Kang the Conqueror has a brand-new official look, and it comes courtesy of a cartoon.
Wednesday's episode of X-Men '97 (Season 2, Episode 4, "Rise of Apocalypse - Part II") transforms Rama-Tut into the time-traveling warlord, full classic costume included. It's the first official Kang design Marvel has released since the character's big-screen plans fell apart.
MINOR SPOILERS FOR THIS WEEK'S EPISODE AHEAD!
The moment arrives midway through the episode. Rama-Tut watches En Sabah Nur complete his transformation into Apocalypse and decides his pharaoh act has run its course. He calls in his Time Chair, changes into the classic costume, and departs for another timeline as Kang the Conqueror.
Longtime cartoon fans should recognize the voice behind him. John de Lancie plays Rama-Tut/Kang, and his resume is a genre-TV goldmine: he spent years harassing the Enterprise crew as Q on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and animation fans know him as Discord, the spirit of chaos from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Handing him Marvel's ultimate time meddler fits like a glove!
The design itself is pulled straight from the comics: green tunic, purple gloves and helmet, and the solid blue face with white eyes that artists have been drawing for decades. It's a bolder look than the one movie audiences got in 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which softened Kang's blue face into something closer to a hologram.
https://x.com/MCUFilmNews/status/2074849700315078730
There's a bigger story underneath the costume change. Kang was once positioned as the next big bad of the entire MCU, but Marvel Studios cut ties with actor Jonathan Majors in December of 2023 and rebuilt its Avengers plans around Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. Since then, the Conqueror has been sitting on a shelf. This episode marks the first time Marvel has stamped its approval on a new Kang design anywhere, and it happened in animation.
Score one for the cartoons!
A fun bit of Marvel Comics trivia for the lore lovers: Rama-Tut came first. The pharaoh persona debuted in Fantastic Four #19 back in 1963, a full year before Kang showed up to battle the Avengers in Avengers #8. The original '90s series never went anywhere near this corner of the mythology, so watching the revival dig into sixty-year-old continuity is awesome.
That's been the pattern all season. The revival keeps rewarding fans who grew up taping the original series while reaching deeper into the comics than the '90s show ever could. I'll admit to one lingering gripe... I still haven't forgiven Season 1 for changing Madelyne Pryor's costume. Teenage me was a big fan of her Goblin Queen look from the comics 🤓.
New episodes of X-Men '97 stream Wednesdays on Disney+, and the series is already locked in through Season 4. Kang leaves the episode alive and headed for parts unknown, and this week's installment also hides a post-credits scene with big implications for Wolverine, so don't skip out early!
What do you think of Kang's animated makeover? And which deep-cut Marvel villain should X-Men '97 dust off next? Sound off in the comments below!
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