Operating under the alias Mister Gryphon, a splinter version of Kang the Conqueror has tunnel vision for one thing: destroying the Avengers and the will to do so.
A Kang Divided
Hailing from Earth-6311 in the 31st century, Nathaniel Richards grows up to become a student of robotics. When he finds his ancestor’s time machine, he uses it to escape boredom and ends up in Ancient Egypt as the evil Pharaoh Rama-Tut. Though, Nathaniel is eventually driven away by the time-displaced heroes from the modern era, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and Dr. Stephen Strange, AKA Doctor Strange, with aid from the moon god Khonshu and the young mutant En Sabah Nur, AKA Apocalypse. He barely escapes with the help of his time machine.
Lost in a time storm, he’s then rescued by the space-lost Victor von Doom, AKA Doctor Doom, and passes himself off as Doom’s possible future self (though it’s alleged that Doom is an ancestor of his). After several other adventures through time, and taking on the identity of the Scarlet Centurion for a time, Kang Prime eventually seeks to return to his native time but he’s hurled into Earth-6311’s 40th century, a bleak world decimated by global wars. Unable to escape to a more hospitable era, he assumes the name Kang the Conqueror, sets himself up as a warlord, bends the barbaric people to his will, and transforms them into an army. Though he spares the tiny kingdom of Carelius, due to his romantic interest in the king’s daughter, Ravonna Renslayer (later Terminatrix). His life becomes rather non-linear, as each foray in time produces at least one divergent-time-stream counterpart; it is extremely difficult to identify which Kang counterpart was involved with each encounter. Further, Kang’s past incarnations each spawn numerous divergent realities and selves throughout their adventures (see Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Immortus, Iron Lad, and Baby Kang).
Conquering everything within 100 light years of Earth, Kang next attacks his ancestor’s native world in the modern age of marvels, but the Avengers force him to flee. Seeking a new power base, Kang travels back to 1901 AD and establishes a new identity as Victor Timely, where he lays a foundation to conquer that century.
At one point during a glitch in the timestream, Kang divided and one of these splinter versions ends up trapped in the modern age behind a firewall of time. Instead of twiddling his thumbs, he takes on an alias and forges a new path, laying plans that may not have benefits for many years. Nathaniel becomes the businessman known as Mister Gryphon and acts as CEO of Qeng Enterprises. He purchases Stark Tower and while clearing out the tower, the angry Chitauri Warbringer arrives seeking his arch-nemesis Sam Alexander, AKAA Nova. Gryphon intercepts him with an offer to become the one who will annihilate the human race in exchange for finding a Chitaurian amulet that had since been separated into three pieces—an amulet that would allow him to travel through time again. Warbringer agrees but Gryphon had a backup plan: secretly controlling Avenger and synthezoid Vision.
Chronal Energy Powers
Since Mister Gryphon is a splinter version of Kang the Conqueror, he possesses all the same powers and abilities, such as slow-aging and a resistance to radiation’s effects, but still can be harmed by the latter in concentrated doses. Though he is first stuck in the modern age thanks to a time firewall, he seems to have access to chronal energy which he can manipulate, from an ability to create portals and creating time-energy shields to shooting concussive energy blasts, he can take on Earth’s Mightiest. Further, he can control the Vision through wires that extend from his fingertips. It also seems that he can travel through time without the assistance of a time machine.
Avenger Antagonists
Like his splintered self, Kang the Conqueror, Mister Gryphon’s most persistent foes are the Avengers. Although, the team he goes up against includes Nova, Miles Morales, AKA Spider-Man, Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel, Dr. Jane Foster, AKA Thor, Sam Wilson, AKA Captain America, Redwing, Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, and Vision. He even secretly controls Vision until Iron Man restores the synthezoid to his proper self.
Mister Gryphyon takes a particular interest in Ms. Marvel, whom he traps throughout time and helps cause the accidental death of her mother, leading Ms. Marvel to go after Kang and undo that timeline.
Strategic Allies
While stuck in the modern age, Mister Gryphon enlists Chen Lu, AKA Radioactive Man, and Pierre Fresson, AKA Cyclone, to help him accomplish secret plans that will payoff 20 years down the road, and even controls Vision on the Avengers to take advantage of the team that often gets in his way.
Gryphon teams up with thermal villain Terrance “Terry” Sorenson, AKA Equinox, and an army of time-displaced versions of Equinox, who assist him against the Avengers. He also allies with the Chitauri Warbringer to obtain a rare Chitauri amulet that had been lost on Earth, one that would help him break the time firewall preventing him from time-traveling.
Time Will Tell
Once Warbringer found two pieces of the artifact, Mister Gryphon arrived to an underground tunnel where Warbringer was fighting a team of Avengers. As Thor threw her hammer Mjolnir at Warbringer, Gryphon, from a hidden location, used his ability to open portals to teleport it beyond his ally, but the hammer struck the tunnel, releasing water upon all the heroes, allowing both Warbringer and Gryphon to escape.
While the Avengers regrouped, Gryphon helped Warbringer obtain the third and final piece of the amulet. They found it in a cemetery on Hart Island in the Long Island Sound. Assembling the pieces, Gryphon convinced Warbringer that a portal would open and reveal an armada of Chitauri soldiers who would aid him in cleansing earth. The portal open, they both traveled towards it, though Gryphon suddenly disappeared. At that moment, the Avengers attacked Warbringer. Gryphon rematerialized and stayed out of sight, and as Nova forced Warbringer through the open portal, Spider-Man obtained the amulet pieces. From a distance, Gryphon used his chronal powers as a form of necromancy, awakening all the spirits buried in the cemetery. He implored these ghostly zombies to seize the artifacts, but it was too late as Spider-Man destroyed the amulet.
Gryphon later attacked the Avengers by opening portals and bringing his time-displaced army of Equinoxes through to battle his foes. As they fought the Avengers, the army kept chanting “Honor the Dynasty” which clued Iron Man in on Mister Gryphon’s true identity: Kang the Conqueror of Time. Thor then hurled her hammer at Gryphon but Vision betrayed them, knocking both her and Wilson through a time portal, separating Thor from her hammer.
Gryphon explained to the heroes how he made Vision his puppet so he could destroy the Avengers and leave another artifact unguarded: Mjolnir. Just before reaching the hammer, the falcon Redwing took a chunk out of Gryphon’s face with his claws. Though it didn’t stop Gryphon from siphoning energy from the hammer while protecting himself with a time-energy shield that the Avengers could not penetrate. Meanwhile, Iron Man battled the controlled Vision. Once Vision went straight for Iron Man’s heart, Stark connected his ally to a system reboot that restored Vision. With Gryphon about to depart, Vision stopped him but as they fought, Thor returned with a time-displaced hammer and smashed the two Mjolnir’s together which sent Gryphon through the timestream.
Gryphon was next seen toying with Ms. Marvel. He trapped her in the past and helped to cause the death of her mother. But little did he know that when he left her stuck that she would outsmart Kang, the first time the Avengers go up against him.
