Who Is Kang’s Son Scarlet Centurion, and Will We Ever See Him in the Mcu?

Warning: This article contains mild spoilers for Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania and disturbing plot points for The Kang Dynasty comic book arc.

The Kang Dynasty we expect to meet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a collective of Kangs. That’s the thing with multiversal varieties of a Nexus supervillain. There aren’t generations so much as a sideways sprawl of beings, any of whom might ask a favor at the end of time or try to smash you to bits in the Quantum Realm. In the mid-credit scene of Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania, the Council of Kangs is present and correct, lifting classic scenes directly from the comics for total Kangdemonium.

But the story of Kang is always complex. Clearly, the time-traversing tyrant is one of the most self-obsessed villains in the multiverse, but could the Kang Dynasty refer to more than infinite iterations of the Conqueror?

Marvel Comics has given Kang a son, who confusingly has the name of a persona the villain assumed on one of his runs through the timeline, and who appears briefly in Quantumania. Interestingly, the critical storyline involving the younger Scarlet Centurion gives its name to the grand finale of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Kang, the Scarlet Centurion

Kang is Nathaniel Richards, a human from the 31st century, gifted the intellect and ability to travel through time by his ancestors, who likely include his namesake, Reed Richards’ father, and Victor von Doom. In Kang’s chronology, he first encountered the Fantastic Four while posing as Pharaoh Rama Tut in Ancient Egypt. Displaced from his first spot of conquering, the tyrant traveled to the 20th century, where he met his forebear Doctor Doom. Inspired by the Latverian ruler’s armor, Kang assumed the persona of the Scarlet Centurion. It was a gateway persona before the Kang we’re more familiar with appeared. 

In Quatumania, one of the three Kangs conspiring before the Council of Kangs Assembles appears to be the Scarlet Centurion form of the villain, despite a distinct lack of red tones.

Markus Kang, the Scarlet Centurion

Kang has been shown to have few limits on his unquenchable quest for power. As effectively immortal as the tyrant is, he once considered heirs to his multiversal empires with a typically unorthodox approach.

The Kang Dynasty arc reveals Kang fathered multiple sons with women chosen explicitly for their genetic potential. To keep things simple, the control freak named each Marcus, and had each sent to different worlds to train as warriors and leaders. Naturally, he sent them back in time so they could age to adulthood in a month of their father’s life (although he checked in every couple of weeks to test their progress). Even a Conqueror who exists beyond time has to keep an eye on their diary. In all, 23 Marcus Kangs disappointed their father and were put to death before Marcus XXIII surpassed expectations and earned the tyrant’s respect. 

The reward for proving his fighting prowess, surviving a grueling selection process, and showing undying loyalty to his father was inheriting Kang’s Scarlet Centurion mantle. 

The gift boosted Marcus’s skills in battle and tactical prowess. His armor increased his strength while his halberd — an updated medieval ax on a spike — could fire powerful energy blasts. As a loyal heir to Kang, Marcus naturally had access to advanced machinery, weaponry, space stations, and time-manipulating technology. He controlled vast enemies by example and by lineage. 

But fittingly, considering the manipulation and distortion of his birth, he was defeated by love.