Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania “Timely” Mid and Post Credit Scenes Explained
“Time is everything. It shapes our lives, but perhaps… We can shape… it.”
(2023, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel Studios) https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/kang-jonathan-majors-ant-man-and-the-wasp-1674029688.jpg
March 10, 2023
DISCLAIMER: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Please DO NOT continue reading this article if you intend on seeing this movie since it does contain MAJOR Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania spoilers (originally released exclusively in theaters on February 17th, 2023).
Previous Articles
(SPOILER FREE) Go check out a previous Quantumania article, “Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Official Trailer Breakdown and Hidden Details”, which broke down the first official Quantumania trailer released in October. The trailer was to Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” as it did fit perfectly into Quantumania on a “thematic level”.
(SPOILER FREE) Go check out a previous Quantumania article, “Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania New Trailer Breakdown and Hidden Details”, which broke down the most current Quantumania trailer, released as ticket sales began to drop.
(MINOR SPOILERS) Go check out a previous Quantumania article, “Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Movie Review”, where Val Kohan critically reviews the third installment in the Ant-Man trilogy, Quantumania.
(MAJOR SPOILERS) Go check out a previous Quantumania article, “‘Welcome Back’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Ending Explained ?!”, which broke down the questionable ending, putting the pieces of Scott’s life back together.
Marvel’s Phase Five has officially entered a new dynasty… “The Kang Dynasty”. Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains, the main antagonist of Loki or the man behind the curtain of the entirety of the MCU as we know, was just a taste of Marvel’s new big bad, Kang the Conqueror. He Who Remains even left us with these spine chilling words in the Loki finale, “And if you think I’m evil, just wait until you meet my variants.” Jonathan Majors promised us this, audiences finally got a sense of what he was teasing. With only one movie into Phase Five, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, we have seen one of the most powerful variants, Kang the Conqueror, or so we thought… Thanks to the two pivotal credit scenes at the end of Quantumania, boy were fans wrong about that. The mid-credit scene revealed the main three Kang variants who sent Quantumania’s Kang the Conqueror to the Quantum Realm but also teased multiple (hundreds upon thousands) of Kang variants coming together. But the end credit scene revealed a major, surprising twist for Marvel’s biggest villain yet… An astounding 19th century inventor, who seems harmless but should be the most feared…
Mid-Credit Scene “The Council of Kangs”
As true Marvel fans know by now, they do not leave until the last credit has rolled. In the mid-credit scene, it centers on a trio of Kangs (all played by Jonathan Majors) gathered after Kang the Conqueror was “killed”. Each Kang presented in the mid-credit scene reflects designs fans would recognize from the comics. The main three Kang variants seen are Immortus, Rama-Tut, and who is suspected to be Scarlet Centurion. Immortus says, “None of us killed him.” If fans recall from Quatumania, Kang the Conqueror was exiled to the Quantum Realm, but it is never explained why the Council decided upon this decision. If he was such a threat to other variants, why didn’t they kill him themselves?? It also begs the question, was the Kang fans saw in Quantumania too strong to be killed by the Council and the Quantum Realm weakened him?? Since Kang wasn’t truly killed in Quantumania, will he make a surprise return in his normal, stronger form?? Loki himself, one of the only Marvel characters to come face to face in the MCU before Quantumania, described Kang as a “very dangerous person” who is just set on war, just waiting for new lands to be conquered. Immortus continues to say, “They [Ant-Man and The Wasp] did. They’re beginning to touch the multiverse. If we let them, they will take everything we built. So let’s stop wasting time.” In order to stop the Avengers from interfering with their plans after witnessing two Avengers (Ant-Man and The Wasp) kill “the exiled one”, Immortus announced that he has summoned all of the Kang variants from across the multiverse, forming the Council of Kangs. The mid-credit scene shows an entire stadium filled with thousands of Kang variants bellowing together against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. It is clear to see that the variants of Kang are ready for the fight which will not bode well for The Avengers and especially Scott. The variants impose that “the exiled one” was the biggest threat to the universe, if Scott and Hope were able to “kill” him as easily as they did, The Avengers have a big storm coming for them once the Council of Kangs gets involved.
The end shot of the Council of Kangs gathered in the stadium is a directed panel of the multiverse alliance taken from the comic, Avengers 292. What is throwing comic book fans a bit off is that the Council of Kangs do not appear in the Kang Dynasty or Secret Wars comic. So, why would Marvel introduce them to lead to their two major cinematic movies?? Another question fans are left with are, in the comics the multiple versions of Kang are because of time travel, starting with the first Kang persona, Nathaniel Richards (rumored to appear in Iron Heart) whereas in the MCU it seems to be that each variant of Kang is from a different universe.
Who Are the THREE Kang Variants??
The Once and Future King… Immortus- The presumed leader of the Council of Kangs is Immortus. This is the all blue version of Kang with golden eyes and a comic accurate outfit with the matching headpiece. In the comics, Immortus is the “future incarnation of Kang the Conqueror” who is actually an agent of the Time Keepers (TVA). He is tasked with disbanding the Avengers but insteads leads them becoming the Custodian of Time and the ruler of Limbo (a pocket universe).
Expert Time-Traveler… Scarlet Centurion- This is a future-born Nathaniel RIchards (first personnel of Kang), who uses his mind for robotics and manipulation to overthrow societies disguised as Pharaoh Rama-Tut. As he travels more and more into the future, he adopts a new guise, Scarlet Centurion.
Fit for a King… Kang… Pharaoh… Rama-Tut- This is the first Kang to debut in the comics who was a robotics student who time traveled, adopting the alias of Rama-Tut. Future version of Kang before he takes up the name and identity of Immortus. This Egyptian Pharaoh gets inspiration from Doctor Doom and soon becomes Immortus.
End Credit Scene “Time is Everything.”
Though a majority of Quantumania audiences were most focused on the mid-credit scene, the end credit scene may arguably be the most interesting one and pivotal for the future of the MCU. After the last credits roll, the scene opens with a black screen, as a familiar voice narrates, “Time is everything.” Curtains open to a stage full of inventions (possibly time machines) and pans to a sign which says “Victor Timely and his Astounding Imporrium of …” It appears to be the 19th century (late 1910s to early 1920s). “It shapes our lives, but perhaps…” a silhouette of the man who is speaking appears. “We can shape it.” A spotlight suddenly shines on the unknown figure, revealing Jonathan Majors, AKA yet another Kang variant. The Loki (TVA) theme begins to play as the camera shifts into the crowd, focusing on one specific audience member. A man in a top hat, a face fans know and love. Lo and behold, Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston, and Mobius (Owen Wilson)… Loki whispers, “It’s him.” Morbius says, “What? You make him sound like this terrifying figure.” The scene ends on Loki’s face as he shockingly says, “He is.” The screen goes black, but Marvel leaves us with these final three words, “Kang Will Return”.
This credit scene just proves everything explained in the season one final of Loki. The character of Victor Timely himself explains why they reshape the past instead of creating alternate timelines or branches. He Who Remains also claims that he is reborn at some point and everything will happen all over again, hence why he said, “I’ll see you soon.”
Who is Victor Timely?? (Comic Background)
So, who is this Victor Timely that Loki claims is the most fearsome and powerful man he has ever encountered?? Yes, the end credit scene was one of the most unique ways to introduce one of the most successful Marvel projects, the original Disney+ series Loki, but please note that even though Victor Timely may not look like much, he may be the biggest threat in the MCU as of now. So, now that we’ve already seen Loki and Mobuis travel back to the 19th century to witness Victor Timely’s show.
Well, in the comics, Victor Timely is, you guessed it, a Kang variant, who traveled all the way back to the 19th century to start his conquering as early as he could, in a quest of the modern age. Due to the defeat of Kang Prime, a divergent version of Kang, Victor Timely, decided to establish his foundation, so he traveled back to the late 19th century, early 20th century (1901). There he not only established the town Timely, WIscosin, in which he became mayor. So, as a respected leader (or conqueror) he started setting up factories and business using his knowledge of future technology. All of this became known as “Timely Industries”. During this time, Timely created the realm of Chronopolis, which was most notably seen in Quantumania, he used aging robot stand-ins while conquering the multiverse. In Timely, Wisconsin, “generations” of Timely were in office with not only Victor Timely but Victor Timely Jr. and Victor Timely the Third.
It is most likely that the character of Victor Timely will have a major role in Loki season two and a crucial impact in “The Kang Dynasty”. It is suspected that this scene is taken directly from Loki season two, as seen in previous Marvel mid and end credit scenes.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is exclusively in theaters now!!
