TheMarvel Cinematic Universe’s lowest-rated movie might not be among the franchise’s best, but it did one thing mostly right, and it was easily my favorite part of the film. Sadly,the MCU’s Multiverse Saga has not been the most consistent. Sure, films likeSpider-Man: No Way HomeandDeadpool & Wolverineare among theMCU’s best movies, but they are outliers.
Many MCU movies and TV shows in the Multiverse Saga have either underperformed or proven themselves divisive for different reasons. Marvel is making moves to fix those issues, withan MCU slowdown underwayand an overhaul of howMCU TV showsare developed. Hopefully, that will ensure the overall quality ofMarvel’s upcoming releasesis as high as fans hope.
The Multiverse Saga has had a few promising MCU projects turn out to be disappointments. One such case is that of the MCU’s lowest-rated movie on the popular review aggregator platformRotten Tomatoes. That said, while the film is at the bottom of the franchise witha 46% Critics' Score, I’m convinced that one aspect of it was handled incredibly well.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Did Not Live Up To Expectations
The Third Ant-Man Movie Ended The Trilogy On A Negative Note
The MCU’s lowest-rated movie onRotten TomatoesisAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The project was expected to be the biggest out of Marvel Studios' releases in the Ant-Man franchise. However,Quantumaniaended up only making $476 million worldwide. Not only was that disappointing for the MCU’s larger plans with Kang, it also made itthe lowest-grossing Ant-Man movie.
WithAvengers: The Kang Dynastythen set to be released,Quantumaniawas crucial for the MCU’s future.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawas supposed to build up on the work done by Disney+‘sLoki. That MCU series delved deep into the multiverse, introducing the TVA as the organization behind the control of the many timelines and Kang the Conqueror variants. WithAvengers: The Kang Dynastythen set to be released,Quantumaniawas crucial for the MCU’s future.
I’m Convinced Jonathan Majors’ Kang The Conqueror Was Nearly Perfect In The MCU Movie
Everything Up Until Kang’s Ending Was Exciting
While this might be somewhat of a divisive opinion, I believe that where Kang is concerned, the Ant-Man trilogy finale did a great job. Jonathan Majors was inspired casting for Kang the Conqueror. The actor had already shown his chops playing theHe Who Remains variant inLokiseason 1. I was excited by just how different he made Kang.
Quantumania’s version of the Marvel villain’s backstory was handled well. Itcreated a key connection between Kang and the Ant-Man family, as he had bonded with Janet van Dyne over their years stuck in the Quantum Realm before being betrayed and abandoned by her. The MCU movie made Kang’s motivations easy to understand, and his hate created a frightening villain.
That said,the Ant-Man movie displayed his power levels in confusing ways, and that is where I believe it got lost with Kang. While he had been incredibly powerful, easily throwing Ant-Man around and threatening Cassie, Kang was defeated by ants — though smart ones. That was disappointing, and the film ended with Kang’s death. He deserved a better ending.
Pivoting To Doctor Doom After Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Makes Sense
The Multiverse Saga’s New Main Villain Was The Best Choice
While I was a fan of howAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaportrayed Kang the Conqueror, save for its ending, I don’t have a problem with the character being left behind in favor of using Doctor Doom. Sure,Avengers: The Kang Dynastywith Kang’s return andthe multiversal Council of Kangswould have been exciting. However, Doom fits Marvel’s plans better.
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After all,it was Doctor Doom who was the main villain of 2015’s Secret Wars event, not Kang. As such, bringing in the villain for 2027’sAvengers: Secret Warsand changingAvengers: The Kang DynastyintoDoomsdayis a move I can easily get behind. With Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU to play Doom, there was no better choice.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaended up being a divisive movie that underperformed. No matter how threatening Kang was depicted as, the idea of using Doctor Doom, one of Marvel’s most popular villains, with Downey, the face of the MCU, playing him is notably the better option. WithJonathan Majors fired by Marvel, it might have been the only one.
How Kang The Conqueror Could Still Return Despite His Quantumania Fate
The Multiverse Offers Many Possibilities To Bring Back The Villain
Now that Marvel is using Doctor Doom for the next two Avengers movies and enough time has passed sinceQuantumaniaand Majors' firing, the franchise could start looking at how to bring Kang back. No,it should not be as the MCU’s Big Bad. However, after all the setup inLoki, Kang deserves a better finale than being forgotten.
In Marvel Comics,when Kang was presumed dead once, he was later revealed to have gone back in timeand taken a new identity. The same could be done in the MCU, with a new actor playing the same version of Kang that Majors gave life to. There is also the possibility of letting Kang stay dead and using a variant.
While one ofAnt-Man: and the Wasp: Quantumania’s post-credits scenesused Majors as the template for all Kang variants, Marvel could just cast multiple actors as the different versions of the character to bring back the Council of Kangs. The multiverse makes for an easy explanation as to why. I hope that happens, giving a fitting ending to thatMCUstoryline.
