Avengers Forever #9 (August 1999)

It's that time again! It's time to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes as they continue their battle against Immortus! Last time, our heroes learned some hidden secrets about the Marvel Universe's history, and discovered that all of Immortus's scheming was to keep mankind from reaching the stars. Oh, and Yellowjacket betrayed them. So, what happens now? Let's find out in Avengers Forever #9!

The cover is a Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino, Steve Oliff, Tony Kelly, and John Roshell piece. It depicts Kang standing among statues of his other selves, like Rama-Tut, Immortus, and the Scarlet Centurion. We also see a statue of Dr. Doom because Doom is a possible ancestor of Kang's. There is a nice detail of Kang standing in the shattered statue of Immortus, a little visual symbolism of his desire to shatter his destiny of beoming Immortus.

"Break: Reflections of the Conqueror"
Writers: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Penciler: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterers: Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins with Kang the Conqueror returning to his stronghold. 

He has come here to basically lick his wounds and to plan his next move. He removes his helmet and laments that he feels old. Real old. Like a lot of nerds when they are reminded of something they enjoyed in their childhood. 

He has come here to basically lick his wounds and to plan his next move. He removes his helmet and laments that he feels old. Real old. 

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Like a lot of nerds when they are reminded of something they enjoyed in their childhood. It's here we get the basic recap of Kang's origins. Once there was a man named Nathaniel Richards (the father of Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards of the Fantastic Four), a scientist who found himself in a post-apocalyptic world, as seen in Fantastic Four #272-273. He would help rebuild civilization there and guide that world to peace. Centuries later, the man who would become Kang was born.

The future Kang yearned for adventure and excitement, something he could not find in his native era, a time of peace and enlightenment. He researched his family line and discovered he was possibly related to Nathaniel Richards himself...or maybe Victor Von Doom, aka Dr. Doom. Either way, it didn't matter. Kang stumbled upon a time machine, creator unknown. He built the ship into the shape of a sphinx, and traveled back to Ancient Egypt. While there, he established himself as the pharoah Rama-Tut.

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This led to the events of Fantastic Four #19, in which the titular team managed to depose him. During his travels afterwards, he encountered his possible ancestor Doctor Doom floating in space (Fantastic Four Annual #2). The deposed pharoah claimed that he and Doom were the same man, in case he needed Doom's allyship one day. What better way to convince Doom to help you out than to play with his ego.

He would go on to take on the guise of the Scarlet Centurion, and battled the Avengers of an alternate timeline in Avengers Annual #2. It was here he learned of how divergent timelines can get. The Scarlet Centurion would go on to do his own thing, including battling the Squadron Supreme. Remember my reviews of their limited series?

Kang tried to go back to his own time, but thanks to a temporal storm, he ended up in the 40th century. This time was as a war-torn era. Kang was thrilled.

He fashioned himself an armored suit, inspired by Dr. Doom. Kang earned his nickname of "The Conqueror" in that time, bringing it under control. But for Kang, it wasn't enough. Kang wanted to conquer a world that was still vital, and test himself against the champions of it. This led to Avengers #8. His adventures and conquests continued...until love came into his war-loving heart.

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This was in Avengers #23-24. These events ended with Kang's love Ravonna ending up in stasis due to her injuries.  He wanted to save her, and the events of Avengers #269 would let him do so. In that comic, he discovered Immortus's stronghold in Limbo...and what at the time was Immortus's corpse.

He used Immortus's gadgets to rescue Ravonna...and made another discovery. You see, the timestream is like a mighty river. If you try to time travel, or force the river to go one way, you only end up making a tributary. Basically, Kang's adventures created alternate Kangs who would have various encounters with other heroes like the FF over the years. Kang had to prune them up a bit. And he would do so in Avengers #267-269.

I know, I know. Just bear with me. These events caused him to retreat. He would have further encounters with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. He realized he had grown tired. He retreated to Chronopolis, and dedicated his time to administrating his chronal empire.

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He was slowly becoming more and more like Immortus. He had resorted to subterfuge and deception like his future self. His governing of his chronal empire had him become more and more of a negotiator than a conqueror. He would continue having more encounters with various heroes. As he neared 60 years of age, he began to think back to his days as Rama-Tut. He would go back to Ancient Egypt and reassume his guise as the pharoah. This led to the events of Giant-Size Avengers #3. After that, he realized that he could no longer fight his fate. 

The man stepped into Limbo, ready to accept his destiny and become Immortus. However, as he entered, the former Kang would see some flashes of time, including this one.

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He is infuriated by this sight. Kang has always sought to be his own master. 

He would rather die than be a lapdog! He returns to Chronopolis and reassumes his Kang persona. This all lead up to the events of the first issue. The Kree's Supreme Intelligence contacts Kang, saying he's got something to tell him. 

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Well, Rick Jones does. He needs Immortus's help. The Avengers are gone, he knows Immortus has 'em, and he needs Kang to help find and rescue them. Basically, it's Rick, Kang, and the Supreme Intelligence against Immortus and the Time-Keepers. Kang likes those odds.

This was enjoyable. At least, I thought so. But then again, I'm a bit of a sucker for stories that use continuity and past stories like this. It can come off as a bit...dry to those who may not have a lot of knowledge of the Avengers' history. It is also definitely one of those issues that is best read as part of the whole miniseries instead of as an individual story.

What I am in awe of is how Busiek and Stern are able to tie together all these old stories done by various other authors and artists over the years and make it look like it was all part of a grander story for Kang and his struggles what basically is a midlife crisis. Yeah, that's what this is for Kang. A midlife crisis. He's getting older, and he's struggling with the idea of becoming something he utterly despises.