The Ant-man Mistake In Marvel Movies You Didn't Notice

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a large success that's loved around the world from the birth of the Avengers to other characters, including Ant-Man. However, you might not have noticed but Ant-Man is different to the comics - in fact, even the beginning of the Avengers is different to the comics. 

When I say that this was a mistake, I don't really mean it was a mistake as it would have been deliberately made that way for a movie universe the world will love. But if it was really trying to follow the comics, it was a mistake. Though for some fans like me who grew up with the comic storyline, it may seem confusing or surprising. 

Marvel's Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a character belonging to Marvel. Ant-Man was created by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee as the editor and plotter, and Larry Lieber as the scripter.

The character of Ant-Man was first introduced in January 1962 in the comic Tales to Astonish #27 with the original being Hank Pym. While appearing in many comics and the well-known Marvel movies, he's also seen in TV shows such as The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. With many figurines and helmet replicas, this character was a much-loved character, especially after he was introduced in the movies.

Ant-Man is a good character and fans even testify that he is one of the best Avengers since he is amazingly smart, brave and even funny and lovable. He is one of the most powerful Avengers when he grows in size and he has super-strength (when he's small as well).

Importantly, Ant-Man does have weaknesses such as not being able to stay in his giant form without suffering consequences. 

Hank Pym, the first Ant-Man, marries Wasp and they are partners. Wasp's real name is Janet van Dyne.

Scott Lang, Ant-Man who is the focus in the movies, is also in the comics.

Despite all this, in Ant-Man's story being added to the MCU and intertwining with the Avengers, the movies show it wrong according to the Marvel comics.

Ant-Man's Movie

On 16 July 2015, Ant-Man was released as a movie to continue the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it delved into Scott Lang's origin of becoming Ant-Man. The Ant-Man film was directed by Peyton Reed and was a success watched by many around the world.

Indeed, reviews exclaimed that it was just as engaging as the larger-scale Marvel movies and someone said it's "one of the best Marvel films". Agreed by reviews, it had great action scenes and was filled with hilarious comedy that was enjoyed by people who didn't even know of Ant-Man beforehand - therefore they wouldn't realise how it's inaccurate to the comics.

Ant-Man appears in the movies Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).

While some say you can skip Ant-Man, I highly recommend it as origin stories are always interesting and help piece together an amazing universe. On the positive side, it's a great family movie as it's funny, entertaining and PG-13.

Scott Lang's love interest is Hope Pym and Hope loves Scott.

Ant-Man's ex-wife, Margaret ("Maggie") Lang, divorced Scott after he got arrested to have a quieter life with their daughter, Cassie, and Maggie got engaged to Jim Paxton, a police officer.

There was an Ant-Man 2 for a sequel in 2018 called Ant-Man and the Wasp, introducing the original Wasp and Hank Pym's wife, Janet van Dyne. Furthermore, Marvel is also making an Ant-Man 3 to be released on 17 February 2023 with the title Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. 

Ant-Man's movie plot: Scott Lang is a skilled thief who takes on the challenge of becoming Ant-Man as he learns to shrink in size with the suit, control super strength and communicate with ants. Through a tough journey with the help of his mentor Hank Pym and Hope Pym, he must gain the courage to save the world and defeat Hank's previous protege, Darren Cross.

Cast: The great role of Ant-Man is played by Paul Rudd, known for many films from Clueless to Anchorman. Next, Hank Pym is played by Michael Douglas and Hope Pym is played by Evangeline Lilly. Michelle Pfeiffer even played the role of Wasp, Hank's wife. 

The cast, especially Paul Rudd, received lots of great praise from the fans. 

What is the difference between Ant-Man in the MCU and the Marvel comics?

Firstly, the difference between the MCU and the Marvel comics in relation to Ant-Man and Wasp go back to the beginning of the Avengers. In the comics, Ant-Man (Hank Pym) was an original Avenger along with Janet van Dyne as Wasp and his future wife (but they later divorced). Interestingly, Janet van Dyne was the one who came up with the name for the Avengers. 

Therefore, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne would be roughly in the same age range as Iron Man and the others as they are part of the founding Avengers in the comics. But in the movies, they are old while Scott Lang is the focus of Ant-Man and works with the Avengers instead of Pym. And, Hank and Janet aren't in the Avengers and are introduced in the MCU much later - in Ant-Man's solo film.

So this changes the whole Avengers and MCU such as the movie universe's Black Widow featuring in the group at the start when she wasn't a founding member in the comics. 

Additionally, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne did not have a child together so there was no Hope Pym (there was only Nadia Pym whose mother is Maria Trovaya, Hank's first wife). But I think Hope makes a great character in the movies as a family member of the original Ant-Man who can carry on his legacy with a sweet relationship with the current Ant-Man, Scott Lang. 

Why is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Ant-Man storyline different from the comics?

As a fan suggested, Ant-Man's story focusing on Scott Lang instead of Hank Pym in the MCU is probably different to the comics as it might be too long and complicated to show Hank Pym's origin story with how he discovered Pym Particles, made the suit and so on.

Secondly, they might not have wanted Hank Pym to be in the original Avengers because they already had similar, intellectual characters (Iron Man and Dr Banner) so fans say that he wasn't needed.

Fans also think it was a good decision to tell the story of Scott Lang instead of Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. Moreover, they like how Hank was like a mentor to Scott and it showed a richer history with S.H.I.E.L.D. As a fan says, "the dynamic of an older Pym being able to tell stories about his time as Ant-Man during the Cold War also leads to more possibilities" and interesting ideas.

In fact, Ant-Man's movie was not so different to the comics. It was similar because, in the beginning, Scott stole the suit from Hank to save his daughter in the comic and in the film, he also tried to steal the suit though for a different reason. He's clearly still a clever thief who's good with electronics and cares for his family. 

Next, in most classic groups, the stereotype is to have one or two females, such as Wonder Woman for DC's Justice League. Something I've considered (but might not be true so it's just food for thought) is that maybe they wanted Black Widow to be the main female since she seems to be a more interesting and lovable character. And if you take Wasp away from the original Avengers, you would have to take away Ant-Man since they're a couple. 

Ultimately, it's still not completely clear as to why they chose to change Ant-Man's story and remove them from the original Avengers. It's something I might always wonder about. 

Is it good or bad for comic fans that Ant-Man in the MCU is different to the comics?

Next, I wanted to expand on my personal thoughts with whether it was good or bad for Ant-Man to be different from the comics as someone who has read some of the comics. Additionally, there are more interesting benefits as well. 

When I first watched the Avengers, I was surprised to see that there was no Ant-Man or Wasp and when Hank was introduced as an old man with no Wasp in sight, I was sad. Watching the TV show The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes was my childhood and from it, my favourite character was Wasp. So, I was excited to see a live-action Wasp and her partner Ant-Man but I was let down. 

Wasp was a passionate hero in the comics and the TV show that I wanted to see in the movies but I was sad when she wasn't in the Avengers. By not following the comics, the movies may disappoint fans of the comics. But, it lets them engage in a new universe with familiar elements for an interesting twist. 

On the contrary, I like the MCU's stray from the comics with Ant-Man as others do because Scott Lang proved to be a great character and Avenger. My siblings don't like Hank Pym as much in the comics and I have to agree. In the comics, he had emotional problems and later explored the villainous side so this could have been difficult in an Avengers movie focused on the whole group. Indeed, other people agree that Pym wasn't a great character.

Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne also got divorced later and their story gets complicated. Because of this, I didn't like them as much later on.

So, Scott was probably a better choice for an Avenger in the movies with his own solo film as he was a funny yet deep character as he's an ex-con who wants redemption for his past. He's a great addition as a different hero some people need and can relate to. 

While Hank Pym is intellectually smart, Scott Lang is as well, though not to Hank's extent, but Scott is also street smart too.

Soon enough, I was already used to the change and I accepted it, seeing the positive and great changes that showcased different 'what-ifs' to the comics. Although I already enjoyed the MCU, I now love them more and I'm excited to see more characters being introduced as they also delve into the future of Scott.

In a way, it's great to have something different as it's like following two stories and we have the benefit of having both if you've read the comics. 

Therefore, this "mistake" was not really a mistake as many preferred this version. Though I find the original Ant-Man and Wasp's story in the comics interesting, the Marvel Cinematic Universe definitely did a great job with an entertaining and connecting story that fans and non-fans agree is amazing.