If used sparingly enough, the concept of the multiverse could realistically power the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the foreseeable future, but if the franchise leans too far into it, then it could end up delivering a series of cop-outs and retcons that only dilute the mythology in the long run.
The MCU has something of a reputation for featuring a few too many fake out deaths as it is, which only lessens the stakes when so many characters have met their alleged demises, only to return further down the line. Having someone like Kang the Conqueror, who gives away his intentions in name alone, has put all of the franchise’s biggest names on notice, and it looks as though he’ll be the threat that causes the Avengers to assemble once again.
We’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Captain America 4 was in the works with Anthony Mackie long before it was confirmed – that we could be getting a glimpse into an alternate reality where Jonathan Majors’ big bad hands Earth’s Mightiest Heroes their asses on a silver platter, leveling the entire team in one fell swoop.
It would make sense to establish Kang’s dominance right off the bat, and it wouldn’t need to be much more than a brief scene, cutaway or flash forward to get the point across, and you wouldn’t even technically need any of the actors involved to hammer home the point, either. It could be as simple as witnessing iconography like a shattered Mjolnir or Stormbreaker, a shredded Spider-Man mask, War Machine’s crushed helmet or Sam Wilson’s discarded wings in a smoldering heap, and we’d still get the idea that Kang the Conqueror means business.
