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Kang the Conqueror has gone by many different names, and he’s a far more complex character than the time-traveling Avengers villain he seems to be.
The Marvel Universe has long been home to some of comics most famous heroes and villains, and it isn’t all that rare that the line between those two gets blurred. In the case of the Nathaniel Richards of the 30th century — who has seen more timelines and realities than most could comprehend — the line between hero and villain may as well not exist. From Avengers and Fantastic Four villain to Young Avenger, Kang the Conqueror has packed several lifetimes’ worth of living into his life.
From a world that had never known the dark ages, this Nathaniel was named for that of the primary Marvel Universe, who brought with him the means to achieve global harmony. The road to becoming Immortus was a long one, however, and along the way, this Nathaniel Richards has had a lot of different identities.
Iron Lad
First appearing in 2005’s Young Avengers #1 by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, Iron Lad is a teenaged Nathaniel Richards who traveled back in time to the present of the primary Earth in order to stop his future self. While being bullied back home, the young Nathaniel was saved by his future self in the form of Kang the Conqueror, who had hoped that doing so would spurn his younger self towards a life of villainy and imperialism earlier than he originally had been. This only terrified the young Nathaniel, however, and he swore to become the kind of hero who could stop his future self while avoiding that same descent on his own. Founding the Young Avengers was only Iron Lad’s first step towards doing so, yet it would easily become his most iconic act of all.
Kid Immortus
Following the death of fellow Young Avenger Cassie Lang, aka Stature, Iron Lad returned to the time stream in grief. There, he researched his own life before taking on the villainous persona of Kid Immortus. Making his grand entrance in 2013’s FF #8 by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred, Kid Immortus had planned to outdo his other villainous selves. With his knowledge of various timelines and futures, Kid Immortus formed an alliance with Doctor Doom and Annihilus in the hopes of merging together to defeat the Fantastic Four as well as their replacements. Unfortunately, Doom decried both Kid Immortus and Annihilus as his inferiors, leading to their eventual defeat at the hands of the FF.
Rama-Tut
When Nathaniel Richards first embarked on his time traveling crusade to escape the boredom of an idyllic society, his ship crash-landed ancient Egypt. Blinded by the crash, Nathaniel was nursed to health by Baal before returning to the desert to recover the tech he had brought back with him. Using his robotic army, Nathaniel easily overtook Egypt and renamed himself Rama-Tut. When he was first introduced to the Marvel Universe in 1963’s Fantastic Four #19, the titular superhero team was captured by Rama-Tut’s army after arriving in ancient Egypt looking for the same cure that was used on Nathaniel’s blindness to bring back for Alicia Masters. Though they were unsuccessful in their original endeavor, they did end the first of Rama-Tut’s reigns.
The Scarlet Centurion
Following his jump back into the time stream, Nathaniel Richards’ was forced into the modern-day, leading to his introduction in 1968’s “…And Time, the Rushing River…” by Roy Thomas, Don Heck, and Werner Roth from Avengers Annual #2. Ditching his Rama-Tut guise for something inspired by Doctor Doom’s own armor, Nathaniel Richards arose as the Scarlet Centurion to torment the Avengers. By manipulating the Avengers from another reality during their classic battle with the Space Phantom, the Scarlet Centurion was able to put two teams of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against one another. While an alternate version of the Scarlet Centurion would be created by yet another split in the time stream and go on to menace the original Squadron Supreme, the first Scarlet Centurion would only find defeat at the hands of the Avengers.
Kang the Conqueror
Once he had returned to his title of Rama-Tut after giving up that of the Scarlet Centurion, Nathaniel Richards decided to return back to his own era only to miss the mark by ten centuries and end up stranded in an apocalyptic future filled with warring tribes of barbarians. Reinventing himself once more, Nathaniel Richards became Kang the Conqueror, and for once he lived up to the name he had given himself. Kang would conquer the Earth of this future before taking control of almost every major empire in the universe. Over the years Kang has fought tirelessly with the Avengers, beginning all the way back in his first appearance in 1964’s Avengers #8 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. With an introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the way, Kang is about to become a much bigger figure than he ever has been before — though he isn’t the ultimate form of Nathaniel Richards.
Immortus
Since debuting in 1964’s Avengers #10 by Stan Lee and Don Heck, Immortus has always been a thorn in the side of the Avengers, even going so far as to try and prevent them from ever assembling in the first place. Eventually having grown tired of the empire that he was less involved in than ever, Nathaniel Richards attempted to interfere in his own past only to meet his future self in the form of Immortus. After struggling to overcome his old age, Nathaniel moved to the timeless realm of Limbo to study the time stream, eventually becoming both Immortus and an agent of sorts to the Time-Keepers. Though not the most iconic version of Nathaniel Richards, Immortus was certainly the most imposing up until his death. Of course, death isn’t the end for a time traveler, and while Immortus might not, Nathaniel Richards is still living on.
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