Contains possible spoilers for The Avengers (2023) #23!The Avengersrelationship withKang the Conquerorhas been a strange one, especially lately,and Kang’s latest surprise return is only complicating things further.Teaming up with a classic Marvel anti-hero in Black Cat, Kang is acting very strangely, which calls into question exactly what he’s really up to and why he wanted the Avengers to know about it.
The preview for the upcomingAvengers#23 – written by Jed MacKay, with art by Farid Karami – explains the return of Kang the Conqueror, who’s back to steal something from the Grandmaster’s casino, with the help ofguest star Black Cat.
The preview gives readers just a taste of Felicia Hardy’s narration, as she and Kang flee the titular team, with her explaining how Kang flattered her into accepting the job, even as she thinks about how odd the villain has been acting compared to his usual tricks.
Kang the Conqueror Returns To Marvel Comics Lore, But Something About Him Is Different This Time
Avengers#23 – Written By Jed MacKay; Art By Farid Karami; Color By Federico Blee; Lettering By VC’s Corey Petit
The first ten issues of Jed MacKay’sAvengersfeaturedKang actually working with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.. Even though the team didn’t trust him, Kang provided them with some limited foreknowledge of ‘tribulation events’, massive future disasters that they could prevent. Of course, Kang’s motives weren’t exactly heroic. Kang wanted, and still wants,access to the ‘missing moment’, the one moment in the Marvel timeline that he can’t time travel to. However, thanks to a prophecy,Kang knows that only a group of heroes can access the moment, and he hoped that the Avengers would be that group.
InAvengers#10, Kang declared his alliance with the Avengers a failure, promising to return as a proper villain. His full reappearance inAvengers#23 is seemingly the fulfillment of that proclamation.
Kang isn’t the only one working towards the moment, however.The mysterious new villain Myrddin, another time traveler, is looking for the exact same thing, and working alongside the Grandmaster to reach. After being attacked by Myrddin inAvengers#10, Kang declared his alliance with the Avengers a failure, promising to return as a proper villain. His full reappearance inAvengers#23 is seemingly the fulfillment of that proclamation, as he has already directed the Avengers to the Grandmaster’s location with the promise of another Tribulation Event.
Kang Is Back As A Major “Avengers” Antagonist, But His True Motivations Remain Elusive
The “Missing Moment” Is The Missing Puzzle Piece
The big question is what Kang wants Felicia to help him steal.The missing moment is clearly his end goal,but that’s not something tangible, so maybe he’s out to get Myrddin. Or maybe Kang’s still playing the same game as before, trying touse the Avengers’ inherent heroismas a trigger to find the moment. What’s more important to him, whatever he’s stealing, or having The Avengers show up to stop him.The Avengersare stilldancing toKang the Conqueror’stune, but the bigger question is whether he, and Black Cat, can get away with playing their risky game.
