Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is fast approaching, and fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will no doubt be gleefully counting down the three days between now and the film’s theatrical bow, where we’ll finally be introduced to Kang the Conqueror in all of his terrifying glory, and get the jumpstart to Phase Five that we deserve.
But, while Kang has cemented himself as the main event, we’d be remiss to ignore the rest of the introductions that Quantumania has in store, such as M.O.D.O.K., the Freedom Fighters, and a grown-up Cassie Lang.
And with the informal introduction of the Quantum Realm, which only popped up briefly in the previous two Ant-Man films, there’s no telling what other reveals this massive dimension has in store, and with respect to the fact that the Quantum Realm wasn’t always called the Quantum Realm in Marvel’s canon, some may be wondering if this world’s original superhero team, the Micronauts, could pop up in the MCU.
Who are the Micronauts?
The Micronauts are a team of superheroes that first appeared in Marvel Comics back in 1979. They originate from the Microverse, a secret universe that can only be accessed by shrinking down to subatomic size. The MCU’s Quantum Realm is functionally the same as the Microverse in everything but name alone, for reasons that we’ll get to shortly.
The main Micronauts team consists of Microverse voyager Arcturus Rann, rebellious warrior princess Marionette, insectoid hero and later Guardians of the Galaxy member Bug, and warrior king-turned-traitor Acroyear, with various other characters having allied themselves with the group over the years.
Could the Micronauts show up in Quantumania?
As mentioned previously, the Quantum Realm is simply the MCU’s version of the Microverse, which is where the Micronauts originate from. Unfortunately, the most likely reason for the change of name is also the reason we shouldn’t get our hopes up for Arcturus Rann and co. showing up alongside Scott Lang.
Renaming the Microverse to the Quantum Realm likely has to do with Marvel Studios’ attempts to distance itself from the Micronauts name, as the superhero team was acquired by Hasbro from Marvel around the year 2009. This, of course, means that Marvel no longer has full legal access to these characters, making their appearance in Quantumania highly unlikely, if impossible.
But we’d never let something as silly as the law get in the way of our daydreams, and though we recognize the incoming theory as the audacious straw grasp that it is, we’re happy to divulge nonetheless.
As mentioned before, the Quantum Realm and Microverse are, pound for pound, the same thing in every aspect other than name, so the Microverse (which, again, is where the Micornauts come from) does exist in the MCU on a technicality. More importantly, however, the name “Quantum Realm” is simply the name given to the universe by outsiders who have discovered it, most notably Hank Pym, who was the one who coined the term in the first place.
It’s not entirely impossible that the denizens of the Quantum Realm know their home by another name, and perhaps that name could be the Microverse. It’s a long shot, considering that Janet Van Dyne, who effectively became an honorary citizen of the Quantum Realm, used Hank’s name for the world in the first Quantumania trailer, and that the existence of the Microverse name in the MCU certainly wouldn’t mean that Marvel would get access to the Micronauts in turn, which is the ultimate hope that drives this theory.
Nevertheless, this fan theory of a Microverse reveal would be exactly the sort of tongue-in-cheek gotcha moment that Kevin Feige would pull on us, if for no other reason than to keep us on our toes for the Micronauts pipe dream. And while we remain fairly sure that the Micronauts would be too much of a hassle for Marvel to reacquire for MCU purposes, it’s never a wise move to underestimate Feige.
We’re sure the Micronauts would prefer the MCU, though, considering that Hasbro’s deal with Paramount to develop a Micronauts film has resulted in a pretty excruciating case of development hell. And with the film having been removed from Paramount’s schedule as recently as 2020, perhaps the toy company will get fed up with the IP sooner than we think, in which case we won’t be surprised if Marvel swoops in to bring the Micronauts home.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will release to theaters on Feb. 17.
