Victor Timely - the comic history of the Kang Variant

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How a lesser known Kang Variant could become a very big problem

Victor Timely in Marvel Comics
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Kang the Conqueror has numerous Variants in the Marvel Multiverse, from Rama-Tut and He Who Remains, to Immortus and more. But it's one of his lesser known doppelgangers that looks set to have a big role in the future of the MCU; Victor Timely.

The character, lifted straight from Marvel Comics, will feature heavily in Loki season 2, which premieres on Disney Plus on October 6, following his franchise introduction in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Played by Jonathan Majors, he'll likely prove an interesting adversary of the God of Mischief and his group of unlikely heroes; Mobius (Owen Wilson), Casey (Eugene Cordero), Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), and series newbie O.B (Ke Huy Quan).

Until we know his plan, though, let's take a look back at his comic origins... Be warned, there are light spoilers ahead for Ant-Man 3, so turn back now if you've yet to see the movie and don't want to know anything about its post-credits scene.

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(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

For everyone still reading along, we're talking about Victor Timely, a classic Kang Variant from Marvel Comics who has a key cameo in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, addressing an audience in what appears to be turn-of-the-century period clothing about the troubles of time, as Loki and Mobius watch on in horror.

You can get a full rundown of all the Easter eggs in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania here, but for now we're gonna focus on Victor Timely.

In Marvel Comics, Victor Timely first appeared in 1992's Avengers Annual #21 in a story by Mark Gruenwald (the legendary Marvel Comics writer/editor on whom the character of Mobius M. Mobius is based) and artist Herb Trimpe. 

In Marvel Universe terms, Victor Timely is an alias first used by Kang the Conqueror when traveling to the year 1901. Traveling back to 1901 under the guise of Victor Timely, Kang founds his own town, Timely, Wisconsin, where he also starts Timely Industries, which will eventually produce some of his time travel equipment.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

To seize his grip on the town of Timely, Kang used the alias of Victor Timely as long as it was feasible for him to be alive, then moved onto using the alias of Victor Timely, Jr.

Weirdly, for a long time, the location of Timely Wisconsin was quantum entangled with the position of Kang's city Chronopolis in the far future, but Chronopolis eventually sprawled far beyond those bounds.

In Marvel Comics, Victor Timely is less of his own Multiverse Variant as much as a disguise used by the core Kang. But in the MCU, he's portrayed as his own Variant - indicating that there's a good chance the town of Timely, Wisconsin itself may play a role in the lead up to the impending Avengers: Kang Dynasty film.

Kang the Conqueror is one of the best Avengers villains of all time. For more on Quantumania, check out our spoilery guides to...

George Marston
George Marston
Entertainment Writer

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011, and now I'm the Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)