Is Kang Related to Reed Richards? Is He Reed’s Father?
The successful release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania allowed us to see more of what is to come to the MCU, especially because of the introduction of Kang the Conqueror, who we learned in Loki is actually a human named Nathaniel Richards. While Kang’s story is still shrouded in mystery, we also know another man that carries the Richards name. We are referring to Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic. So, is Kang related to Reed Richards?
Kang’s relationship with Reed Richards is still shrouded in mystery, as we know they are both from different universes and timelines. However, it is often suggested that Kang is a descendant of Reed Richards’ father, who is also named Nathaniel Richards when he traveled to another timeline.
It is worth noting that Reed’s father was also a notable time traveler during his time and even entered numerous timelines and universes. While Kang may come from a different universe, Reed’s father ended up in his universe and could have sired a family there. Then again, these are all just speculations, as we are now looking to learn more about the relationship between Kang and Reed Richards.
Is Kang related to Reed Richards?
One of the hottest names in fiction today is Kang the Conqueror, who made his official debut as the evil villain of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Of course, this was not the first time we saw this villain as he actually appeared in Loki season 1 as the Kang variant known as He Who Remains. However, it was in Quantumania that the actual Kang the Conqueror appeared.
At this point, Kang’s entire backstory is still up in the air. The only thing that we know about him is that he is a scientist from the future and was able to develop technology that allowed him to discover the multiverse and a way to travel from one universe to another. He eventually used this tech to conquer numerous worlds and destroy entire timelines and universes. Other than that, we don’t know a lot about him.
But one of the things that we did find out about Kang in Loki is that he was a man named Nathaniel Richards. The thing about this is that we know another Marvel character that carries the Richards family name, as we met him, a variant of him from another universe during the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We are talking about Reed Richards, known by his superhero name Mister Fantastic. So, is Kang related to Reed Richards?
Kang’s backstory in the comics is also shrouded in mystery. Like his MCU counterpart, we know that he is a scientist born during the 31st century and was able to discover a way to travel from one timeline and universe to another. But his entire story is unknown except for the fact that he was born Nathaniel Richards. And we know another man named Nathaniel Richards.
Reed Richards’ father was named Nathaniel. However, the thing is that Reed’s father was born in a universe that’s different from Kang’s universe. Somehow, the 616 version of Nathaniel discovered time travel from the modern world and ended up traveling to Kang’s universe, where he used his abilities to bring peace to a universe that has always been at war.
However, while Kang was born during that timeline and was given the same name as Reed Richards’ time-traveling father, his exact history is not exactly clear. Some accounts point to the possibility of Reed’s father getting married and having another child in Kang’s universe; this child was the one who sired Kang himself. However, some accounts point to the possibility of Kang not being related to the Richards family but a descendant of Doctor Doom.
In that regard, we can’t say whether or not Kang is related to Reed Richards because his background hasn’t been fleshed out enough for us to come up with a conclusion. Then again, the possibility of him being a Richards is still up in the air, as he might be related to Reed.
How Is Kang related to Reed Richards?
As mentioned, there is still a good chance that Kang and Reed Richards are related to one another. This is because Reed’s father, Nathaniel, may have sired children in Kang’s universe. As such, while Kang may not be Nathaniel’s child, he may still be related to him as one of his descendants, as they share the same name. In that regard, how is Kang related to Reed?
Suppose it is true that Reed’s father had a new family in the distant future of the universe where Kang was born. In that case, he might have had a son who eventually became Kang’s father, which could explain why they share the same name, as it is quite common for people to name their sons after the child’s grandfather.
So, if the original Nathaniel Richards is the grandfather of Kang, then that would mean that Reed is the uncle of Kang the Conqueror, as Kang’s father could be the half-brother of Reed. And this complicates things, as we know that Reed and Kang fought each other on opposing sides more than once in the comics.
Of course, if Kang has no relation to the original Nathaniel Richards and is actually Doctor Doom’s descendent, then that would mean that he has no familial ties with Reed Richards.
Whatever the case, the only way for us to truly know how Kang is related to Reed is if we are given a proper backstory regarding the Conqueror and his parents. Without a proper backstory, we are reduced to speculating about Kang’s relationship with the Richards family.
