C&C Insights - 'Ant-Man' Easter Eggs Explored - The Avengers, Spider-Man and more

C&C Insights - 'Ant-Man' Easter Eggs Explored

The Avengers, Spider-Man and more

By Alex Burns

So Marvel's 'Ant-Man' has finally rolled out into theatres, we've got our review online so make sure you check that out but for those of you who have seen the movie lets enjoy a spoiler-filled look at the film. 'Ant-Man' enjoys a whole host of some subtle and not so subtle nods to the rest of the Marvel cinematic universe the studio are a dab hand at self-referencing by now and they really hit their stride in this movie so lets kick off with our first easter egg of note.

Howard Stark and Peggy Carter

Tony Stark's Dad and Captain America's first love make an appearance in the opening sequence of the film. In this flashback scene we Hank Pym's strained relationship with the two S.H.E.I.L.D. agents and his reluctance to share the Pym particle. It's cool to the two characters appear in another Marvel film and we're sure it's not the last we'll see of either in these movies, of course if you want more of Peggy check out the Agent Carter TV Show.

The Avengers

With Ant-Man playing such a large role in the Avengers lore in the comic books it was great to see so many references to the world's mightiest heroes throughout the movie. After Hank Pym reveals his need for Scott Lang to steal the Yellowjacket Lang asks the question in everyones minds, "Why don't we just call the Avengers?". Pym's reaction is great and he references Tony Stark and Iron Man calling his armour "cute tech" and laments the Avengers' actions from the end of 'Age of Ultron' "they're probably too busy dropping cities out of the sky" a direct reference to Ultron's failed attempt at the destruction of Earth using Sokovia. It's great to see Pym so dismissive of the Avengers and obviously this links in to his distrust of the Stark name and S.H.E.I.L.D.

Falcon and the Avengers HQ

This was a major surprise for cinema-goers and there's not much more to say other than it was awesome to see Ant-Man hand Falcon his ass. The sequence shows Scott Lang infiltrating the new Avengers HQ to steal some tech and luckily for Lang, he turned up on a day when it was just Falcon running security. What's great here is how it puts Ant-Man's abilities into the same bracket of power as the Avengers and makes it clear this guy can do some damage if needs be, it does also expose the hero to the Avengers and that will obviously have far-reaching ramifications in the future MCU and leads into another easter egg that we'll get to later.

Janet Van Dyne

Hank Pym's wife is referenced throughout the film and the mystery of her death is a huge plot point for the movie, we do get a sequence of Janet in action as the Wasp though and it makes for an emotional scene. The film establishes that there is a way of supercharging the Pym particles and going "sub-atomic" this allows the user the ability to go anywhere and accomplish the (even more-so) impossible. This is a one-way trip however and Pym states in the film "there's no coming back". We then flashback to a mission where in trying to stop a nuclear missile strike Hank Pym is unable to go sub-atomic due to a suit malfunction and watches on helplessly as Janet makes the ultimate sacrifice and shrinks between the molecules to access the inner workings of the missile. Janet prevents the destruction but disappears into nothingness never to return. We glimpse Janet again in a family photograph towards the end of the film, what's interesting is that her face was covered in both these easter eggs, we're pretty sure this is so Marvel can keep the character available for casting and Janet's reappearance in the future MCU, which leads us to our next point...

Going Sub-Atomic and Eternity

When Scott Lang has to shrink between the molecules to take down Yellowjacket and save his daughter he gets lost in a totally different universe. We watch in awe as our hero floats through a seemingly endless space of trippy visions and freaky echoes. This is where Janet Van Dyne ended up and there is a super quick glimpse of a body in this sequence that could well be Hank Pym's missing wife. There is another possibility though, it could be the Marvel character, Eternity. the uber-powerful character is known in comics as the representative of all time in the universe. Marvel is building to some pretty cosmic events with Infinity War looming and maybe Eternity will make an appearance. Pym also questions Lang on his experience going sub-atomic, now that Pym knows there is a way back he could begin his search for Janet once more.

Spider-Man

So after the tussle at the Avengers facility, Falcon is hot on the trail of Scott Lang and we hear through Luiz's hilarious monologue that Falcon wants Ant-Man to know he's looking for him. What's really exciting here is the mention of other heroes when trying to pin down that it's Ant-Man that Falcon is after. We've got one that... crawls up walls." is clearly a reference to our favourite wall-crawler web-head, Spider-Man! Peter Parker is most definitely a part of the MCU now and not only that, he's already active as Spider-Man in New York and has potentially made some kind of public appearance to warrant the journalist already knowing about him.

Stan Lee

Of course what Marvel movie is complete without a cameo from the man himself, in the before mentioned monologue Stan lee is chilling as a bartender with information and seeing Lee lip-sync to Luiz's voice is hilarious and memorable.

The new Wasp

In the first post credits sequence we see Hank Pym reveal a new Wasp costume to his daughter Hope and give her his blessing so she can use it. Hope flashes a wide smile and confirms that she will take on the mantle of the Wasp. There's currently no confirmation on an Ant-Man stand-alone sequel but you can bet money on Hope appearing as the Wasp in future Marvel movies, speaking of which...

Civil War

Okay so this one was a bit of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it type deals but the final, actual, end credit scene shows of what looks to be footage from Civil War! We see Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson have finally caught up with Bucky Barnes, things are still a little tense as Bucky is restrained. "The Accords won't let him help." Rogers tells Wilson who replies, "I know a guy." that guy being Ant-Man! Scott Lang will feature in Civil War and it looks as though he'll be aiding Captain Amer'ca's cause. The mention of the Accords confirms that the movie is likely taking the comic book plot of the superhero registration act dividing the Marvel heroes. the act requires all superheroes to reveal their identities and act on behalf of the US governmannts interests alone. Tony Stark is willing to comply with the act, potentially still reeling from his actions in 'Age of Ultron' but Steve Rogers is most definitley not willing to comply and after his encounter with Hydra in 'The Winter Soldier' it's not hard to see why he distrusts the government now. It's unclear who Bucky will be lining up with but the wheels are in motion and CIvil War is almost upon us!

Hope you enjoyed this look back, the next marvel movie 'Captain America: Civil War' is set for release May 6th 2016.