With Kang the Conqueror’s exit from the MCU hanging in the balance, rumours have been rife about who (or what) could replace the character as the big bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A lot of fans have made the case for a multitude of characters, including, but not limited to Galactus, The Black Winter and Arishem the Judge. Even characters like Doctor Doom and the Beyonder have been pulled into the mix, as fans await an update from Marvel Studios.
However, Kevin Feige has always tried to keep the Marvel Cinematic Universe simple. While all the characters mentioned are worthy contenders for Kang’s place as a multiversal threat, one character stands head and shoulders above his fellow multiversal threats: King Thanos, The Mad Titan.
Also Read: One Asgardian May Have Tried Uniting the Infinity Stones Before Thanos
King Thanos could set the stage for the Avenger’s Worst Nightmare
Thanos himself is a universal threat but is pretty tame compared to King Thanos. In the comics, Thanos keeps The Hulk as a pet and has the Cosmi Ghost Rider serve at his pleasure as his enforcer. Needless to say, King Thanos could subdue even the Sentry, keeping The Void that resides within the hero as his personal enforcer. Given that the Sentry is rumoured to make his debut in the MCU, King Thanos could have the Sentry and the Hulk serve at his pleasure, making the 2 strongest heroes in the universe his personal lapdogs.
In the comics, King Thanos is leagues stronger than his younger self and wishes to be united with Death. However, given the younger Thanos’s motivation in the MCU, it is possible that King Thanos in this reality would have slain the Avengers again and again as they try to battle him across multiple timelines. Perhaps Thanos has also slain heroes from other realities, who were asked to aid in his slaying by heroes of his home dimension.
Upon learning that there are infinite universes where beings suffer because of the lack of resources, Thanos could endeavour to hop realities to make sure that his vision is executed everywhere so that people can be happy and fulfilled in every reality.
Kang could have been King Thanos’s enforcer, just like Loki
Multiversal Conquest was Kang’s bread and butter, just like Planetary Conquest was Loki’s. While He Who Remains could have been an outlier to the Kangs, the other Kangs could have been busy making sure the Multiverse stays under a single ruler’s control. With Kang squarely defeated, King Thanos could make a cameo in future MCU films, deciding to conquer the multiverse himself.
King Thanos might not require any apparatus to travel the multiverse. Kang’s technology, and apparatus like the Loom, could not only help King Thanos make Battleworld but also let him travel from universe to universe at his convenience. Given that younger Thanos already knows about the quantum realm, the monarch could use it to his advantage, even hiding there to find a way to complete his vision for the multiverse, while Kang runs around subduing rebellions and fractures.
