Kang vs. Killmonger: Who Wins the Fight in the MCU?
The world of MCU has its fair share of diversity in terms of race and color. Of course, while there have been plenty of people of color on the heroic side of the MCU, the thing is that there are also black villains in this fictional movie universe. Two of those black villains happen to be incredibly charismatic and strong individuals in Kang the Conqueror and Erik Killmonger. So, in a fight between Kang and Killmonger, who would win?
Kang the Conqueror is going to dominate a fight against Erik Killmonger. That’s because he is simply superior in almost every aspect except for his fighting skills. After all, Kang was powerful enough to kill countless Avengers in multiple timelines and universes, while Killmonger can’t even beat Black Panther.
The difference between Kang and Killmonger is night and day, as the Conqueror is much stronger. Of course, we are not saying Killmonger is weak because he is pretty strong and capable. But the thing is that Kang is on an entirely different level and is a multiversal threat due to his abilities. Now, let’s look at this hypothetical battle in greater detail.
Strength
In terms of strength, Kang has displayed how he could easily keep up with the Ant-Family during their fight in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He may not be as strong as the Hulk or Thor, but he could easily beat up Ant-Man and the Wasp without any effort when he was at full power. And even after his suit got damaged by Hank Pym’s giant ants, Kang was still much stronger than Ant-Man during their one-on-one fight, as it was clear that his suit allowed him to have superhuman strength.
Like the Black Panther, Erik Killmonger obtained superhuman strength when ingested the Heart-Shaped Herb. This allowed him to have physical capabilities that were slightly above peak-human levels. In that regard, he may be capable of lifting probably somewhere close to 2 tons after he obtained his superhuman strength. And, of course, he can defeat non-superpowered individuals with his attacks due to his strength advantage over them.
Erik Killmonger’s strength feats weren’t explored well enough in Black Panther, as the only time he could showcase his strength was in his fight with T’Challa. On the other hand, Kang was superior to the entire Ant-Family in terms of his strength.
Kang 1, Killmonger 0
Intelligence
The thing about Kang is that he is a human that was born in the 31st century and had access to technology and knowledge that could only be found in the future. He is an incredibly smart man that discovered a way to travel through different timelines and universes. As such, he is a genius, probably somewhere close to or above the likes of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Hank Pym. Moreover, Kang has access to future knowledge that anyone in the current era wouldn’t be able to know.
Although he was often portrayed as a killing machine, Killmonger was a smart man with a genius-level intellect. In the comics, he was taught in several fields of science, allowing him to invent weapons and equipment that aided him in his life as a villain. While that wasn’t explored in the MCU, it was clear that he was smart enough to devise a strategy that allowed him to take the throne of Wakanda. After all, he is from the Wakandan royal bloodline, which produced geniuses like T’Challa and Shuri.
There’s a good chance that both Kang and Killmonger are just as smart as each other regarding their intellectual capabilities. But the fact that Kang has access to future tech and knowledge gives him the edge here.
Kang 2, Killmonger 0
Equipment
Kang possesses a futuristic suit of armor made from an alloy that can only be found in the 40th century and is neuro-kinetic. That means that the armor responds to what Kang is thinking about and is an extension of his body. On top of that, this armor is durable enough to survive getting ganged on by an entire army of genius-level giant ants and numerous attacks from the members of the Ant Family. But while the armor may be quite durable, it is the fact that it has a lot of different weapons (more on that later) that allowed Kang to be powerful enough to take over the entire Quantum Realm all on his own.
When he became the king of Wakanda, Erik Killmonger received a Black Panther suit that resembled a golden jaguar, allowing him to have the same kind of protection and capabilities that T’Challa had. The suit, made of Vibranium, protected Killmonger from almost any attack while absorbing kinetic energy he could release as a shockwave. Of course, Killmonger also had access to Vibranium claws and other standard Vibranium weapons.
As impressive as Killmonger’s suit may be, the thing is that it doesn’t hold a candle to the futuristic tech that went into Kang’s armor. That is why the Conqueror takes this round as well.
Kang 3, Killmonger 0
Powers and abilities
Kang the Conqueror has no innate powers because he was born a regular human. However, his suit allows him to have abilities beyond what we’ve seen from any enemy in the MCU, so he can create portals and fly using his futuristic armor. The suit allows Kang to release powerful blasts of blue energy that could disintegrate anyone with a single hit and even allows him to create barriers of energy that protect him from any incoming attack. On top of that, Kang can also use telepathic abilities using the suit, as he overwhelmed Scott Lang and even MODOK using this ability.
Like any other Black Panther before him, Killmonger has no superpowers because the Heart-Shaped Herb only enhances his physical capabilities. His suit, however, has a few technological kinks that allow him to absorb kinetic energy from attacks and release the energy in the form of a powerful shockwave that can knock back strong enemies. Besides that, the Black Panther doesn’t have many capabilities outside its ability to protect the wearer.
This shouldn’t be a debate because Kang’s futuristic tech allows him to have incredible powers that we haven’t seen from anyone else in the MCU. It might be true that Killmonger is stronger than Kang if they didn’t have the use of their suits, but Kang is simply on another level when he has access to his tech.
Kang 4, Killmonger 0
Fighting skills
Although he often relies on his tech for combat purposes, Kang is a pretty capable fighter, as he could go one-on-one with Scott Lang, who is also a trained fighter. Of course, Kang overwhelmed Ant-Man in that fight because of his superior strength. But he was still impressive enough to defeat Scott in hand-to-hand combat despite losing the use of his suit’s other capabilities.
As a killer trained in multiple forms of martial arts, Erik Killmonger is one of the best fighters we’ve seen in the MCU, as he was able to overwhelm T’Challa in their first fight. We know that T’Challa is the strongest warrior that Wakanda had to offer at that time, and we also know that the Wakandans are some of the fiercest fighters on the planet. As such, the fact that Killmonger defeated T’Challa in their ritual combat proves that he is an incredibly gifted fighter that can stand up to any other fighter in the MCU.
We haven’t seen what Kang can do against some of the most gifted fighters in the MCU. But we’ve seen what Killmonger can do against someone like T’Challa, who is near the top regarding the best combatants in the MCU. That’s why Killmonger takes this round.
Kang 4, Killmonger 1
Kang vs. Killmonger: Who wins?
As you can see, Kang the Conqueror should be able to handle Erik Killmonger quite easily because he is simply the superior villain in terms of his overall capabilities. After all, he would have to be a very powerful villain for him to be able to conquer and destroy numerous timelines and universes and kill countless members of the Avengers throughout his career as a conqueror. Of course, if Killmonger were to find a way to disable Kang’s suit, as was the case in Quantumania when the ants damaged it, he might have a chance to defeat him due to his superior combat abilities. Otherwise, Kang should win this fight without a lot of effort on his part.
