The 7 Best Kang Storylines in Marvel Comics, Ranked by Impact

Kang the Conqueror has been one of the most dangerous Marvel Comics villains for decades. He has technology from the future and the ability to time travel to cause problems anywhere on the timeline. However, he is also one of the most complicated villains since there are more than once version of him thanks to his multiple attempts at time travel. From Kang to Immortus to Rama-Tut to Iron Lad, there have been several versions of Kangs, many of them even fighting each other for dominance. This has allowed Marvel to tell some of the most innovative stories thanks to the iconic Avengers villain.

Here is a look at the seven best Kang the Conqueror storylines in Marvel Comics, ranked by impact.

7) The Celestial Madonna

One of the earlier Kang the Conqueror Marvel Comics storylines that really left a lasting impact was “The Celestial Madonna.” This implemented some very early Marvel versions of Mantis (from the Guardians of the Galaxy) and the Cotati (which caused a lot of problems in recent years for the mutants on Earth. The storyline ran from Avengers #129-134 and Giant-Size Avengers special issues as well.

This storyline saw Kang seeking to “claim” Mantis as the Celestial Madonna, which is a perfect human that is prophesized to give birth to the Celestial Messiah who would bring universal peace. This was also one of the early cases where Kang fought variants of himself (Rama-Tut and Immortus) to claim Mantis. This also featured the Swordsman (from Daredevil: Born Again), who sacrificed himself to save Mantis. It was hugely important, as the Immortus reveal here tied into Avengers Forever years later.

6) The Council Of Kangs

The Council of Kangs storyline started in Avengers #267 in 1986 and this started up when both Kang and Immortus were believed to be dead. However, a variant of Kang was still out there and he teamed up with two other Kang variants with like-minded goals to set out and kill all the other Kang variants in existence to ensure they would always succeed and not worry about someone like Immortus stopping them again.

Of course, this is Kang, so his main goal was to kill the other two Kangs helping him, although they clearly had the same goals, and it ended up revealed that Immortus was still alive and planned the entire event. This was an important storyline that drove this version of Kang mad, and it led to the Council of Cross-Time Kangs in Avengers #292, which made him a genuine multiversal threat. The Council of Kangs was supposed to be a big part of the MCU, until the movies changed to Doctor Doom as the new big bad.

5) Only Myself Left To Conquer

“Only Myself Left to Conquer” was a newer Kang storyline from 2021 when the Marvel villain got his own five-issue miniseries. Kang the Conqueror was a series from Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing with art by Carlos Magno, and it followed a young Nathaniel Richards when he discovers he is fated to become the evil Kang. He then sets out to confront older versions of himself to attempt to stop this fate from happening.

The entire series is seeped in time travel and time looping storylines, starting when the young Nathaniel meets his older self, Rama-Tut, in Ancient Egypt. He ends up trapped in an endless cycle of conquest and self-creation. The twist is that no matter what he tries to change, he is always fated to fail thanks to the choices his variant selves have already made. This is easily the most definitive origin story for Kang, and it ties up so many dangling plot points from the past.

4) The Terminatrix Objective

Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective was a miniseries that arrived in 1993 and featured the final storyline with Kang alongside the love of his life, Ravonna. This specific storyline followed “Citizen Kang,” which featured the first time Marvel Comics showed Kang traveling back in time to assume the persona of an average human named Victor Timely (which was part of the Loki television series on Disney+ decades later).

These comics included backup stories that broke down parts of Kang’s history. This was not only a great storyline, but it was one that played another role in the MCU years later. It was where the Loki TV series (and later Deadpool and Wolverine) came up with the idea of the monster Alioth. There were even What If…? comics (#35-39) that showed Immortus and the Time Variance Authority.

3) Timeless

“Timeless” was a 2022 one-shot issue from Jed MacKay with art by Salvador Larroca, Greg Land, and Patch Zircher. This was an oversized issue, where Kang is on the run from someone named Myrddin and the Twilight Court. The main plot point here is the “Missing Moment,” which is a single point in time where to time traveler can access it, and this is the one moment that would give Kang his greatest desires.

This is a story that shows how and why Kang would one day become Immortus, and it set up a huge storyline that would play out across the Avengers titles over the next few years as well. This remains important for Kang fans because it showed, in a rare moment, how vulnerable this character could be, rather than focusing on his willingness to conquer everything.

2) Avengers Forever

Avengers Forever was 12-issue miniseries that remains one of the best Avengers comics of the 1990s. From the creative team of Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern, Carlos Pacheco, and Jesus Merino, it sees Kang serving as an unlikely ally of the Avengers, or at least a version of the Avengers. Kang’s goal here, as it is in many of his storylines, was to avoid becoming Immortus, so Rick Jones puts together a new team with Avengers variants from the multiverse.

This included past, present, and future members, including Captain America, Hank Pym, Wasp, Hawkeye, and more. This was also important because it revealed that, while Kang was always the front-facing enemy, Immortus had always been manipulating the Avengers from behind the scenes for the Time Keepers. Widely considered one of the Avengers best stories ever written, this was a love-letter for the team and for Kang’s complex relationship with Earth'[‘s Mightiest Heroes.

1) The Kang Dynasty

The MCU was supposed to release Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in 2026, but thanks to behind-the-scenes issues, that was changed to Doctor Doom and Avengers: Doomsday. That is a little disappointing since “The Kang Dynasty” remains one of the most definitive Kang storylines in Marvel Comics, and a true masterpiece thar ran from Avengers (Vol. 3) #41-45.

This is where Kang actually won. He arrived and offered Earth the deal to surrender and find galactic supremacy or he would conquer them. He then killed millions of people when the United Nations refused his threat. He is one of the only villains in Marvel Comics history to defeat the Earth through a military-based attack alone, showing what could happen when the bad guys finally win.

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