Kang fans?
Marvel Comics
Doom and Kang are no strangers to the comics
At the moment, there is hardly any real information about what we can expect in Avengers: Doomsday and the subsequent multiverse finale Avengers: Secret Wars. Is Robert Downey Jr. playing an evil version of Tony Stark who calls himself Doom? Is he perhaps even an antihero? And will Kang really not appear again? We don’t know yet.
There is therefore still the possibility that the next Avengers film is an elegant transition to bring the story of the Kang threat to a (premature) conclusion. Another appearance of the most powerful being in the multiverse with a new cast is also not out of the question.
But even the return of MCU founder Robert Downey Jr. cannot solve one problem. Since the end of Avengers: Endgame, the multiverse saga has hardly been able to show a clear line. Only Kang promised a certain degree of structure, a common thread leading up to the end of the saga. Thanks to Doom, chaos reigns again.