One thing that X-Men ‘97’s season one finale established for the upcoming second sequel was a look at one central X-Men villain who will dominate the story heading into the future, and that villain was none other than Apocalypse. Whether you are a fan of the original animated series or the comics themselves, Apocalypse has established himself as a mutant and cosmic powerhouse on par with the Mad Titan Thanos. Born in Ancient Egypt as the young mutant En Sabah Nur, one thing that may surprise some people is the shocking villain who helped create the all-powerful Apocalypse: Kang the Conqueror.

The time-traveling warlord appeared in Ancient Egypt early in his career as the Pharaoh Rama-Tut. Knowing the history of Apocalypse, Kang would make moves to eliminate the then-young mutant, creating animosity between the two that would spark thousands of years of chaos on Earth between them. With the X-Men '97's second season partially exploring the early years of En Sabah Nur, aka Apocalypse, it seems only fitting that the upcoming season will feature or at least introduce Kang the Conqueror.

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Who is Kang the Conqueror?

Kang the Conqueror, or Nathaniel Richards, a 31st-century scientist and descendent of Reed Richard’s father of the same name, became utterly fascinated with history. Discovering designs for a time machine from Victor Von Doom, Nathaniel built his machine and raced back into the past, setting himself up to become Rama-Tut, a mighty Pharaoh of Egypt. When his plans there ultimately failed when a time-displaced Fantastic Four defeated him, he sought to gain more power by meeting Doom in the 20th century, building an armor similar to Doom and calling himself the Scarlet Centurion in the process.

In this disguise, he fought the Avengers, making them fight alternate-reality versions of themselves so that he could eliminate the heroes. However, the Avengers overcome those odds, defeating their counterparts and the Scarlet Centurion before tossing him into an alternate reality to face the Squadron Supreme, Marvel’s answer to the Justice League. This led Nathaniel back to his time, but his machine overshot the coordinates, and he arrived at a war-torn time 1,000 years into his future. Using his knowledge and strength to conquer this already defeated Earth, he decided it was time to use his cunning to conquer a more fertile and robust Earth, so he donned the name Kang the Conqueror and went back to the 20th century, starting his years-long battle with the heroes of Earth.

Kang the Conqueror faces En Sabah Nur

Before his tenure as Kang, the future villain ruled Ancient Egypt as Rama-Tut, the Pharaoh of Egypt. When he built his empire in the past, Nathaniel Richards knew the power that En Sabah Nur would present in the future. The future mutant villain was abandoned as an infant when his mutant appearance was discovered. En Sabah Nur was taken in by Baal, the leader of the Sandstormers, who named the mutant, which meant The First One in the ancient language. However, Rama-Tut sent his General Ozymandias to destroy the Sandstormers so that the young mutant could be taken to the Pharoah to be used for his future power to cement Pharaoh’s rule for centuries to come.

However, the plan fails, with Baal taking the young mutant into a cave and revealing the source of their power, which is ancient alien technology from the all-powerful Celestials. As Baal passes on, the young mutant swears revenge on Rama-Tut. After having his heart broken by Ozymandias’s daughter upon her discovering his mutant heritage, a rageful En Sabah Nur triggers his mutant powers to emerge and renames himself Apocalypse. Realizing his mistake too late, Rama-Tut flees, and Apocalypse infuses himself with the technology of the Celestials to become an all-powerful leader of Egypt.

Rama-Tut Appearing in X-Men ‘97 Season 2?

The end of Season One of the hit Marvel animated series showed Xavier, Magneto, Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Beast coming upon a scene in Ancient Egypt where a young En Sabah Nur is fighting off what appears to be Rama-Tut’s forces. With the time-displaced heroes encountering Apocalypse before his rise to villainy, the show promises to dive into the mutant behind the villain. What better way to do that than by introducing the villain who helped create Apocalypse?

With Kang the Conqueror also becoming a significant part of the fabric of the MCU’s current phases, introducing a multiversal variant of Kang that helped create one world’s version of Apocalypse would be a great way to tie the X-Men ‘97 heroes into the tapestry of the MCU multiverse as a whole. Giving fans a glimpse at these two powerhouse villains facing off brings a classic comic book moment into Apocalypse’s story and adds to the depth and mystery of the X-Men ‘97 universe as a whole.

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X-Men '97

The animated X-Men team returns in the Disney Plus reboot, X-Men '97. With Professor X gone, Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, and the rest of the mutants find themselves under the leadership of Magneto and facing a new threat. X-Men '97 is the first project under the newly created Marvel Animation banner.