Ant-Man and The Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp is a 2018 film directed by Peyton Reed and written by Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Paul Rudd, and Adam McKay, based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name. It is the twentieth film installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe , and a sequel to 2015's Ant-Man.

The film once again follows Reformed Criminal and part-time Avengers ally, Scott Lang / the incredible shrinking Ant-Man (Rudd). Or at least he was, until he once again became a criminal for his decision to side with Captain America in Captain America: Civil War. Now he's just hoping to not break probation and spend some time with his daughter.

However, Scott is soon pulled into an urgent new mission by his now fugitive mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) — the original Ant-Man — and Pym's daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), who has taken on the mantle of The Wasp, previously held by her mother Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Namely, to save Janet from her decades long entrapment in the beyond microscopic Quantum Realm. But first, the group has to get through a black market tech dealer named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) and an intangible thief known as "the Ghost" (Hannah John-Kamen), who both want the pieces of tech our heroes need for their rescue for themselves.

Returning cast members include Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian, and Tip "T.I." Harris as the members of Scott's crew, Abby Ryder Fortson as Scott's daughter Cassie, and Judy Greer as Scott's ex-wife Maggie, while new additions include Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, and Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is notable for being the first film produced by Marvel Studios to feature a leading woman character with her name in its title, after 2019's Captain Marvel was pushed back a year to accommodate this film's release date.

Tropes used in Ant-Man and The Wasp include:

• Adaptational Attractiveness: The Ghost goes from a wrinkled, bony-faced old man to a fairly attractive woman. Egghead is also notably not an egghead here.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Ghost was an unrepentant villain in the comics. 
  • The same goes for her father, Elihas Starr. In the comics, Egghead was a monster but here, his one scene shows him trying to protect his wife and daughter. 
• Adaptational Badass: Ghost was a non-powered villain in the comics who could teleport and phase with the use of technology. Here (much like in Avengers: Assemble) she has the natural ability of teleporting and phasing.
• Adaptational Villainy: Bill Foster is helping Ghost — or so it seems. While Ghost is willing to kill and kidnap, Bill acts as her Morality Pet, and he antagonizes Hank more out of a petty grudge than being outright evil. It's still a far cry from his comic-book counterpart.
• And Starring: "With Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym."
• Breather Episode: This film's a comedy that comes after the heartbreaking Avengers: Infinity War.
• The Cameo: Stan Lee, as usual.
  • Although he would pass a few months later after the film's release on November 12, 2018, making this the last one he saw.
• Cruel Twist Ending: Or rather, cruel-twist-post-credits-scene. Scott enters the Quantum Realm for Quantum Particles for the sake of continuing Ava's treatment. However, Thanos's snap happens at that exact moment, with Hank, Janet, and Hope as casualties. Scott is stranded in the Quantum Realm.
• Darker and Edgier: Sure, this film may be a Breather Episode focusing on small stakes, this one has more emotionally overwhelming instances the protagonists are in such as Hope finding her mother and a Tragic Monster villain, as well as Hank, Janet, and Hope getting dusted in the mid-credits scene.
• Demoted to Extra: Egghead, a major villain in the comics (and the closest thing Ant-Man has to an Arch Enemy) is made into a minor Posthumous Character.  
• Evil Laugh: In certain advertisements, Scott laughs as he grows bigger, like he did in Captain America: Civil War.
• Family Title: Technically, since the Ant-Man and Wasp legacies originally belong to the Pym/van Dyne family. Unlike the previous Ant-Man film, this one focuses on their family relationship compared to Scott's.
• Fate Worse Than Death: Ava describes the quantum accident that killed her parents and left her in her entangled state by saying that she was the unlucky one. Bill Foster says that her disintegration might not be a clean death.
• Finger-Poke of Doom: Burch is ultimately defeated by a finger poke to the chest... from a guy 85 feet tall.
• Flawed Prototype: Scott's new suit is a "work in progress," and progressively becomes harder for him to control.
• Foil: To Spider-Man: Homecoming. That film followed the POV of the Sixth Ranger on the pro-registration side and focused on Spidey's attempts to work with the law and has state-of-the-art technology provided by his mentor. This film by contrast follows the Sixth Ranger of the anti-registration side and has Scott navigating around the law with out of date and/or malfunctioning tech. Both films end with the hero donning their original gear but while Homecoming has Spidey fighting alone, all of Scott's supporting characters show up to back him up.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: The film elaborates on Hank Pym's status as such in S.H.I.E.L.D. Being the Insufferable Genius that he was, it seems that S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists tolerated Pym but not one actually thought of him as a friend, or even likeable.
• Gender Flip: Ghost was a man in the comics.
• Hypocrite: When Scott claims that he destroyed his suit, Hank is outraged. But when Scott later admits that he kept it, Hank is equally outraged.
• Hypocritical Humor: Scott berates his friends for arguing over small things instead of focusing on helping the Pyms. He then notices his table and is upset over the fact it's smaller than theirs. Then Hope attempts to interject and he promptly declares that they need to focus.
• In Name Only: Ghost has nothing in common with her comic counterpart beyond her design and power set, and even the way she got that power set is different from the comic version.
• It's All About Me: While somewhat justified in that he's trying to save his wife, Hank Pym's world begins and ends with his own problems, being outraged that Scott would dare think about how the situation affects him rather than focusing entirely on Hank.
• Lighter and Softer: One of the lighter installements of Phase 3. Something that was rather welcome after the dark Avengers: Infinity War.
• MacGuffin: The miniaturized Pym Lab building is sought after by both Sonny Burch and Ghost and our heroes have to keep it out of their hands, but it's actually the technology and equipment inside the lab that's really important. This means that whoever gets a hold of the building will also need the remote that can return it back to normal size as well.
• Manchild: When monitoring the ant assigned to mimic Scott's daily routine, Hank asks Scott if he's fifteen (the ant was playing the drums on Guitar Hero).
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Hank is rather upset about Scott publicly displaying the effects of the Pym Particle in Civil War which forced him and Hope on the run, and forced Scott under house arrest.
  • When Scott tries to help his friends plan out the security for their company, he winds up guiding the FBI and Ghost to Hank's lab.
• Race Lift:
  • Ghost was white in the comics, and is Argentinian in this movie. 
  • Downplayed for Jimmy Woo. He goes from Chinese American to Korean American. 
• Reality Ensues:
  • As said under Nice Job Breaking It, Hero, Scott's rather public actions in Civil War did not do the Pym family any favours. 
  • Scott, Hope, and Hank don Paper-Thin Disguises at the university. Scott feels the need to lampshade how quickly they'll be found out. Sure enough, it takes only a few minutes. 
  • As ex-cons, Scott and his friends can't find steady work and if they don't get their client, they risk bankruptcy. 
• Red Skies Crossover: The only hint that the film takes place at the same time as Infinity War is The Stinger. There's not even one mention of the very public Alien Invasion of New York City. 
• Related in the Adaptation: Elihas Starr, better known to comic fans as Egghead, is Ghost's father. 
• Rogues Gallery Transplant: Ghost and Sonny Burch were Iron Man villains in the comics.
• Save the Villain: After Janet is brought back from the Quantum Realm, she uses the quantum healing abilities she attained while trapped to stabilise Ava from phasing into nothingness.
• Shaggy Dog Story: Subverted. Though it seems to be the case for Ghost, Secret Invasion implies she lived to fight in the Battle of Earth in Avengers: Endgame, though how more energy was harvested for her goes unexplained.
• Unreliable Narrator: Both Hank and Bill Foster give conflicting accounts on what Elihas Starr did to have Hank expel him from S.H.I.E.L.D.