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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Ending Explained – What Kang the Conqueror Means for the Future of Marvel
Let’s make this easy: Do you want to know if there’s a post-credits scene in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania? We’ll tell you right here: There are two — one mid-credits scene and one end-credits scene. Read on if you want all the details — and spoilers — on those and the whole movie!
Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne/Wasp have returned for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the third film in the Ant-Man series and the first chapter in Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Joining them is Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, who made his MCU debut as a slightly different character called He Who Remains in the Loki Season 1 finale. Follow that Kang link if you want all the details on how Kang and He Who Remains could be the same guy, but basically we’re getting deep into multiverse variants and wackiness at this point.
Also along for Quantumania are Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang (Stature in the comics), and Corey Stoll, who returns from the first film as a Darren Cross who has become the MCU’s version of the classic Marvel baddie M.O.D.O.K.
Now that you’ve seen the film, or at least are ready to be spoiled on it, let’s break down exactly what went down in Ant-Man 3, and what it means for Kang’s future in the MCU!
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Ending Explained
First of all, all of team Ant-Man survives the film, including Scott, Hope, Cassie, Hank and Janet. Kang is the only major player to die – well so does MODOK, but we’ll talk about MODOK in a sec. But Quantumania is the true start of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Yes, Loki Season 1 lays a lot of track for this and it all plays out here, but even though Kang seems to die, we understand why He Who Remains was so adamant about containing his many variants and their respective timelines.
The final act of Quantumania kicks in as Kang, who has been stranded in the Quantum Realm for years, gets on his hologram communication system to send a message to the citizens (Micronauts?) of the land. He says, “History is not written, it is forged!” in a very clear homage to a speech given by comics Kang the Conqueror in Avengers Forever Volume 1 #1.
But Cassie and the Quantum Realm rebel Jentorra (Katy O’Brian) hijack Kang’s signal, and Cassie speaks directly to the citizens, rallying them all to fight back. Kang sends MODOK to kill her, which is the only thing this particular mechanical organism was designed for.
Then Scott, in his most giant form ever, approaches Kang’s compound, screaming at Kang that he lied to him and took his daughter while trashing the place with Hope, who is tiny-sized. The freedom fighters rush in and help, with the gelatinous creature Veb (voiced by David Dastmalchian) getting shot up, but he turns out to be actually fine and kind of pleased to have holes now. Then he grows huge and happily eats Kang’s guards. Super-giant Scott runs to prevent Kang’s escape and Cassie grows large herself to fight the in-pursuit MODOK. She knocks him down and tells him to stop being a dick – it’s never too late to stop being a dick!
Huge Cassie and Huge Scott reunite and share a Huge Hug, mentioning how hungry for citrus being enormous makes them. Is there a scientific basis for that? Usually that indicates a Vitamin C deficiency or dehydration, but it’s not super clear. This may be a joke rather than something we should read into…
Kang goes into a rage and energy-blasts the freedom fighters, culminating in a bridge showdown with Hope, Scott, and Cassie. As he did earlier, Kang tells Scott this is out of his league. While Kang can see everything, ever, the end of all… Scott can talk to ants.
Scott wonders if he and Team Ant-Man inadvertantly doomed everyone. He spirals a little, but comes to the conclusion that it’ll be fine. (Spoiler: It won’t be.)
Right on cue, the technologically savvy ants who traveled with Scott and the gang into the Quantum Realm show up and rock Kang’s shit, with a super-psyched Hank in tow. He’s just having the best time. MODOK, who now wants to be known by his real name, Darren, also shows up, turning on Kang and using his power against him too. He shouts “I am not a dick!” all the way – Cassie really got to him with that “Don’t be a dick” stuff. Maybe she got it from Wil Wheaton, who had that as an unofficial catchphrase for a while.
MODOK dies after telling Scott he was always a brother to him, which Scott finds… surprising and awkward, but agrees to for Darren’s sake. Darren says, “At least I died… an Avenger,” which again everyone finds confusing and inaccurate, but they all awkwardly agree to make him feel better as he dies.
Janet radios in from Kang’s console in his palace that she thinks she’s found one shot back, and they all gather with her as she opens a portal back to their world with Kang’s technology. Team Ant-Man all step into the portal, but Scott pushes Cassie through to protect her from a shot by Kang, and he stays behind to fight the villain.
Kang brutally slams his foot through Scott’s helmet, saying “You should have looked the other way!” and “I want you to remember you could have gone home, you could have seen your daughter again! But you thought you could win!” Scott tells him he doesn’t have to win, they just both need to lose, and he sabotages Kang’s multiversal engine component with his Pym discs. He’s also getting beaten pretty soundly until Hope flies back in through the portal before it closes, saving Scott and helping him defeat Kang as the Conqueror is shrunk and distorted by the Pym Particles not unlike how Darren Cross was defeated in Ant-Man 1.
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Every Upcoming Movie and TV Show
They did it, but they’re trapped. They hold each other and know that at least they saved their home and the people of the Quantum Realm, but then… Cassie opens a portal from home for them to come back anyway. At least they know they would have risked it all.
And once again, everything is cool. Scott relives the opening scene of the movie, walking down the street and being adored as a hero. He picks up a birthday cake from Baskin Robbins that his old boss badly made himself and meets his family at a restaurant for a party for Cassie’s not-birthday. Scott’s missed a lot and wants to make it up, and not in a time- and space-breaking way, you know. He wonders if they actually did defeat Kang, if Kang saying something bad would happen if he didn’t get out was true, and he and Team Ant-Man inadvertantly doomed everyone. He spirals a little, but comes to the conclusion that it’ll be fine. (Spoiler: It won’t be.)
And that’s how the movie ends. And since there is an Avengers: The Kang Dynasty movie out there on the horizon, it’s safe to say that Scott was super duper wrong about this.
Is There an Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Post-Credits Scene?
As noted earlier, there are two of them! There is a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene, and they’re both worth sticking around for in our opinion!
For our full breakdown of the scenes, head over to our Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Post-Credits Scenes Explained story. But the short version is that in the first scene we meet three Kang variants. They’re recognizable from the comics as: Rama-Tut, the ancient Egyptian ruler; Immortus, who has cosmic power learned from the Timekeepers; and someone who looks like Scarlet Centurion but… isn’t Scarlet-clad. They’ve summoned, well, a lot of Kangs from all over the multiverse, and we can only assume that will be… not good for the MCU!
The second scene features another Kang Variant, Victor Timely (we should add that Jonathan Majors plays all of these Kangs), in a period that vibes pretty steampunk, maybe early 1900s. He’s giving a presentation about all his technological inventions, and we see Loki and Mobius from the TVA in the crowd. This is clearly a tie-in to Loki Season 2, but again, follow the link in the previous paragraph for all our thoughts on these scenes!
How to Watch Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Ant-Man 3 is in theaters beginning Thursday, February 16, with its wider U.S. release starting Friday, February 17. We have a whole guide on how to watch Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but if you’re wondering whether or not it’s on Disney+ yet the answer is simple: nope. Those days are over for the Marvel movies, for now anyway. But be sure to check out our guide for more, including how to watch the first two Ant-Man movies.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Review
Are you still trying to decide if you want to go see the movie, or maybe just stay home and read all our spoiler coverage this weekend instead? Check our our Quantumania review to help you decide. In the review, IGN’s Joshua Yehl said, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has just enough heart, humor, and excellent performances to make up for its more underdeveloped aspects.”
What did you think of the new Ant-Man movie? Let’s discuss in the comments!