Summary

• Marvel replaced Kang with Doctor Doom, pivoting away from a less popular villain for Avengers 5 & 6.
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania suffered from Kang’s mixed audience reaction, making it almost pointless now.
• Kang’s storyline was resolved in the Loki TV series, allowing the MCU to move on from the character as a future threat.

Marvel’s pivot to Doctor Doom could save the MCU‘s Multiverse Saga, but it makes Marvel’s lowest-rated project on Rotten Tomatoes, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, even worse. After Jonathan Majors was removed from the MCU, many wondered what Marvel would do about Kang. The villain made his cinematic debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but he received a mixed reaction from audiences. Majors’ departure left Marvel with two options: recast Kang and continue down the road it was on, or make a new villain its centerpiece for the Avengers.

Marvel went with the latter as the studio announced at its 2024 San Diego Comic Con Hall H panel that Robert Downey Jr. would return as Doctor Doom for Avengers 5 & 6. The Doctor Doom announcement proved Marvel is done with its Kang storyline, pivoting to a more popular villain. While Downey Jr’s return could save Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, it does negatively affect what came before it. Critics already didn’t like Ant-Man 3, and Kang’s removal as the MCU’s central villain makes the film almost entirely pointless.

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Is Almost Pointless After Doctor Doom Replaced Kang

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was meant to be a paramount film for the MCU, but it was a disappointing flop for the studio. It holds the lowest critic score of any MCU project on Rotten Tomatoes with a 46%, and those poor reviews also led to Ant-Man 3‘s underwhelming box office performance. The film grossed $476.1 million, but it had a budget of $326.6 million, leading to a loss for Marvel. While Ant-Man was associated with smaller-scale stories, his journey into the Quantum Realm was supposed to change Marvel forever, but it landed with a thud for audiences.

The film introduced Kang the Conqueror, a dangerous foe whose variants threatened the larger multiverse. Scott Lang and his family defeated him, but an army of Kangs loomed on the horizon, as seen in the Quantumania post-credits scene. Many viewers weren’t happy about how easily Kang was defeated, but the premise of his variants was intriguing. Now that Kang is gone, and Doctor Doom is the new threat, everything Quantumania set up is essentially meaningless. Ant-Man 3 is already in the lower tier of MCU films, and it has now lost its status as a must-watch Marvel project.

Kang’s Storyline Wrapped Up In A TV Series

Loki season 2 ends with Loki becoming the God of Stories, keeping the multiverse from exploding by containing it under one large tree. This ending means that the Kang variants can jump to different universes, but the TVA’s new task requires keeping an eye on the Kang variants to protect the multiverse. Owen Wilson’s Mobius mentions that one Kang did cause a disturbance, but he was dealt with, referencing Ant-Man 3‘s events. The TVA’s new mission means the MCU can move on from Kang without him being a future problem.

However, this means that the significant storyline established in Ant-Man 3 was wrapped up in a TV series. While Loki is one of the more popular Disney+ shows, more casual MCU viewers don’t watch every show. The post-credits scene from Quantumania looks even more like an unnecessary setup, since the problem was resolved without ever getting followed up in a movie. All those CGI Kangs got so excited just to have their MCU debuts extinguished on Disney+.

Why It’s A Good Thing Marvel Is Moving Away From Kang

The Kang dynasty got off to a rocky start after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While He Who Remains set up the threat of Kang effectively in Loki season 1, watching him get defeated by ants made him less threatening. The Council of Kangs also did little to interest viewers, and the goofy Kang variants had the opposite effect on viewers that Marvel wanted. While Majors’ assault conviction may have contributed to Marvel’s decision to bring in Doom, the studio was reportedly already looking to pivot before then. Using an army of villains was also a poor idea, and it would benefit the MCU to have one central antagonist.

Thanos being a lone antagonist worked well because Marvel could develop him thoroughly, and he was intimidating since he could take on all the Avengers by himself. The MCU needs a similar threat for its Multiverse Saga and Doctor Doom can fill that void after Kang’s disappointing turn in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaina. Marvel may not have enough time to develop the villain before Avengers 5, but a Doctor Doom variant of Tony Stark presents more interesting narrative opportunities than an army of Kangs.