Spoilers ahead for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially begun with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. The blockbuster helped to introduce the shared universe’s next big villain with Jonathan Major’s Kang the Conqueror, while also diving deep into the Quantum Realm. Peyton Reed’s threequel also put Michelle Pfeiffer into the spotlight for the first time in the MCU. And while Pfeiffer killed it in Ant-Man 3, I’m mad Quantumania ignored a big question surrounding Janet. What’s more, I don’t think people are even talking about it.
Michelle Pfeiffer made her MCU debut in Ant-Man 2 as Janet van Dyne, finally being rescued from the Quantum Realm after decades being subatomic. There were countless questions about her time there, some of which were answered in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. But what wasn’t even mentioned was the fact that Janet totally had superpowers in the last movie. Did they just go away after her escape? And if so, shouldn’t they perhaps return once she was back in the Quantum Realm? I’m so confused.
During the conclusion of Ant-Man 2, Janet van Dyne finally returns home, and has a tear-filled reunion with Hope (Evangeline Lilly). Shortly after Ava Starr aka Ghost reappears. Michelle Pfeiffer is able to use her new Quantum energy manipulation abilities to ease Ava’s pain, albeit temporarily. She also was able to take over Scott’s body from within the Quantum Realm.
Unfortunately for fans who were still wondering (aka me), we never got to see any of Janet’s powers in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. What’s more, they weren’t even mentioned at all throughout the movie’s runtime. While this made sense in the first few scenes, I thought for sure they’d come into play when the cast transported into the Quantum Realm and met Kang the Conqueror face to face. Alas, it seems like that plot point was ignored altogether, despite Janet having a way more significant role.
Of course, the lack of answers around Janet’s superpowers didn’t make Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance any less electric in Ant-Man 3. It was a thrill to see the iconic actress once again return to the comic book genre, and even get involved in a few action sequences along the way. While she’s apparently got some killer hand to hand combat moves up her sleeve, there were no Quantum superpowers to be seen. Luckily Janet made it out of the movie alive, so we have the potential for more killer performances from Pfeiffer in future projects like The Avengers: Kang Dynasty.
Along with Ant-Man 3 ignoring Janet’s superpowers, there was also no mention of the last movie’s villain Ghost. Fans have been wondering if she survived The Snap, and if she was back in pain after Janet turned to dust. Although Hannah John-Kamen is expected to reprise her role as Ghost in the villain-centric Thunderbolts movie, so answers could very well come there.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is currently in theaters now, and will be followed by Guardians 3 on May 5, 2023. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
