Iron Man Could Replace Kang As The MCU’s Next Big Bad

In the wake of Jonathan Majors’ firing, it seems that Marvel Studios is reassessing the relevance of Kang and his variants in the MCU’s future. The most telling move the studio has made is the removal of the “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” title from the next “Avengers” movie. At the time of this writing, it is being referred to simply as “Avengers 5,” which indicates that Kang may not continue to be built up as the main threat of the Multiverse Saga. If this is the case, the odds of seeing a comic-accurate Iron Lad aren’t too great.

Worsening the odds of seeing a print-accurate origin for Iron Lad is the Season 2 finale of “Loki.” In the closing moments of the episode, titled “Glorious Purpose,” Loki (Tom Hiddleston) ascends to become the God of Stories. In doing so, he becomes the guardian and overseer of the entire Multiverse, ensuring multiple timelines can coexist without leading to the collapse of all existence. It’s implied that he outsmarts He Who Remains (Majors), preventing a Multiversal war between the Kangs and ensuring all timelines are free to branch. Kang variants may retaliate, but if not, this seems like a fine point to send all versions of the character off into the sunset.

For now, it’s an uncertain time for Kang at the movies, so uncertain that Iron Lad — a character who could’ve easily received a comic-accurate origin not long ago — may be up for some major revisions. That is, if his ties to Kang don’t prevent him from reaching MCU in the first place.

In the wake of Jonathan Majors’ firing, it seems that Marvel Studios is reassessing the relevance of Kang and his variants in the MCU’s future. The most telling move the studio has made is the removal of the “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” title from the next “Avengers” movie. At the time of this writing, it is being referred to simply as “Avengers 5,” which indicates that Kang may not continue to be built up as the main threat of the Multiverse Saga. If this is the case, the odds of seeing a comic-accurate Iron Lad aren’t too great.

Worsening the odds of seeing a print-accurate origin for Iron Lad is the Season 2 finale of “Loki.” In the closing moments of the episode, titled “Glorious Purpose,” Loki (Tom Hiddleston) ascends to become the God of Stories. In doing so, he becomes the guardian and overseer of the entire Multiverse, ensuring multiple timelines can coexist without leading to the collapse of all existence. It’s implied that he outsmarts He Who Remains (Majors), preventing a Multiversal war between the Kangs and ensuring all timelines are free to branch. Kang variants may retaliate, but if not, this seems like a fine point to send all versions of the character off into the sunset.

For now, it’s an uncertain time for Kang at the movies, so uncertain that Iron Lad — a character who could’ve easily received a comic-accurate origin not long ago — may be up for some major revisions. That is, if his ties to Kang don’t prevent him from reaching MCU in the first place.