Marvel Studios had big plans for Kang the Conqueror. After Jonathan Majors was cast as the time-traveling villain, the character was supposed to be the next Thanos-level threat. But those plans changed completely when Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment in December 2023.
The studio fired Majors, canceled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and replaced it with Avengers: Doomsday. Robert Downey Jr. is now set to play Doctor Doom instead. Many fans thought Kang was gone for good.
But X-Men ’97 Season 2 just brought back one of Kang’s most famous versions—Pharaoh Rama-Tut.
Who Is Rama-Tut and Why Does He Matter?
Rama-Tut first appeared in Fantastic Four #19 back in 1963. In the comics, he is a time traveler from the 30th century who went back to ancient Egypt to rule as a pharaoh. He used future technology to control the people.
Later, Marvel revealed that Rama-Tut was actually Kang the Conqueror. It became one of his earliest and most recognized identities.
In X-Men ’97 Season 2, Episode 3, the show travels back to 3000 BCE. The episode shows a young En Sabah Nur before he becomes Apocalypse. Rama-Tut rules Egypt as a cruel leader. He enslaves people and uses advanced machines to control them.
The episode makes it clear that Rama-Tut is from the future. He even calls himself “the conqueror.” For fans who know Marvel lore, this connection to Kang is obvious.
The MCU Connection That Never Happened
Rama-Tut briefly appeared in the MCU before. In the mid-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, three Kang variants appeared together. One of them was Rama-Tut, dressed as an Egyptian pharaoh.
Jonathan Majors played all three variants in that scene. At the time, Marvel planned to make Kang the main villain of the Multiverse Saga. The next Avengers movie was supposed to be called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
But after Majors was convicted, Marvel changed everything. They dropped Kang and moved to Doctor Doom as the new big villain. Rama-Tut never got to be a major part of the MCU story.
Now, X-Men ’97 is giving Rama-Tut a second chance. But this time, he looks different and has a new voice actor.
A New Actor Takes Over the Role
Instead of Jonathan Majors, X-Men ’97 cast John de Lancie to voice Rama-Tut. De Lancie is best known for playing Q on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Fans have praised this choice because both characters are powerful, tricky, and appear whenever they want.
The character design also changed. Rama-Tut now looks more like his comic book version. He wears green pants, gold gauntlets, and a green-and-gold headpiece.
This is a clear sign that Marvel is moving on from Majors. They are not using his likeness or voice anymore.
How Rama-Tut Shapes Apocalypse’s Origin
In X-Men ’97 Season 2, Rama-Tut plays a big role in Apocalypse’s backstory. The show reveals that En Sabah Nur grew up under Rama-Tut’s rule. The pharaoh enslaved his people and treated them terribly.
Young Nur leads a rebel group called the Sandstormers. They fight against Rama-Tut’s forces. At one point, Rama-Tut fires a powerful weapon at Nur’s hideout. The episode ends with a huge explosion and Rama-Tut laughing.
This story comes from the comics. In Marvel history, Rama-Tut tried to control En Sabah Nur because he knew the boy would become Apocalypse. He wanted to use that power for himself. The comic series Rise of Apocalypse covers this conflict in detail.
The show is adapting this idea while also connecting to a bigger Marvel storyline.
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What This Means for Marvel Fans
Many fans thought Kang was completely gone from Marvel. But X-Men ’97 proves that the character can still appear in different forms. Since the show is animated, Marvel has more freedom to use characters without worrying about live-action casting problems.
Some fans have also pointed out that Kang appeared in the original X-Men: The Animated Series. In Season 4, a character named Bender was actually Immortus, another Kang variant. So this is not the first time the X-Men have dealt with Kang.
X-Men ’97 Season 2 premiered on July 1, 2026, on Disney+. The first three episodes are available now. New episodes will come out weekly until the finale on August 12, 2026.
The show continues to explore different time periods. The X-Men are split across the past, present, and future. Their main challenge is finding their way back home while dealing with threats like Rama-Tut and the rise of Apocalypse.
For viewers in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and India, all episodes are streaming exclusively on Disney+. The platform releases new episodes every Wednesday.
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