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In Kang the Conqueror #3, Nathaniel Richards has a moment of clarity, renouncing not only his future self but also what has been his greatest weapon.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Kang the Conqueror #3, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Kang the Conqueror’s ruthlessness and cruelty have kept his tyrannical reign alive throughout the ages, although these things are not his greatest weapon. That honor goes to time itself, which Kang mastered long ago. However, not every version of Nathaniel Richards is the same across the Multiverse, and his latest variant is nothing like those who have come before. In Kang the Conqueror #3 (by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Carlos Magno, Espen Grundetjern and VC’s Joe Caramagna) Nathaniel has just made it perfectly clear that any cost is acceptable, even if that cost is his own history.
Nathaniel Richards began his current quest under the belief that his future self, Kang the Conqueror, would train him to master time and avoid the various pitfalls that the future held for him. Instead of becoming a greater version of himself than ever before, Nathaniel only found an unrelenting torrent of cruelty that left him vowing to destroy everything his future self would build. Having stepped into the future to do so, Nathaniel has finally come face to face with yet another version of Kang, this time in the midst of his very first battle with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes during the events of 1964’s Avengers #8 (by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). Sneaking aboard Kang’s ship before the time-traveling tyrant makes his historical escape puts Nathaniel in prime position to take down his future self, as well as a chance to decide exactly what it is that he holds most important in his life.
Nathaniel confronts Kang with a murderous fury, holding the villain responsible for every loss he has suffered so far, as well as those yet to come. Most prominent of the tragedies wrought upon him by Kang is that of Ravonna, the ancient Egyptian Moon Knight who Nathaniel fell in love with before she was made a slave of Rama-Tut. As Nathaniel decries everything Kang stands for, his elder self finally realizes the nature of their relationship, and he warns his younger self of the paradox that would be created by his demise. Surprisingly, Nathaniel isn’t worried about that at all. As far as this Nathaniel Richards is concerned, “Time means nothing to Kang.”
With those five words, Nathaniel establishes himself as an entirely new kind of Kang, one who has eschewed time as both a weapon and an obsession in favor of taking a stronger hold of his destiny. Never before has Kang the Conqueror turned his back on time, his greatest weapon.
It’s hard to imagine any other decision that could so drastically change the course of Nathaniel Richards’ life. Even the potential paradox that might come should he choose to kill his future self does not compare to disavowing his life’s obsession. With a few words, Nathaniel has pushed himself even further away from any other known version of Kang the Conqueror.
As it currently stands, there is little chance for Nathaniel to follow the path that leads to him becoming Kang. However, there is still the slight possibility that everything that has happened to him will eventually be the catalyst that transforms him into the very thing that he now hates.
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