All 19 Times Kang The Conqueror Was Defeated in the Comics
Kang the Conqueror is a mighty supervillain. In fact, one could argue that he is the greatest nemesis of the Avengers, having fought the team, defeated them, and lost to them nearly countless times. Despite his incredible time-traveling and interdimensional powers, Kang was defeated many times over the course of his comic book history.
And I mean – many. Not just by the Avengers, too – other superheroes, teams, and individuals defeated the Conqueror. Here are all 19 times Kang the Conqueror was defeated in the comics, in no particular order. Remember, there were actually more times, but several heroes managed to defeat Kang multiple times, so I didn’t repeat their feats on the list. Enjoy!
First encounter with the Avengers
You might find it interesting to hear that the Avengers actually defeated Kang for the first time when they first encountered each other. When they first met – and started the decades-long rivalry – Kang was bored and wanted to find somebody to give him a challenge. He wanted something to actually conquer instead of just plowing through like butter.
He got exactly what he bargained for against the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as they successfully defeated him – but only barely, and with Kang seemingly not even trying that hard. It was a defeat that shaped Kang’s future dramatically. Or his past. Present? I don’t even know with that guy anymore…
Kang Dynasty (Avengers Vol. 3 #41-54)
This particular storyline ought to be adapted into the MCU from the comics. It’s one of the best Kang the Conqueror storylines ever, although I’m almost sure the ending will look nothing like the one from the comics.
So, long story short, Kang’s son Marcus betrays him, and the Avengers can attack his base directly – the Damocles Base. They blow it up, and Kang falls with the wreckage. As he emerges out of the ruins half-beaten, he asks who’ll come and take him if they can, and Captain America steps up to the plate.
He beats Kang like a puppet but refuses to deliver the killing blow, as that was exactly what the Conqueror wanted – to die in battle. Perhaps the MCU could adapt the story by having Sam Wilson’s Captain America deliver those blows in the end. It would just be epic.
Moon Knight Annual #1 (2019)
I was quite interested to see both Moon Knight and Kang getting introduced into the MCU at around the same time, as I’m quite interested to see where the writers are going with this. I’m saying that because, believe it or not, there is a storyline where the avatar of Khonshu and Kang face off, and the Conqueror actually suffers one of the worst defeats of his lifetime.
Kang wants to steal the moon god Khonshu’s totems to gain unfathomable powers, but instead, Moon Knight sends them back in time to former versions of himself. They emerge and team up, beating Kang silly before he escapes with his life. I’d be interested if something like this took place in the MCU as well, but it would make sense to tie up the story at least similarly.
Cable #57
Again, Kang tries to pull off some silly time-traveling hijinks – this time, it’s the Pharaoh variant of Kang, known as Rama-Tut. After conquering Egypt, Kang wanted to return to the future, but his time machine messed up and sent him to the present – right into a collision course with Cable and Blaquesmith – Cable’s mentor from the future.
The battle was awesome, and Cable eventually used his mentor’s help to defeat Rama-Tut, who escaped with his life and managed to disappear into the timestream before Cable could finish the job.
Seeing that Deadpool 3 will officially be a part of the MCU and that we saw a Rama-Tut version of Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania post-credit scenes, it would be absolutely brilliant to actually see a battle like this one between Rama-Tut and Cable take place.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men – Second Contact #1
You haven’t read that wrong. Jean-Luc Picard literally defeated Kang the Conqueror. Well, with the help of the USS Enterprise-D fleet and the X-Men. You see, Marvel had rights to Star Trek comics in the 90s, making for several insanely amusing crossovers like this one.
Kang tried to plot a scheme by taking the Star Trek crew to the present, but he didn’t count on the X-Men and Picard’s crew to team up. They dismantled Kang, who eventually escaped, but honestly, the sheer thought of this being an actual storyline still makes me laugh.
Avengers #11
I chose Avengers #11, but we’re here to speak of one particular team member that always seemed to have his way against Kang – and that’s Spider-Man. Peter Parker defeated Kang several times over the years, mostly because Kang just kept underestimating him and his powers.
In this particular situation, Spidey was still not an official member of the Avengers, and Kang was actually facing the team, beating them quite badly. That’s when Spider-Man stepped in and used Kang’s cockiness against him, taking advantage of the fact that the Conqueror thought so little of him.
Avengers: Unleashed Vol. 1: Kang War One
Another character that fought Kang individually and won multiple times is none other than our favorite android, Vision. Vis is insanely powerful and holds the world’s intelligence at his disposal. He was often at the center of the fight between the Avengers and the Kang, as the Conqueror is exactly the kind of villain that fits Vision’s skill set.
You see, Kang uses tons of advanced technology – and Vision IS advanced technology, and he usually managed to beat Kang silly. I chose this particular comic as it was the one where Vis absolutely destroyed Kang, and it’s one that I definitely have to read again.
Avengers #129
Kang the Conqueror tends to be a nasty dude who doesn’t even care about the means to his end. In this storyline, he went back to seek the Celestial Madonna, a woman he was supposed to ‘sire an heir with.’ With or without her consent, that is, he was ready to do so.
The problem is he didn’t know who the Celestial Madonna was, so he narrowed the options between three women – Mantis, Scarlet Witch, and Agatha Harkness. He kidnapped all three but made a mistake by leaving The Swordsman behind, thinking he was not really a threat.
The Swordsman had a clear path to kill Kang but was stopped and tricked by Rama-Tut – another Kang variant. In the end, Swordsman sacrifices his life to save Mantis and the other women, but Kang, unfortunately, manages to escape and disappear with Rama-Tut.
The Uncanny Avengers
The Uncanny Avengers battled Kang several times and defeated him several times as well. The joint efforts between the Avengers and the X-Men were always amusing. Still, the one when Kang tried to use the Apocalypse Twins to demolish all heroes, conquering the universe in the process, was by far my favorite.
The Apocalypse Twins wiped out most of the team, and Kang used the stolen cosmic power of a fallen Celestial to destroy Earth. But Havok remained in an alternate timeline. As he tried restructuring it, he lost his daughter.
Enraged at Kang, Havok got his own enhanced cosmic power and completely obliterated Kang, forcing him to escape and disappear somewhere along the timeline while the Earth was reformed.
Darker Than Scarlet
Darker Than Scarlet was a storyline that took place while Scarlet Witch was with the West Coast Avengers. She is known as one of the most powerful characters in Marvel Comics, but also as one of the most fragile regarding her sanity, as she fell off the deep end numerous times.
One time was right here when a series of tragic events led to Immortus (a Kang variant) seeing the opportunity to manipulate Scarlet, trying to use her Nexus Being status for his own gain. Luckily, Scarlet was saved by a fellow magic wielder, Agatha Harkness, who managed to break Scarlet away from Immortus’ control.
After that, they defeated him together, but he couldn’t escape this time. This time, he was imprisoned by the Time Keepers.
Avengers Forever
Fans of Marvel comics know Rick Jones as one of the Avengers’ main allies, but a guy without superpowers. Well, in this particular storyline, Rick Jones had immense power after obtaining the Destiny Force. Immortus and his allies attacked Rick, but another Kang variant intervened and protected Jones.
Then Jones used the Destiny Force to assemble a new Avengers team from different times and timelines to fight Immortus. They were close to winning before the ‘helping Kang’ eventually betrayed Rick and the Avengers.
The fight culminated with Genis-Vell (Captain Marvel) merging with Rick Jones and the Destiny Force, creating a being powerful enough to defeat both Kang and Immortus, forcing them to separate and escape in the timeline, as it usually happens with Kang.
Fantastic Four #19
Because Kang’s real name is Nathaniel Richards, and he’s a descendant of Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, it’s only natural that the Conqueror battled his ancestor and the Fantastic Four numerous times.
In Fantastic Four #19, Rama-Tut brought the team back to Ancient Egypt, making them the first team to battle him. It was a wild battle, but they managed to win and escape back to the present. Although Fantastic Four was the first team to battle Kang, Avengers eventually became his prime enemy.
Young Avengers #1-6
In a sense, Kang is the leader of the Young Avengers. Kind of. His younger version, Nathaniel Richards, eventually becomes Kang in the future. While young, though, he becomes Iron Lad, the team leader. Naturally, the Young Avengers fought Kang numerous times, but the most interesting win for them came in a storyline spanning through Young Avengers #1-6.
Iron Lad fought hard not to become Kang, but the Conqueror didn’t want to give up, trying to make sure Nathaniel fulfilled his ‘destiny.’ This battle was the first time we saw how powerful the Young Avengers can be, as they managed to beat Kang the Conqueror.
It was all futile, however, as Iron Lad did eventually become the sinister future version of himself – Kang, one of the greatest villains of all time. I mean, literally, all time and all realities.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 2 #42
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 2 #42 was an awesome issue. Squirrel Girl defeated some phenomenal Marvel supervillains and gave them a whooping before, like Galactus or Thanos. Well, this particular story saw Kang embarrassed and defeated in three different timelines.
First, Kang saw himself losing in the future to Old Lady Doreen, a future version of Squirrel Girl. Then, he traveled back in time to try and set up his victory by killing her while she was young, only to be defeated yet again. He then went even further back in time, but that young version of Squirrel Girl yet again bested the Conqueror.
In the end, the three Squirrel Girls teamed up and finished the fight in an epic battle to conclude the victory. Some fans find Squirrel Girl way too silly, but even if you’re one of those fans, I assure you that you’ll enjoy this one!
Thor #140
Thor beat Kang several times as a member of the Avengers, but this was the only time (that I could think of) where the God of Thunder smashed Kang himself. This battle with Immortus actually served to shape Thor as a character in the future, as he lost some of Mjolnir’s crucial powers that he previously had.
Thor had to use Mjolnir’s powers to time-travel, de-powering the hammer in the process. Thor managed to catch and smack Immortus eventually, but not before losing some of his most OP powers with Mjolnir.
Doctor Strange Vol. 2 #53
Doctor Strange is always there to help those in need, whether in this reality, another dimension, or even the past! Rama-Tut had the Fantastic Four trapped in Ancient Egypt in this particular storyline.
Doctor Strange came astral to aid the Fantastic Family and help them defeat Rama-Tut. Later, Kang learned that Khonshu – the moon god with Moon Knight as his avatar – called upon Doctor Strange to come and help, which the Master of the Mystic Arts did, of course.
Uncanny Inhumans #1-4
The Uncanny Inhumans had some epic storylines, but this one was one of the most brutal and heartbreaking. Anyway, Black Bolt gave his son Ahura in Kang’s care to save him from an incoming Incursion. After the danger passed, however, Kang refused to return Ahura to the Inhumans, deciding to raise him as his own protege.
Then, the Inhumans managed to time travel in the past and show Ahura who Kang really is – they showed him how Kang used him to wipe out the Inhumans completely. Devastated, Ahura then used his powers to defeat Kang by creating a psionic double of himself and possessing the Conqueror, making him undo the damage, save the Inhumans, and swear to leave them alone.
It didn’t work, though, and Ahura killed Kang, only to take his mantle and pose as the Conqueror. He attacked his parents and the rest of the Inhumans for not going after him and saving him from Kang. They were forced to defeat their own son and never forgave themselves for what happened to Ahura.
Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars
Kang was one of the supervillains (and superheroes) taken to the Beyonder’s planet, Battleworld, where he forced them to face off against each other in battle simply to see who’d win. Kang was a Doctor Doom team member, but they obviously didn’t work well together, as the Conqueror felt he was superior to their inferior leader.
Deadpool’s Secret Wars revealed that the Beyonder also took Deadpool to Battleworld despite us not seeing him in the original storyline. In one moment, he sees Kang going after Captain America, and as he goes in to defend Cap, he absolutely dismantles Kang – by kicking him in the nuts. Yup, that happened, and it was as hilarious as it sounds.
Incredible Hulk Vol. 1 #1
Last but not least on our list, the Big Green also defeated Kang the Conqueror himself – and that is, during World War II. Now, Kang knew that the Avengers were his greatest threat – so what was the best way to defeat them? Prevent them from ever existing.
Kang tried to use the Hulk to kill Banner’s ancestor, which would, in turn, prevent Bruce from ever becoming the Hulk, or even existing, for that matter. But the Hulk actually helped the Allies win the war, and Banner’s ancestor lived, thwarting Kang’s plan to kill the Avengers before they even existed – at the very first step.
