The Only Avenger Kang Fears in the Marvel Multiverse Totally Makes Sense (2024)

Throughout the course of Marvel's Savage Avengers, the eponymous team spent months on end hunting down and battling the ancient, evil sorcerer known as Kulan Gath. Luckily, the team had Conan of Cimmeria on their side, whose prior experiences with Kulan Gath proved invaluable during their many encounters. Thanks to Klan Gath's infernal cunning, this war raged on both across the globe and through time, and it was only with the help of the likes of Doctor Doom and Kang the Conqueror that the heroes eventually ended Gath's reign of terror on Earth.

Most surprisingly of all, it was the unlikely pairing of Conan of Cimmeria and Kang the Conqueror who took it upon themselves to ensure that the threat of Kulan Gath would never rise again. However, their adventure gave Kang the insight he needed to determine that Conan was far too dangerous to be left alive, not to mention the impetus to take action against the perceived threat at hand. Unfortunately for Kang, even his seemingly infinite power hasn't been enough to keep Conan down, although a change of publishers very well might, at least as far as their specific rivalry is concerned.

Updated on March 9, 2024 by John Dodge: Conan continues to be Kang's most-well-matched adversary, but their rematch still seems unlikely. This article has been updated to examine why they might not face off again anytime soon in greater depth and to adhere to CBR's current formatting guidelines.

Conan Is Kang the Conqueror's Biggest Threat Across Time

After destroying Kulan Gath in their respective present, albeit with some help from the interdimensional Eldritch horror known as Shuma Gorath, the Savage Avengers found themselves at an impasse. Conan, Kang and Doom were all in agreement that the wizard, who they had seen recover from a mortal demise time and time again, wasn't a threat that they could be expected to continuously oppose. Conan and Kang then took their leave for the Hyborian Age for what initially looked like a tragic confrontation with the boy who would become their greatest nemesis. Thankfully, the Cimmerian assumed the task of training the young Kulan Gath in the ways of the blade rather than those of the mystic arts, averting the darkest of fates in the process. Considering the overall absence of any gruesome combat or overt bloodshed, this certainly stands out as one of the most astounding victories seen by any of the Savage Avengers.

Unfortunately, this victory also granted Kang all the reason he needed to end Conan's life on the spot. As Kang the Conqueror explained in Savage Avengers #28 (by Gerry Duggan and Patch Zircher), Conan was actually Kang's biggest competition at the end of the world. As such, the Cimmerian became a threat to Kang's rule whether he realized it or not. Kang even told Conan about the myriad of possible futures that he had already foreseen for the Hyborian Age hero, from that of a cosmic Nova Corpsman to that of an immortal warrior. The time-traveling despot claimed he had merely "noticed" Conan and did actually harbor any fear of the warrior, but that particular lie was so thinly veiled that Kang retreated at the first available opportunity rather than attempt to stick around and prove his mettle in any meaningful way.

Kang's Rivalry With Conan is Potentially Never Ending

Conan's accomplishments during his recent stay in the modern era of the Marvel Universe have been nothing short of incredible. Of course, so are the heights to which Conan arose during his latest stay in Marvel's Hyborian Age, as seen in Marvel's King Conan series (by Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar). As a testament to just how deep the impact of the Cimmerian's rule truly was, the effects of Conan's reign are still felt by Kang thousands of years later, perhaps justifying the innate fears of the self-proclaimed Master of Time. Considering just how much change Conan was able to enact as the king of a civilization most people don't even know ever existed, not to mention with almost none of the resources, Conan the Cimmerian more than proved himself Kang's equal away from the battlefield just as much as he ever did on it.

This moment clearly left a profound impression upon Kang, whose obsession with Conan lived on long after the dust was apparently settled between them. As readers became privy to later on during a trip deep in the villain's stronghold, Kang kept the sword, crown, and other accouterments of King Conan as trophies. However, possession of those items doesn't mean their rivalry has been settled, nor that it was Kang who brought about an end to Conan's time on Earth. Much like how Conan contacted Kang through the centuries when he was first called upon to help battle Kulan Gath, the Cimmerian has etched a warning for the time traveler through his present-day actions. While that set up what could have been the next epic clash between time-displaced titans, it is hard to imagine that Marvel fans will ever get to see this particular rivalry properly wrapped up, especially now that Conan has moved on to another pop culture universe entirely.

Why Marvel Fans Will Likely Never Get the Rematch That Kang and Conan Both Deserve

For all the work that went into setting up the rivalry between Conan and Kang, not to mention the years of work that Marvel put in to establishing their very specific version of the former, there is currently nothing that the publisher can do to make it continue. In July 2022, the news officially broke that Marvel had decided not to renew their rights to Conan as of May the same year. Instead, the rights to the Conan franchise were picked up by Titan Comics, who began publishing their own ongoing Conan the Barbarian series the following year. Written by Jim Zub and featuring the art of José Villarrubia and Robert De La Torre, Titan Comics' Conan the Barbarian is a far cry from the version of the character who starred across multiple Marvel titles, yet he is still quintessentially Conan as longtime fans know him.

That being said, the fact that Conan is now the star of an entirely separate pop culture universe puts a serious damper on the possibility of a rematch between him and Kang the Conqueror at any point in the near future. Having just recently picked up the title, it is hard to imagine that Titan Comics will be interested in letting go of Conan any time soon. At the same time, Marvel's more recent rendition of Conan wasn't the first time that they have held the rights to the character, and it likely won't be the last if the character's past is any indication. Prior to Marvel's original licensed Conan comics in the 1970s, Mexican readers were already well acquainted, as Spanish language Conan comics had been around for more than twenty years at that point.

After Marvel, Dark Horse Comics picked up the rights to Conan, kicking off multiples series and titles that spanned 2003 all the way through 2016. It wasn't until 2019 that Marvel Comics reacquired the rights to Conan and began their rebranding of the character so that he could fit within the confines of the wider Marvel Universe and its history. Along the way, Marvel also folded various other Conan character and concepts into the reality of Earth-616, which makes it that much more surprising that they let the character move on into the hands of another publisher. Then again, Conan's exit from Marvel as a publisher hasn't rewritten or undone any of the stories featuring him in recent years. This fact leaves the door wide open for Conan of Cimmeria to eventually return to the Marvel Universe should his publishing rights make their way back to Marvel Comics. And, while Kang might be able to rest easy otherwise, that admittedly slim possibility looming overhead is enough to ensure that he doesn't.

Savage Avengers (2022) #1

WRITER

David Pepose

Artist

Carlos Magno

Letterer

Travis Lanham

Cover Artist

Leinil Francis Yu, Sunny Gho

Publisher

Marvel Comics

Price

3.99

Release Date

May 18, 2022

Colorist

Espen Grundetjern