Superheroes are great and all, but they can’t be everywhere at the same time. That’s why, while we saw many of the mighty defenders of Earth in Avengers: Infinity War, not all of the usual suspects were ready to intervene. Notable absences include Hawkeye, Ant-Man (and the Wasp) — okay, and Captain Marvel.
That’s why we were anxiously waiting for Ant-Man and the Wasp to arrive, to get a sense of what’s happening in the universe post Infinity War.
Guess what, we now have those answers. It’s all in the credits scenes. But before you read any further, you should know that spoilers will follow. Go watch Ant-Man 2 in a theater near before going forward with this text.
I clutched to my seat while watching Ant-Man and the Wasp minutes ago, waiting for clues as to when the action is happening in relation to Infinity War. There was no indication that something bad was happening all around the world during the entire movie, and our planet didn’t look just like it had been devastated by a massive event — Thanos’s snap.
That’s where the credits scenes come in to help, and we’ve got two of them.
The first credits scene shows us the two-generations of Ant-Men and Wasps working side by side on a more portable portal that can send them to the quantum realm. Why would they want to go there? Well, they’re looking to collect a particular type of substance that has tremendous healing abilities. That’s the substance Janet used to cure Ghost’s crippling disease.
They send in Ant-Man this time, and Scott has no problem doing the deed. He’s been inside the quantum realm before, at a time they did not have a way to return. He gathers the energy particles as he’s in constant radio contact with Hank, Janet, and Hope.
But when he calls on them to beam him up, nobody answers. That’s when I feared the worse — that all three humans have turned to ashes on Earth. And the camera quickly switches to Dr. Pym, Janet, and Hope, who are now converted to dust.
That’s a heart-breaking moment, again, considering that we have one more hero who died, The Wasp, while Ant-Man is stuck again without a way out.
This scene makes it clear that the action in the movie takes place well before Thanos reaches Earth. But by the time Scott is freed and goes on quantum experimenting with his girlfriend and her parents, the Avengers are fighting Thanos in various places across the galaxies.
It’s worth noting that we have no idea why that energy they’re bringing back from the quantum realm is so vital and whether it’ll have a role in defeating Thanos in Avengers 4.
Scott and the gang must have been warned that something was happening in New York and Wakanda. And whatever they were working on must be tied somehow with the rest of the Avengers. I’m speculating here, but given Scott’s strong allegiance to The Cap, Captain America must have solicited his help — that’s something Avengers 4 should explain.
But guess what, there’s one more credits scene, right at the end of the film. It’s more whimsical than the first one, but still very important. It stars the ant that stayed home at Scott’s, pretending to be him while he was under house arrest. The ant is apparently having fun drumming away as the camera pans out in the empty apartment. Among the things, we see there’s an emergency broadcast playing on TV. This has to do something with the new attack on New York, which means Scott and the gang were following the action.
Also important is the fact that the scene ends with an expected message, that “Ant-Man and the Wasp will return.” This doesn’t mean an Ant-Man 3 is already in the making, but it’s Marvel’s way of telling us these heroes will pop up again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So hope is not lost — pun entirely intended — and neither is Ant-Man.
Oh, and, yes, we already know the Avengers who died in Infinity War are coming back.
