Quantumania Breaks The Biggest Ant-Man Lore Rule (Repeatedly)

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania shows just how unpredictable the Quantum Realm can be with one important Ant-Man rule going out the window. When Scott Lang obtained Hank Pym’s suit in Ant-Man, Hank mentions how one important rule regarding the suit should be followed at all times. Whether it’s because of how the Quantum Realm works or the MCU’s inconsistencies, Quantumania shows Scott breaking this rule repeatedly.

In Ant-Man, Hank tells Scott that the suit’s helmet is key to keeping him safe. With how his body changes while shrinking, the helmet is needed to protect him from the Pym Particles and maintain the balance of his brain chemistry. However, in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore as Scott can be seen with his helmet off many times while inside the MCU's Quantum Realm. While it doesn’t have much impact in this film, the breaking of this lore rule could come back to bite the MCU in the future.

Ant-Man Shouldn't Be Able To Remove His Helmet When He's Big Or Small

Scott Lang taking the lab in Ant-Man and the Wasp.

While the helmet is on while Scott is shrinking or growing, it seems like that’s the only time the helmets make an appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Scott, and even Cassie, take off their helmet multiple times in their small and large forms. When they reunite mid-battle, the two even have a fully unmasked conversation while in their giant form. By Hank’s reasoning in Ant-Man, this should be causing major damage to their brains, yet the two come out of the Quantum Realm unscathed.

Hank always emphasized to Scott how important it was to keep his helmet on while he was training to use the suit in Ant-Man. Given Cassie's superhero powers are still being honed in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and she is still relatively new to this technology, then continuously taking the helmet off should be causing great damage to her body. While the sudden acquisition of nanotechnology by many MCU heroes makes it tempting for them to deploy their suits whenever they feel like it, Scott and Cassie should realistically not be removing their helmets so often, especially when they’re in their small and large forms.

Why Quantumania Breaks Ant-Man's Helmet Rule

Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang in the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania explores how no one truly knows how the Quantum Realm works, and perhaps Marvel knew that they could get away with ignoring this rule (or decided it no longer needs to apply). Meanwhile, with few MCU superheroes having secret identities and Scott in particular embracing his newfound celebrity status in Quantumania, a helmet isn't necessary for that either. Perhaps bigger than those, though, is the need for Marvel to show off its star actors. Having Ant-Man remove the helmet means more of Paul Rudd on screen, which makes sense when so much marketing is built around him.

While it’s a seemingly small detail, Scott continuously taking his helmet off while in his small and large forms is an inconsistency that should’ve had more consequences in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. According to Hank Pym himself in Ant-Man, the helmet is crucial to protecting and maintaining the user’s brain chemistry while subatomic. Especially in a place as unpredictable as the Quantum Realm, one would think that Scott would be ever more cautious than usual. Given that Scott Lang's MCU future will likely include being unmasked even more, it'll be interesting to see if it's addressed in Ant-Man 4's story or elsewhere.

Next: Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania Breakdown