Since the MCU’s debut in 2008, we, as MCU fans, have infinitely fallen in love with a wide range of powerful, and equally bizarre heroes. We are far, far away from the Avengers initial six-member team-up, consisting of a billionaire, a soldier out of time, a Norse god, and a scientist with anger issues. Not to mention a former Russian spy and an Archer. Since their 2012 team-up, the MCU’s roster of heroes has expanded greatly, and one of the first new heroes we were introduced to, is the hilarious bug-themed hero, Ant-Man.
Played by 2021’s sexiest man alive, Paul Rudd, Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, instantly became a fan favorite. With Paul Rudd’s undeniable charm and Ant-Man’s pretty cool power set, Ant-Man is among the most important heroes in the MCU. Escaping the Quantum Realm, helping Captain America fight against Iron Man, and, perhaps most importantly, helping the remaining Avengers save the universe. So, with the highly anticipated release of Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantummania, here’s a look back at Ant-Man’s best moments in the MCU.
10 “That’s America’s Ass” – Avengers Endgame (2019)
It’s no secret that Avengers: Endgame is one of the greatest superhero movies ever made, and quite a lot of its success is due to the addition of Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, elevating the tone with his gut-busting comic timing. Ant-Man is responsible for many brilliant moments in Endgame, mostly for giving the movie a plot, but also for delivering countless memorable lines of dialog which we will never forget.
Undoubtedly one of the most memorable, is when Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Ant-Man take a trip back to 2012 to gather the space stone from their past selves after the battle of New York. We quickly hear Iron Man take a jab at Captain America, claiming his old costume did nothing for his behind. But Ant-Man quickly slammed back and delivered the genius line “As far as I’m concerned, that’s America’s ass.”
9 Ant-Man vs Falcon – Ant-Man (2015)
In 2015, it was still a fairly new concept that MCU heroes would crossover into different projects. Sure, we had two Avengers movies, but we still hadn’t really seen heroes crossover into origin stories. With that, it was a huge surprise seeing Falcon (Anthony Mackie) appear in Ant-Man’s debut, and the fight that ensued was awesome. Ant-Man got to show off the skills he recently mastered, and it was great seeing Falcon in his costume trying to fight a man the size of an Ant. The fight is brilliantly summed up with Falcon’s final line, “It’s really important to me that Cap never finds out about this.”
8 House Arrest Montage – Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)
Following the events of Civil War, and Ant-Man helping Captain America escape justice, Scott Lang is under house arrest with three days left. After a brilliant scene with Cassie in the makeshift Indiana Jones-esque treasure hunt, we follow Scott Lang’s hilarious daily routine. We see Scott sing karaoke, bowl, play the electric drums, rightfully tear up while reading a Fault in Our Stars, as well as taking an online magic course, which is now a surprisingly important and uproarious aspect to the movie.
7 Training Sequence – Ant-Man (2015)
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Disney
What is an origin story without a training montage? Every great movie has one, including a few of the heroes in the MCU, like Iron Man and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), for example. Ant-Man’s training sequence is hilarious and filled with many great moments showcasing his unique power set. Scott attempts to jump through a keyhole many times, learns how to fight with Hope (Evangeline Lilly), and finally learns how to control ants. This training sequence helped cement Ant-Man as an awesome superhero.
6 The First Shrink – Ant-Man (2015)
One of the best moments in any superhero’s journey, is the test run of their powers or suit. Whether it’s Iron Man flight testing his first suit or Captain America chasing an undercover Hydra agent in his new body. A superheroes test run is undoubtedly important, and Ant-Man’s unique shrinking power paved the way for a memorable first shrink that allows the movie to play with scale in interesting ways. We see Scott run from a tsunami in his bath, escape a “giant” rat, get swung around on a record player, and void the footsteps of party-goers. This first scene was a brilliant taste of what’s to come.
5 Back to School – Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)
During Ant-Man and The Wasp, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) gives Scott an Ant-Man suit with a broken regulator, which keeps changing the size of Scott, from a giant (which we will get to later) to here, where Scott hilariously turns child-sized at Cassie’s school. Unsurprisingly, this scene leads to many great moments in itself, and Paul Rudd’s brilliant physical comedy greatly enhances the scene. For the final cherry on top of this amazing moment, when Scott climbs into the van, Hank delivers a gut busting quip, saying “Hiya champ, how was school today?” to Scotts dismay.
4 Chase Through San Francisco – Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)
Talking about Scotts broken regulator, this Ant-Man and The Wasp gimmick once again comes back in a major way. As Hope, Luis (Michael Peña) and Scott attempt to retrieve the lab from Sunny Birch (Walton Goggins). During this chase, Scott uncontrollably turns big due to the regulator. In many circumstances this isn’t ideal, but Scott uses this to his advantage and rides a truck like a scooter in order to retrieve the lab.
3 Time Heist Plot – Avengers Endgame (2019)
There are ample amounts of time travel movies. From Back to The Future, Hot Tub Time Machine and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, with each having pretty similar concepts of time travel. Yet, here comes Endgame, offering a way more in depth and complicated concept of time travel, which does, if you think about it, make quite a lot of sense. Without Scott, the Avengers would have had no hope in restoring the universe. But due to his ingenuity and experience with the Quantum Realm, Scott offers a solution, even if he doesn’t really understand the concept that Bruce Banner so brilliantly laid out. Scott and Rhody (Don Cheadle) are baffled by Banner’s explanation of time travel and name many time travel movies before claiming that Back to The Future is “a bunch of bullsh*t”.
2 Thomas The Tank Engine – Ant-Man (2015)
2015’s Ant-Man played with scale in interesting ways, many of which we have mentioned on this list. But none are better, nor as memorable as Ant-Man’s final tango with Yellowjacket (Corey Stoll) that places the two bug-sized characters in the middle of Cassie’s toys. Both throw toy after toy at each other, before Yellowjacket gets trampled by a ginormous Thomas The Tank Engine toy, which hilariously cuts away for a brilliant gag once again showcasing the films brilliant use of scale.
1 Giant Man – Captain America Civil War (2016)
The epic battle between team Iron Man and team Captain America is still among the MCU’s best battles; introducing Spider-Man (Tom Holland) to the MCU, as well as pitting many heroes against one another. What more could you want? But perhaps the most memorable is Ant-Man’s first transformation into Giant-Man. A towering titan who grabs Rhody and throws him into Iron Man, throws a plane wing at other members of team Iron Man, as well as attempting to stomp on Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). This moment is simply jaw-dropping, as it turns the tide in battle in new and interesting ways, as team Iron Man tries and takes down giant Scott Lang, with much difficulty.
