Quantifying the Quantumania
Phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be starting with a bang as Ant-man: Quantumania hits the silver screen this month and us here at Bedrock City are here to get you ready!
So what is the Quantum Realm? In comics the Quantum Realm is actually called the Microverse. First mentioned in Captain America #46, the Microverse is the dimension that can be reached by compressing the person’s matter allowing them to force through to the Microverse. Mainly staying in a region called Homeworld, a micro galaxy is made up of several planet like regions that are home to many different sentient beings and have been frequented by the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, and of course Ant-Man either helping, seeking refuge, or causing the chaos in the realm. The most iconic residents of the Microverse are the Micronauts, who were tasked with several quests to help fight the evils of the realm and help restore peace.
Now don’t go getting a big head yet, Quantumania will finally introduce us to the leader of A.I.M., M.O.D.O.K (Mental Organism Designed Only For Killing), however his movie counterpart may differ a bit from his comics. While rumors suggest that M.O.D.O.K will be Darren Cross, deformed after his battle with Ant-Man at the end of the first movie, his comic counterpart George Tarleton, wasn’t as high up in the A.I.M ranks as Darren was. Tarleton was a A.I.M technician part of a development team working on the Cosmic Cube. During the experiments he was mutated into a human computer by the Scientist Supreme. They gave him superhuman intellect, but in doing so it caused his brain to increase in mass. Becoming too heavy for his body to carry, needing to be placed in a life support. His chair, also known as the Doomsday Chair, keeps him alive and also gives him a wide variety of psychic powers. I was beyond stoked that he will be making his big live action debut so no matter how they interpret the character I cannot wait!
Oh boy, where to begin with the man, the myth, the legend. Kang, who is one of my favorite Marvel villains, to me always felt like a villain who could never really be beaten. I’ll try to make this simple. Kang, who always starts off as Nathaniel Richards, is a descendant of Reed Richards who grew up in a reality where humanity never stopped advancing in technology and warfare. A time traveler by nature he gets lost trying to get back to his own time in the 30th century. With the idea of trying to stop himself from becoming the conqueror, everytime he tried to intervene in his future self he would create new timelines and realities with new personas. Iron lad, Kid Immortus, Rama-Tut, and Scarlet Centurion. Majority of these personas were initially created in attempts to stop him from becoming Kang the Conqueror. As Rama-Tut he tried to return to his own time, but over shot it ending up in a war torn 40th century. Seeing barbarians use weapons that they had no knowledge how to use correctly, Rama-Tut saw this as an opportunity, knowing how to use the weapons he conquered in the 40th century creating an army with advanced weaponry and went back in time to conquer earth and the galaxy as Kang. With the multiverse taking a hold of the MCU there’s a real possibility we could see any and all of these interpretations come to fruition but coming off the coattails of that crazy Loki TV show finale, I am intrigued to see how the MCU will handle this Avengers level threat on the big screen.
Now we can’t have an article about this film without addressing the ant hill themselves, and that’s something I’ve come to love about these films is the idea of a legacy. We see Scott Lang and Hope Pym inherit Hank and Janet Pym’s legacy as the Ant-Man and the Wasp, so I am beyond excited to see that trend continue with Scott’s daughter Cassie as the superhero Stature. Now in the film trailers we see her suit up but it remains to be seen if she takes on the mantle full time. There’s so much we don’t know about how their relationships will evolve in this film but I am beyond curious to know about Janet’s relationship to Kang and the Quantum Realm, to see Scott and Cassie reconcile as a family, and so much more so I am confident that this is going to be a great film. Come talk theories while you shop stories before the film comes out at any Bedrock City Comics location!