SPOILER ALERT: This story talks about the character "He Who Remains" and the events in "Loki Finale" and other possible future plot points.

Where were we? Well, in the Loki Finale we met a new face of the MCU. At least that's what he called himself. Played by Jonathan Majors ("Lovecraft Country"), "The One Who Remained" stole the show from two scene stealers (Tom Hiddleston and Sofia di Martino) and played a key role in a moment that may be talked about in the MCU for years to come.

But we never expected the Majors to play "The One Who Remains." We all went into that episode thinking that Majors would be either Kang the Conqueror or Immortus. Both are names given by smart, clever men who try to control the timeline in ways that "The Remainder" might have done.

First of all, his emissary made an offer on his behalf. Miss Minute was the first to greet Loki and Sylvie, telling them that he could take back their lives, that is, kill Thanos. The Trickster did not believe this claim. He then sent Miss Minitz to Lavonna's office and gave her homework.

Later, Sylvie and Loki met the "remainder" who emerged from a room in a lavish, church-like building. Some statues were still standing, others were crumbling. Dust was flying everywhere, and Loki wondered if "he" was still alive.

Then "the remainder" popped out to marvel at two of the same people in the same room at the same time. He also asked if Miss Minute "still calls him that," revealing that he does not go by that name alone. It's spooky. I like it."

He then admitted that he was, as Loki put it, "just a man" and "flesh and blood" (his words). However, he is also a man with an extraordinary way of fending off attacks using a tenpad. If Loki and Sylvie are Adam and Eve who had to make a choice, as if to remind us of the Garden of Eden.

He is left behind and reveals that he knows both of Loki's variants well. In fact, he knows "everything," including how to dodge them. He had seen them coming here. He saw that look by the lake. He even says that he "paved the way" for them to reach the castle. This was all a preamble to claim that he was involved in every step that Loki and Sylvie took to get to his castle. This all seemed true and honest.

And "those who remain" offered Loki and Sylvie full authority over the TVA, essentially taking over his position. This all felt very Willy Wonka with the Wizard of Oz.

He told Loki and Sylvie about his backstory, which reeked of a certain conquering king Kang. He said, "I have been called many names by many people. Ruler, Conqueror, "He Who Remains" (capitalized "He Who Remains" in the Disney Plus subtitles), and "Jerk." But as he said, "It's not as simple as the name."

Kang's real name is Nathaniel Richards--yes, true believers, that Richards--a longtime thorn in the side of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and Ant-Man (who once led the Fantastic Four). Then there's Jonathan Majors, who "Deadline" reports will appear in Ant-Man and is "likely to play supervillain Kung the Conqueror." The source of that report even says, "There could be a twist in how this character appears in the upcoming film." Such, as you know, being a copy of Kang.

I would love to see Kang's Ant-Man 3 look. Thanks to a leak from the film's Crew Merchandise, we now have the possibility of getting a glimpse of the character. It's a very traditional take on the purple-helmeted villain, with Ant-Man's helmet in the reflection.

Left behind, he ejected a special stop-motion animation substance onto the table, then told a story about a variant of himself who was a scientist and lived on Earth in the 31st century. Then again, it agrees with Kang. In other words, He Who Remains is a variant of Kang the Conqueror. He is very dedicated to keeping the entire timeline in order and maintaining the best of it.

What I don't understand about He Who Remains is that he does not have the spirit of Kang for control of the timeline. He seemed ready to surrender control to Loki and Sylvie. As if he is retiring from being a supervillain. This makes him look like a variant who feels, to borrow an old phrase from another cinematic world, "too old for this shit."

Nevertheless, there is another way to read "those who remain." He may just be pretending to be ready to settle down. His conversation with Sylvie and Loki, and his death (more on that later), may have been a test to measure the behavior and actions of these variants.

Now, as we saw at the end of Loki's finale, the Time Variation Bureau is now officially under the control of the Kang/"those who remain" variant. At least, that is what the huge statue with the face of the "one who remains," not the timekeeper, suggests.

But Sylvie stabbed "the one left behind" and he died. But not before saying, "See you again," as if to wink at Sylvie and the audience that his time is not yet over. Kang's death and the collapse of the sacred timeline have obvious implications for two upcoming MCU films: "Doctor Strange in a Multiverse of Madness" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home. Both are situations in which variants or other names for "those who remain" could appear.

And we will see a major in "Ant-Man 3," and Richards' history with the family ensures that he will appear in Marvel's "Fantastic Four."

Yes, when we see "The One Who Remains" in Loki, he will not be called "Kang the Conqueror," but "Kang's Other Identity": immortus. During this period of Richards' life, Immortus pretended to be Kang and worked to control the timeline so that it would not become too divided.

All of this smacks of the first domino to fall in the next Thanos appearance in the MCU. He even has a potential supporter, Judge Lavona Lenslayer. Miss Minute gives her information to find "those left behind," and in the comics the two are connected. It is enough to convince me of his name. If we are going to see Jonathan Major here for a while. He will, in fact, stay.