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Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant-Man and the Wasp is a well-produced family film that relies on simple, but important themes, to emphasize the importance of family. With its predecessor Ant-Man, the film is able to build on the importance of teamwork and family in Guardians of the Galaxy to provide a traditional message necessary for our modern world.

There is little difference between Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Director Peyton Reed seamlessly blended the two films, making it seem as if they were arbitrarily separated from a much longer film. The tone, the characters, and the charm continues through both, and the cast is able to pull off the same general shtick without seeming tired.

This article will focus on the role of relationships as part of a general search for identity, and it will discuss the plot of both films. There will be spoilers from both movies.

A Blended Family

One of the most unique, yet often overlooked, aspects of the original Ant-Man was its positive depiction of a blended family. Our hero Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is an ex-con who went to jail for all the right reasons, yet it cost him everything.

Once released, he tries to spend time with his young daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), but his inability to hold a job prompts his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Grier) and her new partner Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) to push him away.

Although Paxton first appears obnoxious and condescending, his behavior is protective of Cassie. He tells Lang that he must act like “the man [his] daughter thinks [he] is,” which, in the Marvel Universe, is to be a hero. It is no wonder, then, that the final battle takes place in her room, and, with the excessive destruction, everyone is able to move on and be happy.

To mollify the loss of Lang’s spouse, the character Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) is used as an emotional surrogate, standing in for Maggie and letting the audiences know that Lang must move on if he is to ever have a healthy relationship with his daughter. In the beginning, Hope is just as distant and antagonistic in their interactions as one may think of a less than amicable former spouse. However, the end of the film sees her warming up to him, providing a romantic character arc traditionally found within stories of reconciliation between estranged lovers. All negative interactions between males/females are placed within that new dynamic, allowing Lang’s relationship with Cassie and her new family to be free of entanglement.

At the same time, Hope has her own issues with her father: she blames him for the loss of her mother and the estrangement that took place between them. As a scientist, her father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) was the original Ant-Man, and we learn that his wife Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer in the second movie) was the Wasp. In a tragic moment, Janet sacrificed her life to prevent disaster, becoming lost to the Quantum Realm. But this left Pym cold, and his daughter grew to resent him as a result.

The film is rather forward with its role of the Lang/Cassie and Pym/Hope dynamic, and much of the antagonism between Lang and Hope are a result of this conflict. However, heroics are able to bring everyone together, even leading to Paxton being warm and welcoming to Lang, one who, as common wisdom would have it, should be a rival.

A Second Chance

By the start of Ant-Man and the Wasp, most of the issues between the main characters are worked out with only minor tension. Lang is under house arrest due to the events of Captain America: Civil War, and Maggie and Paxton are very warm and seem to treat Lang like a brother, being proud of his heroic actions.

Everyone seems accepting of Lang’s fate because of his heroic deeds, but this is not true for Pym and Hope. Instead, they appear to resent that he went off on his own and did not contact them first. However, they quickly put aside any hard feelings when Lang receives a vision from Janet, suggesting that she could be found.

The movie then embraces two themes: the need to return to one’s family and the need to correct the past. The central antagonist is the incredible Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), code named Ghost. Morally ambiguous, she is trying to correct a wrong that led to her family’s death and to her quantum instability, an ability that allows her to phase through objects. As it is soon revealed, she was used by the government to perform unjust deeds, which helps her justify doing whatever it takes to help herself, but she is still a victim.

Along side of Ava is Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne), a former associate of Pym and once the superhero Goliath. Like Ava’s father, he had a falling out with Pym over Pym’s egotistical, isolating behavior. However, his actions throughout the movie are to protect Ava, his surrogate daughter, from death that would come from complete quantum instability, and he does so with a traditional, moralistic code.

At one point in the film, Ava becomes desperate and decides that she would use Cassie to threaten Lang and Pym into handing over the technology she needs. This is too much for Bill, and he makes it clear that she could not cross that line, to which she reluctantly agrees. However, her plan still intended to return Janet from the Quantum Realm and kill her in a process to restore her own stability. In the end, Ava is stopped but is still able to return to herself through the work of the heroes.

Both Ava’s and Bill’s issues with Pym are the result of Pym’s past deeds, and Pym is forced to confront the ramifications of his mistakes to free his wife from the Quantum Realm. At one point, Bill even stresses the need for Pym to realize that Ava is in pain and needs his help to be restored to stability. This prompts Pym to understand exactly what he has done and how he can move forward. By learning to work with others and to serve others, he becomes a new man, just as Lang spent the first movie doing the same.

Return of Identity

At the climax of the movie, Janet returns from the Quantum Realm and is able to use her powers to stabilize Ava’s form. Through sacrifice, love, and dedication to heroism, Pym, Lang, and Hope are able to correct the past, embodied by Ava, without the need for death. In the end, it is suggested that Bill and Ava become part of a larger Ant-Man team just as the end of the first movie has Lang become part of the blended family.

Janet’s loss to the Quantum Realm and Ava’s quantum instability are manifestation of Pym’s inability to work with others. His arrogance pushed people away, and his desperation allowed him to finally understand his need for others to help him. He reconciled through necessity, but he reconciled nonetheless.

At the same time, Lang’s form is unstable because he is divided between his abiding by the terms of his house arrest and doing the right thing. At one point in the film, he discusses with Cassie the possibility that he might have to risk going to jail to help. With great maturity, she seems to fully understand the ramifications of his words and even suggests that she wants to be his partner. However, Lang makes it clear that he wants to protect her and wants Hope to be his partner instead. Cassie seems fine with that, seeing, also with great maturity, the need for her father to bond with a new woman.

This commitment to heroism does not stabilize Lang’s form, but it does provide him with the strength to get through the various pursuits and conflicts that follow. By the end of the film, however, he is rewarded with meeting the terms of his confinement and being set free, and it is even hinted that he could become friends with the FBI agent who oversaw his monitoring. The problems with his size are seemingly resolved along with the other conflicts.

Moving Forward

The film is built around the need to move forward by correcting the past, and each character ultimately has to learn how to let things go to become part of a new family. Unlike some of the bleaker Marvel films, heroism leads to everyone finding a new place that is filled with love and friendship.

As a comedy, this message of optimism is central to the film’s structure and important for audiences. It is uplifting and inspiring, showing that there is a better way than a world filled with division and hate. Our enemies can be our future friends if we can join together through understanding and correct past wrongs. We can become better people if we think about the needs of others.

Although Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp are neither the funniest Marvel Cinematic Universe films nor the most action packed, they are the most wholesome. Their blend of comedy with gentle action and amazing special effects allows them to be great films for most audiences.