After the curveball ending of Ant-Man #1, Scott Lang is now a resident of Miami, raising his teenage daughter Cassie while acting as southern Florida’s highest-profile superhero (there’s not very much competition). Scott turned down a lucrative job at Stark Industries to be with his daughter, and now he’s having some trouble adjusting to his new environment—mostly because there’s a C-list supervillain in a grizzly bear costume trying to kill him.
Writer Nick Spencer understands the inherent humor of a superhero that goes by the name Ant-Man, and this preview of next week’s Ant-Man #2 spotlights the comedic chops Spencer honed with his work on The Superior Foes Of Spider-Man. The Grizzly versus Ant-Man fight is all just one awkward misunderstanding involving a different Ant-Man, and once Scott points out that he was dead at the time of Grizzly’s incarceration, their brawl comes to an abrupt halt. Misdirection is a major weapon in Spencer’s arsenal; he builds to conventional superhero developments but veers at the last minute, and ending a fight with words instead of fists shows how Scott isn’t quite like other heroes.
Artist Ramon Rosanas does great work depicting clean, powerful action, but it’s his skill for subtle character expression that makes him a strong fit for Spencer. That moment when Grizzly goes from furious to confused on the last page of this preview is a prime example of Rosana’s talent, and Grizzly and Scott’s body language in the final panel immediately captures the shift in their character dynamic. Jordan Boyd’s coloring completes the visual package, using a bright palette with lots of smooth pastels to give the book a sunny atmosphere that perfectly fits the Miami setting. Ant-Man is a breezy book with a lot of heart, and with the introductions out of the way, this creative team can dive deeper into Scott’s situation and character.