The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will soon be expanding by the smallest amount once Ant-Man crawls into theaters, but maybe the tiny hero is more connected to Marvel's biggest property, The Avengers, than fans had previously thought. It's already been established that Paul Rudd's Ant-Man is set to cameo in Marvel's next movie, Captain America: Civil War , so it makes sense that Ant-Man's own movie would be bursting with cameos from The Avengers and the rest of the MCU to establish the character as existing in this world Marvel has created. But how many Avengers actually appear in Ant-Man ? (Obviously, major spoilers to follow).
The short answer? Two current Avengers cameo in Ant-Man . But the complicated answer is maybe more, depending on how you look at it. As established at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, the superhero team's roster is fluid. Some Avengers have left the team and new members have joined, so some of the other characters from the MCU showing up in Ant-Man could become Avengers some day. After all, the team is going to need all the help they can get when they face off against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. With that in mind, here is every character from the MCU who makes an appearance in Ant-Man.
1. Falcon
One of the newest Avengers, joining the team at the end of Age of Ultron along with Vision, War Machine, and Scarlet Witch, Falcon has a pretty significant cameo in Ant-Man. When Ant-Man has to break into Avengers' headquarters, he comes face to face with Falcon and the two battle. Ant-Man definitely leaves a good impression on Falcon, though, because the flying Avenger wants to bring the little guy onto the team (more on that in a minute).
2. Captain America
Cap doesn't show up until after the credits, where he's seen with Falcon after they've located the Winter Soldier. They've apparently been searching for the metal-armed man for some time, and Cap thinks they're going to need more help. After Cap shoots down Falcon's suggestion that they call Iron Man, Falcon says he knows a guy, implying that Ant-Man will be called up to the big leagues in time for Civil War.
3. Winter Soldier
As I just mentioned, Winter Soldier pops up in the after-credits scene with Cap and Falcon. He's going to be in Civil War, but his allegiance is not yet known. The character does become a hero eventually in the comics, even taking over as Captain America and joining the Avengers, so his appearance in Ant-Man could be the start of his redemption arc.
4. Agent Carter
Peggy Carter takes a break from her TV show to help establish Ant-Man's history in the MCU. Although Paul Rudd's incarnation of the character is new on the scene, Michael Douglas' Ant-Man has been around for a while, specifically the 1980s when he was hanging around with Carter at S.H.I.E.L.D.
5. Howard Stark
Tony Stark doesn't show up in the movie, but his dad does. Also a part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s me decade, this is the John Slattery version of the character from Iron Man 2, not the young Dominic Cooper version we've seen in Agent Carter. I for one welcome any and all chances I get to see John Slattery post-Mad Men.
6. Wasp
Would you believe that Ant-Man actually has two post-credit scenes? In the first one, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) gives his daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), her deceased mother's old Wasp costume, setting it up for her to suit up as the hero in future films. Since Wasp is a founding Avenger in the comics, it only makes sense that she'll be joining the team sooner rather than later.
7. Stan Lee
Here's the biggest shocker of all: Stan Lee makes a cameo! OK, that's not really surprising since the 92-year-old comic legend has been in basically every Marvel movie so far, but his commitment to these appearances gets more impressive with each passing year. I could spoil it for you, but wouldn't you rather be surprised a little when you see Ant-Man?
Make sure to keep an eye out for all these Avengers (yes, Stan Lee counts) when you see Ant-Man.
Images: Walt Disney Pictures; giphy (7)
