Ant-Man theory (spoilers for films and comics to date)

(originally posted as a Facebook comment in Hebrew here)

I’ve written here and elsewhere on how Agents of Shield might be preparing a Secret Invasion storyline.

While on the surface, Ant-Man seems like a light comedy, it may contain what is Marvel’s biggest move yet towards that storyline, and that is the character of Hank Pym.

In the comics, Hank Pym was revealed as one of the Skrulls that have infiltrated the superhero community (two Skrulls, in fact, but that’s another story). In the movie, there’s plenty to suspect about Pym’s behavior: We know that Pym was cut off, for a long time, from his company, his daughter, and possibly others. It therefore may be the case that while the 1989 Hank Pym was an idealist who wanted the Ant-man suit far away from government hands, he was replaced with a Skrull sometime between that time and present-day time in the film. His goal, or one of his goals, could be to have a man in the Ant-Man suit as part of the Avengers team, or maybe even the Wasp suit – a plot twist that is eerily similar to the one that led to Janet’s death in Secret Invasion). Pym may have even aided Cross behind the scenes in creating Yellowjacket to set those events in motion – without his knowledge, a manipulation not too different than the one used to recruit Scott Lang. This may also mean that both of Luis’ “anecdotes” in the film are a result of Pym’s manipulation.

A more modest theory could be that the replacement happens just before the scene in the credits, that is, the Ant-man suit may not be compromised, but the Wasp suit is.

Of course, considering the current story arc of the Marvel film we are still years away from a Secret Invasion storyline, but hey, this is something that was also built in the comics years ahead. Marvel apparently owns the rights for Skrulls only partially, but that doesn’t really prevent Marvel from integrating this kind of story into the mix.

Feel free to post your thoughts.

In other news, I have been covering Agents Of Shield in Hebrew for the Coffee Plus TV blog, and will also present a lecture on AoS and the Avengers in an upcoming convention. Some of the material may find its way here, eventually.

Avengers, Consolidate!

Canceling all four Avengers titles is certainly a ballsy move for Marvel. If indeed Marvel is consolidating the Avengers, this is a positive development for fans who feel that they have to follow too many titles to get the entire story, and for newcomers who would usually want to get just one. That said, we still haven’t heard what Marvel’s plans are beyond New Avengers Finale. So I proudly present my list of Top Ten Ways Marvel Can Screw Up The Avengers:

10. The Super Human Unregistration Act is legislated, plot starts going in reverse. Stories by Brian Michael Bendis suddenly make sense.

9. The Human Registration Act is legislated. Obama is quoted as saying it’s still more probable than him supporting Norman Osborn.

8. The Inhuman Registration Act is legislated. No one cares.

7. Avengers return after a mini titled: “Avengers: Reborn”, a psychedelic trip through the history of the Avengers . No one cares, but everyone buys it anyway.

6. Mighty Avengers become “Pym Avengers”, Avengers made up by Pym Particles, fighting supervillains on a subatomic level. Did I mention no one cares?

5. Bendis unveils the long hinted-at “Thought Bubble invasion”, before realizing you can’t use the tagline “Who do you trust” when you know what everyone’s thinking.

4. Scarlet Witch says: “No More Avengers Titles”.

3. Quesada un-marries Jessica Jones and Luke Cage as the baby gets Mephisto-ed. Jessica suddenly seems to be 10 years younger and has a weekly series. Luke Cage: “Sweet Christmas!”

2. Bullseye-Hawkeye gets killed and promptly resurrected by Loki-Scarlet Witch, before having intercourse with her. him.

1. It all ends with the mega-event The Civil Invasion of the Dark Siege of M: Disassembled.