What could have helped salvage ‘Quantumania’ from disappointment? One thing Marvel is almost always too scared to do

The general consensus regarding Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania seems to be that the way it introduced the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new main villain — Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror — was neither effective nor threatening. A recent fan discussion on Reddit has nailed down one of the plot points that, had it been put to action, could have probably fixed this issue.

Had Kang succeeded in killing Ant-Man aka Scott Lang, then maybe audiences could have left the theater actually fearful for the future of their favorite heroes. That is, at least, the opinion of this Reddit user.

In a lengthy text post, shared on the Marvelstudios subreddit, this fan expresses what we’re all thinking apropos the menacing time lord, before offering up a solution. “One of the reasons that I didn’t care for Quantumania is that it didn’t really set up Kang to be that big of a threat,” the user claimed, adding that getting defeated by ants isn’t exactly the best statement of the villain’s power.

If Scott, Hope, or even both, had died in the film, however, then that would have been one hell of an introduction. Similarly, this redditor argued against the main heroes always having to be killed off in a team-up movie like Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame. In fact, the development that a solo movie allows for its title character is much more favorable for a truly impactful death scene.

Still, in case Marvel wasn’t keen on letting the heroes die in their own movie, there were other options. Like Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym, for example.

In truth, we all know why Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania didn’t land with Marvel fans. It wasn’t the poor set-up for Kang or the lack of heroic sacrifices, it was the absence of the first two movies’ MVP.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is streaming now on Disney Plus.