Iron Man 3 Star Harley Keener is the First Kang Variant of the MCU Who Will Replace Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man Only to Betray the Avengers in Secret Wars? Theory Explained

Iron Man 3 Star Harley Keener is the First Kang Variant of the MCU Who Will Replace Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man Only to Betray the Avengers in Secret Wars? Theory Explained
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With the arrival of Jonathan Majors in the MCU, the threat of Kang The Conquerer has finally arrived to dismantle the peace and stability of the entire universe. After seeing a variant of him in the season finale of Loki in the form of He Who Remains, the great catastrophe which is the variants of the multiversal being was presented, and now, the threat has finally materialized itself in the form of Warrior Kang in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.

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Jonathan Majors as He Who Remains in Loki
Jonathan Majors as He Who Remains in Loki

And with this threat having the ability to run rampant in the universe, it’s up to the Avengers to take the fight to him and save billions of lives. But while this will be the case in the upcoming chapters of Phase 5, a new theory has been brought up, which can shake the beliefs of any MCU fan, as this theory states that Kang was already in our midst from the start, so close in fact that he was right in front of our eyes.

Harvey Keener Was the First Variant Of Kang Introduced In the MCU!

Ty Simpkins, the star who plays the role of Harvey Keener in the MCU
Ty Simpkins, the star who plays the role of Harvey Keener in the MCU

While we might only know the that the actor who has officially been presented as Kang the Conquerer in the MCU is Jonathan Majors, we have to keep in mind that Kang is one of the most self-destructing individuals in the whole Marvel Multiverse, quite literally. After the warning of He Who Remains, one thing became clear, Kang is only scared of his own variants from the Multiverse. But at the same time, we also came to know that he is one of the smartest, which might make this terrifying new theory even more plausible.

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You may also like: “He fears they will turn on him”: Jonathan Majors’ Kang Forced Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man to Enter Probability Storm as He Was Afraid of His Own Variants

The introduction of Harley Keener in Iron Man 3 was a crucial point in Tony Stark’s life as he was saved from the deceitful ways of The Mandarin and given shelter in Keener’s garage, where the duo formed a master-apprentice bond. And during the funeral of Tony Stark, we again see Ty Simpkins in the midst of the rest of the Avengers, which relates to Keener still being in contact with his mentor. All of this leads to a connection of Keener with Marvel Comics’ Nathaniel Richards, who is Iron Lad in the comics.

And if Keener is indeed a version of Richards for the MCU, then it’s not far-fetched to say that just like in the comics, Keener has traveled back in time to seek knowledge and mentorship from Stark. And who else has the power of time travel at his disposal? That’s right, we might have been looking at a variant of Kang in the form of Keener this entire time! Known to curb the laws of astrophysics and time travel to his will, we can assume that one of Kang’s variants has planted himself within the reach of the Avengers, and even more disturbing, as the next potential Iron Man!

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Thus, it can very well be a possibility that in the future, Keener might take the role of Iron Man, and betray the Avengers to safeguard his existence in the multiverse.

You may also like: Jonathan Majors’ Kang Might be Afraid of One Avenger and It’s Not Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man

Why Harley Keener Can Still Be A Threat Despite Not Being A Variant Of Kang

Robert Downey Jr. and Ty Simpkins in Iron Man 3
Robert Downey Jr. and Ty Simpkins in Iron Man 3

Despite strong suspicions, let’s say that Harley Keener is not a variant of Kang the Conquerer, he still can prove to be a threat to the Avengers as he was very attached to his mentor and friend Tony Stark, who he called ‘The Machine’. Thus, with his death in Endgame, Keener may also start to hate the rest of the Avengers for letting him die and not trying to save him, which may be even more impactful and heart-wrenching to watch.

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You may also like: Ant-Man 3 Star Jonathan Majors Issues Open Challenge to Robert Downey Jr Amid His MCU Return Rumors as Iron Man

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, now in cinemas.

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Written by Deepak Bisht

Articles Published: 1394

Deepak Bisht is a writer at FandomWire who has vast expertise in films of many genres, a hardcore anime nerd along with two years of writing experience. After completing his Bachelor's in Business Administration, he became part of the company in hopes of providing accurate, informative, and exciting articles to the world.

Apart from his contributions to FandomWire, the rest of his time is spent either reading quality works of literature, listening to vintage music, or playing any video games he can get his hands on.