It is getting increasingly difficult to imagine Jonathan Majors‘s continued presence in the MCU as the concerning assault allegations against him have been followed by the recent rumors that his PR and Talent agency has dropped him. But if Majors is indeed removed, we can’t blame just the latest developments in his life — his future as Kang the Conqueror was already resting on a shaky foundation that was laid long before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicked its wobbly feet from under it.
As the chances of Kang getting recast in the MCU gain traction, it is time to realize why Majors’ short stint in the franchise was already bound to drown — the allegations probably just sped up the process. While some reasons are obvious and already well known, let’s start with the ones that contributed months to set up Majors’ time-traveling Marvel shenanigans for failure and also explore how non-MCU factors made the issue even more obvious.
All those disappointing Phase Four villains
With the exception of Namor, Phase Four didn’t exactly perfect its tried and tested formula for serving the best villains. It is usually a hit-and-miss for the franchise, but the last phase saw a lot of misses than usual with baddies who failed to be that enticing or completely missed the mark. The Clandestines (including Najma, who dies rather abruptly) in Ms. Marvel; Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder; the one-note return of Rhys Ifans aka the Lizard in No Way Home; Dreykov, the underdeveloped villainous head of the Red Room program in Black Widow — we can go on, but you get the picture.
Phase Four had shaken the fandom’s expectations by offering lukewarm villains after promising mega evil on magnificent levels. So, when they set about hyping Kang the same way, the trust they had ignited with Thanos’ promotion was already flickering in and out of existence. For fans, the studio over-hyping anything, especially a villain, directly spelled that the character would be a crushing disappointment.
Phase Four’s unwavering commitment to suck as much as possible
Sadly, it wasn’t just the villains that Phase Four had trouble with.
Apart from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Loki, and maybe even the divisive Moon Knight, Phase Four, in its drive to overwhelm the fandom by serving one project after another, failed to present something that rejuvenated its fans’ faith in the MCU. Whether it was the new superheroes (Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk) or the supposedly reliable OG heroes (Thor, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, etc), none could weave the magic that made the Marvel universe such a success.
Yes, we know Kang’s variant, He Who Remains, debuted in the hit series, Loki, but…
Jonathan Majors’ MCU debut left a lot to be desired
Even though Loki was mostly loved — the reason it was renewed for a second season — the underwhelming and meek villain was not only a big disappointment, but also dealt a major blow to the Conqueror’s eventual debut. We know, the politeness of He Who Remains was supposed to aid in establishing why Kang should be feared. But a villain who failed to strike any fear in our hearts and was easily killed by a knife of all things really didn’t advertise, “Oh, Kang is going to be super powerful and scary!”
Choosing an Ant-Man film for Kang’s MCU debut
Yes, Scott Lang’s brilliant idea saved Earth back in Avengers: Endgame, but you have to realize that the majority of the MCU’s villains have employed their supreme wit and dominating physical prowess in their bid to win and the heroes thwarting them also used both to gain the upper hand. Iron Man didn’t just use his superhuman-level intelligence to beat Ultron nor did Thor beat Hela by simply relying on his brute strength and powers.
But Scott doesn’t really fall in either category — he is neither brainy nor brawny, and his single witty moment was suggesting time travel, which had to be majorly brainstormed and solidified by others with zero useful input from him. There is also the fact that Ant-Man films never really managed to hit the peak other MCU films have in the past.
And yet, Ant-Man was picked to face off against Kang the freakin’ Conqueror. Doesn’t really paint a respectable picture of a villain whose variant had already been dispatched with insulting ease.
Kang, who can rewrite existence and erase timelines, was taken down by ants — and then by Ant-Man himself
The ultimate release of Quantumania was another nail in this coffin as the villain who was supposed to make Thanos and his Snap look like child’s play in comparison was defeated by a bunch of ants — and then by the most meh Avenger that exists.
Taking on a laughably useless lackey like M.O.D.O.K.
Kang had a massive army, and yet, for some crazy reason, he saved the completely useless Darren Cross and then converted him into M.O.D.O.K. Until now, I haven’t figured out the use of this particular plotline, unless it was to curse viewers with that cringy monologue scene where Cassie preaches for M.O.D.O.K. to lose his villainous ways and he, after wasting years for his selfish reasons, instantly takes her words to heart and sacrifices himself.
Looks like being under Kang’s influence added an impenetrable layer of rust to Darren’s previously somewhat clever neurons.
Getting killed not once, but twice
As if Kang variant number one dying so easily and looking foolish wasn’t enough, Kang variant number two getting the final farewell just as swiftly only served to further erase his status as a worthy adversary and depleted the respect fans had for the character.
Disappointing non-MCU films that continue highlighting Kang’s setbacks
The best example would be The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which repeated Quantumania’s process of over-hyping fans and then crushing their hopes by being a disaster. But Kang’s presentation in Quantumania has proven he outmatches even the sorely disappointing Bowser when it comes to exhibiting exceptional levels of mediocrity.
Soon after Quantumania’s release, while there was chatter about Majors giving his all to the role, the fandom started harboring doubts about the capability of Kang and his trillion variants to drive the future of Phases Five and Six. The assault allegations against the actor only added fuel to the fire the MCU had been building for a while now — while the demands of recasting the character are new, debates around bringing in a properly crafted and worthy villain had been in the pipeline for quite some time.