History YMMV / AntMan

* CrazyIsCool: Hank Pym, particularly in his MadScientist-inspired phases, such as his original interpretation as penned by Stan Lee, or his late ''West Coast Avengers'' tenure. Making insects grow giant, saving chainsaws, laser weapons and guns on his miniaturized toolkit, and making crazy invention after crazy invention (such as an ''infinite'' mansion, multiple robots and artificial intelligences) have made many readers fall in love with him.

* CrazyAwesome: Hank Pym, particularly in his MadScientist-inspired phases, such as his original interpretation as penned by Stan Lee, or his late ''West Coast Avengers'' tenure. Making insects grow giant, saving chainsaws, laser weapons and guns on his miniaturized toolkit, and making crazy invention after crazy invention (such as an ''infinite'' mansion, multiple robots and artificial intelligences) have made many readers fall in love with him.

%%* Crazy Awesome: Hank Pym can be an amazing character when written well, unfortunately so few writers know what to do with him.

* {{Narm}}: His original archenemy Egghead could never become a serious threat. No matter what he tried the writers just couldn't make a scientist with an egg-shaped head into a cool villain. It reached its zenith in his final appearance, where he basically went through the supervillain equivalent of a mid-life crisis.

* TheWoobie:
** Dr. Hank Pym. Jesus Christ, the shit this dude has been put through. First wife, dead. Second wife, dead. His robot son? Genocidal killing machine. The only robot son that wasn't genocidal? Killed by his genocidal brother. Best friend, Bill Foster, murdered. Other best friend, Scott Lang, was dead for a time and barely talks to him anymore. Just about anyone he ever cared about has wound up dead. He's had at least four documented mental break downs and all of his inventions have been turned to criminal use, tarnishing his scientific legacy. And all of this was before he was merged with the aforementioned killing machine, launched into space, and forgotten about. It doth suck to be Hank Pym.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Marvel retconning it so that Hank Pym was not involved in building the clone Thor, with him being impersonated by a Skrull instead.

* BrokenBase:
** Is Hank Pym the best Ant-Man, or is Scott Lang? Or is it Eric O'Grady? Bring it up and watch the flames explode forth, especially after the movies have made Scott ''the'' Ant-Man in the eyes of the public, to the disappointment of Hank fans who feel that Marvel has begun [[DemotedToExtra pushing him to the side]] because of this.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: It's very easy to read The Wasp's early stories and interactions with future husband Hank Pym as being that of a manipulative opportunist who ruined her partner's confidence by leading him on then switching her affections to another team mate, taking advantage of a recently widowed man by playing up her resemblance to his deceased wife, and making light of his insecurities.
* AngstWhatAngst: After Janet returns from being trapped in the Microverse, she spends very little time angsting over the time she lost or the traumatic experiences she had while there. Later, after ''Axis'' is resolved, Janet (or more likely, the writers) pretty much forgot that she was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend and had lost their daughter thanks to time-travel messes, and when she pops back up, she's pretty over it. Averted at least in that around this time, ''Rage of Ultron'' and Hank Pym's death/merge with Ultron happened, and so Janet instead got to angst about not being able to save him.
* AudienceAlienatingEra: Janet's mutated form during the 1990s is considered one of the most obvious examples of the insipid writing on the Avengers from that decade.

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** The Wasp:
*** The ''Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' version got this: some viewers felt that her enthusiasm and determination made her the best character on the team, while others felt that her power level was too low to justify a spot on the team and found her annoying and shallow.
*** Hope van Dyne, Janet's daughter in the [[ComicBook/MarvelComics2 MC2]] line and the MCU, who is set to become the MCU's Wasp rather than her mother, has been a massively divisive character. In the film she's either an entertaining and strong female character or a weak and poorly written token love interest. [[Film/AntManAndTheWasp When she actually becomes the Wasp, though]], she seems to have been RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap due to having more opportunity to have fun with her role and her better handled romantic chemistry with Scott Lang, though there are still those who are upset that Janet hasn't been given focus as the Wasp in the movies.
*** Nadia van Dyne, the new Wasp in the comics, seems to get one of three reactions. Either you're a fan of Janet and you [[ReplacementScrappy hate Nadia for stealing Janet's focus and getting the push Janet hasn't gotten]], or you're a fan of Janet who ''loves'' Nadia for being adorable and endearing, and despite being the one focused on, gives Janet new ground to explore by being Nadia's mentor and surrogate mother. Thirdly, you're a fan of Janet who tolerates Nadia, but don't like how she upstages Jan and obviously exists mainly as an MCU tie-in, which comic fans have grown incredibly sick of in recent years. There's a minor fourth camp of fans who love Nadia and hate Janet, and are glad that she's taking the spotlight from her, but that's a pretty rare stance in the grand scheme of things.

** Janet dating [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]], starting in the 2019 relaunch of Tony's book, a lot of which seems to just come from Tony's status as a BaseBreakingCharacter after ComicBook/CivilWar. For some, Tony and Janet have always been really close friends who happen to be BirdsOfAFeather (being NonIdleRich superheroes who manage billion-dollar businesses), so them graduating to a romantic relationship makes some degree of sense, find their interactions adorable, and love the BattleCouple dynamic the two have together. For others, Tony is a terrible human being who doesn't deserve her, and think she's been reduced her to a ShallowLoveInterest and lost all her character development. Given that the latter naturally aren't ''reading'' Tony's book[[note]]Since, obviously, they wouldn't be wasting money on a comic about a character they clearly don't like[[/note]], some of this might fall into ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch.

** As Hank's fan-favorite portrayal in ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' was very iconic and popular among the comic book fans of Hank Pym and considered to be the greatest media rendition of Henry Pym ever to exist in any media outside of the comics, fans tend to hear the voice of Creator/WallyWingert as Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym (or whenever Hank is [[ComicBook/AntMan Ant-Man]], Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, or Wasp) whenever they are reading his lines from just about anywhere.

** Just like with Henry Pym (A.K.A Ant-Man), Wasp's fan favorite portrayal in ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' was also very popular to her comic book fans (mainly for Jan being portrayed as a {{Moe}} and a BadassAdorable as well as undergoing AdaptationalBadass). As a result, Fans tend to hear the voice of [[Creator/ColleenOShaughnessey Colleen O' Shaughnessy]] as the Wasp whenever they are reading her lines from just about anywhere.

* FandomRivalry: An understandably heated one has cropped up in recent years between Ant-Man fans who are particularly defensive of Hank Pym and fans of his ex-wife, [[ComicBook/TheWasp Janet Van Dyne]], somewhat similar to the one that exists between fans of ComicBook/TheJoker and ComicBook/HarleyQuinn. [[NeverLiveItDown Due to the obvious]]. As attitudes on issues like mental issues, abuse (especially non-violent abuse), victim-blaming, and feminism have changed over the years, its lead to a split between people who believe Hank is 'the real victim' due to his mental problems while believing Janet should have done more to help him, and those who think his mental problems don't absolve him and Janet wasn't responsible for Hank's mental issues. The fact that Hank treated Janet somewhat poorly prior to the slap, contrasted by Janet getting something of a BreakupBreakout from the ordeal, helps fuel the fire.

** Scott Lang
** Janet has the usual DeathByOriginStory parents (her father's death directly motivating her into superheroics), but she also spent much of her early career being severely outmatched by most serious threats and stuck in a complicated, mutually-destructive relationship with Hank Pym that caused them both misery. Despite her bubbly exterior, she's often plagued by being reminded of her 'weak' powers and failings, and is often shown having had a deep amount of self-loathing and blamed herself for what happened with Hank. However, she easily crosses into IronWoobie territory, as despite this, she's not the kind of character to wear her angst on her sleeve and maintains a highly upbeat exterior.
** Nadia van Dyne seems to follow Janet in the IronWoobie standard, being an almost PerpetualSmiler despite her mother dying days after her birth, being subjected to the Red Room, then escaping after discovering how to use her father's technology only to find out he had also died.

* ValuesDissonance: A very strange back-and-fourth of this goes regarding how Hank and Janet's relationship is viewed. During the Lee/Kirby tenure, Hank was written as a casual misogynist who regularly belittled Wasp... which is exactly how every superhero at the time was written. As the understanding and handling of mental illness has evolved, many people have looked at the way Hank was treated by his partner and friends when faced with a mental breakdown, and point out how no one actually bothered to help him and instead fed on his delusions, which was acknowledged by writers like Kurt Busiek. Then ''another'' subset of readers came to see this as absolving Pym of the blame he originally carried, with the issue getting increasingly murky as the years go on.

* DorkAge: Janet's mutated form during the 1990s is considered one of the most obvious examples of the insipid writing on the Avengers from that decade.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: It's very easy to read The Wasps' early stories and interactions with future husband Hank Pym as being that of a manipulative opportunist who ruined her partner's confidence by leading him on then switching her affections to another team mate, taking advantage of a recently widowed man by playing up her resemblance to his deceased wife, and making light of his insecurities.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: It's very easy to read The Wasps' early stories and interactions with future husband Hank Pym as being that of a manipulative, exploitative bitch who ruined her partners confidence by leading him on then switching her affections to another team mate, taking advantage of a recently widowed man by playing up her resemblance to his deceased wife, and making light of his insecurities.

*** Hope Van Dyne, Janet's daughter in the [[ComicBook/MarvelComics2 MC2]] line and the MCU, who is set to become the MCU's Wasp rather than her mother, has been a massively divisive character. In the film she's either an entertaining and strong female character or a weak and poorly written token love interest. [[Film/AntManAndTheWasp When she actually becomes the Wasp, though]], she seems to have been RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap due to having more opportunity to have fun with her role and her better handled romantic chemistry with Scott Lang, though there are still those who are upset that Janet hasn't been given focus as the Wasp in the movies.
*** ComicBook/NadiaPym, the new Wasp in the comics, seems to get one of three reactions. Either you're a fan of Janet and you [[ReplacementScrappy hate Nadia for stealing Janet's focus and getting the push Janet hasn't gotten]], or you're a fan of Janet who ''loves'' Nadia for being adorable and endearing, and despite being the one focused on, gives Janet new ground to explore by being Nadia's mentor and surrogate mother. Thirdly, you're a fan of Janet who tolerates Nadia, but don't like how she upstages Jan and obviously exists mainly as an MCU tie-in, which comic fans have grown incredibly sick of in recent years. There's a minor fourth camp of fans who love Nadia and hate Janet, and are glad that she's taking the spotlight from her, but that's a pretty rare stance in the grand scheme of things.

** ComicBook/NadiaPym seems to follow Janet in the IronWoobie standard, being an almost PerpetualSmiler despite her mother dying days after her birth, being subjected to the Red Room, then escaping after discovering how to use her father's technology only to find out he had also died.

* HardToAdaptWork: Henry Pym has appeared in some adaptations to other media, but none of them have even tried to adapt or reference the infamous slap arc in any way, not that it prevents it from being a major NeverLiveItDown moment for him. Not even the ''WesternAnimation/UltimateAvengers'' animated film, a direct adaptation of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. That would be an incredibly controversial film that nobody is willing to make. Some have speculated that the [[InNameOnly massive]] [[AgeLift alter]][[DemotedToExtra ations]] to Hank's character in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse are a result of wanting to avoid doing anything related to the slap.

** Hank especially became this with [[InNameOnly his adaptation]] into the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, where not only was he given a massive AgeLift, but he also lost the majority of his claims to fame, such as him being a founding member of the Avengers and the creator of Ultron, and never got to be the universe's main Ant-Man in favor of Scott Lang, who as a result has essentially usurped Hank's role as ''the'' Ant-Man across all forms of media. Pym appears again in the ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'' series as a villain that kills the Avengers before they become a group and causes Earth to be invaded by Loki, which likely won't make any favors to his reputation.

** Hank Pym being the creator of Ultron is another thing he's not able to help down. His most impressive invention and achievement as a scientist, creating an autonomous AI with its own personality, ultimately led to the creation of a mass-murdering RoboticPsychopath who is one of the greatest villains of the Marvel Universe. Of course it also led to Vision, who is one of the great heroes of the Marvel Universe, but Ultron's body count tends to dwarf that small positive.

** Hank especially became this with [[InNameOnly his adaptation]] into the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, where not only was he given a massive AgeLift, but he also lost the majority of his claims to fame, such as him being a founding member of the Avengers and the creator of Ultron, and never got to be the universe's main Ant-Man in favor of Scott Lang, who as a result has essentially usurped Hank's role as ''the'' Ant-Man across all forms of media.

%%* CrazyAwesome: Hank Pym can be an amazing character when written well, unfortunately so few writers know what to do with him.

* CrazyAwesome: Hank Pym can be an amazing character when written well, unfortunately so few writers know what to do with him.

** Hank Pym and Scott Lang both.

* BrokenBase: Is Hank Pym the best Ant-Man, or is Scott Lang? Or is it Eric O'Grady? Bring it up and watch the flames explode forth, especially after the movies have made Scott ''the'' Ant-Man in the eyes of the public, to the disappointment of Hank fans who feel that Marvel has begun [[DemotedToExtra pushing him to the side]] because of this.
* CantUnHearIt: As Hank's fan-favorite portrayal in ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' was very iconic and popular among the comic book fans of Hank Pym and considered to be the greatest media rendition of Henry Pym ever to exist in any media outside of the comics, fans tend to hear the voice of Creator/WallyWingert as Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym (or whenever Hank is [[ComicBook/AntMan Ant-Man]], Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, or Wasp) whenever they are reading his lines from just about anywhere.

* TheWoobie: Hank Pym and Scott Lang both.

* CantUnHearIt: Due to the fact that Hank's fan-favorite portrayal in ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' was very iconic and popular among the comic book fans of Hank Pym and considered to be the greatest media rendition of Henry Pym ever to exist in any media outside of the comics, fans tend to hear the voice of Creator/WallyWingert as Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym (or whenever Hank is [[ComicBook/AntMan Ant-Man]], Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, or Wasp) whenever they are reading his lines from just about anywhere.

** Hank Pym slapping Janet and being a terrible husband. In Avengers #211-212, Hank suffered a mental breakdown–induced FaceHeelTurn, which included him murdering several of his former enemies and releasing murderous robots on New York so he could look like a hero when he defeated them. When Jan tried to stop him, he struck her and then remorselessly forced her to participate in a scheme only to be shamed when that scheme failed and Janet saved his life anyway, after which she divorced him. The majority of both writers and fans alike ignore the rest of the story, namely that Hank took responsibility for his actions and spent decades in comics continuity reforming and improving himself, and that he and Janet even dated again years after that. The fact that some comic writers use this story just to take cheap potshots at Hank, or don't bother to write him in a nuanced way - like Chuck Austen - just adds more fuel onto the fire.

* ValuesDissonance: A very strange back-and-fourth of this goes regarding how Hank and Janet's relationship is viewed. During the Lee/Kirby tenure, Hank was written as a casual misogynist who regularly belittled Wasp... which is exactly how every superhero at the time was written. As the understanding and handling of mental illness has evolved, many people have looked at the way Hank was treated by his partner and friends when faced with a mental breakdown, and point out how no one actually bothered to help him and instead fed on his delusions, which was acknowledged by writers like Kurt Busiek. Then ''another'' subset of readers came to see this as absolving Pym of the blame he originally carried, with[[Administrivia/RuleofCautiousEditingJudgment the issue getting increasingly murky as the years go on]].

* RonTheDeathEater: There are sadly plenty of people who label Hank Pym as a misogynist wife-beater because he slapped his wife in the middle of a drug-induced psychotic break. Even though the circumstances make it clear that this was an exceptional thing and not a regular occurrence in that relationship and he regrets what he did to this day, he's considered irredeemable for something that wasn't even his fault. Bear in mind that [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and [[Franchise/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] have both had similar incidents previously without it tarnishing their reputations. This is even acknowledged in ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' where Ultron-Pym points out how people like Tony Stark and Captain America have done far worse things, yet have them conveniently swept under the rug.
** This may largely be due to the fact that Peter and Reed have always enjoyed greater popularity and recognition as characters than Hank, so they have enough iconic moments to their names that people tend to forget about their similar incidents. Hank's moment, meanwhile, is one of his best-known because he doesn't have that many other recognizably positive moments to distract attention from it.

* RonTheDeathEater: There are sadly plenty of people who label Hank Pym as a misogynist wife-beater because he slapped his wife in the middle of a drug-induced psychotic break. Even though the circumstances make it clear that this was an exceptional thing and not a regular occurrence in that relationship and he regrets what he did to this day, he's considered irredeemable for something that wasn't even his fault. Bear in mind that [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and [[Franchise/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] have both had similar incidents previously without it tarnishing their reputations. This is even acknowledged in ''Comicbook/Secret Empire'' where Ultron-Pym points out how people like Tony Stark and Captain America have done far worse things, yet have them conveniently swept under the rug.

* ValuesDissonance: A very strange back-and-fourth of this goes regarding how Hank and Janet's relationship is viewed. During the Lee/Kirby tenure, Hank was written as a casual misogynist who regularly belittled Wasp... which is exactly how every superhero at the time was written. As the understanding and handling of mental illness has evolved, many people have looked at the way Hank was treated by his partner and friends when faced with a mental breakdown, and point out how no one actually bothered to help him and instead fed on his delusions, which was acknowledged by writers like Kurt Busiek. Then ''another'' subset of readers came to see this as absolving Pym of the blame he originally carried, with[[RuleofCautiousEditingJudgment the issue getting increasingly murky as the years go on]].

* RonTheDeathEater: There are sadly plenty of people who label Hank Pym as a misogynist wife-beater because he slapped his wife in the middle of a drug-induced psychotic break. Even though the circumstances make it clear that this was an exceptional thing and not a regular occurrence in that relationship and he regrets what he did to this day, he's considered irredeemable for something that wasn't even his fault. Bear in mind that [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and [[Franchise/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] have both had similar incidents previously without it tarnishing their reputations. This is even acknowledged in [[Comicbook/Secret Empire]] where Ultron Pym points out how people like Tony Stark and Captain America have done far worse things, yet have them conveniently swept under the rug.

* BrokenBase: Is Hank Pym the best Ant-Man, or is Scott Lang? Or is it Eric O'Grady? Bring it up and watch the flames explode forth.
* CantUnHearIt: Due to the fact that Hank's fan-favorite portrayal in ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' was very iconic and popular among the comic book fans of Hank Pym and considered to be the greatest media rendition of Henry Pym ever to exist in any media outside of the comics, fans tend to hear the voice of Creator/WallyWingert as Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym (or whenever Hank is [[ComicBook/AntMan Ant-Man]], Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, or Wasp) whenever they are reading his lines from just about anywhere.

** Kurt's Busiek attempts to have Janet acknowledge that she had part of the blame in Hank's constant breakdowns and issues has gotten some fans up in arms because of how he handled it.

** Lambasting Ant-Man's powers as "lame". This one has died-off a bit, since [[Film/AntMan1]] helped the Pym family gain a lot more respect, and showcasing how shrinking while keeping your mass is actually a ''badass power''.
** Bringing up the slap in any conversation that pertains to Ant-Man or the Pym family, as irrelevant as it may be. Particularly when Pym is not the Ant-Man who is being talked about, or conflating the 616-version with his 1610 counterpart, which ''actually'' was a domestic abuser.

* HardToAdaptWork: Henry Pym has appeared in some adaptations to other media, but none of them have even tried to adapt or reference the infamous slap arc in any way. Not even the ''WesternAnimation/UltimateAvengers'' animated film, a direct adaptation of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. That would be an incredibly controversial film that nobody is willing to make.

* DeathOfTheAuthor: A number of comics readers as well as Creator/JohnByrne have called out Creator/JimShooter's attempts to say that the "famous slap" was an accident and a mistake by the artist and not an attempt by him as a writer to show Hank slapping Janet. As people who read Avengers #211-213 point out both dialogue, and later action, unquestionably treat the scene as abuse, down to Janet hiding her black eye behind glasses in the court martial meeting with the Avengers.
* FanonDiscontinuity: Fans of Pym try to pretend that the slap never happened as seen. Some justify him with in-story reasons (such as Pym being NotHimself), and others claim that the artist misunderstood the plot and that it wasn't meant to be a slap. It doesn't help that nobody bothers to read the whole story, whose climactic bit is Pym accepting responsibility for his actions without excuses or exceptions. In either case, as writers and editors point out, ignoring the slap is impossible In-Universe because Avengers #211-230 remains Hank's greatest story and character moment in comics.

** Critizing Scott Lang or Eric O'Grady for the slap can enrage their fans, as the incident was commited only by Pym, with none of his legacy characters being involved.
* FandomRivalry: An understandably heated one has cropped up in recent years between Ant-Man fans who are particularly defensive of Hank Pym and fans of his ex-wife, [[ComicBook/TheWasp Janet Van Dyne]], somewhat similar to the one that exists between fans of ComicBook/TheJoker and ComicBook/HarleyQuinn. [[NeverLiveItDown Due to the obvious]]. As attitudes on issues like mental issues, abuse (especially non-violent abuse), and feminism have changed over the years, its lead to a split between people who believe Hank is 'the real victim' due to his mental problems while believing Janet should have done more to help him, and those who think his mental problems don't absolve him and Janet wasn't responsible for Hank's mental issues. The fact that Hank treated Janet poorly prior to the slap, contrasted by Janet getting something of a BreakupBreakout from the ordeal, helps fuel the fire.

* HardToAdaptWork: Henry Pym has appeared in some adaptations to other media, but none of them have even tried to adapt or reference the wifebeating arc in any way. Not even the ''WesternAnimation/UltimateAvengers'' animated film, a direct adaptation of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. That would be an incredibly controversial film that nobody is willing to make. And certainly not Disney.

* JerkassWoobie: All three of the Ant-Men to different degrees; each one are very flawed men who've all done morally questionable stuff to different extents, however they've also suffered so much, as a result of their actions and behaviours as well as just bad luck, that its hard to not empathise with them. This is what ultimately lead to Eric's post-death FaceHeelTurn; he'd suffered no matter how much he tried to improve his character, and just as he died he regretted the effort, and so when revived gladly betrayed the heroes.
* MemeticLoser: No matter how many writers manage to make him genuinely badass, ComicBook/AntMan will forever be known as the lame guy that [[NeverLiveItDown hit his wife that one time]] and there will still be fans to mock his apparently useless powers, regardless of his portrayals in current comics or the existence of the much more useful Giant-Man. Even before the "slap", Hank had a reputation among fans for being a useless Avenger and was mocked in the comics for being a house husband who was overshadowed by his more charismatic wife and who was known if at all, as the "creator of Ultron". The current series has an interesting take on this. It goes out of its way to prove how capable and intelligent Scott actually is, but only occasionally has him win his fights, and has him treated horribly by a bulk of the characters he bumps into. Though Scott Lang's more genial and good-natured personality helps him greatly in this regard.
* MisaimedFandom: Hank ''is'' a hero and he ''has'' undergone serious CharacterDevelopment to make up for it but a section of his fanbase have displayed a tendency to downplay his behavior, as well as make excuses to make it appear that ''all'' he did was strike Janet once. And that the one time he did it is excusable because of undiagnosed mental issues, or Janet apparently forcing him into a marriage of QuestionableConsent [[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming making it her fault]]. This ignores the context of the original story, namely that Hank was mentally sick ''long'' before he met Janet, that he latched on to Janet as a younger DoppelgangerReplacementLoveInterest for his wife, and the fact that he would, and did, publicly and repeatedly, verbally belittle her constantly before their marriage and during their marriage. Furthermore, Hank's reaction after he slapped Janet was to remorselessly ask her to pick herself up and force him to participate in his crazy scheme (stage an attack on his fellow Avengers with a robot that would kill or injure them and only he can stop it), only feeling guilty when that scheme went south in an EpicFail. Ultimately, while the breakdown was far more complex than it's commonly treated, this narrative of him being completely innocent is highly inaccurate, not to mention it does Hank a huge disservice by downplaying his attempts to improve himself and the resulting CharacterDevelopment, namely when Hank over the course of 20 issues where he undergoes an epic TraumaCongaLine as a pawn to his ArchEnemy Egghead, takes responsibility for his actions and refuses to make excuses for his actions, even admitting that the Avengers were right to court-martial him.

** Hank Pym slapping Janet and being a terrible husband. In Avengers #211-212, Hank suffered a mental breakdown–induced FaceHeelTurn, which included him murdering several of his former enemies and releasing murderous robots on New York so he could look like a hero when he defeated them. When Jan tried to stop him, he struck her and then remorselessly forced her to participate in a scheme only to be shamed when that scheme failed and Janet saved his life anyway, after which she divorced him. The majority of both writers and fans alike ignore the rest of the story, namely that Hank took responsibility for his actions and spent decades in comics continuity reforming and improving himself, and that he and Janet even dated again years after that. The fact that comics writers universally consider this story to be Hank's best and most defining moment makes it hard for Hank to really move past it.

** A lot of people seem to point to the slap as the "only" time Hank was abusive to Janet, or if they're generous, think it was just the peak of his increasingly unstable behaviour after becoming Yellowjacket. This even seeps in in-universe, with ''Secret Empire'' including a moment where Tony claims that Hank 'ruined the family' when he hit Jan. In reality, Hank's verbal abuse towards Janet had pretty much been a thing since the Avengers' first issue; Hank repeatedly insulted and angrily yelled at her, with the two depicted bickering constantly. However, rather than coming off as 'funny' as it was probably intended, it came off as cruel on his part thanks to his insults being far more targeted and misogynistic, and Janet's own commentary often coming off as if she internalised the insults (such as occasionally referring to herself as an 'unintelligent woman'). The slap wasn't even the first time Hank became physically violent, either; when he first debuted the Yellowjacket identity, he attacked the Avengers and choked Janet into unconsciousness, before later forcefully kissing her as she struggled to fight him off, but she forgave him for this incident due to him immediately proposing and her realising it was Hank. The slap itself was the result of a long trail of abusive behaviour on his part finally reaching its peak, and it was actually a wake-up call that lead to him getting his head screwed on straight to make sure he never did it again.

* RonTheDeathEater: There are sadly plenty of people who label Hank Pym as a misogynist wife-beater because he slapped his wife in the middle of a drug-induced psychotic break. Even though the circumstances make it clear that this was an exceptional thing and not a regular occurrence in that relationship and he regrets what he did to this day, he's considered irredeemable for something that wasn't even his fault. Bear in mind that [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and [[Franchise/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] have both had similar incidents previously without it tarnishing their reputations[[note]]Different in that both those instances are contextualized differently. Reed's wife Sue was possessed by the entity Malice, while Peter having a mental breakdown about potentially being a clone, accidentally struck MJ and immediately expressed regret and snapped back. Whereas Hank even after he struck Janet, forced her to pick herself up and participate in a scheme, showing remorse only when he was publicly shamed and humiliated[[/note]].

* ValuesDissonance: A very strange back-and-fourth of this goes regarding how Hank's abuse of Janet is viewed. During the Lee/Kirby tenure, Hank was written as a casual misogynist who regularly verbally abused Janet...which was also just how many men at the time talked to women. By the 70s, this behaviour looked far more callous and inexcusable, and likely contributed to Jim Shooter having Hank physically assault Janet. From then on, he was regarded as a remorseful wife-beater, but because abuse was only generally recognised when it became physical, the previous verbal abuse and mistreatment was often forgotten. During the 90s/2000s, when people were becoming more aware of mental issues, there was a strange lionising that occurred when people began questioning if it was really his fault since he wasn't mentally well, and even lead to Janet being considered the ''true'' guilty party ([[CommonKnowledge as many people seemed to falsely remember]] her pushing Hank into marriage after his breakdown, which wasn't actually the case), and her behaviour being labelled 'emotional abuse'; this became the canon interpretation and Janet herself identified herself as being to blame for not getting Hank proper help. ''However'', in the 2010s, people seemed to then turn ''back'' on this interpretation thanks to attitudes changing regarding how women are unfairly expected to 'help' men with mental issues even when they're abusive, and people began to see this as a case of Janet similarly being blamed for Hank's behaviour that she was in no way responsible for. As well as that, Hank's behaviour prior to the slap has been re-evaluated and the pattern of abuse he demonstrated beforehand is more commonly acknowledged, with the slap recognised as the peak of abuse, not the sole abuse in question. Essentially, Hank has gone from being seen as a typical socially awkward male, to a jerkass, to a regretful abuser, to a victim of his demons, to a man who was struggling with demons but was ''still'' at the end of the day abusive. This likely plays a role in ''why'' this incident [[NeverLiveItDown still keeps being brought up]], as people are constantly trying to re-evaluate and 'update' how Hank's actions are portrayed.

** Eric was rescued from being a BaseBreakingCharacter during ComicBook/DarkReign thanks to his character development being completed, thus changing him from a deliberately unsympathetic asshole to a LovableRogue with a HiddenHeartOfGold.

** Also similar to DC fans with {{ComicBook/Aquaman}}, calling Ant-Man a loser with lame powers will ''instantly'' mark you as a target for hate; for Marvel fans "Ant-Man is stupid" jokes stopped being funny 20 years ago.

[[foldercontrol]]

----

[[folder:The Comics]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Film]]
* AccidentalAesop: Scott's difficulties in getting a job after leaving prison, the unhelpful attitudes of his ex-wife and her new boyfriend and him subsequently resorting to doing OneLastJob can be interpreted as a condemnation of the American Criminal Justice System, which puts [[HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook almost no effort into rehabilitating and reforming the people in its prisons]], as well as the [[JaywalkingWillRuinYourLife thoughtlessly counterproductive stigma]] that society puts on criminals who otherwise did their time.
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** The film and its characters aren't entirely sure what Scott Lang's problem actually ''is''.
*** The crime he's actually guilty of (after a failed whistleblowing attempt cost him his job, he decided to take matters into his own hands JustLikeRobinHood -- aaand took a punitive heist a ''little'' too far) would suggest he's noble but impulsive and has a taste for frat-boy hijinks. This element of his personality is consistent: in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' he gets involved in the airport fight just so [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee he can shake hands with Captain America]], while ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'', he defends his actions by claiming [[AFriendInNeed he was told Cap needed help and subsequently]] JumpedAtTheCall.
*** His ex-wife and her new boyfriend have come to the conclusion that he's a merely "a crook," have completely cut ties with him, and offer him and his plight responses that border on NoSympathy. The film is ambiguous about whether they have any genuine interest in seeing him reform; Maggie encourages him to be the hero his daughter already sees him as, but she and Paxton don't offer him any way to help with that, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy which is what drives him back to crime and puts him on course to burgling Hank's house]]. [[spoiler:That being said, they do accept him into their and Cassie's lives after he saves her from Yellowjacket.]]
*** Luis is convinced he's a big-shot burglar who enjoys targeting anyone who happens to be wealthy but pretends otherwise. This is mostly because ''Luis'' runs a team of ''small-time'' burglars who enjoy targeting anyone who happens to be wealthy -- and he believes Scott's talents are their ticket to the big leagues.
*** Finally, Hank is implied to have the most in-depth knowledge of Scott, having surveilled him for years; He believes Scott is an inherently noble man with great skills who keeps doing stupid Robin Hood crap because he's too ''impatient'' to let the system work -- and the entire reason he picks Scott as his successor is because he ''agrees'' that the system ''can'' be corrupt or simply act too slowly. He still thinks Scott is ''waaay'' too impulsive, however.
*** And lastly, Scott himself seems to think he's the most expendable man on the planet. In addition to his Robin Hood hijinks he repeatedly puts himself in the most danger possible just to give others even half a chance. He doesn't even question that the world would be better off without him.
** Hank Pym's reasons not to want Hope to wear a shrinking suit. Was he really just worried that he'd lose her like he lost Janet or was he also afraid she'd give the suit and the Pym particles to Cross like she gave Pym Industries?
* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: The film was expected to be the MCU's first ever critical and/or box office failure, mostly due to its infamously TroubledProduction, the character's obscurity and hard-to-sell concept, and Peyton Reed's mixed track record with previous films. It was revealed later that the movie was considered such a long shot even within Marvel Studios that they didn't bother to sign Michael Douglas to a multi-picture contract (as is standard with Marvel actors), and it took several more months after the film's release to get him to do so. Once again though, doomsayers' predictions didn't come to pass, and the film was well received when it came out -- while its opening weekend is the second-lowest for an MCU movie (behind ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk''), it made its budget back ''very'' fast, being the #1 film at the U.S. box office over its first two weeks (beating out ''WesternAnimation/{{Minions}}'' on its second weekend and ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' on its first) and staying strong worldwide for a total gross of $519 million. The movie was successful enough to get a sequel in Phase Three, namely ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp''. Between ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' and this, it just proves what comic fans have known for decades: never bet against Marvel.
* {{Anvilicious}}: The Yellowjacket promo presented by Cross is extremely unsubtle about its potential as a weapon of terror for sabotage and assassination, even showing the targets to be within Western cities, and criticize how modern surveillance restricts such acts. Justified as one of the invited prospective buyers was [[spoiler:a representative for HYDRA]].
* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Early on, people were confused by the fact that someone as old as Michael Douglas was cast as Hank Pym, and that Scott Lang seemingly was the first person to don the Ant-Man suit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was later confirmed that Hank ''was'' the original Ant-Man in the MCU back in the '60s through the '80s, and that he was a founding member of the early Avengers Initiative with Janet. He's been given an AgeLift in contrast to the Avengers' generation, and is now retired; this gives a good in-story reason for Scott to succeed him.
** Early on there were fears that Wasp would be left out of the movie, due to early promotional materials simply listing Janet as believed dead. This turned out to not be the case and it was confirmed that Janet was the Wasp back in the '60s through the '80s. Kevin Feige mended this further by [[http://screenrant.com/marvel-cinematic-universe-wasp-confirmed/ confirming]] that Wasp will appear in the movie and will be seen in the future MCU movies after Creator/EvangelineLilly signed a multi-picture contract with Marvel.
** Those who complained about [[spoiler:Falcon]] being underused in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' should be fairly pleased to know that he appears in this movie [[spoiler:and gets into a skirmish with the title hero]].
** The sequel's title (''Ant-Man and the Wasp'') as well as [[https://uproxx.com/hitfix/peyton-reed-evangeline-lilly-is-not-a-supporting-character-in-ant-man-and-the-wasp/ Peyton Reed's]] statements that Hope would be more than a side character seem directed at criticism of the MCU's lack of female characters, particularly the fans who thought that there was no reason other than sexism for Scott to be the protagonist of the first film instead of Hope, and those upset that ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'' was pushed back to accommodate the sequel.
* CreepyCute: The [[CuteLittleFangs sharp-toothed teddy bear]] Scott gives his daughter for her birthday early in the film. Amusingly, [[NightmareFetishist she's FAR more enthusiastic about the "Creepy" part]].
-->'''Cassie:''' He's sooo ugly... I LOVE HIM! ''[{{squee}}s]''
* CrossesTheLineTwice: This hilariously dark line from Luis after he picks up Scott from prison, with a wide smile plastered on his face the whole time:
-->'''Scott:''' Hey, how's your girl, man?\\
'''Luis:''' Uh, [[BrutalHonesty she left me]].\\
'''Scott:''' Oh.\\
'''Luis:''' Yeah, my mom died, too. And my dad got deported. ''[[[DissonantSerenity brightly]]]'' [[MoodWhiplash But I]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking got the van!]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Creator/MichaelPena's performance as Luis has been one of the most heavily lauded by critics, even the ones that didn't particularly enjoy the movie.
--->'''[[http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/review-marvels-ant-man-works-best-when-staying-small Kristy Puchko:]]''' You want proof that opening up Marvel movies to diversity makes for better movies? Look no further than the casting of Peña as a very atypical thief, who has equal enthusiasm for stealing smoothie machines as he does Belgian waffles, wine tastings and abstract art.
** Ant #247, nicknamed "Ant-thony." [[spoiler:More than a few people were sad when she was killed.]]
** Fans are also rather fond of Cassie for being an utterly adorable little NightmareFetishist, and for her potential to grow up into [[ComicBook/YoungAvengers Stature]].
** Dave, for his funny expressions, great lines, and being played by T.I.
* EvilIsCool: Darren Cross AKA Yellowjacket certainly is this in just appearance alone, with a badass-looking suit that rivals even the one used by Ant-Man. Being played by Creator/CoreyStoll helps as well. While Cross was never a big-name villain in the comics, this portrayal of the character (an EvilCounterpart to Ant-Man in the original Yellowjacket suit) became so well-received that [[RetCanon Marvel started incorporating this version's costume and character traits into the comics version]].
* FanficFuel: Hank's escapades as the original Ant-Man are largely left to our imaginations.
* FandomRivalry:
** A bizarrely one-sided one with fans of ComicBook/BlackWidow. Widow's fans desperately want her to have a solo movie in the MCU and have chosen Ant-Man as a designated punching bag for the crime of not being Black Widow (which was exacerbated when Edgar Wright left the project and the search for a new director began, whereas Widow didn't have a movie), despite the fact this film was in works before they even introduced Black Widow.
** And now there's one with ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'', which got pushed back to make room for ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp''. Fans looking forward to the MCU's first female superhero (and who were already mad that her debut film had been pushed back for ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'') were incensed that her film was being pushed back ''again'' to accommodate this film's sequel.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** During the briefcase fight scene, Darren accidentally causes an iPhone to play "Disintegration" by Music/TheCure when he makes a threat to disintegrate Scott. Cue the films ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'', where the former has [[spoiler:Thanos using a BadassFingersnap with the Infinity Gauntlet to turn half of all lifeforms into ash]], and the latter [[spoiler:revealing in its [[TheStinger stinger]] that Hank, Hope and a recently rescued Janet were some of those unfortunate victims]].
** Going subatomic is treated as a very serious situation and nearly impossible to undo. In the mobile game ''Marvel Strike Force'', Ant-Man can ''shrink his opponents out of existence'' for a FinishingMove.
* GeniusBonus: Longtime comic book fans will probably realize that the Quantum Realm that Scott enters [[spoiler:when he shrinks to vanishing point as the Wasp did]] is also known as the Microverse in the comics. Shrinking is the primary method of entering the Microverse. This means that there is a very good chance that [[spoiler:Wasp is still alive]] and that [[SequelHook a sequel might]] feature an appearance by certain characters from [[ComicBook/{{Micronauts}} this particular Marvel comic]].
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: While moderately successful in the U.S. compared to other Marvel movies, it was huge in China, having the second biggest opening weekend there for a Disney and Marvel movie, helping it cross the $500 million mark in global box office.
* HarsherInHindsight:
** Scott confiding in Hope that he feels Hank is sending him (rather than her) on a dangerous mission because Hank is [[MoreExpendableThanYou unwilling to risk the lives of his own family]]. Come [[spoiler:TheStinger of]] ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'', [[spoiler:Scott winds up surviving the BadassFingersnap of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' (while on a dangerous mission, no less) while the entire Pym/Van Dyne family perishes, Hope included.]]
** In this film's 1989 prologue, Hank Pym remarks that Howard Stark's attempt to replicate his Pym Particles was incredibly poor, and that no one will get the formula for them so long as he lives. [[spoiler: In Film/AvengersEndgame, a past version of Thanos is able to get his hands on the Pym Particles through capturing Nebula, and successfully reverse-engineers them to get himself to the future and nearly wipe out the whole universe. This also all happens after Hank had already been dusted by the current version of Thanos.]]
* HePannedItNowHeSucks: A bizarre case where the movie wasn't even panned, as childhood Marvel fanboy Creator/GeorgeRRMartin got quite a few people on his case for saying he'd long since gotten bored of superheroes and villains having the same powers, despite otherwise loving the film (and he'd earlier complained about Ant-Man not being a founding Avengers member like in the comics). [[http://grrm.livejournal.com/435595.html It can be read here]].
* HesJustHiding: The news that Janet would be depicted as TheLostLenore for Hank has prompted some fan theories that she's alive and stuck in the Microverse or something similar, like what happened to her in the comics. [[spoiler:This turns out to be the case, and Scott ends up in a similar situation and manages to get out (before which, there's a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of what appears to be a female silhouette with bug-like wings as Scott falls through the Quantum Realm), prompting Hank to continue looking for ways to save her.]] The sequel follows up on Hank and Hope's attempts to find out if this is true, [[spoiler:and lo and behold]]...
* HilariousInHindsight:
** There is a reference to ComicBook/SpiderMan in the dialogue. While many interpreted it as being a lead-in to the character in the same way that ComicBook/DoctorStrange was mentioned in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Kevin Feige asserts that the line was written '''before''' Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures worked out a deal to include the character. ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' had a similar reference in its pilot, long before Spider-Man could appear in the MCU.
** Cross's mooks shooting at Ant-Man while he is running through Cross' miniature model of the building feels like a ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'' reference. The title for this section of the score? "Center For Ants." And then, the first trailer for ''Film/Zoolander2'' played in front of some US screenings of ''Ant-Man''.
** [[spoiler:The Falcon]]'s line "It's really important to me that Cap never finds out about this" became this after Ant-Man outgrossed the first ''Captain America'' movie.
** Someone with advanced tech who has an animal themed alias and a grudge against Tony Stark played by an actor named Michael Douglas...are we talking about Hank Pym[=/=]the first Ant Man, or [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming Adrian Toomes/The Vulture]][[note]]don't see it? Creator/MichaelKeaton[='=]s real name is Michael John Douglas, but he goes by the name Michael Keaton to avoid getting confused with Michael J Douglas[[/note]]?
** At one point while being tossed around while shrunken down for the first time, Scott ends up encountering a rat that nearly ends him seconds after falling through the floorboards. [[spoiler: Rodents would later end up ''saving'' Scott's life in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', as he only makes it out of the Quantum Realm because a different rat ends up hitting the right buttons to reactivate the Quantum Tunnel in his van where he was stuck.]]
** Luis' EstablishingCharacterMoment has him tell Scott that despite the break-up with his girlfriend, the death of his mother, and the deportation of his father, he still had his van. Cue ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', where [[spoiler:the FinalBattle has Thanos throws a double-edged sword at the Quantum Realm teleporter housed inside that van, blowing the vehicle up]]. Could also be seen as FunnyAneurysmMoment.
** In the climax, Darren Cross asks Scott “Did think you could stop the future WITH A HEIST?!”. In ''Film/AvengersEndGame'' Scott (and the Avengers) do just that.
** This is not [[Film/NightAtTheMuseum the first time]] Creator/PaulRudd has acted in a movie where a down on his luck father is trying to keep seeing his children while their mother has remarried, and has an antagonistic relationship with the stepfather. This time however he gets to be the father instead of the stepfather.
* HoYay:
** Cross' question to Pym "Why did you push me away?" sounds more like a spurned lover than a fired assistant.
** When Cassie says, "I want my daddy!", Cross answers, "I want your daddy too."
* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: One of the biggest criticisms of the movie was how similar it feels to past Marvel films, with many critics comparing it to the first ''Film/{{Iron Man|1}}''. As a result, ''Ant-Man'' and ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' are frequently used as the go-to examples whenever detractors talk about how formulaic many of the MCU films supposedly are.
* JerkassWoobie: As much of a jerk as Cross/Yellowjacket is, the movie outright states that he's [[SanitySlippage slowly being driven mad]] by overexposure to Pym Particles, which may be causing his villainous turn.
* JustHereForGodzilla:
** People who aren't sold on the idea of a film starring Ant-Man are at least interested seeing what [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Peggy]] [[Series/AgentCarter Carter]] and [[spoiler:Falcon]] will be doing in the movie.
** Others are also interested in watching the movie just for the TheStinger after rumors came out that it would feature [[spoiler:Captain America and/or Bucky]].
** Thirdly, some are interested in the film for being the first in the MCU to reference Spider-Man, albeit indirectly.
** After it was confirmed that the film sets up Hope [[spoiler:to become the new Wasp in future movies]], some fans of [[spoiler:Wasp]] expressed a renewed desire to see the movie. And, for those who [[spoiler:don't like the idea of Hope becoming Wasp and want Janet instead, the fact Janet might still be savable, and this being a topic that the director is interested in exploring, definitely helps matters]].
** Many fans of the ComicBook/YoungAvengers were only interested for the MCU introduction of Cassie Lang, AKA Stature.
* MemeticBadass: Baskin-Robbins. '''They always find out.'''
* MemeticMutation: See [[Memes/AntMan here]].
* MisBlamed: When Edgar Wright left the project, response from fans was that this movie could only fail now. When three actors left the production, fans suggested they were somehow "standing with Wright" in protest (of which there is zero proof). Once the trailers hit, and especially once the film was released, several nay-sayers both claimed the film wasn't nearly as funny as it would have been had Wright's script been used, and also claimed that any scene that ''did'' succeed as being funny must have been pulled from the script written by Wright. In fact, quite a bit of Wright's script remained intact, meaning that most of the "not-funny" stuff was actually his idea, not to mention that not all of the actually funny stuff credited to Wright, such as Luis's rambling description of his burglary tips, actually came from him (Luis's tips were written by director Peyton Reed and screenwriter Adam [=McKay=]).
** Fans blamed Kevin Feige for the ExecutiveMeddling of the film that resulted in Wright leaving the film. In actual fact, it was Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter and the Creative Committee (Joe Quesada, Alan Fine, Dan Buckley and Brian Michael Bendis) who were responsible for the meddling.
** Feige is also often blamed for what happened to Janet Van Dyne, with her DemotedToExtra status compared to the larger MCU being blamed largely on him by her fans. This is despite the fact that she was initially slated to be part of the original Avengers line-up (which obviously he would have selected or approved of), and it was actually Edgar Wright who requested she get pulled (alongside Hank Pym) because he wanted to be the one to introduce the Ant-Man family. Reportedly, he didn't actually plan to ''use'' Janet, but just didn't want her being in the Avengers as it would conflict with his plans for Hank and Hope's backstory. The end-result, with Janet appearing in a flashback, were actually attempts by Peyton Reed to mitigate this by giving her a larger role than what was planned by Wright.
* MoralEventHorizon: Darren Cross intending to sell his Yellowjacket suits to [[spoiler:HYDRA]]. While he was already a BadBoss and has no qualms of killing his men to get Scott, the fact that Cross is going to sell his technology [[spoiler:to a high-profile terrorist organization that attempted to murder millions of people]] shows that he crossed it. Even before this, it's clear there's no redeeming him after he murders a guy and flushes his shrunken remains down the toilet. This shows just how dangerous his reach can be.
* MST3KMantra: Thanks to this movie's heavy and flexible use of real-world physics concepts to explain size differences and how it relates to their physical properties, it's best to take a dose of this lest you find yourself questioning all the inconsistencies that arise.
* {{Narm}}: See [[Narm/MarvelCinematicUniverse here]].
* NarmCharm:
** So much should be narm but ends up charming. The villain laughing over his tiny lamb? Engaging. An ant hit by a bullet? A bit heart pully. [[spoiler:Using an old shrunk down tank to escape an imploding building? Badass.]]
** Adding sugar to coffee has rarely been so gripping.
** This movie had the gall to actually use "why don't you pick on someone your own size?" as a PreAssKickingOneLiner. But not only is it highly appropriate for an ''Ant-Man'' movie, it's also being spoken in an already self-aware superhero comedy ''and'' precedes a pretty damn awesome and creative final fight scene.
* OlderThanTheyThink:
** Many people assumed that Hope Pym is a CanonForeigner. In actuality, the character originates from the ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' universe.
** Also the idea of Hank Pym being a widower; in the mainstream continuity he lost his first wife during the Cold War.
** A lot of people are complaining that Wasp's costume in the flashback is basically Ant-Man's costume with wings. [[http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn289/kingofbeige/ant-man-and-the-wasp-under-a-door.jpg Her original costume]] has many similarities to Ant-Man's original costume, including the color scheme, spare Pym Particles on her belt, and a bug-like helmet. In fact, given the inverted colors on the Ant-Man suit in the movie, Wasp's costume in the movie looks even ''more'' like her original than his!
* OneSceneWonder: Peggy Carter and Howard Stark, who appear in the opening scene set in 1989.
* ParanoiaFuel:
** At the beginning of the movie, Cross shows his associates a virtual simulation of what the Yellowjacket could be used for as a weapon. Some examples shown in the simulation include using the suit to sabotage vehicles from the inside, or assassinating people by sending a single Yellowjacket hidden inside a ''wallet''.
** Parodied with Baskin-Robbins: '''[[BigBrotherIsWatching They always find out.]]'''
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: This is perhaps Hank Pym's best media portrayal since ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''. While his age lift was a concern for some, his portrayal as a subtle CrazyAwesome RetiredBadass has won people over and that his usual negative portrayal is either downplayed (his difficulty with people is more of a sympathetic flaw rather than making him a jerkass) or entirely non-existent (there is no mention of [[NeverLiveItDown his rather infamous moment]] at all). It helps that he was portrayed by Creator/MichaelDouglas as well.
* SpiritualAdaptation: The heist scene at Pym Tech is probably the closest thing we get to a live-action ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' movie.
* StrangledByTheRedString: Scott and Hope's make-out session at the end comes a bit out of nowhere. Since they had no romantic build up through the movie and only began to respect each other towards the end, it felt very much in the vein of "They're the lead male and female, and that's the law." Hank even {{lampshades}} the out-of-nowhere nature of their make out session when he walks in on them.
* TakeThatScrappy: Possibly the reason behind the use of Pym's Yellowjacket alias for a villain. Considering the identity is infamous as the one he was using when [[NeverLiveItDown he hit his wife]] [[https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KKCi42TtHl4TFQFnSeGZwAZ2Yeg=/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2914298/antmanviolence.0.jpg in the comics]], and the point where his character TookALevelInJerkass in ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]'', it's hard to believe this choice was a coincidence.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** There are a lot of fans outraged over the fact the movie is about Scott Lang, the [[LegacyCharacter second]] Ant-Man, and not Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. The fans were also not pleased towards the fact that Pym appeared in the movie with a massive AgeLift.
** A lot of fans are displeased with how the Wasp suit used by Janet van Dyne in the flashbacks looks essentially like the Ant-Man one except with wings. [[spoiler: Although with the new Wasp suit shown during the mid-credits scene being different, some people are more forgiving about it.]] It also ''is'' the original Wasp costume.
* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: A common criticism of the film is that it plays out a little too similarly to the first ''Film/IronMan1'' film for its own good. We have a hero with a potentially world-changing suit of armor which he uses for his own missions but refuses to share, and an old associate of his whose goal is to build his own, more heavily armed version of the suit and sell copies to a terrorist organization. Both villains are [[BaldOfEvil bald]], break into their enemy's homes to attempt to murder them, and end up being defeated because they don't understand how to properly utilize the technology that they steal or replicate. This was noted by ''WebVideo/HonestTrailers'' in their Honest Trailer for the film, even nicknaming it "Tiny Iron Man".
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Janet, a founding member of the Avengers in the comics, apparently has a DeathByAdaptation in a flashback. Needless to say fans of her are not happy, though [[spoiler:it's implied that she could be saved]].
* UglyCute: All of the ants, especially Ant-thony. Also, the giant ant Cassie gets as a pet in the end.
** Also, the toy bunny Scott gives to Cassie as a birthday gift, which honestly looks like that guy in the Easter Bunny costume you see in the AccidentalNightmareFuel page.
--->'''Cassie:''' He's so ugly! I '''love''' him!
* UnexpectedCharacter:
** Few were expecting the ''Ant-Man'' movie to get off the ground after years of DevelopmentHell; by the time it arrived, the superhero was considered an unexpected pick for the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the Avengers were formed without him.
** Furthermore, the ''choice'' of which Ant-Man would star definitely caught some people off-guard. Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, who is a long-serving Avenger with a rich historical background in the comics, is a supporting character and a mentor here to Scott Lang, [[LegacyCharacter the second Ant-Man]]. While less controversial, Scott was also a lot less famous and involved with the comic book universe than Hank, at least before this movie.
** In the film itself there's Hope van Dyne, who goes by Red Queen (Hope Pym) in the ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' universe.
** The use of Darren Cross, a character who appeared in one issue before dying, as the BigBad.
** Falcon appears late into the film.
** Actor-wise, John Slattery reprising as Howard Stark from ''Film/IronMan2'', after the audience has grown accustomed to Dominic Cooper (if a fan of ''Series/AgentCarter'').
** [[spoiler:More so an organization than a person, but equally unexpected, HYDRA's involvement with Cross dramatically increases the stakes of the movie]].
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Hope Pym comes under this, by resenting her father for keeping her from lethal technology. Marvel has a record of fractured families and Hank Pym was too busy [[ParentsAsPeople grieving to care for his daughter]], but still to not see your scientist dad's point about the dangers of tech he pioneered is high-rate stubbornness.
** Doctor Pym can be seen as this in the first half of the movie due to the above. [[ParentalAbandonment He abandoned his daughter for two weeks]] after his wife died even though Hope was also grieving and she was only ''seven'', then promptly shipped her off to boarding school, refused to tell her how her mother died, and shut her out of his life. While Hope was wrong to side with Cross and vote him out of his own company, when she realized her mistake she came back to help him make things right, only for him to once again shut her out and ignore her obvious qualifications in order to mentor a barely qualified stranger. And then [[ItsAllAboutMe he had gall to complain that his daughter no longer sees him as a hero]] [[NeverMyFault when he's given her no reason to see him that way]]. (Not helped is the fact that he openly admits he only mentored people like Darren and Scott is because he saw himself in them, and he can come across as more self-centered than the filmmakers intended.)
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: [[VisualEffectsOfAwesome/{{Film}} See here]].
* {{Wangst}}: Hope's attitude towards her father throughout the film (up until the very ending) could come across as such.
* WhatAnIdiot: PlayedForLaughs by that one customer of Scott's who comes to Baskin-Robbins and [[WrongRestaurant keeps asking for hot food]]. Scott gets so frustrated with this that he flat-out calls him an idiot right to a fellow employee right in front of him.
* WinTheCrowd:
** The teaser trailer and the reveal of Ant-Man's cool new design won over a lot of people who were doubtful about the film.
** The first main trailer did an even better job at this. The cool action sequences, amazing effects and humor received some very positive feedback.
* TheWoobie:
** Hank Pym had to raise Hope on his own because his wife, Janet Van Dyne, died some time ago. Worse, Hope is in a strained relationship with him and allied with Darren Cross some time ago to take over Pym Technologies, shutting Hank out of his own company.
** Scott has suffered through a difficult divorce and custody battle, just like his mainstream counterpart.
[[/folder]]