By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (2008-2019) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment. To revisit previous posts, visit our site HERE.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• A Hint of Legacy •
MOMENT# 30
MOVIE: Ant-Man
DIRECTORS: Peyton Reed
WRITERS: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay,Paul Rudd
Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in Ant-Man.
Legacy used to be incredibly important to comics. All through the 90s and early 00s, DC comics were replacing long standing characters with their sidekicks. One of the most unique versions of this was in the television series Batman Beyond; a story about Gotham in the future that once again was plagued by crime and in desperate need of a new Batman. That new Batman came in the form of Terry McGinnes who got some much-needed help from the OG Batman himself, Bruce Wayne. It was a winning formula that has been underutilized ever since. Until the MCU’s 12th film, Ant-Man.
Some people may not remember this, but Ant-Man was originally announced to be coming out in Phase 1. Before the Phase designation was in place, Edgar Wright was attached to develop a feature film based on the character. But due to many delays and “creative differences” with the, now defunk, MCU story group, Wright left the project and Peyton Reed was brought on to continue the work. Interestingly, these “creative differences” were enough for Kevin Feige to lobby Disney to restructure Marvel Studios so it no longer had to answer to the head of Marvel Entertainment, Ike Perlmutter, but that’s a story for another time.
Throughout the development of Ant-Man, most fans had assumed the story would center around the origin of the original character to have that mantle, Hank Pym. It came as a nice surprise when it was revealed that Paul Rudd had been cast in the lead role of the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang. At the time, Lang was a popular character who had taken on the mantle of Ant-Man in 1979 and had held it off and on ever since. The MCU had made a name for itself at this point by using original versions of the comic book characters and had not yet entertained the idea of a legacy for them. But the question was still asked, could there be a Scott Lang without Hank Pym?
Hope Pym (Evangeline Lilly), Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) in Ant-Man.
Most likely taking some inspiration from Batman Beyond, Hank Pym was introduced as an older man who had been the Ant-Man many years prior when he worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. Now a retired hero, he needs someone to become the Ant-Man and break into PymTech to make sure the Pym Particle doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Pym’s old protege, Darren Cross (played by Corey Stoll), has discovered a way to recreate Pym’s shrinking technology and wants to sell it to the highest bidder. It just so happens that Scott needs the money that Pym is offering him so that he can continue to see his daughter, Cassie.
All of a sudden, Legacy became important to the MCU. Since the onset of the MCU, Marvel Comics has seen a significant increase in legacy characters. Sam Wilson became Captain America, Jane Foster became Thor, Kamala Khan became Ms. Marvel, and so on and so on. Even before the MCU, the Young Avengers were a beloved team filled with legacy characters, including Kate Bishop as Hawkeye and, of course, Cassie Lang as Stature. While these long-running comic book universes at DC and Marvel have a reputation of being static stories rarely willing to break from the status quo, they have many periods in their history where that is not the case. It was also a reputation that the MCU couldn’t afford to develop. Actors will age out of roles in a way that comic book characters will never do.
It’s worth noting that Ant-Man also helped fill in the gap between Captain America: The First Avenger and Iron Man. While it was generally assumed that there were no other heroes between the introduction of these two Avengers, that just immediately became untrue. If Ant-Man and the Wasp could be operating as unseen heroes, then that could mean that others had been as well. This certainly opened up the door to introduce characters like Captain Marvel in a unique way and hopefully some others down the road.
For the MCU to continue to succeed, it needs to continuously evolve and grow and one of the ways it can do that is through legacy. Actors age and eventually want to step away from action heavy roles, so passing along the legacy is an easy way to keep the stories going with fresh perspectives no less. Hank Pym and Scott Lang were instrumental in preparing audiences for legacy casting and proves that the Batman Beyond formula can continue to work.