The main thing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has going for it (and many people would say that’s not much) is that it finally sets the stage for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the long-awaited fifth team-up crossover event for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes that will see them take on Jonathan Majors’ titular temporal tyrant. Other than featuring the rise of Kang, it’s currently unclear exactly what the plot will be.
The most obvious suggestion is that it will take pointers from the comic book storyline also titled The Kang Dynasty, in which the villain successfully conquers the Earth with his son Marcus aka Scarlet Centurion. That may well be the case, but it’s just possible that the movie will borrow some pointers from another classic Avengers arc involving Kang, although it all depends on how things play out in the MCU’s next cinematic outing, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Mantis could take center stage in a Celestial Madonna arc
Let’s make this clear up front. If Kevin Feige and company do end up adapting the Celestial Madonna arc for the screen then that single decision may make us forgive every crime Phase Four committed as it would be such a ballsy move to tackle one of the most crazy, complex, and most unashamedly comic-booky events in Marvel Comics history.
“The Celestial Madonna” saga played out across The Avengers #129-134 and Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 (1974-5) and is pretty much impossible to summarize thanks to its many moving parts. Essentially, though, it sees Swordsman — known to MCU fans as Kate Bishop’s step-dad Jack Duquesne — return to the Avengers with new companion, Vietnamese martial artist Mantis.
It turns out that Mantis is the fabled Celestial Madonna, raised by a Kree sect known as the Priests of Pama, who is destined to mate with a Cotati — an ancient powerful species mentioned in Avengers: Infinity War — and give birth to the Celestial Messiah, “the most important being in the universe.” Kang, wanting to use her for his own ends, attempts to abduct Mantis, but is stopped by two of his more heroic variants, Rama-Tut and Immortus — characters already familiar to Quantumania viewers.
Along the way, Kang kills Swordsman, with Mantis realizing how much she loves him upon his death. In an ending that is supposed to be happy, but reads to modern audiences as extremely weird, Mantis eventually marries the Cotati spirit that inhabits Swordsman’s dead body and the couple indeed sire the Celestial Messiah, Sequoia.
Other plot threads of note include Vision learning his true origins, Agatha Harkness training up Scarlet Witch, and the introduction of Moondragon, Drax’s long-lost daughter.
How could the MCU be influenced by Mantis’ secret history?
While MCU Mantis is obviously a very different character from Comics Mantis, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special elevated her placing in the franchise’s power hierarchy thanks to the revelation she is Star-Lord’s sister and a fellow half-Celestial child of Ego.
While a Sarah Connor-type story about a female character’s importance to the timeline as a mother might be seen as dated by some, having Mantis be the key to Kang’s plans in could be an intriguing development. However, this theory could crumble if she doesn’t emerge from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 intact (although fans are pretty confident she’ll be OK).
Alternatively, (White) Vision learning about his past, Agatha and Wanda facing off again, and Drax’s legacy being explored through the entrance of Moondragon are all elements from “The Celestial Madonna” comics that would be perfect for inclusion in Avengers 5, given where these characters are placed right now in the MCU. It would be an unexpected turn from the studio, but looking to this sprawling ’70s storyline for inspiration could be a stroke of genius.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is out this May 5. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is schedule for release on May 2, 2025.
