Who are the best Ant-Man characters? Along with Doctor Strange, Ant-Man has quickly (and surprisingly) transitioned into one of the most important, leading characters within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Now, the Ant-Man 3 release date is right on the horizon, and the new movie will be introducing a selection of some of the most fascinating MCU characters and villains, including Kang the Conqueror, MODOK, and whoever Bill Murray ends up playing.
While there’s plenty of hype for these – and what they might end up meaning for Phase 5 – the characters previously introduced within the Ant-Man movies have often been overlooked. With Ant-Man 3, they’re set to take a bigger stage than ever before, though, so there’s never been a better time to take a deep dive into the best Ant-Man characters.
Who are the best Ant-Man characters?
- Scott Lang / Ant-Man
- Hope van Dyne / The Wasp
- Luis
- Ava Starr / Ghost
- Jimmy Woo
- Hank Pym
- Janet van Dyne
- Kang the Conqueror
Scott Lang / Ant-Man
Scott Lang wouldn’t be as great as he is without Paul Rudd. But Rudd has excellent comic timing, charisma, and an ability to make things serious when they need to be, and that means that there are only a few actors who feel quite so perfect for the MCU as the Ant-Man actor.
Lang himself is smart and kind, with an edge of steeliness from his time as a petty criminal. He’s one of the most unlikely heroes, which ensures that he stands out, and he’s also become a leading Avenger ever since the events of Avengers: Endgame.
Hope van Dyne / The Wasp
Hope van Dyne and Scott have been taking on an increasingly equal dynamic throughout the Ant-Man movies and other appearances, and her more serious (and mature) exterior makes a nice contrast to Scott’s general light-heartedness.
The pair’s romance is rather sterile and could do with a bit more, well, life, but Hope still takes on an important (and all too rare) role of a female superhero within the MCU. Before her, it was really just Black Widow – who is now dead.
Hopefully, she continues to wave that flag as the franchise makes steps towards opening itself more; but the fact that she has precisely zero lines of dialogue in the Ant-Man 3 trailer doesn’t bode too well for that.
Luis
Admittedly, Luis is nothing more than comic relief. But he’s comic relief that works. While the MCU does occasionally struggle to land its jokes, Luis is often genuinely quite funny.
He feels like a hangover from when Edgar Wright was attached to Ant-Man, which means that the further away we get from the first Ant-Man movie, the less he’s in the action movies. In fact, neither the actor nor Marvel has confirmed if he’s on the cast list for Quantumania. We hope he is, though, and it’d be nice in the future if Luis gets a bigger, beefed-up role.
Ava Starr / Ghost
Ghost might be one of the most underrated Marvel villains. She has unique abilities, which makes her more interesting to deal with than your standard punchy-punchy villain.
Ghost was expected to make her return in the Thunderbolts movie, which would have seen her join forces with similarly morally ambiguous characters in the MCU’s version of the suicide squad (Yelena, Bucky Barnes, Taskmaster, etc.).
However, recent reports have that cast doubt on that, but either way, we hope we see more of the Ant-Man character Ghost in the future.
Jimmy Woo
Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent now in the FBI, became an unexpected fan favourite character upon his introduction in Ant-Man 2, where he monitors Lang while he’s on house arrest.
He later showed up again in the Marvel series WandaVision, and will also be returning for Ant-Man 3 (though probably only in a small role).
Hank Pym
It’s fair to say that Hank Pym has a more illustrious reputation in the Marvel comics than he does within the MCU, where he’s played by Michael Douglas. However, in both, he’s the original Ant-Man and the namesake of the Pym Particles (which essentially saved the universe from Thanos as well as allowing a person to go micro).
What small screen time he does get, Pym acts as a mentor to Scott Lang, who takes on the mantle as the new owner of the Ant-Man suit.
Janet van Dyne
Janet van Dyne, much like Hank Pym, is the previous and original ‘Wasp’, as well as being a mother to Hope. Played by Batman movie star Michelle Pffeifer, Janet van Dyne has a lot more charisma than Pym. She also acts as a mentor to both Hope and Scott and isn’t too afraid to get her own hands dirty when necessary.
Kang the Conqueror
Kang’s only had one major appearance so far, but what an impression he made. This intimidating variant ruled the Quantum Realm with an iron fist and apparently killed Avengers for fun.
From what little we’ve seen, he’s terrifying and intelligent in equal measure and will come in as a genuine challenger to Thanos’ crown as the franchise’s best villain. We can’t wait to get to know him better.
That’s it on the best Ant-Man characters. If you’re simply desperate to learn more about the Avenger’s smallest hero, we have a guide to the Ant-Man cast or you can read our Ant-Man 3 review here.
But for more on the MCU, check out our guide to the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 release date, the Deadpool 3 release date, and the Avengers 5 release date. Or, broaden your horizons with our picks for the best movies of all time.
If you’re desperate to know even more about Scott Lang’s newest adventure, we’ve got articles explaining the Ant-Man 3 ending, who plays MODOK, how to watch Ant-Man 3, and even a list of everyone who dies in Ant-Man 3. If that’s not enough, we also have a guide to the Ant-Man 4 release date.
