Is Ant-Man "Stupid" or "Amazing"?

Ant man may not be the biggest or coolest superhero – and Paul Rudd’s son agrees – but the actor is convinced this movie is amazing

Ant-Man may not be the most popular superhero in the Marvel universe, but there’s a lot to expect from this film cinematically

When we think of comic superheroes, from Marvel, DC or other publishers, many of us would imagine men or women armed to the teeth with big guns or even bigger superpowers. They would, or should, command an intimidating presence.

Then there’s Ant-Man. His superpower is becoming super small.

Actor Paul Rudd (from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and The 40-Year-Old Virgin), who plays the Marvel superhero in the upcoming movie, admits what most of us are thinking. “Ant-Man doesn’t scream out sexiness,” he told the Toronto Sun.

When he excitedly told his nine-year-old son he was going to star in the superhero movie, the boy said, “What? I can’t wait to see how stupid that will be.”

But Rudd believes this tiny titan will be a big hit, and here’s why.

Scott Lang transforms into Ant-Man, a tiny superhero with amped-up physical strength and who can command armies of ants

A Mission for the Tiniest Hero

Scott Lang (Rudd) is a man with good intentions but unfortunate circumstances, having turned to crime to support his family. Recently released from jail, Scott is ready to become a real father to his daughter.

But Scott’s going to have to scrap those lovely plans. His expertise in technology, physical agility and strong moral compass catch the eye of Hank Pym, the inventor of shrinking technology and ant mind-control.

Hank tasks Scott with a challenging operation: steal the dangerous and highly-guarded Yellowjacket suit before any villain gets his evil hands on it.

Sounds like a mission for any superhero other than the tiniest one in the book. Why was Ant-Man picked?

The Yellowjacket is the highly-dangerous technology that Scott Lang, or Ant-Man, is tasked to steal

Small Body, Big Punch

Before you dismiss Ant-Man with the flick of a finger, please note: when he shrinks, his physical prowess skyrockets.
Imagine a tiny insect hitting your face and sending you flying across the room. That’s Ant-Man.

His size also lets him go undetected, making him the perfect candidate for sneaking past normally insurmountable obstacles.

“This idea of shrinking down and seeing things from that perspective is really cool,” Rudd said.

“The world itself changes, the atmosphere changes [and] the dust in the air has an underwater quality,” he added.

Paul Rudd stars as reformed expert burglar Scott Lang by day and superhero Ant-Man by night

Highly-effective army of Ants

As Ant-Man enters the world of ants, we are also introduced to their fascinating and complex colonies.

“The creatures and ants… have distinct personalities based on the species. The carpenter ant is like a boisterous Great Dane,” Rudd explained. “Fire ants are very organised regimented engineers who build bridges and rafts. You’ve got crazy little yellow ants that act like Chihuahuas that can conduct electricity. And you’ve got his flying carpenter ant that is like his noble steed,” he said.

It sounds like there’s a lot more to expect from this film than we thought! Ant-Man was, after all, one of the founding members of The Avengers [in the comics].

Rudd enthused, “I’m really charged. You look at… outer space and it looks absolutely foreign and fascinating and beautiful.

I’m hoping that’s exactly the experience you have with this, except that the space is between the floorboards and carpet.”

See, dust is cosmically beautiful. Now that just gives me more reason not to clean my room, and catch this film.

Some of the Weirdest Comic book Superheroes

Arm-Fall-Off Boy

His name sounds like a rip-off of Fall Out Boy. Arm-Fall-Off Boy is a DC Comics superhero from the future.

You’ll never guess what his superpower is – because it wouldn’t even be a guess. He detaches his limbs to use as blunt weapons. No comment.

Matter-Eater Lad

Who made eating everything a superpower and didn’t inform us? A DC Universe character, Matter-Eater Lad hails from the planet of Bismoll, where everyone possesses the power to eat matter in all forms – except for actual food. OK, maybe that’s not so appealing.

Eye-Scream

This Marvel villain sounds like he could be quite sinister, but he really isn’t. What’s so evil about turning into any flavour of ice cream he wants?

Hmm, then again, if there was a villain I didn’t like, I would wish he had that power. I could devour him!

By Pamela Chow

Ant-Man [TBA]

Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Michael Peña, Evangeline Lilly & Corey Stoll
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Run length: 117 min
Release: 16 Jul