Full spoilers follow for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has arrived in theaters – and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is unlikely to ever be the same. Not only is the Quantum Realm a whole new world for our characters to explore, but Kang the Conqueror – the MCU's next Thanos-level threat – is officially in play.
You can read our full Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania review for a non-spoiler take on the film. However, if you’ve either already seen the Marvel Phase 5 movie, or you want to spoil yourself silly with the details of the post-credits scene, read on.
This is your final warning: major Ant-Man 3 spoilers follow.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania mid-credits scene explained – what is the Council of Kangs?
At the end of this superhero movie, the exiled Kang is presumed dead. He was sucked into the core of his Time Chair, which is seemingly confirmed by a shadowy figure, ominously stating “The exile is dead.”
The figure is revealed to be Jonathan Majors, dressed and acting differently as another variant of Kang. His high-topped hat and grand dress robes seems to be (at least, from our fleeting glimpse of it) a reference to Immortus, traditionally the oldest and most powerful of Kang’s many variants.
He is talking to – surprise, surprise – Jonathan Majors again, dressed in an ancient Egyptian headdress. In the comics, Kang rules Egypt for a time as the pharaoh Rama-Tut, and it looks like this role has been given to another Kang variant, and reimagined as Immortus’ right-hand man.
That's not all. A third Kang variant, bald and decked out in futuristic armor, joins the duo as they speak about an incursion. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that word: explained in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, an incursion is what happens when universes collide, ending in one of those universes being destroyed.
Rama-Tut asks Immortus: “How many of us did you call?” to which Immortus replies “All of us.” They walk out into a grand colosseum, into which a cheering crowd of Kang variants appear vial teleportation devices, a little like the doors the TVA use in Loki season 1. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of them, all acting differently in individual variations of the villain’s classic outfits. This is the Council of Kangs, hinted at earlier in the film when Kang (this is getting confusing, so we'll call him Prime Kang from now on) warned of the coming of “me… A lot of me”. The variant we presume is Immortus seems to be leading that council.
It’s a safe bet to say these Kang variants are going to cause a multiversal war, which is sure to form the main plot of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and be resolved in Avengers: Secret Wars, both of which form part of Marvel Phase 6.
Just like the Secret Wars comics, this is likely to end in some of those universes’ merging, via the Incursions mentioned earlier, to create a single Earth Prime. The trouble with multiverse stories is that once you go too far down the rabbit hole, there are no stakes for the heroes: everything that could happen does happen somewhere. It makes sense for Secret Wars to look to restore the main MCU once all the alternate-reality shenanigans are over.
At the end of most MCU movies, there’s a legend along the lines of “Ant-Man and the Wasp (or whoever the heroes of the film might be) will return”, indicating their story isn’t done. However, this time the white text reads “Kang will return” instead.
As mentioned in our review, this is very much Kang’s film rather than Scott’s and Hope’s, and Marvel is pulling out all the stops to get its audience excited for 2025’s The Kang Dynasty by foreshadowing the Master of Time as a real threat to the Marvel multiverse.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania post-credits scene explained – Mister Timely
In Ant-Man 3‘s post-credits scene, Kang appears again in late-1800s dress, taking the stage in a Vaudeville-style theater as “Mister Timely”. He speaks to a packed crowd, in a very H.G. Wells-eque monologue regarding his new temporal contraption. In the audience is Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and Owen Wilson’s Mobius, linking this film nicely with Loki season 2, which will debut on Disney Plus later this year.
Although Mobius incredulously asks “That’s the guy you’re worried about?” to Loki, the God of Mischief met a Kang variant before, aka He Who Remains, in the Loki season 1 finale, and understands the threat he poses. Where does this scene slot into Loki’s timeline? MCU fans will have to tune into season 2 to find out.
For more Marvel-based coverage, see where we ranked Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in our best Marvel movies guide. Additionally, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order, or learn when Ant-Man 3 might land on Disney Plus.
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