Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for the season one finale of Loki
The season one finale of the Disney+ original series, Loki, promised to deliver and it did, with the deliverance of the Marvel supervillain Kang the Conqueror. Revealed to be the mastermind behind the Time Variance Authority (TVA), the madness behind the mask has finally been unleashed, via Insider.
Throughout the first season, there have been various winks and nudges that Kang the Conqueror is in fact the head of the TVA. Whenever he is referenced, characters simply call him “Conqueror” or, for dramatic flare, “He Who Remains.” Now, that mystery no longer remains, as Kang the Conqueror has arrived, played by the actor Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country).
According to Insider, Kang is: “a time warlord who is a frequent Avengers foe. He was originally called Nathaniel Richards, a 31st-century scholar and the descendant of Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards’ dad Nathaniel, who was a time-traveller.”
Kang goes on various expositions through time and space, and eventually transforms himself into Kang the Conqueror. Explained by Insider, he makes it his mission to, “conquer versions of the galaxy in the past, present, and future, creating his own temporal kingdom.”
But, when Kang the Conqueror is introduced in Loki, he believes everything he’s done has been for the greater good. As he tried to explain to Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager), and Slyvie, played by Sophie Di Martino (Into the Badlands), the dangers of time-travel are grave as he experienced the cost of creating various variants in multiple different universes. In a quote from the season one finale picked up by Insider, Kang explains: “To some of us, new worlds meant only one thing, new lands to be conquered. The peace between realities erupted into all-out war, each variant fighting to preserve their universe and annihilate the others. This was almost the end, ladies and gentlemen, of everything and everyone.”
As Kang ends his speech, he gives a threatening ultimatum; either the two Loki’s can replace him and become the head of TVA, or they could kill him, therefore unleashing multiple variants of himself upon the world that would insure chaos, and a Multiversal War. In the end, Slyvie can’t help herself and she kills Kang. The season one finale then teases that Kang will be back in some form or another, and he won’t be as level-headed and calm as the previous one. Fortunately, the wait to see what happen’s next was just made a lot easier as Loki has been renewed for second season.
Played by Majors, Kang will next be seen in the 2023 film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Majors has been busy recently, starring in various films and TV shows, including the 2020 film Da 5 Bloods, and the upcoming Netflix original The Harder They Fall. He was also just nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actor in Drama Series Emmy on Tuesday for his portrayal as Atticus Freeman in HBO’s Lovecraft Country.