The MCU’s next big threat, Kang the Conqueror, is set to be the villain in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and a new theory suggests that Janet Van Dyne may have actually worked for him. The trailer for the third Ant-Man movie shows that Janet knows the danger that Scott, Hope, and the gang will encounter in the Quantum Realm, warning Cassie Lang that sending signals to the Quantum Realm is a bad idea. It isn’t yet known how Janet Van Dyne has knowledge of the dangers of Kang before everyone is sent to the Quantum Realm, but this new Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania theory is the perfect explanation.
In the Ant-Man films, Janet Van Dyme is the wife of Hank Pym and the wearer of the original Wasp suit. After going subatomic, Janet was stuck in the Quantum Realm for years and presumed dead until Hank Pym rescues her in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Considering that Janet was stuck in the Quantum Realm from 1987 to 2018, there are likely a lot of adventures she went on that have never been explained in the MCU. Being down there so long, it seems likely that she has encountered Kang the Conqueror previously, giving her foresight of the dangers to come in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Janet Seems To Know Kang From The Quantum Realm
In the first trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Janet quickly warns Cassie and Scott of the dangers of the Quantum satellite, screaming at them to turn it off almost instantly. This implies that Janet knows that the powerful Kang the Conqueror will intercept the signal Cassie is sending. Per the trailer, it seems that Kang somehow brings the Ant-Man family to the Quantum realm after the signal is sent. For someone who lived in the Quantum Realm for over 30 years, it makes sense that Janet would understand the dangers that are in store – and Kang seems to be the biggest one.
Kang & Janet Could Have Met (Despite Loki)
Kang and Janet meeting seems more likely than not, considering what is shown of the Quantum Realm in the trailer. Although Ant-Man and the Wasp paints the Quantum Realm as a deserted wasteland, Scott and the gang come across vast Quantum civilizations in the trailer, with the biggest one of these being Kang’s. Kang is shown to run a vast technological army and live in a massive kingdom. Wandering through the Quantum Realm for such a long time, it only makes sense that Janet would have run into the biggest Quantum kingdom. With Kang looking to escape the Quantum Realm, it makes sense for him to want to meet someone from outside it.
One counterargument to this theory claims that the rules set out in Loki make Janet having previously met Kang impossible. In Loki, He Who Remains is a Kang variant that runs the TVA, pruning alternate universes in order to prevent other Kang variants from rising up. The Kang from Ant-Man and the Wasp exists in the Quantum Realm, and as the MCU has established, time works very differently there. It’s entirely possible that the realm protected Kang or that it prevented He Who Remains from seeing Kang. Either way, Loki‘s He Who Remains rules don’t seem to conflict with this theory in any major way.
Working With Kang Explains An Ant-Man 2 Mystery
Janet Van Dyne was stuck in the Quantum Realm for over 30 years, and although she is rescued in Ant-Man and the Wasp, it’s always been a mystery exactly how she survived that long in a wildly dangerous environment. When Janet goes subatomic, all she has is her Wasp suit, bringing no survival gear of any kind to the Quantum Realm. Without a source of food or water, and dangers of all kinds populating the Quantum Realm, there is only one explanation for how she could have survived: Kang.
Kang’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kingdom proves that the villain has had no problem conquering the Quantum Realm, with his technology and powers allowing him to easily do whatever he wants. If Janet were close to Kang, possibly even working for him, Kang could have given her what she needed to survive in return. He Who Remains shows that Kang variants have some ability to manipulate time and the multiverse, meaning that he could have even given Janet the powers she needs to survive in the Quantum Realm.
A secondary mystery that this theory solves is why Janet has been so quiet about what happened while she was in the Quantum Realm. The Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer shows Kang hiring Scott to steal something for him, and Kang may have made a similar arrangement with Janet previously. However, Janet obviously knows the horrors and atrocities that Kang commits, meaning that she may not want to tell her family that she worked for him. There are still a lot of questions regarding Janet’s time in the Quantum Realm, and Kang answers almost all of them.
What Janet Knowing Kang Means For Ant-Man 3
If Janet actually knows Kang the Conqueror before the events of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it has several major implications. The first of these is that Janet’s prior knowledge could be key to defeating Kang. While the various Ant-Man heroes are undoubtedly not as powerful as Kang, Janet having insider info on Kang’s powers and how his Quantum kingdom functions could give the heroes the upper hand. The trailer (as well as Loki) shows that Kang is a strong manipulator, and Janet’s experience with Kang could allow herself, Scott, Cassie, Hank, and Hope to know Kang’s tactics.
Another story detail that Janet knowing Kang would imply has to do with why she’s been hiding it. If Janet did work for Kang, she would have to reveal it to the other heroes at some point in the movie, meaning that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania could feature a liar-revealed storyline. Hank and Janet seem to be separate from Scott, Hope, and Cassie in the trailer, and this breach of trust could explain why the group breaks up. Although this Janet Van Dyne theory isn’t confirmed yet, her knowing Kang before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania answers too many questions not to be true.