Credit: Marvel StudiosAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) held more than a few surprises..
Throughout Marvel Comics, The Avengers have always been a fluid team. Heroes come and go, some die, some retire, and there’s generally someone to come in and take their place. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued this trend, even from early on, adding Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) after Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) after Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and though there’s seemingly no formal process, it seems fans can add one more character!
As it currently stands, the roster for The Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe includes The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America/Sam Wilson (Mackie), Hawkeye/ Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) though they may not remember him, War Machine/James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), and of course, Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and The Wasp/Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly).
Though missing some key players who made their exit in Avengers: Endgame (2019), there are still some heavy hitters who can call themselves Avengers, and these don’t even include other characters who have assisted the team but haven’t officially become Avengers themselves, like Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and the new Black Panther, Shuri (Letitia Wright). Despite having healthy numbers, there’s always room for one or two more, right?
Ant-Man Spoilers Ahead!
Regardless of a dismal critic score, audiences, in general, have been loving Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). The first film of Marvel’s Phase Five came out swinging and delivered on what director Peyton Reed wanted: an Avengers-level movie that was definitely not the stereotypical pallet cleanse that Ant-Man movies have been traditionally relegated to. The film was full of laughs and heart and had one of the most important mid-credit sequences in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film also found a way to introduce perhaps one of the strangest well-known villains in the Marvel canon: MODOK. In a new take on the character, audiences found out that the giant floating head was, in fact, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who had been shrunk uncontrollably during the climax of Ant-Man (2015). He appears in this interaction as a “hunter,” more or less an obedient dog for Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), but the character proved to be not without hope!
After an altercation with Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), Darren (Stoll) realizes the error of his ways and, in a flip of the script, ends up helping the Ant-Man family in their fight against Kang (Majors). This heroic sacrifice ultimately proves fatal, and Darren has a touching and hilarious moment with the Ant-Man family, in which he says, “At least I died an Avenger.” Scott (Rudd) agrees, allowing the redeemed villain to become an Avenger in his final moments.
With such a downright silly villain, there was no better treatment than the one he received in Quantumania, and who knows? He may go down in Marvel Cinematic History as not only an Avenger but the shortest-lived member of the team. On the other hand, it looks like fans have only seen the beginning of Kang (Majors) and his variants, which pose a significant threat to existence itself!
Related: Tiny Secret In ‘Ant-Man 3’ Reveals HUGE ‘Fantastic Four’ Future
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently in theaters and stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/The Wasp, Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and Corey Stoll as MODOK. Quantumania delivers humor, action, and drama as Scott (Rudd) goes head to head against Kang (Majors), setting up the “Kang Dynasty.”
What did you think of MODOK’s new role? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!