Marvel Studios Forgot About Kang The Conqueror, But Avengers #24 Sure Hasn’t [Exclusive Preview]

Ah, Kang the Conqueror — the archvillain thwarted not by the Avengers but his own actor’s bad behavior!

Kang was set to be the final villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Multiverse Saga,” which would’ve been capped off in the “Avengers” films “The Kang Dynasty” and “Secret Wars.” But then Kang actor Jonathan Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment in December 2023, earning him a swift firing. Marvel Studios was quick to pivot after that, bringing back Robert Downey Jr. to play Doctor Doom and retooling the “The Kang Dynasty” into “Doomsday.”

The Kang character has countless incarnations across time and dimensions, but other actors that’ve been floated to replace Majors as the MCU’s Conqueror (such as Colman Domingo) don’t appear interested in doing so. It seems the silver screen Kang is probably doomed to the same fate as Poochie the Dog, i.e. being abruptly written off and never, ever seen again — but not the comic iteration of Kang the Conqueror.

Indeed, Kang has been playing a recurring role in the current “Avengers” comics run, written by Jed MacKay. In the latest arc, he hired Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat for an intergalactic heist.

Marvel has now shared an exclusive preview of “Avengers” #24 with /Film. The issue wraps up “The Casino Job,” with its summary reading as follows:

“HOUSE RULES: KANG ALWAYS WINS! The finale of the CASINO story arc is upon us, and the Avengers are going all in! But can they win against players like GRANDMASTER, MYRDDIN, BLACK CAT, and KANG THE CONQUEROR? When the chips are down, who can the Avengers trust?”

See the issue’s cover, drawn by Valerio Schiti, below:

Marvel Comics

“The Casino Job” kicked off in “The Avengers” #22back when the Scarlet Witch learned that the Grandmaster was auctioning off a data archive once owned by Kang. The Avengers concluded they could use the presumed information about future events to their advantage, and so decided to steal the archive. Unfortunately, Kang had also decided to steal it back and brought along Black Cat to help.

The ending of issue #22 revealed, though, that the Grandmaster was actually a pawn of Merlinanother time-traveling villain and rival to Kang. (Myrddin was first introduced in MacKay’s 2022 mini-series “Timeless,” a story he’s been building off of throughout “Avengers.”)

Issue #23 was mostly a chase scene featuring the Avengers pursuing Kang & Cat to claim the MacGuffin. It turned out Felicia wasn’t doing this just for the thrill or money, though; Kang, in fact, offered her any master thief from all of her history as an accomplice. (She chose her late father, Walter Hardy, the original Cat Burglar.) The issue ended with Kang’s starship fleet arriving; issue #24 picks up from there as the battle commences, while Kang leaves the Avengers holding the bag.

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

“The Avengers” #24 is scheduled for print and digital release on March 19, 2025.