Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania can take inspiration from Avengers: Infinity War’s hero defeat to establish Kang in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is poised to turn the MCU’s Multiverse Saga on its head while potentially replicating Avengers: Infinity War‘s genius ending twist. Marking the beginning of Phase 5, Ant-Man 3 will also see the first appearance of Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror in a film after he made his MCU debut as He Who Remains in the Disney+ series Loki. The MCU has positioned Kang as its next big bad after Thanos (Josh Brolin), whose arc culminated in Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Kang will take center stage in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the MCU’s next major event which Ant-Man 3 will undoubtedly set up.
Infinity War‘s memorable ending subverted viewers’ expectations and saw the Avengers suffer a rare and devastating loss when more than half of the universe’s population was erased from existence as a result of Thanos obtaining all the Infinity Stones. Ant-Man 3 will see the returns of Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) in their first MCU outings since Phase 3. Even though Marvel heroes typically come out on top, Ant-Man, the Wasp, and others could be in for a rude awakening when they encounter Kang in the Quantum Realm.
How Ant-Man 3’s Kang “Loss” Can Repeat Infinity War’s Ending
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania can emulate Infinity War‘s shocking twist by having Scott and co. lose to Kang by inadvertently freeing him from the Quantum Realm. The film will likely feature a final battle between Scott’s team and Kang, and the latter’s defeat may require his expulsion from the Quantum realm. However, this will unleash the Conqueror on the MCU’s main universe.
The MCU has confirmed that Kang will take on different forms and variants throughout his reign as the franchise’s newest threat. Vanquishing the Quantum Realm’s Kang only for him to arrive in Earth-616 would signal a daunting future for the Avengers akin to Infinity War‘s twist. Given Kang’s role as the central villain of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and assumedly Avengers: Secret Wars, this dismal outcome would make sense, as it establishes him as a formidable villain.
Why An Ant-Man 3 Kang Victory Could Improve On Infinity War’s Twist
Not only would Kang’s faux demise deviate from the MCU’s common cut-and-dry victory for the heroes, but Ant-Man 3 could supersede Infinity War‘s ending because it establishes the previously unknown nature of Kang’s powers and sets him up to be a huge threat in The Kang Dynasty. It would also serve the MCU right to place such a significant plot event in a solo film rather than an Avengers-type ensemble event. The Ant-Man movies haven’t featured the highest of stakes through two entries, thus this would serve as a proper manner to complete Scott’s trilogy and make his story carry more weight in the broader MCU.
Infinity War‘s conclusion represented a colossal defeat for the MCU’s heroes, but Ant-Man 3 could be more than that. It’s known that Kang and his variants will terrorize the universe in due time, and this could be the event that sparks his villainous tenure rather than the one that marks one step away from its end. Regardless of its heroes’ and villains’ fates by its conclusion, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is primed to reshape the MCU in Phase 5 and beyond.