Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaOne Kang line in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the perfect tease for Avengers: Secret Wars. Having been exiled into the Quantum Realm, Kang the Conqueror is hell-bent on breaking free in the new MCU movie. Seeking revenge on his variants who trapped him in the subatomic universe that exists outside of time and space, Kang reveals what he plans to do when and if he’s successful.
In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Jonathan Majors’ Kang reunites with Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). As such, it’s revealed that they were originally allies before Janet discovered Kang’s past, having destroyed entire timelines and killing trillions of lives in his war against his rival variants. However, Janet’s return to the Quantum Realm along with the rest of the Ant-Man Family provides Kang with a new opportunity to escape his imprisonment. Likewise, Kang the Conqueror offers a big tease about his plans which could very well be foreshadowing Avengers: Secret Wars, reported to be the culmination of the MCU’s current Multiverse Saga.
Kang’s “Conquerors” Line From Quantumania Is Describing Secret Wars
After Janet is captured, Kang reveals what he plans to do once he’s able to leave the Quantum Realm and freely travel the multiverse once more. Believing himself to be the only one of his variants to see the full scope of time and the eventual death of the multiverse, Kang was exiled after he started a brutal war after seeing his fellow Kangs “playing with time like children.” However, Janet counters Kang’s attempts to seem altruistic, knowing the truth that he will wipe out any universe he sees as a threat: “That’s what monsters do.” However, Kang counters with a very important line:
“That’s what conquerors do. They burn the broken world, and make a new one.”
As such, this line seems to be foreshadowing Avengers: Secret Wars.
In 2015’s Secret Wars event from Marvel Comics, the multiverse does indeed die following a series of incursions, just like the exiled Kang claims is happening to the MCU’s multiverse. However, a new patchwork world was created and maintained thanks to the work of Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, and Molecule Man (empowered by the cosmic Beyonders responsible for the original Secret Wars events). The world is broken and burned away before a new universe is eventually formed in the Marvel Universe. As such, it does seem as though Kang’s line in Quantumania is a direct tease to the MCU’s upcoming version of Secret Wars.
Will Kang Be The Main Villain In Avengers: Secret Wars?
While Kang and/or a number of his variants will no doubt be the villains in the preceding Avengers: Kang Dynasty movie, it’s unknown if Avengers: Secret Wars will also have them as the primary antagonists. It seems the various actions of Kang and his variants will at least be largely responsible for getting the MCU to that point where incursions have become too much, and the multiverse is on the brink of death. However, it’s possible that the exiled Kang, who was sucked into his own multiversal engine core in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s ending could become even more powerful.
Assuming the exiled Kang is still alive within the multiversal core, it’s possible he could eventually escape, potentially with more power than any of his other variants. If so, this could indeed lead to Kang fulfilling his mission, getting his revenge on his variants before remaking the world in Avengers: Secret Wars as a Beyonder stand-in. However, that’s just conjecture. Multiple other villains, such as Doctor Doom himself, could just as easily be the primary villain at the end of Marvel’s Phase 6. Regardless, Kang’s line about conquerors in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a very clear tease for Avengers: Secret Wars, currently scheduled to be released in 2026.