Despite not making an insane amount of money in its opening weekend, Ant-Man & the Wasp is another notch on Marvel Studios’ belt. With its wholesome humor and exciting action, it’s no surprise that the 20th film in Kevin Feige‘s 10-year long saga is a success. In this article, we break down some of the film’s most noteworthy moments.
Hope Is A Bonafide Badass
Ant-Man & the Wasp may fall short of giving the OG Wasp, Janet van Dyne, her due as a realized character but I’ll be damned if the film doesn’t get the props for giving us an MVP in Evangeline Lilly‘s Hope van Dyne. As the MCU’s first female character to have her name on the marquee, the titular Wasp absolutely exceeds all expectations in being a badass. Right off the bat, Hope gets the spotlight in the film’s first major fight sequence as she takes on a pack of goons in Sonny Burch’s health code-violating restaurant. Her fight style is nothing short of inventive as she zooms past goons, knocking them one by one as she reverts to normal-size to deliver roundhouse kicks and wrist-blasts. The full extent of her abilities as Wasp is later showcased in the film’s biggest chase sequence through the streets of San Francisco. My favorite action beat in the entire film is when she enters a car filled with Burch’s henchmen and proceeds to take them out with complete ease. Scott’s fight scenes feel like amateur hour next to Hope’s. I kind of wish there was a version of Captain America: Civil War where she tags along Scott and wows everyone with her power sets.
Hank’s Dark Secrets
If the MCU has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t be a renowned scientist without making enemies along the way. Bill Foster and Elihas Starr are to Hank Pym what the Vankos and Aldrich Killian were to Howard and Tony Stark; scientists who were stepped on by our heroes along the way. Turns out, Hank Pym wasn’t the most agreeable person, to begin with. Wronging both Elihas Starr and Bill Foster, Pym’s mistakes become the root cause of the film’s opposition when he inadvertently leads Starr to his death and the creation of Ghost. There’s a nice aspect of world-building here when they reveal Ghost’s history as one of SHIELD/HYDRA’s top commissioned assassins.
For future Hank Pym arcs, I’d like them to reveal more bits and pieces of his antagonistic stint as a scientist with SHIELD as a callback to his volatile past in the comics. Bring more of Elihas Starr into the mix (because the MCU needs to give Egghead justice) and characters like Crossfire, Whirlwind, and Black Knight into the fold as tethers to Hank Pym’s past.
The Wasp Returns….With Powers?
The film concludes with the reveal that Janet has acquired newfound quantum abilities in her thirty-year stint in the Quantum Realm. What exactly those powers are are currently undefined but some if it seems psychic in nature. Early in the film, she establishes a psychic link between herself and Scott which is later referred to as an antenna by Hope. She cures Ghost of her phasing affliction by imbuing some of her quantum realm energy in her mind. There is a question of it possibly being finite because they resort to ‘harvesting’ energy from the Quantum Realm itself rather than have Janet store her energy in a container. This is easily one of the weaker spots of the film as it handwaves most of the very interesting details about her time in the Quantum Realm. Nonetheless, this reveal could mean very interesting things for Scott who is currently stuck in the Quantum Realm. Could Avengers 4 feature an ‘evolved’ Ant-Man when he inevitably gets out?
The Snapture
In the days following the film’s premiere in most parts of the world, reactions to Ant-Man & the Wasp have varied. Ranging from “a middling pedestrian MCU film” to “one of the most fun Marvel outings ever,” the one thing audiences can agree on is the impact of those post-credit scenes. The beloved Pym family dusted as quickly as they were united. The second post-credits scene, while humorous because of the giant ant playing drums, paints an even eerier picture when you hear the sirens blazing outside, the TV emergency alert, and see Scott’s house deserted. It’s the modern-day rapture playing out right before our eyes. It makes me want to start watching The Leftovers.
More Quantum Vagueness
Okay, so there’s not much to break down here given how vague the information is. Like Janet’s newfound abilities, we’re never given the opportunity to understand all the exciting things about the Quantum Realm. We hear things like ‘The Wasteland,’ ‘Quantum Void,’ and ‘Time Vortex’ but never do these elements tie-in to the film in meaningful ways. If we had to guess, the Void and the Wasteland are places that harbor malevolent beings and creatures that Janet has faced.
As for the Time Vortex, it’s the biggest hint we have so far regarding the events of Avengers 4. Time travel is easily the greatest common factor in most Avengers 4 theories and with everyone speculating that Avengers 4 will take place a few years after Infinity War, the Time Vortex seems like a timely (pun intended) term to drop at the very end of the film. People are starting to think that the Time Vortex is what propels Scott to the future i.e. the ‘present’ day events of Avengers 4. My theory on the Time Vortex is this: some of its elements (whatever they may be) will be merged with the BARF technology the Russos have been hinting at amidst all this time travel talk.
Let us know in the comments you’re favorite Ant-Man & the Wasp moments!
