Ah, a new phase. Feels good to break off a new one. And with the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Five, we get a lot of things to chew on. We meet Kang and M.O.D.O.K. and spend a lot of time in the quantum realm in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. But arguably the most meat occurs in the final moments and the mid-credits and post-credits scenes. So much to discuss! But in order to do that, we’re going to have to spoil the end of the movie. So if you’d like to wait until you see Quantumania, this is your jumping off point. Everyone else, join me below to learn about Quantumania‘s ending and credits scenes!
Ant-Man the Wasp: Quantumania‘s Ending
The movie, which has all of the members of the Lang/Pym/Van Dyne conglomerate in the Quantum Realm, ends with Scott and Hope defeating Kang the Conqueror by sucking him into his exploding/imploding multiversal engine core. The end of Kang, right? Well, no. As Scott narrates the denouement, a mirror to the movie’s opening, he starts to worry they didn’t actually stop Kang. You see, this Exiled Kang kept saying he wanted revenge on those who exiled him. They, it seems, were even worse than he was.
Scott shrugs it off as the credits roll. But the mid-credits scene shows him exactly why he was right to worry.
Ant-Man the Wasp: Quantumania‘s Mid-Credits Scene
The mid-credits scene shows us something I did not expect to see so soon: the Council of Kangs! That’s right, we know Kang has a million variants but I thought Marvel Studios might hold off on showing them. But no. We first see Rama-Tut, the version of Kang who appeared first in Marvel Comics. He cross paths with the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #19. He speaks with two other Kang variants. The most prominent of these is Immortus, who actually first appeared only two issues after Kang Prime, in Avengers #10.
The third of these is less clear. It’s a bald Jonathan Majors with a silver metal body. It’s possible this is a version of Scarlet Centurion (without the red hue, of course). It could also be the MCU’s take on Kid Immortus or Iron Lad, though that’s much less likely.
At any rate, they talk about how outsiders killed the exile variant. The Avengers have started to touch the multiverse and this is potentially very bad for Kang-kind. Immortus has called all the other Kangs together. We then cut to an arena where Kang upon Kang appears and all seem to holler and carouse together, waiting for the meeting to commence.
This final collage of Kangs hearkens back to the first appearance of the Council of Kangs in Avengers #292. We even see a shouting lizard Kang who appeared in that panel.
Pretty good mid-credits, setting up the entire roster of Kangs… almost.
Ant-Man the Wasp: Quantumania‘s Post-Credits Scene
The post-credits scene finds us in the early 1900s with someone showing off some very futuristic tech to the Victorian crowds. We see it’s Jonathan Majors with a wild hairstyle and facial hair and little round glasses. We also see a banner which says he’s Victor Timely.
Victor Timely was a Kang variant who first appeared in Avengers Forever #9. After a humiliating defeat in the comics, he traveled back in time to the early 20th Century, set himself up as a Thomas Edison-esque inventor and created a business and tech empire.
As Timely speaks, we see Loki and Mobius whispering about how this is the man Loki met and was subsequently warned about. He’s terrifying, Loki says. This lets us know this post-credits scene is actually a scene from Loki season two, a fact that director Peyton Reed has now officially confirmed. Thus, we will not have long to wait for more Kang, in any of his many guises. Season two of Loki will air some time mid-2023.
So many Kangs, so little time!
Originally published on February 16, 2023.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.