Summary
- Kang the Conqueror defeated the Avengers in the major "Kang Dynasty" storyline by spreading them too thin and forcing major powers to surrender.
- Kang humiliated the Avengers by making the Wasp sign the articles of surrender, breaking their spirits in a way Thanos never did.
- While Thanos has defeated the Avengers in more obvious ways, Kang's victory is significant because of the human element involved.
Thanos are two of the Avengers' most powerful villains – and while both have gotten the best of Earth's Mightiest Heroes before, Kang's defeat of the team stands as the most significant, with one thing in particular setting him and his actions apart from the Mad Titan – Kang is human.
“Kang Dynasty” was a massive Avengers storyline running from 2001-2002, encoming over a dozen issues. It was authored by Kurt Busiek, with art by Kieron Dwyer, Rick Remender, Tom Smith, and many more.
Kang the Conqueror’s greatest assault on the Avengers came during the classic “Kang Dynasty” story arc, from the ealy 2000s. Launching all-out attacks across the globe, Kang bested the Avengers simply by spreading the team too thin, as he brought all of his forces to bear.
Ultimately, the world's major powers felt they had no choice but to formally surrender, after the Conqueror devastated Washington D.C. despite the best efforts of Thor and the other Avengers. To add insult to injury, Kang forced Marvel icon the Wasp to sign the articles of surrender herself, on behalf of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Kang Proves He's More Despicable Than Thanos, Thanks To His Love Life
Both Thanos and Kang have twisted romantic lives, but as seen in Avengers Annual #21, Kang is in a league way above the Mad Titan.
Kang Conquered The Avengers’ Spirits
With this deliberate act of humiliation against the Avengers, Kang officially broke the will of Marvel’s greatest heroes. He even had the paperwork to prove it, making it technically illegal when the heroes continued resistance efforts against Kang’s forces. This is the sort of petty, small, human action that the Conqueror lives for, despite the grandiose scale upon which he operates. More interestingly, it is the sort of thing that would never occur to Thanos. After all, the Mad Titan is a larger-than-life cosmic force – he’s not really concerned with moral, spiritual, or legal victories so long as his enemies are crushed before him.
Having snapped all life out of existence and threatened the universe countless times since, clearly Thanos is no stranger to defeating the Avengers, in arguably more obvious ways than Kang. However, Kang’s actions during "Dynasty: that truly rank as the Avengers' worst defeat. While the Mad Titan has devastated the Avengers’ forces several times, he has never really managed to break their spirits. In fact, one of the most famous Thanos interactions came from Captain America refusing to surrender to the Mad Titan, even after he destroyed most of Marvel greatest heroes. Still, Kang’s victory here is undoubtedly different, because of the human element.
Kang The Conqueror Is Pettier Than Thanos
Kang the Conqueror and Thanos are two of the greatest threats that the Avengers have ever faced. While both tyrants have irrevocably challenged, and altered the Marvel Universe in various ways, it is the human nature of Kang the Conqueror that makes him the true enemy of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Thanos will always be an alien threat – but Kang is humanity's darkest possible fate. Even though the Avengers will always rise up to fight back against any of Marvel Comics’ greatest tyrants, Kang the Conqueror has his victory in writing – and Thanos can’t say the same.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is available from Marvel Comics.
