The MCU’s Galactus Has Already Avoided 1 Kang the Conqueror Problem

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Galactus first appeared in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and he managed to avoid a pitfall that derailed Kang’s storyline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kang the Conqueror was introduced in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with plans for him to be a major villain in future films like Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. Unfortunately, issues with actor Jonathan Majors led Marvel to remove him from the role, and Kang hasn’t been mentioned since his appearance in the Loki Disney+ series. This was a letdown, as Kang showed promise in Loki. But even before that, there was another issue that hindered Kang’s potential from the beginning.

Galactus first appeared in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the film gave him a more favorable introduction than Kang received. This suggests Galactus is well-positioned to make a significant impact when he eventually joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania Ruined Kang

Casting Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror felt like a brilliant move for Marvel. His first appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania suggested he’d live up to fans’ expectations – he was intelligent, powerful, cunning, and showed internal conflict, making him a potentially great villain. Unfortunately, the movie made a critical error that ruined Kang’s potential. Ant-Man, typically a source of comic relief, defeated and killed Kang, effectively ending his story.

The way Kang was defeated in the movie was really surprising and, frankly, a misstep. In the comics, Kang is an incredibly powerful villain who poses a danger to the entire Avengers team. Having him lose – and even die – to Ant-Man and his family felt like a bad choice. The post-credit scene attempted to explain this by revealing he was just one version of many, but it didn’t fix the core issue: if Ant-Man can defeat Kang, it’s hard to take him seriously as a major threat in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The MCU had a chance to establish Kang as a real threat with the Loki series. He Who Remains was a compelling character, and his backstory was well-done. But, like before, Sylvie killed him, making Kang seem less intimidating as a solo villain. While this death was supposed to set up the Kang Dynasty storyline, someone who only saw Kang in the movies wouldn’t understand why he was considered dangerous. The MCU weakened Kang as a villain even before the issues with Jonathan Majors arose.

Galactus Is Still Strong Enough to Return

Marvel appeared to have learned from past mistakes. They realized Galactus, the ‘Eater of Worlds,’ is an even greater threat than villains like Kang, Thanos, and Doctor Doom. Introducing him in the first Fantastic Four movie presented a challenge: how to defeat him without diminishing his power, as happened with Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania? The Marvel Cinematic Universe found a solution that, while not universally loved by fans, successfully maintained Galactus’s formidable reputation.

When Galactus threatened Earth, the Fantastic Four knew they couldn’t defeat him, so they tried to trick him into leaving by sending him to another dimension. Meanwhile, Ant-Man managed to defeat Kang. Although the Fantastic Four’s plan was sensible, Galactus was even smarter – he saw through their trap and escaped before it could fully activate, which was the most impressive part of the encounter.

Watching the Fantastic Four face Galactus was terrifying! They really had to go all-in, a full-on assault, and even that barely worked. Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, pushed her powers to the absolute limit, risking everything to just slow him down. It was the Silver Surfer, though, who ultimately saved us – he turned against Galactus and managed to push him back through a portal, sending him far enough away to give Earth some breathing room. What I appreciated about the ending of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is that it didn’t make Galactus any less of a threat. It really showed that even our most powerful heroes need a bit of luck and help from someone truly cosmic to stand a chance against a being like that.

I have a feeling Galactus is going to return, and when he does, he’ll be absolutely terrifying – a true force to be reckoned with. Everyone underestimated Kang after Ant-Man and Sylvie took him down, but Galactus is different. He’s never actually been defeated, and that makes the idea of his return even more frightening. Seeing the MCU bounce back so strongly after dealing with Kang, and proving they can still create incredibly powerful villains, gives me confidence they’ll do Galactus justice. It feels like they’ve learned how to handle these cosmic threats the right way.

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2026-01-25 19:11