Dissecting The Two ANT-MAN Post-Credit Scenes

By now, many of you have been to see Ant-Man, the latest installment in Marvel Studios ongoing cinematic superhero saga. And as with these films, the studio always leaves a scene or two to be revealed during the film’s credits. Ant-Man did not disappoint, with two scenes that serve to payoff a few things from the film while simultaneously setting up what’s to come in some Marvel films down the line. But if you’re scratching your head about what these two scenes were pointing to, here’s some handy explanations.

Needless to say, spoilers to follow.

Credit Scene #1 – “About damn time.”

One of the things that seemed to irritate some fans about Marvel’s approach to Ant-Man was that by placing Hank Pym into the mentor role to Scott Lang, it shuffled Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, off to the sidelines. Well, as one sees in the film, Janet does get some time to shine in flashback, but what about a modern day Wasp to work alongside Ant-Man?

That question was answered in the first of Ant-Man‘s two mid-credit scenes as we see Hank (Michael Douglas) reveal to his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) that at the time of Janet’s disappearance the two were developing a new Wasp outfit before stating that he now feels that the time is right to complete that work for Hope.

“It’s about damn time,” Hope replies.

But when will we see Lilly doing her own action thing as Wasp? According to Marvel’s Kevin Feige (in an interview with Slash Film’s Peter Sciretta) it will be during the studio’s Phase Three set of films, but not in the kickoff Captain America: Civil War, hitting theaters next May. So where does that leave us to look for her? The next four films on Marvel’s schedule are Doctor Strange, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, Spider-Man and Thor: Ragnarok, and I don’t really see her character appearing in any of those films.

That just leaves the two part Avengers: Infinity Wars due in May 2018 and May 2019 and the Captain Marvel and Black Panther films slotted to happen in between. I dare say, given that Infinity War is looking as if it will be tying up a number of ongoing plotlines that have been stretching through the 12 Marvel films that we have seen so far, the odds are better than even that we’ll see Wasp there.

And of course, there’s a possible Ant-Man sequel in the inevitable Phase Four.

Credit Scene #2 – “I know a guy.”

OK, while not directly tied to the main narrative of Ant-Man, this short scene at the end of the credits serves to whet our appetite for Captain America: Civil War, from which it was lifted, while hinting at how Scott’s encounter with The Falcon in Ant-Man will have ramifications down the line.

The scene opens in a deserted, warehouse-like space with Captain America (Chris Evans) and the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) discussing what to do with the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) whom they have apparently captured and are keeping his robotic arm in some sort of vice. Cap remarks that if it was a week earlier things would have been easier for them and that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) probably wouldn’t be able top due to “the accords.”

So, what happened a week earlier? I suppose that the answer lies in Marvel’s official plot synopsis for Captain America: Civil War –

“Captain America: Civil War” picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.

I’m guessing that the new “international incident” is what brings about “the accords” that Cap mentions that seems to be tying his hands in terms of what he can do with Winter Soldier and that they were just recently passed. We know that in Civil War Cap and Tony Stark/Iron Man will square off on opposite sides of this issue and this scene could be the first indication of that split between the two. Given Scott Lang’s professed expertise with electronics, it is easy to see why Falcon might suggest him as an alternate to Stark for the help that they need.

Not only does this scene reveal how Ant-Man will fit into the storyline for Civil War, but it also reveals that he will be on the anti-registration side with Captain America. This also probably explains why the Falcon was attempting to contact him at the end of the Ant-Man film proper.