'Avengers: Endgame' Spoilers: New Time Loop Theory Means an Ant-Man Reunion

Time travel might be Scott Lang’s only way out of the Quantum Realm in Avengers: Endgame, and an intriguing new theory claims this is how he first met Hank Pym, long before Ant-Man. After being trapped inside the Quantum Realm at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scott appeared briefly in the Endgame trailer, suggesting he somehow escaped, but if Scott also managed to time travel to the past, could he have stopped to pay a visit to Hank? And if he did, what does that mean for the already mind-bending Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline?

Redditor u/burghguy3 theorizes that before going to see the Avengers in the past, Scott made a stop to see Hank first. After all, Hank is the one who discovered the Pym Particles that may unlock our heroes’ time travel capabilities. And if Scott really does get blasted back into the past, it makes sense that he would seek out Hank for guidance.

Inverse is posing a few theories of its own with Inverse String Theory ahead of the premiere of Avengers: Endgame.

The theory is plausible for many reasons. First of all, Hank Pym has always been very protective of his inventions. He’s also not very trusting, so why is he ok with Scott using the Ant-Man suit in the first place? Maybe because Scott told a younger version of Hank that he had to do it.

“In Ant-Man, Hank mentions that he’d been ‘watching Scott for some time now,’” u/burghguy3 writes. “While that could be due to Scott’s criminal exploits, I think it’s because he met him in the past. If Hank does meet Scott in the past, it gives him plenty of time to keep tabs on Scott and study the kind of man he is before trusting him with the Ant-Man suit.

Scott’s presence in the past could be the reason why he becomes Ant-Man in the future. It could also be the reason behind Hanks’ discovery of Pym Particles in the first place. After all, the Endgame trailer appears to be misleading, and a closer look at Scott’s appearance suggests we may be seeing archived footage from decades earlier. Note the word “Archive” in the corner, along with some hard-to-read numbers that might say 1993.

For all we know, Scott could have traveled back to a moment before the Avengers ever assembled, and they’re only now seeing the video. And if the Avengers aren’t there to help Scott, he might have gone to find Hank instead. In that case, Scott showing Hank the Ant-Man suit to prove time travel exists could be the reason Hank discovers the particles to begin with, creating a neat little time loop within the MCU.

And with some help from a young Hank Pym, maybe Scott will be able to wrap his head around time travel, explain it to the Avengers, and help them defeat Thanos in Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame will be in theaters April 26, 2019.