Ant-Man’s been a curious character in the Marvel universe, having been built as a lighter, more comic character due to the films’ whimsical tones, Paul Rudd’s doofy performance, and, well, being called Ant-Man. Yet the films found the character venturing into situations foreign to any other Avenger—that whole “subatomic” thing is nuts—and his cameo in Civil War turned out to be a seismic one, with the character more or less changing the course of the film’s climactic battle. The new Ant-Man And The Wasp is being described—by us, and others—as a light-hearted break from the apocalyptic grandeur of Infinity War, but should we giving Scott Lang a bit more credit?
YouTube series Because Science sure thinks so. Across 14 minutes, the clip’s host breaks down how the character’s manipulation of quantum mechanics more or less gives him powers that the likes of Captain America, Thor, and Black Widow could only dream of. It begins, thankfully, with a crash course in the complicated realm of quantum mechanics before veering into the ways in which Ant-Man’s powers could, better than Dr. Strange even, “break the illusion of reality,” resulting in a kind of scientifically viable time travel, which, hey, would be pretty damn helpful in the wake of Thanos’ mass purge.
The video essay also explores how, when considering how mass and density manifests in the superhero’s state of shrinkage, Ant-Man could also very well pack the brawn of contemporaries like Thor and the Hulk, not to mention the kind of invincibility provided by Black Panther’s suit. It’s also quick to point out, however, that the science isn’t always consistent in these regards. But, Christ, what do you want? It’s a blockbuster, not a Shane Carruth vehicle.
Anyways, who else is going to save the day? Rocket?