Ant-Man and The Wasp's Quantum Realm May Be the Key to Defeating Thanos

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Marvel's Ant-Man and The Wasp, in theaters now.

It's safe to say the superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will need a miracle come Avengers 4. Following Thanos' collection of all the Infinity Stones and his infamous snap that eliminated half of all life in the universe, an equalizer is a necessity if the remaining Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy are expected to go another round.

The truth is, with or without his Infinity Gauntlet, the Mad Titan is quite formidable, so it seems it will require lot more brains than brawn to defeat him. For some time, however, there's been speculation about a potential trump card with the Quantum Realm, and how it could eventually factor into the right against Thanos.

As of Ant-Man and The Wasp, it definitely appears as if the microverse could indeed be the key in taking down the Mad Titan, for at least a few reasons.

The Time Vortexes

In the mid-credits scene, just before the Pym family disappears from existence, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) warns Scott (Paul Rudd) about coming across time vortexes in the subatomic void. They're places where space and time fold onto each other, blurring the lines of metaphysics and reality as we know it.

Once Scott learns how to work the microverse, as he would seem to be trapped there for the time being, hopefully he can exploit those time vortexes and head to the 1990s to enlist Captain Marvel to join the battle in Avengers 4; he can also pick up Avengers from the future and go hopping through the time stream, as set photos have hinted. Who knows, maybe he can even navigate the Quantum Realm as if it were his own Time Stone, creating an opening to stop Thanos before his snap.

Doctor Strange calculated all possible outcomes against Thanos in Infinity War by jumping ahead in time, so perhaps the one successful outcome he viewed is where he encounters Ant-Man and devises a plan (maybe that's the "endgame" he told Iron Man about) to counter Thanos and save the day.

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The Microverse's Particles

The mid-credits scene also holds another interesting nugget of information that may have gone slipped under the radar terms of the realm's energy-based particles and what they can do. Janet sent Scott there to acquire "healing particles" to help save Ghost's life, by permanently stabilizing her body in the real world.

Now, these particles sound a bit generic (and, quite frankly, magical) and were left vague, but it stands to reason there may be other particles that can be used as weapons. Janet has revealed the Quantum Relam is a mysterious place that changes you, physically and mentally, as she was even turned into a battery of quantum energy.

So whether it's by loading up on particles that can be weaponized or actually imbuing superheroes (whether temporarily or permanently) with similar energy to boost them, let's just say the microverse may well become the biggest weapon in the heroes' arsenal, or even something akin to a subatomic super-soldier program that enhances individuals.

A Gateway to Alternate Realities

When we were introduced to the Quantum Realm in 2015's Ant-Man, many theorized it was the key to the multiverse. When Stephen Strange was sent on his psychedelic road trip by the Ancient One a year later, we found out more about it and the existence of alternate realities, with Strange even falling through the Quantum Realm.

With Janet's revelation of the microverse as an anomaly in terms of space and time, it's pretty clear it can act as a potential gateway to other realities. As seen with the Space Stone (aka the Tesseract), when you can manipulate the continuum of space, you can create portals, which is why the Red Skull was marooned on a distant planet as the guardian of the Soul Stone; why Thanos can go wherever he wants with his Gauntlet's portals; and (possibly) what Strange, Wong and others tap into when moving in between the Astral Plane or creating their own portals.

But, there's also the potential to open these portals into other realities, not only the one we've seen in the MCU so far. There are several realities out there with so many heroes, so maybe the microverse would allow other Avengers, Guardians or, heck, even a heroic Thanos, to join the fight from another reality. The point is, with the Quantum Realm, comes infinite possibilities, and hopefully our heroes learn to harness this soon, because they'll need all the help they can get if they're to shatter Thanos' vision of perfection.

In theaters now, director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and The Wasp stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Hannah John-Kamen, Randall Park and Walton Goggins.