Marvel's X-MEN '97 May Be Telling the AVENGERS: THE KANG DYNASTY Story the MCU Abandoned
Marvel Studios may have moved away from its original plans for Kang in the MCU, but one Marvel project has unexpectedly picked up pieces of that abandoned story.
If you've been watching the second season of X-Men ’97, you may have noticed that the animated series is weaving in ideas that feel strikingly similar to what was once planned for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Whether this was originally intended to connect more directly with the MCU before Marvel shifted course is anyone's guess. Either way, X-Men ’97 is giving fans an intriguing look at the kind of Kang story we may never get on the big screen.
The reveal unfolds during the two-part episode "Rise of Apocalypse," which continues the dramatic cliffhanger from Season 1. After being stranded in ancient Egypt, Beast, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Magneto, and Professor X cross paths with En Sabah Nur long before he becomes the world-threatening mutant known as Apocalypse.
At this point in history, En Sabah Nur is a former slave who rises up against the cruel ruler Rama-Tut. Comic fans already know that Rama-Tut is one of Kang the Conqueror's many identities, but X-Men ’97 holds that reveal until later in the story.
The second half of "Rise of Apocalypse" finally pulls back the curtain when Rama-Tut makes psychic contact with Professor X through advanced technology that closely resembles Cerebro. During their conversation, he warns Charles Xavier against trying to change En Sabah Nur's destiny.
According to Rama-Tut, he's already witnessed countless versions of the X-Men attempting to redeem Apocalypse across different timelines, and every single effort has failed. Even so, Kang tells Xavier that he hopes he succeeds because he wants to claim the Celestial artifact responsible for creating Apocalypse in the first place.
As expected, the X-Men can't prevent En Sabah Nur from embracing the path that transforms him into Apocalypse. With his kingdom falling apart, Rama-Tut abandons his followers. Before disappearing through time once again, he finally reveals his true identity by putting on the iconic Kang the Conqueror armor.
One of the more interesting moments comes when Rama-Tut references the many identities he's used throughout history. He tells Professor X that he has gone by several names, including "Nathaniel, Victor (and) Kang."
That line pulls together several famous Kang variants from Marvel Comics. Victor refers to industrialist Victor Timely, while Nathaniel references Nathaniel Richards, the father of Reed Richards. It's a clever reminder that Kang's influence stretches across countless eras and identities.
For longtime MCU fans, it also feels similar to the direction Marvel was originally building toward. Before Marvel Studios changed course, Jonathan Majors was expected to portray multiple Kang variants throughout the Multiverse Saga.
Audiences already got a glimpse of that larger plan in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where different versions of Kang continued appearing despite repeated defeats.
The long-term idea reportedly involved Earth's heroes defeating one version after another, only to discover that Kang kept returning in new forms across the multiverse. That escalating conflict was expected to culminate in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with heroes from multiple timelines joining forces to stop him once and for all.
While those plans have since been replaced, X-Men ’97 ends up delivering a surprisingly similar concept through animation. Multiple timelines, recurring Kang variants, and an enemy who has already seen countless futures all echo the larger story Marvel once seemed ready to tell.
Whether Kang becomes a bigger part of X-Men ’97 Season 2 remains to be seen. The series already has its hands full with Apocalypse and everything surrounding his rise to power, so there may not be much room for a larger Kang storyline.
Even so, "Rise of Apocalypse" offers a fascinating glimpse into a version of Marvel's multiverse that fans almost experienced in live action. For anyone still wondering what Avengers: The Kang Dynasty might have looked like, X-Men ’97 may have just provided the closest thing we'll ever get.