By Josh Reilly B. and George Bate
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is in theaters this weekend and is set to kick off Phase 5 with a bang as the bite-sized hero and his family go up against one of the biggest villains in the Marvel universe, Kang the Conquerer.
A variant of Kang named He Who Remains appeared briefly in the season one finale of Loki, played by Jonathan Majors (who reprises his role once again in Quantumania), but this new film is the first time that a hero has gone face to face with the villain in battle. Given the huge role he and his variants are set to play in this Multiverse saga, it’s safe to say that this won’t be the only time that an Avenger goes up against Kang.
At the press conference for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was asked why Ant-Man was chosen as the first hero to square up against Kang.
“The notion of the everyday quality and the person who’s grown and continually surprised himself and the world around him, facing off against somebody that is near unbeatable. And I also like, and people see it in the trailer, that Scott can take a punch. And you forget the very first thing that happens to Scott in this film series is a punch to the face in prison. And I love that that is all a setup to a massive battle that you see between these two gentlemen…in this film.”
There’s certainly an element of rhyming with Kang facing Ant-Man first, given that Thanos made his first speaking appearance in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, a film that largely featured a cast of relatively unknown heroes yet was hugely important in the overall storyline that the creators were building up to.
Make sure to check out The HoloFiles’ spoiler free review of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania:
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases in theaters on February 17.