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In Kang the Conqueror #2, Marvel reveals how the time-traveling Avengers villain transformed into his more heroic Young Avengers alter ego.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Kang the Conqueror #2, on sale now from Marvel.
The long, convoluted story of Kang the Conqueror is one that stretches across thousands of years under many different names, and the latest version of Nathaniel Richards to find a place in the spotlight is looking to erase almost all of his variants from the history books. This Nathaniel’s experiences with his older self have left him scarred and scornful, with a burning desire to eradicate everything connected to Kang. Luckily there are plenty of other titles for Nathaniel to claim, and he has created an all new Iron Lad persona in Kang the Conqueror #2 (by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Carlos Magno, Espen Grundetjern, and VC’s Joe Carmagna).
After being subjected to the unrelenting cruelty of his future self, Nathaniel Richards stole away with Kang’s armor to another time, leaving the tyrant to a devastating fate. Unfortunately, the young adventurer didn’t end up anywhere much better than the prehistoric era he had just left behind. Upon crash landing in the desert of ancient Egypt, Nathaniel discovered he had ended up in the middle of the reign of Rama-Tut, another of his twisted variants.
Rama-Tut’s soldiers attacked Nathaniel, and although he fought back with a lethal ferocity, his life would end up being narrowly saved by an ancient Moon Knight. Once they had escaped the fray Nathaniel was led by his new ally to a hidden temple built to honor Khonshu, the god of the moon. It was there that Nathaniel was flooded by memories of the pain he had endured at the hand of Kang, and vowed to take his revenge against Rama-Tut. By reaching out through the neurokinetic armor he had stolen from Kang, Nathaniel Richards was able to forge a heroic identity that is familiar to the ranks of the Young Avengers, but nonetheless new to him.
Nathaniel forges Kang’s armor into something completely different, yet easily recognizable as the the armor of the Young Avenger Iron Lad. In a suit bearing a striking resemblance to Tony Stark’s armor, Nathaniel Richards unleashes a vicious assault on the forces of Rama-Tut. Of course, this not the first time that Iron Lad has been seen in action, with his first introduction to the Marvel Universe taking place all the way back in 2005’s Young Avengers #1 (by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung).
Much like the current version of the character, the original Iron Lad was a version of Nathaniel Richards who had been trained by Kang the Conqueror in the hopes of fulfilling his destiny earlier than expected. Instead, Nathaniel was horrified at what he would eventually become and traveled back in time to seek out the Avengers’ help in fighting his older self. Upon arriving in the primary Marvel Universe, he discovered that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were no longer in action, leading him to form the Young Avengers alongside Patriot, Hulkling, and Wiccan. Unlike his counterpart, the Nathaniel Richards of Kang the Conqueror has already left the titular version of himself for dead, creating the question of just where this particular Iron Lad is headed from here.
While there are still the matters of Rama-Tut’s army and empire to contend with, this version of Nathaniel Richards doesn’t look like he is headed to the present anytime soon. He has also already displayed the sort of killing streak that his Young Avengers counterpart was hesitant to embrace, although being surrounded by a literal warzone certainly plays a large part in that difference.
Still, there is no question that this is the most vicious version of Iron Lad that has even been seen. And with an equally ruthless Moon Knight by his side, there is a high probability that the trend will continue for the foreseeable future.
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