Ant-Man: What to Expect
In case you forgot and you won’t be penalized for that, Ant-Man is indeed a Marvel Studios film that will be premiering in July following the story of a man with the ability to shrink and talk to ants. Placing that in the middle of two Avenger films, or one Avenger film and one over-stuffed Captain America film is probably not the best move, but here we are. In light of that, here are some things to know in order to prepare for in Marvel’s Ant-Man.
In order to cheat that whole, “no more origin stories” thing, Ant-Man follows a retired Ant-Man Hank Pym working with the new hero and former thief Scott Lang. The film also includes Pym’s daughter Hope Van Dyne who may or may not eventually take up her mother’s mantle as the Wasp (but probably has some daddy issues with that last name), a man named Darren Cross who takes on the role as the villain Yellowjacket, Scott’s distant wife and daughter Maggie and Cassie, and a cameo appearance by an older Howard Stark and Peggy Carter. So, something’s happening here.
It’ll probably shock people to learn that Ant-Man’s supposed to be a founding member of the Avengers though he’s now playing a separate character in a film that’s rounding off Phase 2. Or beginning Phase 3, I’m not entirely sure. We will not know unless someone loses a limb in the end of this movie. My money’s on Hank Pym. The dude’s messed up as it is in the comics but will probably get a decent action scene somewhere in the film. Scott Lang still has the main character seal of protection even though he hasn't really stood out as a character yet. There's still time.
You will also not be penalized for remembering Ant-Man mostly as the film that director Edgar Wright dropped for “creative differences” before filming. I doubt the humor or style of the movie will be lost in transition, but there are undoubtedly some "creative" changes. Again, probably not a good move, but the movie’s still going on with Ant-Man confirmed for Civil War already. First shocker, Ant-Man lives through the entirety of Ant-Man. Somehow, I doubt that would have been different anyway, but then again, the only one in real danger is Darren Cross who should have been smart enough to learn the fate of nearly every Marvel villain in the movies and several, but admittedly not all, in the TV shows.
The story’s described as a kind of “heist situation” with Hank Pym and Scott Lang attempting to break in and steal the Yellowjacket prototype originally designed by Pym before it can be used for nefarious purposes. I’m not entirely sure where the Thomas the Tank Engine fight fits into this, but most likely Darren Cross isn’t too happy that someone tried to steal his suit which leads to the classic hero-villain showdown on the same turf. If the shtick wasn’t beaten to death from the Iron Man series, it would make a great climax. Then again, the shrinking-super-strength aspect of the fights and the controlling an army of ants thing might be enough to keep it interesting. It's certainly original enough to last two and a half hours.
Actually, the superheroics of Ant-Man are the main focus of this film which feels immensely small compared to the universal buildup and risk of Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Age of Ultron. That’s not to say there won’t be any outside references (even Daredevil mentioned the Avengers), but a story revolving around Ant-Man has less opportunities for shout-outs than say finding Adam Warlock’s cocoon in the Collector’s base. It all depends on how well Hank Pym likely knows Howard Stark and Peggy Carter. Perhaps a connection to SHIELD isn’t that impossible. It’s not like the people in this movie would know or care that Coulson’s supposed to be dead.
Then again, if this is a Phase 2 film, the more important part of the movie would be the impromptu twist that the other films have practiced. Granted, it can never compare to the SHIELD downfall of Winter Soldier or even the Loki switch in Thor: The Dark World, but something’s apt to happen. Is Hank Pym really a bad guy? Will we get a glimpse of the Wasp? What about Giant-Man? If the film wants to stay alive in the middle like this, it needs something pretty jarring or surprising to stay relevant. For what it’s worth, I’m also open to the possibility of a Hank Pym death in a Robert Redford-style of questioning what is this actor doing in this film.
Speaking of being relevant, Ant-Man’s not in line to have a sequel, though nothing would have been so arrogant as to put it on the massive lineup to 2020 before it even came out. With the random addition of a Spider-Man film, Ant-Man, if successful, could very well have a ready-made sequel that explores key terms such as Giant-Man or the Pym particles that may or may not appear to explain the suit. Ant-Man is still a Marvel film, and they like things big, even something called Ant-Man. There’s always a sequel in mind.
One last thing to wonder about Ant-Man is its post-credit scenes. While Age of Ultron’s was exciting, it was sadly predictable. Ant-Man can go anywhere with this. There’s the Civil War path, the Spider-Man cameo, or a shot of Ant-Man reading a newspaper in his daughter’s dollhouse. With the range of scenes from the past Phase 2 films, it could really be anything. If it wants to mean anything, the post-credit scene should really be something that ties into Civil War considering no other film has properly looked to it yet. Then again, since Ant-Man would hardly play a role in Civil War and the film is still called Ant-Man, I shouldn’t expect too much.
Ant-Man has to be the least impactful Marvel film that’s coming out for a while. Placing it between two Avenger-like films makes it even smaller in comparison (I can’t stop). In the midst of that, however, I’m enjoying the shrinking effects, and the film still has potential whether or not people notice it for the right reasons. Nevertheless, it’s at least opening the doors for other characters to take center stage that don’t have to be Iron Man or Captain America. Now back to guessing what happens in Civil War.
