Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania

Following the events of Marvel: Endgame, Scott Lang has been riding high on the success of a bestselling biography and popular lecture circuit. But things aren't so great on the home front. Girlfriend Hope Pym Van Dyne barely has time for him now that she runs her father's company. Daughter Cassie has been getting into trouble with the cops; mostly because her father refuses to let her become a superhero. Adding to problems, secretly, Hank Pym has been helping Cassie create a device that could communicate with the Quantum Realm. This really freaks out Janet Van Dyne and before she can turn off the device, she, Hank, Cassie, Hope and Scott are plunged into that microscopic universe.

It's learned that while Janet was stuck in the Quantum Realm, she meet a fellow castaway who promised to return Van Dyne to her world in exchange for repairing his damaged ship. On the day the vehicle is to be activated, Janet learns that whom she thought was an ally actually had plans to conquer the entire known multiverse. Despite a promise to leave her universe free from his plans for conquest, Janet destroys the machine, making a very powerful enemy. Thus, Kang the Conqueror promises revenge on Janet Van Dyne, with the guarantee that should he ever free himself from his exile in the Quantum Realm, her universe will be the first to be destroyed.

Stuck once more in the Quantum Realm, Scott and family must find a way back home without alerting Kang of their presence. But Janet Van Dyne made a lot of enemies during her time away from Hank and Hope; mostly because her betrayal of Kang led to the villain's conquest of the Quantum Realm and slaves of it's inhabitants. Throw in a forgotten foe from the first Antman film and it's essentially 5 against a universe that literally defies the established laws of quantum physics.

I recorded Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania sometime last November on my DVR. FXX was the channel showing it. I get a week off for Thanksgiving break and had every intention of seeing the film in it's entirety in one sitting. FXX was showing the movie in a sort of marathon viewing. As my DVR timer was set to begin recording 2 minutes early, the after credits scene was what started things off and it spoiled a huge chunk of the movie for me. Add in the terrible CGI, the excessive use of green screen and the knowledge that most of what occurs in this movie gets scrapped because of the cancelling of actor Jonathan Majors (due to an arrest for assault and battery), who plays Kang and I quickly lost interest in the movie.

I think I watched the first hour during Thanksgiving break. Another hour or so during Christmas and then today, I finally got up the nerve to finish the film and free up a couple hours on my DVR. Maybe it's because I am nearly 50 and I have seen more than my fair share of superhero movies. Maybe it's because Hollywood is operating on tired cliches and very little else. Maybe it's both, because I found very little in this 2023 film that surprised me. I was literally running through everything that happened in the last climatic battle scene out loud a good 3-4 seconds before it happened. I wasn't bored as much as I was unimpressed.

I feel like a major Marvel villain such as Kang the Conqueror shouldn't have been wasted on such a minor hero as Antman. Kang deserves better than Scott Lang. He needs the Avengers. Yeah, I know. Earth's Mightiest Heroes are defunct at the moment. Having Kang was going to be what brings the old team together in what, the MCU's 5th wave. Or is it 6th? 7th? I have no idea.

The plan going forward for Marvel is to have Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr., as the main villain. But did we have to forgo Kang just because the actor who played him did something criminal? Actors and actresses have been fired and recast since the beginning of Hollywood. If you are going to explore the multiverse of the MCU and officially add the Fantastic Four and the X-Men to it, it really makes sense to keep Kang your villain. He's the time travelling, multiple Earth visiting antagonist that has given everyone fits at one time or another. It's almost like Kevin Fiege was unhappy with the plans made for the Kang Saga and was looking for any glitch to change things around. To me, this feels like the crimes committed by Majors was almost secretly welcomed by Marvel. If Disney was really sickened by those crimes, they would have kept their original plans and recast another actor to play Kang.

This is a movie that was not very well made in terms of creativity or special effects. It's also a film with a lot of baggage. I'm glad that I didn't spend about $80 going to the theaters to see it with my godson. It would have been a waste of time and money- hard earned. Antman and the Wasp Quantumania is almost, ALMOST NOT as bad as the worst MCU film ever made, Thor: The Dark World. But not by much. I hate to say it but it's Jonathan Majors who makes this film somewhat re-watchable.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Ant-Man: Ant-iversary

Dr. Henry Pym, Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady are plucked from the time stream to battle a futuristic version of an enemy so unthinkable, that I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself. 

In this 60th anniversary epic, readers are treated to 3 untold tales of the trio of men to bear the moniker of Ant-Man. Pym is removed during the dawn of the Marvel Age of Comics just as he is fighting a quartet of some of his not-so-well-known foes from the 1960s. O-Grady is sent into the future right after he steals the Ant-Man suit from Pym, who is working for SHIELD at the time. Lang's story occurs during the present of 2022, right after the Avengers stop Ultron for the umpteenth time. 

Tom Reilly is the main artist for this tribute to Ant-Man. Yet, if you were to tell me that he had help from an assortment of other artists, I'd believe you. Reilly changes his style to reflect the time periods in which each Ant-Man exists. It's a level of dedication (and nostalgia) that I greatly appreciate. Story writer Al Ewing also tries to differentiate his narrative voice which each time period. I just didn't feel that he was as effective as Tom Reilly was in making things feel as timely. Although, how he presents the Marvel Universe in the future of 2549 A.D. feels like how comics and literature in general is going, what with the near ubiquitous use of emojis, tech-speak and the removal of letters from everyday words.

There's also a pair of classic Ant-Man stories from the early 1960s. Hank Pym takes on the Protector and the Time Master in those reprint tales. Both villains are part of the team of 4 that take on the original Ant-Man at the beginning of this anniversary miniseries. While nowhere near on par with the likes of other classic Ant-Man foes like Egghead or Kang the Conqueror, I loved getting to see these vintage tales in vibrant color. I've always admired the Ant-Man and later Giant Man tales as his stories were more scientific in nature like those of the Barry Allen Flash and needed the use of his brain a lot more than his brawn. 

There's also a Wasp miniseries floating around. That 4-issue mini came out earlier this year. Based on how similar that cover to those books looked to the Ant-Man stories, I researched and found that Al Ewing and Tom Reilly were the creative forces behind that project as well. One way or another, I must get my hands on it. If it's half as good as this book was, then I am in for a treat!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Avengers: First to Last

     An interesting mix of never before told behind-the-scenes stories of the original line-up of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and as well as the team's swan song.

     The first group of stories appeared in the back pages of Avengers Classic. Featuring such greats as Dwayne McDuffie (Damage Control) and the Man himself, Stan Lee, these shorts reveal what happened between the issues, like how Marvel obtained the licensing rights to the Avengers and the first ever meeting between Captain America and Spider-Man.

      It's always been my pet peeve with the Marvel Classic books that they never contain any original material. But with Avengers Classic, that wasn't case. Of note, if you already have issues 1-12 of the Avengers in some sort of collected form and you have this volume, you'll have all the original material and covers contained in Avengers Classic. You will not need to scour the bargain bins for the individual issues of Avengers classic.

      The second feature was a completely new story. The Last Avengers Story reveals what could happen in a final stand off between Hank Pym and Ultron. Written by Marvel mage Peter David, this book was dark, bloody, and a wild read. It was also a little naughty. That's all thanks to the painted pages of Aliens Vs. Predator's Ariel Olivetti.

       If you are trying to collect Avengers stories, you'll need this collection. It's the perfect combination of funny, serious, and adventure. But due to the level of blood and gore in The Last Avengers Story, this is not a book for all readers- especially kids- as some images can be quite unsettling.

     Worth Consuming

     Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Tales to Astonish #1: featuring the Hulk, Wasp, and Hank Pym

While on a working vacation to Scadanvia, Hank Pym and ex-wife, Janet Van Dyne are recruited by the local authorities to look in on a madman who beleive’s he is Loki, the Norse god of Mischief, incarnate.

Adding to the mix is the Hulk, who makes a livesaving appearance, literally in the nick of time. This Hulk is coherent, with the brain of Banner having taken over. So, don’t be surprise that the Hulk is dressed and flying airplanes.

The art work is pretty darn good, with painted scenes that are gruesome and beautiful at the same time. The plot is really good and reminded me a little of CSI or Kolchak, the Night Stalker. The ending got a little too dragged out and I didn’t like one of the twists involving the Hulk. Regardless of this, the book was very good and very much worth consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

She-Hulk, Volume 2: Disorderly Conduct (Marvel NOW!)

   A business neighbor of Jen's hires She-Hulk, not for a case but to complete some superheroing work. The neighbor is a scientist, who along with his partner, are making strides in the field of shrinking organic material. Only, the partner has gone missing, and presumed shrunk- also, there's the nasty business of the formula not quite being perfected yet, so he might explode at any moment and take half of New York with him. Enter the pioneer of shrinking technology, Hank Pym, who along with She-Hulk and Hellcat, race against time in an adventure straight out of 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.'

    Then She-Hulk must travel to the West Coast to defend Steve Rogers in a wrongful death case dating back to his days before becoming Captain America. But will she be able to defend the aged Sentinel of Freedom when she learns that her civil court opponent is none other than the Man Without Fear, Matt 'Daredevil' Murdock.

   Lastly, Jen gets to the bottom of the mysterious Blue File. But, with nobody able to remember just what happened in the Dakotas, She-Hulk will have to use all of her technical legal resources available to find the answers she's looking for. Plus, she'll probably call in a few favors from the superhero community as all New York lawyers are able to do as well.

    This volume marks the end of yet another dynamic She-Hulk series that just couldn't find an audience. She's a fan favorite (and a favorite of mine), but she's more often looked at as a comedic sex-pot like Marilyn Monroe as opposed to a serious kick-ass superheroine. This should be considered a crime because while she's a very funny character, She-Hulk a top-notch Marvel hero to boot. 

    Another thing Jennifer Walters is is a crackerjack lawyer. But it might be this very reason that the series ended way too soon. The series writer, Charles Soule, claims in the book's afterword, that this series was meant to be heavier on law as opposed to action. Maybe that kept fans away but as a fan of the comedic law thriller 'Supernatural Law' I enjoyed the Law & Order approach to this series. 

   Some might argue that She-Hulk wasn't meant to go more than 12-issues because of everything going on with the Marvel reboot series Secret Wars. But, if that was the case, then She-Hulk would be returning with an all-new series later this year and that just doesn't seem likely to happen. Soule claims that this series was only planned for a year's worth of issues but I've heard that line so much, it's become a cliched excuse when a series ends early.

   I want to go back to the art for just a second. I have mentioned that She-Hulk is a cult favorite because of her sex appeal. Well, in this series, she's attractive looking but she's not cheesecake material. Series artist Javier Pulido has more of a Latin style in his work. It's big on using pastels and watercolors to flesh out the art. It can also give a character a bit of a blotchy look to them and it's not the cleanest of art styles. It's not quite Impressionist art, but it's close and I think this style makes She-Hulk look less like a goddess and more down to earth. If anything, I would bet that it's how she and the other females in this book are drawn that kept the fanboys away. Yet another crime of passion against the great green female superhero of the Marvel Universe.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel's Ant-Man

 Well, it took me forever, but I finally saw the film Ant-Man. It's kinda ironic since it took literally forever for this movie to see the light of day. I remember reading almost a dozen years ago in Wizard Magazine about how a script that would involve multiple generations of people bearing the mantle of Ant-Man was floating around Hollywood but never could find anyone to commit to it. For the life of me, I couldn't understand how this concept would work and it made sense that this was the superhero movie that nobody wanted. 

   That is until this Sunday when all of the pieces fell into place and I finally could see the full picture that this amazing script was to paint on the silver screen. 

    Elderly Dr. Hank Pym's (Michael Douglas) days as the Ant-Man for the American military covert ops are over. Not wanting the formula to his Pym Particles, a mysterious substance that can shrink and enlarge organic material, to fall into the wrong hands, Pym willingly allowed himself to become a pariah of SHIELD. As a result, Pym loses his company and is estranged from his daughter. When a former colleague of Pym is close to unlocking the secret behind the Pym Particles, the original Ant-Man enlists the help of Scott Lang to prevent project Yellowjacket from becoming a reality.

    Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a cat-burglar recently released from prison. Down on his luck, Lang wants to make amends in order to restore his relationship with his daughter, Cassie. Desperate, the ex-con agrees to one last job and, as a result, steals Pym's Ant-Man suit. But this heist was really a test to prove if Lang has what it takes to finally redeem himself, save the world from terrorists looking to weaponize Pym's work,  and become the new Ant-Man.

   Filled with lots of great cameos, Ant-Man was a literal who's who (Oops, I'm sorry, wrong company)- a literal The Official Handbook of the Marvel <Cinematic> Universe. Ant-Man was planned as the final project in Marvel's Phase Two which looked to expand the number of heroes and villains in the movie universe. And though a sequel has yet to be approved, that doesn't mean the end of the diminutive hero. Rudd's character looks to play a major role in the forthcoming Captain America: Civil War (2016.)

    A major character starring in Civil War has a great- gee, I wouldn't call it a cameo- let's say supporting role in Ant-Man. It's probably been spoiled to death as to who pops up, but you will not find out who it is from me, folks. But, speaking again about Civil War, be sure to stay during and after the credits to learn more about Scott Lang's future in the movies. (Yes- there are not one but two bonus scenes!)
  
    Compared to the latest Marvel film to hit the big screen, this film was fantastic. The acting was superior with its all-star cast. The special effects were generations better than the Fox flop to remain nameless and I was surprised by how much I was interested in a movie about a guy that can shrink to 4-inches tall and commands legions of ants. 

    The only thing that I felt was wrong about the movie was that the plot and ending were telegraphed numerous times. This might not be the fault of the director or screenwriter. The fact that I pretty much knew how this film would end by about the 35-minute mark on, could very well be because I've read so much of the Marvel catalogue that not very much surprises me anymore as much of Lang's origin was taken from his origin story in the pages of Marvel Premiere, 1979.

    But this was a good movie and a fun ride. A little heavy on swears, this is still the type of super-hero movie that kids as much as adults will want to see. Especially during the very funny climatic battle between Ant-Man and Yellowjacket on a child's toy train set. 

    Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Ant-Man & Wasp #3

Turns out AIM didn’t want “Heaven” after all. They just stole it in order to recruit Hank Pym to their criminal organization. Now trapped by AIM, Pym endures the weirdest job interview of all time as he must escape over 100 traps in order to free Ant-Man from the Sleepwalker and save the universe from a temporal displacement.

Excellent stuff. I think Marvel did a fantastic job for once. But, they missed a great opp to have an ongoing Wasp/Ant-man title. However, that doesn’t stop the book from being very much Worth Consuming. Also, the background characters have influenced me to give Avengers Academy a very serious glance.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ant-Man & Wasp #1

Ant-man and the Wasp have reteamed for the first time ever! It’s not your father’s Ant-man and Wasp and ironically, the book actually mentions that fact! I love it.

Here Hank Pym is now bearing the mantle of Wasp, in honor of his deceased lover, Jan Van Dyne. Ant-man is an upstart SHIELD drop-out who makes Guy Gardner look like a choir boy.

I thought this book was going to be in typical Marvel fashion with the two heroes fighting each other, but it doesn’t happen. Instead, there is a great buddy cop vibe and the banter is funny.

Did I say that I love it?

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Secret Invasion: Requiem

Janet Van Dyne, AKA The Wasp, has died and now ex-husband and long-time lover Hank Pym finds himself in charge of clearing her estate. Wanting to make amends for her death as well as how poorly he treated her over the years, Pym reflects over his love life in hopes of finding a way to honor the fallen Avenger.

In Requiem, we see the beginning of Pym and Janet’s relationship with the Wasp’s origin, reprinting Tales to Astonish #44 and then we see the end of Hank and Jan’s marriage with his epic court-martial as Yellowjacket in an early 80s reprint of the Avengers.

The two reprints, along with the filler story are superb. I really enjoyed the ending. There’s also a Official Marvel Handbook entry on the life of Janet Van Dyne. Though it’s very extensive, there’s some omissions that I wish were explained further. For instance, her bio sheet lists her as once being known as Doctor Spectrum and the Invisible Woman. I wanted to know how she took up those monikers, but the author doesn’t touch those subjects.

Lastly, it’s said Janet wore about 200 different outfits in her illustrious career and the book closes with a 3-page spread that tries to capture everyone of those costumes.

Great work, Marvel!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Ant-Man's Big Christmas

 

WORTH CONSUMING!

A cautionary tale starring Ant-Man and Wasp. Starts off slow, but once the revenge of 12 year-old Larry McGruder starts, it’s one of the most clever stories I have read in quite some time.

Worth 9 out of 10 stars. Worth Consuming!