STACK #223 May 2023

MOVIE FEATURE

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KANG WILL RETURN Kang is arguably the MCU’s most significant threat, and he makes his theatrical debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania . In comic book terms, his history dates back to 1963 when he first appeared in an issue of The Fantastic Four . Since then he has taken many forms, travelled through time and waged war against the likes of The Avengers, The X-Men and Deadpool. One of Kang’s most striking attributes is his lack of superpowers. His power is intellect, and his reputation for conquering worlds is owed to an extraordinary genius. He is an engineer and master physicist who specialises in time travel, and he arms himself with highly sophisticated body armour technology. And thanks to the good ol’ multiverse (every comic writer’s greatest asset), he comes in all sorts of guises, from the pharaoh Rama-Tut, to the teenage Iron Lad, and many more. There’s even a marsupial version named Kangaroo the Conqueror from Marvel’s Spider-Ham comics. Marvel is famous for adding post-credit scenes to their movies, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania showcases several variants of Kang. Astute fans will have also read that the final title card of the credit scroll reads

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a big, barrelling steamroller, laying the ground for so many comic book stories being adaptated to screen. If you’ve been a staunch fan from the moment Iron Man kicked things off in 2008, then you’re probably hardwired into the franchise. If you’re not a Marvel devotee, however, then the whole MCU can be a daunting prospect. Words Glenn Cochrane B y the end of this year, The Marvels will bring the Universe’s movie going up against the intergalactic conqueror Kang (Jonathan Majors). The beauty of this movie is LITTLE GUY TO THE BIG PROPS

count to 33. Think about it for a moment: that’s an average of two films per year - spanning five phases - over the course of 15 years, not including the television crossovers. There's simply never been a franchise like it, and for those casual observers, it’s an overwhelming nut to crack. On behalf of those greenhorns, thank goodness for Ant-Man! While it’s an integral cog in the MCU machine, this particular branch of the series also stands alone, entirely watchable without a preconceived knowledge of MCU networks. In fact, the Ant-Man trilogy is basically a fantastic sub franchise of its own! Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer return for their third outing in this year’s Ant-Man and theWasp: Quantumania , a gigantic - yet microscopic - sci-fi adventure that sees their characters returning to the Quantum Realm, and

that those fans dedicated to the greater franchise - who have put in the time and effort to follow its ever-expanding network - will find reward here. And although it’s a free ride for those unacquainted passengers, it also serves the MCU more than

either of its predecessors. Producer Stephen Broussard likened the film’s impact to the story arc of one of the MCU’s great characters, Captain America. “We talk about movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier , in which you saw the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it felt like the entirety of the MCU turned on that,” he says. “ Captain America: Civil War was another film where you saw heroes divided and in camps and battle lines being drawn; it really felt like the future of the MCU was going to be defined by the action of that film. We really liked the idea of making this Ant-Man film as important and integral to the MCU going forward.”

“KANGWILL RETURN!”, a particularly exciting teaser.

• Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is out on May 24

THAT ’ S A LOT OF FACE … M.O.D.O.K.

M.O.D.O.K. stands for Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing, and is one of the more bizarre and disconcerting characters of the MCU. Depicted as a giant face with a microscopic body, this grotesque figure is Kang’s right-hand man and also one of the movie’s most amusing characters. Played by Corey Stoll (reprising his role from the first Ant-Man ), he presents as a lonely and self-deprecating mutant, uncertain of his own place in the Quantum Realm. “He was this grotesque character in the comic books - by design.” says director Peyton Reed. “He's a giant floating head stuffed into a tiny body, and if there’s ever a context for M.O.D.O.K. to succeed in live action in the MCU, it felt like it would be in the Quantum Realm.”

The pizza scene was a nod to 1989’s Back to the Future Part II , on which director Peyton Reed worked behind the scenes. DYK?

30 MAY 2023

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