10 Comics You Must Read Before Avengers: Infinity War

5. Kang Dynasty

Kurt Busiek's Avengers run is undeniably one of the best out there, and still it's yet to get its big MCU break. That sucks, and while there are plenty of storylines from his tenure on the book that deserve the cinematic treatment, The Kang Dynasty presents perhaps the best opportunity to build on the cosmic influences of Infinity War, Guardians, and Doctor Strange.

The interesting thing about this particular storyline, however, is that the villain is successful for the vast majority of it. He takes over the world for a good while, taking a once clichéd threat and crystallising it in horrifying fashion, and it takes a whole lot of grafting from Earth's Mightiest Heroes to undo the damage caused.

Kang is a lot like Thanos in that respect, except without the stone-themed infatuation that typified the Mad Titan's role as an Avengers antagonist. A time-traveling dictator from the future, Kang is as draconian as they come, flying around in a giant sword-shaped space-ship and taking a particular interest in Earth. In TKD, he realises his quest and the Avengers have to throw the entire kitchen sink at him in order to win, a victory which - even then - comes at great cost.

There's some confusion regarding who holds the rights to the character (in much the same way there was with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch), but he's an Avengers villain through and through, and one comparable to Thanos at that.