Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Trailer May Reveal New Kang Variant
You know that glowing figure that we see flying at 1:35 in the latest trailer for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness"? Maybe you were too busy freaking out about what is very clearly Patrick Stewart's voice as Professor X. I mean, that's a huge deal, right? The X-Men in the MCU! We knew it was going to happen eventually, but it's so exciting to hear him!
There may be something bigger, though. There were a whole lot of theories about the glowing figure who flies at Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen). Some people thought that the color of the light might mean it was Captain Marvel. Others, like me, thought it was Superior Iron Man. Our own Jeff Ewing pointed out that Superior Iron Man writer Tom Taylor tweeted that while he had no inside knowledge, it sure seemed like it was our guy. People online even speculated that Tom Cruise might show up in the role since it was once rumored Cruise was being considered for Iron Man before Robert Downey Jr. landed the gig. Meanwhile, other people thought the shot in the "Doctor Strange" trailer was Captain Marvel, or suggested that it might be Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) or her mother Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) instead of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson).
Disney
However, all of this might be wrong according to an 8K version of the trailer. Ryan Arey over at ScreenCrush explained in a video that the character in question appears to be Jonathan Majors, who played He Who Remains in "Loki" and will play "Kang the Conqueror" in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."
It was Kang all along
Before we get to which of the Kang variants this might be, let's explain why we thought this was Superior Iron Man. First, the Ultron bots in what everyone thinks is the Illuminati council chamber are clearly Stark's invention. Supes (not to be confused with the other Supes) was also a member of the Illuminati. He wears Endo-Sym armor which glows orange-red when he's angry, and this person in the trailer sure seems angry. And hey, Cruise isn't busy, right?
Anyway, let's look at the better image.
Disney
That sure looks like Jonathan Majors. We saw him as the Kang variant He Who Remains in the "Loki" series, where he was killed by Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino). He was a scientist from the 31st century who uncovered multiple universes and created the TVA to prevent a multiversal war from happening a second time. Variants of this character also figured all of this out, leading to the war. He killed them off, but maybe he didn't get all of them.
Could it be ... Iron Lad?
I don't know about this theory, but many commenters and posts on social media have speculated about it. Iron Lad is a teenage Kang variant, and a descendent of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), he of the Fantastic Four, in the comics. There are a zillion theories about Richards coming to the MCU and we know we're getting a Fantastic Four film at some point. Fan casting says it should be John Krasinski and I support this. Is he on one of those chairs in the council chamber? Reed was a member of the Illuminati, so ... nope, nope. Let's get back on track.
As already mentioned, Iron Lad was a teenage version of Kang, and this doesn't seem like the jawline or face of a teenager. The suit doesn't look that far off, though. In the comics, Iron Lad was taken by Kang the Conqueror (bad dude, this) to see all the dastardly things he'd done through the ages, but Iron Lad isn't on board with such shenanigans. He traveled back in time and created the Young Avengers. We've met most of the members of that team in either the films or the Disney+ shows.
We've got Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) coming in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorne in the upcoming "Iron Heart" series, is also a member. We met Wanda's twins Billy (Julian Hilliard) AKA Wiccan and Tommy (Jett Kylne) AKA Speed in "WandaVision." Eli Bradley AKA Patriot (Elijah Richardson), who is the son of Isaiah Bradley from "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier could join the team, as well as Kid Loki (Jack Veal) from "Loki." There are more on the team, but that's what we have right now.
I'm sure we'll see Iron Lad at some point, and maybe this is him, but I somehow doubt it.
Are you ... the Conqueror?
Maybe the mysterious trailer character is one of the worst variants of Kang in the comics, Kang the Conqueror. We know Kang is going to be in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," which we'll see on July 23, 2023. A Kang variant took over the TVA and replaced the statues with his own face at the end of "Loki," so maybe we're going to see the darkest one early.
That said, I don't know. Wanda isn't exactly the good guy in the film, or so it appears. Marvel does use coded colors for their magic, and we know that red magic isn't always gentle. I mean, you can yell at me all you want, but what she did to those people in Westview in "WandaVision" was really, really awful. She did not get punished for that, and I'm sorry, she should have. I know it's a setup for this film, but still. I was mad when that series ended even though I loved the rest of it. So if Wanda is the villain and this trailer character is fighting her, maybe he's a nicer Kang? Not the Conqueror? Maybe this is the Conqueror before he becomes evil?
Listen, there is a council of Kangs in the comics, so this could really be any variant. He Who Remains did talk about a whole lot of them after all. With the multiverse in the MCU, you can really do whatever you want. Maybe this is a nicer version who will go up against bad Kang? This does appear to be part of a huge battle, so it's likely in act three. (I have no insider baseball knowledge here. It's just a guess.) That means he could be introduced here and we'll see him later in "Quantumania."
But this is all just speculation. We'll have the answers when "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" hits theaters on May 6, 2022.