SPOILERS
A more overtly comedic film than many in the Marvel stable, and one I found more entertaining than the lampooning Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant Man is a loose adaptation of this 1979 Marvel Premiere two-parter.
Like the original comic, ex-con Scott Lang ( the likeable Paul Rudd) steals Hank Pym's equipment to foil disturbed corporate bigwig Darren Cross. In the movie, Pym ( a feisty Michael Douglas), effectively recruits Lang while Cross, plotting to sell Pym's inventions to HYDRA, adopts the identity of Yellowjacket.
While the villain reminded me of DC's most recent Blue Beetle and Lang's love of referencing classic tv and movies was lost, the film neatly dovetails into the Avengers cinematic universe. I enjoyed the clash with the Falcon; the set up for the Wasp (the MC2's Red Queen, Hope Van Dyne-Pym); the nod to Agent Carter and the head trip Microverse sequence. I was actually quite shocked to see how Martin Donovan has aged since his 90s films with Hal Hartley.
Ant Man may seem a C-list choice- the Marvel movie equivalent of an Elongated Man feature ( although I'd love that!) -but this venerable character has been around since the early Sixties. I first read of him in UK Power Comics by which time he was already repurposed as Giant-Man; I particularly liked his blurry foe, The Human Top.
Pym became more compelling as the tormented Goliath, trapped at a freakish ten feet. This was my introduction to the Avengers and Pym was a major player in the team up until the early 70s. The character then vacillated between his Ant-Man and slightly more dynamic Yellowjacket persona until this shattering storyline in 1981.
I was really dismayed by the downfall of Yellowjacket at the time but now I can see what Shooter was aiming for,a nd how dramatic and logical it was.The writer even revisited the concept in his relatively recent return to the Legion, darkening the character of the imperious Princess Projectra.
Pym was redeemed by Englehart in the 80s as he reverted to his roots as a "scientific adventurer". Al Milgrom playfully made him resemble Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor and Hank's ant-based AI "Rover" might have been his own K9. That period of the West Coast Avengers is referenced by the Milgrom Hotel in the movie. The movie also has fun with the wildly varied dimensions of size that the hero can attain and with his rapport with Ants- a gimmick his equally-tiny rival the Atom cannot duplicate.
From his debut in Marvel Premiere,, Lang made several appearances with Iron Man and the Avengers, most notably the first Taskmaster storyline.
Geoff Johns finally made Lang an Avenger in the early 2000s, after a 90s spell with the FF. Ant Man clashed often with Jack of Hearts and was killed by a zombified Jack in "Avengers Dissambled " He was restored to life, of course- comics!- and subsequently worked with the FF/ Future Foundation again. The character never had the resonance of Pym and always seemed a bit redundant to me. I don't know much about the 2006 Irredeemable Ant Man: he sounds like a seedy voyeur, frankly.
The film also made me wonder, given that Ant Man is over fifty years old and the likes of Superman, the Flash and Batman have ( or will shortly) already celebrated their 75th anniversaries, which heroes might celebrate a century of adventures? Here are my suggestions for superheroes with longevity.
Batman: the shadowy nemesis of urban crime. A dread, weird avenger -and his extended Bat-family and gallery of freakish criminals.
The Flash: in a time-poor society, the timeless urge for speed ( to which any kid can relate and imitate)
My next choices are more uncertain-Green Lantern: a modern-day Aladdin with a wishing ring.
Captain Marvel: the boy who can become an adult at will and then change back.
Superman: I was going to dismiss this blue collar strongman of the 30s but a glance at my dvds reminded me of the numerous seasons of Smallville. The romance of the country mouse and the urban career woman might never age.
Marvel, while the younger company, has a stable of characters who may, through their movie marketability, have a hold on the public consciousness that might last into the 2040s or 50s.
Spider-Man: the perennial adolescent outsider: the creep, the weirdo whose gifts carry a curse.
The Hulk: the rage of the young child erupting from the tormented man of learning.
Wolverine : the nobility of the soldier wrestling with the savagery of the animal.
The X-Men: more adolescents but in the crucible of cliques and career decisions that is senior high school, having to learn how to use their powers
Subsitute Wolvie for Conan and we still have a top three identical to that of Bronze Age Marvel marketing. Feel fee to chip in with your own thoughts on the surviving super-heroes of the mid-21st century.
Coming soon: the immortal Iron Fist
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