Throughout much of Ant-Man and the Wasp (opens in new tab), our plucky heroes have one major goal: rescue Janet van Dyne, the original Wasp, from the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is a dimension of sub-atomic existence that bends the rules of space and time, and poor Janet has been trapped there for 30 years. It takes a few car chases, fistfights, and mumbo jumbo about “quantum entanglement,” but by the time credits roll, Janet escapes and returns to our world.

However, by that time, she’s absorbed so much energy from the Quantum Realm that she has become infused with a level of superhuman power. We only see her use this power twice: once to calm Hank’s mind as the Quantum Realm’s unstable nature makes him hallucinate, and again to stabilize villain Ghost’s molecules so she stops uncontrollably phasing. There’s also a moment earlier in the film where she speaks to her husband and daughter through Scott Lang, but this is attributed more to the nature of the Quantum Realm itself than Janet.

Because Janet only has a handful of minutes on-screen, we’re not given time to dive into her new powers or indeed if she even still has them (see: questions we have after the Ant-Man and the Wasp ending (opens in new tab)). However, their origins could hint at the possibility of another Marvel superhero, one we’ve yet to see on-screen.

The hero that could be you

The first thing you need to know about Marvel comics canon is that it is infinitely weirder and more complex than the MCU. You think all the talk about magic space rocks for the past ten years has been a bit silly? Try the Enigma Force on for size.

In the comics, the Enigma Force is a sentient energy that permeates The Microverse, a parallel dimension that was created when a time travelling prince used a magic sword (I told you comics were weird!). The Enigma Force cannot act on its own – or perhaps chooses not to, it is said to be incomprehensible in its motivations and actions – and so instead will occasionally imbue heroes with power in times of great crisis. One way it does this is through the transference of the Uni-Power.

The Uni-Power, in the most simple terms, is a piece of the Enigma Force. In more poetic terms, it is a manifestation of every person in the universe’s heroic potential. When the Uni-Power is held by a person (or alien, or dog, or what-have-you), that being becomes known as Captain Universe – a hero who has all the powers of… basically whatever the plot calls for at the time.

The Uni-Power has been bestowed upon many Marvel heroes, including Spider-Man, the Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, and even Deadpool. It sticks around long enough to help avert disaster, and then returns to The Microverse where it re-merges with the Enigma Force until a new threat calls it into action.

A Microverse by any other name

Okay, that’s all well and good, but what does it have to do with Janet? While the origins are different, the Microverse of Marvel comics and the Quantum Realm of the MCU could be mirror images of each other – much like how the Infinity Stones of the MCU are the Infinity Gems in the comics.

Ant-Man and the Wasp treats Quantum Realm energy as a sort of natural radiation; something that simply exists in that place. But what if the energy that allowed Janet to calm Hank’s mind and heal Ghost is in fact the MCU version of the Enigma Force? Maybe it’s sentient and maybe it’s not, but either way it could give the Avengers an edge in their fight against Thanos in Avengers 4 (opens in new tab).

More immediately, it could help Scott escape from the dilly of a pickle he ends up in after the credits roll on Ant-Man and the Wasp. Marooned in the Quantum Realm with no one in our world available to pull him back out, Scott will likely have to find a way out of the Quantum Realm himself. If I’m being honest, I’d wager Avengers 4 will simply have Scott use his own wits to escape, possibly through one of those “time vortex” things mentioned in a moment of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it foreshadowing.

But what if he doesn’t?

What kind of story will Avengers 4 tell?

Avengers: Infinity War writers say Avengers 4 isn’t going to fix things (opens in new tab)

Picture it: it’s the climax of Avengers 4. What’s left of The Avengers track down Thanos for a rematch, ready to… well, avenge their fallen friends. With the powerful Captain Marvel now on their side, we’re sure that they can win. But they don’t. Thanos continues to dominate our heroes, matching each punch they throw at him with a planet-rattling one of his own. The good guys are on the ropes.

And then Ant-Man hears a voice in his head, something alien and strange to him, but also familiar. It says it’s here to help. The Uni-Power activates and empowers either himself or another member of the team, filling them with galactic power. Thanos gets punched in the face with the weight of a star behind a heroic fist. We all thought Captain Marvel would be our savior, but it turns out there are bigger, stranger things in the cosmos.

As the MCU continues to grow, to expand beyond our own planet and dimension, wouldn’t it be cool if we got something as wonderfully weird as Captain Universe?

The post Ant-Man and the Wasp: does it tease a new hero for Avengers 4? appeared first on Game News.

The World Cup

No, you haven’t read that incorrectly. Yahoo Movies (opens in new tab) posits that this summer’s tournament in Russia will leave British (well, English, because every other Home Nation are clearly terrible and didn’t qualify) audiences all tuckered out when it comes time to go to theaters.

“The worry for film distributors is that audiences will be caught up in the tournament,” says film journalist Charles Gant (via Yahoo). Well, that’s that then, surely? Maybe it’s not that simple…

It’s about time the US get dibs, right?

Guess how many MCU movies got earlier release dates in the UK compared to the US? Every single one since Iron Man 2 (opens in new tab). That’s a whole lot of goodwill built up, so it might be time to call in a few favours (or should that be favors?) for American audiences. While releasing a whole month later than the US may be a bit overkill, it all adds up to the big picture as to why the UK get Ant-Man’s sequel a month later.

Scheduling conflicts with other movies

Marvel can’t always have it their own way, as hard as that may seem. Incredibles 2, for example, releases on July 13 in the UK, which would only be a week after the US release date of Ant-Man and the Wasp. Box office fatigue would obviously hit Marvel where it hurts – and they definitely wouldn’t want to go head to head with another Disney movie.

It won’t be as spoiler-heavy as other MCU movies

This is pure guesswork, but if Marvel are confident enough to put a whole month between release dates and – knowing how every moment will be dissected until the heat death of the universe – then there’s a fair-to-good chance that the movie won’t lead into Avengers 4 maybe as much as we thought. If it’s a standalone movie, then there’s less chance of spoiling the overall dynamic of the universe.

Different territories get different dates. Simple as that.

Summer movies are often split up to maximise profits and, right back throughout Hollywood history, that’s been done time and time again. It could be worse; Lion King was released four months later in the UK back in 1994. Obviously, that practice isn’t as commonplace anymore – but Ant-Man and the Wasp is showing it’ll never truly go away.

The UK might have longer to wait, so why not make use of that extra time by poring over the Avengers: Infinity War ending (opens in new tab)?

The post Why is Ant-Man and the Wasp being released a month later in the UK? appeared first on Game News.

Lilly has taken to Twitter to reveal her chiselled new look and, judging by that picture, she’s going all-in on the movie’s action scenes. Sure, Cable brought a teddy bear (opens in new tab) for his Deadpool 2 (opens in new tab) reveal but he’s got nothin’ on Hope Van Dyne.

#Wasp ready arms. 💪🏻. They better be. First official day of shooting for me tomorrow! 😃. #putmeincoach! pic.twitter.com/CtuCfBU8vw6 August 2017

See more

The fully-suited Wasp has already been revealed at SDCC (opens in new tab), and Michelle Pfieffer has been cast as the original Wasp (opens in new tab), Hope’s mother, so it’ll be interesting to see – on the back of the success of Wonder Woman – just how integral female superheroes are to the MCU going forward.

Want to bug your friends about the latest Ant-Man and the Wasp news? It’s all right here (opens in new tab).

Image: Evangeline Lilly

The post Move over Cable, Ant-Man and the Wasps Evangeline Lily gives us a ticket to the gun show as she begins filming appeared first on Game News.