Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, introduced the heist genre to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A team is assembled to carry out a burglary, but this is turned on its head, as it’s actually a trap for Scott Lang to assume the Ant-Man identity. The film also featured Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, the daughter of Hank Pym who desires to assume the Ant-Man mantle. MCU fans responded favorably to the Hope van Dyne character, who will be the Wasp in the Ant-Man sequel, and they also quickly embraced Michael Peña as Luis, Scott Lang’s hopelessly optimistic former cellmate.

Ant-Man and the Wasp, the sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man film, will be released in 2018. However, the MCU rumor machine is amping up as to what will happen in this movie. There are reports that it will be a romantic comedy, which would introduce yet another genre to the MCU. What MCU fans most desire to see is the same amount of lightheartedness that was in the first film. Ant-Man gave us a lot of humorous moments that made for equally humorous memes. Join us at CBR as we take a look at the 15 funniest Ant-Man memes that you don’t need a microscope to see!

15 SAD SPIDEY

Emo Spider-Man Ant-Man meme

In the Spider-Man trilogy, Peter Parker had a lot to cry about: the death of Uncle Ben, the death of Harry Osborn, the death of having normal hair (there was a definite unfortunate hairstyle in Spider-Man 3, as we all remember). While he didn’t actually cry about his emo hair, we would’ve believed it if he did because the Raimi-helmed Spider-Man films sure had Peter Parker emoting a lot.

Because he’s the Spider-Man, Peter Parker likely feels more of a bond with insects than the rest of us normally do. In fact, some us can’t even be in the same room as a spider. If our best friend started crawling on the walls, we would grab the nearest can of Raid. While most of us don’t feel guilty about stepping on an ant, we would imagine Peter Parker would be very upset about it.

14 EVERYTHING SHRINKS

Deadpool Ant-Man meme

Deadpool isn’t known for having a filter; in fact, he’s known as the “merc with a mouth” -- he says what’s on his mind, often sharing something disgusting (but hilarious). He’s not a character that has many friends, but he’s got a vivid imagination that he can easily put to use, including when he’s introduced to new people.

We hope that the meeting between Deadpool and Ant-Man in the MCU would be as funny as the one pictured here. We would love to be a fly on the wall (perhaps ant on the wall would be more appropriate) during that conversation, especially if Peter Quill and Tony Stark were thrown into the mix. We would imagine the snark level would be off the charts.

13 TRAIN FIGHT SCENES

train scene Ant-Man meme

Action sequences that occur on a train are a staple in films. This even goes back to one of Sean Connery’s James Bond fight scenes in From Russia With Love where he fought Grant on a train. Trains offer a lot of interesting issues to navigate while fighting, especially if the train is on course to crash into something, and the hero always has to consider fellow passengers.

Ant-Man only had Thomas the Tank Engine to consider in his train fight scene. He and Yellowjacket shrink down to fight in Cassie’s toys, and while it looks epic on their level, on our level we would just see a toy train falling over. It was a fun take on this hero action sequence trope, and it was fun to see good old Thomas get back in the spotlight.

12 LANGUAGE!

Ant-Man Captain America language meme

In Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, the opening scene of the Avengers all fighting together, Hulk included, was a scene that excited many MCU fans. This was the first time the Avengers experienced Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s powers; Quicksilver even tripped up Hawkeye, who is normally so aware of his surroundings.

A line in this scene that became an overnight meme was when Captain America scolded Iron Man for his use of language. To be fair, they were in the midst of fighting, and if any occasion demands the use of swear words, it’s in battle. You’d think that the Captain’s experience in the military would get him used to swearing, but apparently it’s something he won’t abide by. This “Language!” line is something the Avengers can’t let go, and neither can we.

11 NATURE’S BOUNTY

nature show Ant-Man meme

Now that we think about it, a lot of superheroes are named after creatures in the wild. We can’t forget about Wolverine or Batman -- even Beast is aptly named because he looks like an animal. We all enjoy animals to some degree, whether it’s through having pets or watching a documentary about pandas. There’s even an entire TV channel, Animal Planet, dedicated to catering to our animal interests.

We’d love to hear a nature show voice-over during an Avengers fight, that’s for sure: “Here you see the majestic Black Panther, out of his natural habitat, but still looking to dominate -- oh no, he’s angry!” Characters that we would add to this meme are Hawkeye and Black Widow. Those poor Avengers keep getting forgotten!

10 HE’LL BE THERE FOR YOU

Friends Ant-Man meme

Before he was Ant-Man, Paul Rudd was Crap Bag, also known as Phoebe’s husband Mike on the hit NBC sitcom Friends. He played the only man to really get Phoebe’s weirdness, including one-upping her when she decided to change her name to Princess Consuela Banana Hammock by saying he would change his name to the aforementioned Crap Bag.

Paul Rudd’s character on Friends, though he wasn’t there for very long, made a lasting impact on the series (like the rocking piano playing pantomime that is a favorite gif among many on the Internet). We like to think that there’s an alternate universe where the friends find out that Mike has been secretly a superhero this whole time (cut to Chandler yelling, “I KNEW IT!).

9 CAPTAIN CRUSH

Captain America Ant-Man meme

Captain America is pretty crush-worthy. The list of his admirers include Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter, Agent Coulson, and now Paul Rudd. Chris Evans’ Captain America is all biceps and wholesomeness -- he’s the all-American crush. By having a crush on Chris Evans, what we’re really doing is being patriotic. So everyone, do your civic duty.

Paul Rudd is as starstruck as the rest of us would be when it came to hanging out with Chris Evans, but he takes it a step further and is able to poke him to make sure he’s real. For the rest of us, we’d probably have to pinch ourselves first to ensure we’re not dreaming (who hasn’t dreamed about Chris Evans? Have you watched Not Another Teen Movie?).

8 NEW NARRATOR IN TOWN

Morgan Freeman Ant-Man meme

Morgan Freeman is known for his velvety vocal cords and has lended his voice to many films as a narrator. Penguins are already an emotional trigger for us, but Morgan Freeman’s narration in March of the Penguins made us bawl all the more (she just wanted her baby to come back!). Morgan Freeman has also literally been the voice of God in the film Bruce Almighty, and his voice always smoothly demands our attention.

After Ant-Man, the new narrator in town is Luis. He’s got a very chill street vibe to the way he tells stories that is endlessly entertaining. In fact, most MCU fans would be okay if he narrated the recap before Infinity War started. To see Michael Peña’s voice come out of Thanos’ mouth would have us rolling in the aisles with laughter.

7 SILVER LININGS

Optimist Ant-Man meme

There aren’t a lot of people who can talk about their time in prison with a smile on his face, but the character Luis in Ant-Man can. He’s the friend that picks up Scott when he’s done with his prison time, and the one that provides him with a place to stay. He’s a fan favorite character because he’s got a heart of gold and a mouth of hilarity. We could listen to him tell stories all day.

There’s a part in the Ant-Man film where Luis tells Scott what’s been going on in his life, and it’s quite depressing, but Luis continues to look on the bright side even when facing death in the family. He’s the kind of friend we would all like to have around in times of sadness.

6 MARK RUFFALO IS A FAN

Mark Ruffalo Ant-Man fangirl meme

We talked previously about how Paul Rudd is a fan of Chris Evans, but lest we forget, Paul Rudd is dreamy as well. From his role on Clueless, to his role as a summer camp worker on Wet Hot American Summer, to his role as a superhero, we’ve been here for him. The man has a great sense of humor and doesn’t seem to age, which further adds to his infuriating perfection (he needs to stop being so perfect).

Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk in the MCU, is all of us when it comes to seeing Paul Rudd. The sheer wonderment on his face describes our feelings perfectly. What Mark Ruffalo may not realize is that we would look at him the same way as well, especially after Thor: Ragnarok.

5 YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE

Ant-Man yolo meme

The MCU male characters are vast and varied, but a lot of them don’t listen to people when they tell them not to do something. This was certainly the case with Peter Quill, who has a rebellious heart (growing up with Yondu as your daddy will do that to you). Dr. Stephen Strange was also guilty of this when he made an infinite time loop to get Dormammu to leave Earth (and he saved Wong too, so overall it’s a win).

Scott Lang was also told not to shrink between atoms because he would get stuck in the quantum realm like Hank Pym’s wife. Scott, like many of the MCU men, doesn’t listen so he can kill the baddie. In the end, he makes it out alive because of his thoughts about his daughter.

4 WHO?

Ant-Man son meme

Though we love many Marvel superheroes, the fact of the matter is some have more household name recognition than others. At this point, Captain America, Thor, and Spider-Man are superheroes that even our non-nerdy older family members can recognize. However, when it comes to the more obscure ones, the question they may ask is: “Who?”

This is what happened to Paul Rudd when he told his son he was going to be Ant-Man. Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman, he told the audience the story of how his son was super snarky about his Marvel casting news. While some of us may have had a similar reaction when we heard Ant-Man was being turned into a movie, we certainly think Ant-Man is awesome now.

3 WHAT IS THIS?

Zoolander Ant-Man meme

Derek Zoolander may be an international modeling superstar, but he’s not the brightest. The climax of the Zoolander film is Derek Zoolander learning how to turn left instead of right on the runway. This early '00s movie made an impact on pop culture (with Will Ferrell and Owen Wilson’s help) with its ridiculously quotable dialogue.

One memorable exchange is when Zoolander doesn’t understand that the model building of the “Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Want To Learn How To Do Other Stuff Good Too” is in fact a model, not an actual building, and he exclaims, “What is this? A center for ants?!” If Zoolander saw the mini billboard campaign for Ant-Man, he would probably be equally as confused.

2 THOR MEETS ANT-MAN

Thor meets Ant-Man meme

Thor is certainly down on his luck at the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok. He loses his beloved Mjolnir when his newly revealed sister, Hela, destroys it with her hand. Hela then goes on to lay waste to Asgard by killing and hunting down many of its people. Thor is knocked off course and crashes onto Sakaar, where he is forced into fighting his friend, The Hulk.

The Thor of Thor: Ragnarok is treated with more of a sense of humor, thanks to Taika Waititi’s direction, and we could totally see this Thor telling Ant-Man what’s happened to him with a smile on his face like Luis. Also like Luis, Thor also doesn’t remain imprisoned, and we hope to see a meeting between these two characters at some point.

1 WELCOME TO BASKIN-ROBBINS

Ant-Man Baskin-Robbins meme

America is due for a recession soon, and jobs are already getting hard to come buy. Recent college graduates are finding that it’s taking them longer to find a full-time job after getting their degree, and this rings true for those who are leaving with a masters degree or a doctorate. Those who have a humanities degree of any kind have to hustle even harder to get a job that they’d like.

Sometimes the hustle isn’t enough, and the struggle becomes even more real. We move back in with our parents and/or get a job that is less than ideal. The retail and food industry always need people to ring up customers, and that’s exactly the kind of job Scott Lang has to get as an ex-con.