The Top 5 Ant-Man Moments in the MCU for Paul Rudd’s Birthday
If you ask most fans Paul Rudd’s age, they would say he does not look a day over 20, but on April 6, 2022, he celebrates his 52nd birthday. The Marvel Ant-Man star maintains his looks so well that People even named him 2021’s Sexiest Man Alive. As Paul Rudd, wife Julie Yaeger, and kids Jack Sullivan and Darby celebrate the actor’s birthday, here are five of his best Ant-Man moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
5. In the Paul Rudd movies, Scott Lang made a huge first impression on the Avengers by fighting Falcon
While Marvel Comics fans knew Ant-Man as one of the original founding Avengers, he proved not to have as much staying power as his teammates like Iron Man and Thor. When Ant-Man cast Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, he had to win over the audience and the Avengers.
And when he came face-to-face with Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), he proved the tactical advantage of fighting small. He’s disrupted Tony Stark’s tech, the Falcon’s wings, and even Hank Pym’s Yellow Jacket suit in the movies. He proved the phrase “big things in small packages.”
4. When Ant-Man’s suit malfunctioned, Paul Rudd was stuck ‘child-sized’ in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’
After a young Paul Rudd starred in the television drama Sisters in 1992, he probably never expected to play a child-sized character again. However, in a hilarious moment from Ant-Man and the Wasp, Rudd found himself stuck halfway between shrunken and full-sized.
It was fitting, though, since they had to retrieve an item Paul Rudd’s daughter in the Ant-Man movie, Cassie Lang, took to school with her. While it was not the most action-packed moment in the MCU movies, it stayed with fans.
3. Ant-Man’s fight with Yellow Jacket in the briefcase felt massive
The first Ant-Man featured plenty of unique set pieces. Marvel movies have received criticism for being formulaic, but the shrinking hero featured a new twist. Instead of larger-than-life battles, Rudd fought Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) in a briefcase.
As they tumbled through the sky, The Cure’s Disintegration boomed. It made for a fight more epic than some of the giant-sized battles.
2. Thanos’ snap trapped Paul Rudd in the Quantum Realm, making his return 5 years later much heavier
When Thanos snapped away half of all life at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, it seemed random to fans for Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and the Wasp to release. However, when the post-credits scene hit, everyone gasped.
Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang jumped into the Quantum Realm, but when Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) went to pull him out, they were snapped away. Scott’s return in Avengers: Endgame and meeting a grown-up Cassie set the desperate tone for the movie.
1. The enormous Giant-Man in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ was a highlight of the whole movie
The best Paul Rudd Ant-Man moment did not even come from the Ant-Man movies. Instead, when Steve Rogers recruited Scott Lang in Captain America: Civil War, Rudd’s hero tried a new trick.
Watch the ridiculous scene via TopMovieClips:
Instead of shrinking, he grew to an enormous size, stopping War Machine from flying away. While the moment shocked both the heroes and the audience, the solution Spider-Man (Tom Holland) pitched to take him down was just as memorable. They tied Scott’s legs up like The Empire Strikes Back and toppled him.
As Paul Rudd celebrates his birthday, here’s to many more memorable Ant-Man moments in the future.
