Take Your Daughter To Work And Look Cool Day (Ant-Man #3 Review)
ANT-MAN #3
Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artist: Eduard Petrovich
Assistant Editor: Lauren Amaro
Editor: Darren Shan
Publisher: Marvel
Rating: 10/10 World’s Best Dad Mugs
This week’s issue of Ant-Man grew to be the biggest standout of reads I picked up from my pulls. Each issue so far has been a blast to pick up, with issue #3 here topping this mini-series as one of the single best issues of Ant-Man I have ever experienced. Warning. This review is infested with spoilers.
After a narrow escape with an all-new creepy, crawly enemy. Scott Lang returns to his home… *ahem, ant-hill, to take a breather. Battling villains might have been the least of his problems though as Scott needs to deal with the ever-continuing displeasure of Pam, his ant-hilllord(?), as well as his daughter coming to tell him she wants to move back to the other side of the country her dad left to be close to her so that she can join the West Coast Avengers. Scott’s not one to be considered small time as he decides to dust off the old Avengers membership and show off to Cassy how cool a dad he is knowing the Avengers. Cringing does ensue.
Did you think the Avengers was too big of a cameo for just one issue? Well prepare to have for that to feel small when Wells decides to put not one, not three, but two bug-themed, wisecracking goofballs in the same issue as Spider-Man and Black Cat join Ant-Man and daughter on their hunt to discover what they can about the villain Macrothrax. All of Cassy’s disappointment in small time swamp busts on criminals is a thing of the past as the gang finds themselves getting closer and closer to learning the truth of Macrothrax and squashing that bug.
Honestly, this was a terrific read. Wells packed a lot of story into this issue alone, full of exposition, cameos, and action. All while keeping things entertaining with his fantastic dialogue between the characters on-page and their “friendly” dynamic with Scott. Scott and Cassy’s relationship in this series as both father and daughter, as well as heroes trying to be taken seriously, has been the highlight. This issue featured so many moments between the two that just oozed the embarrassed feeling you would expect Cassy to have at her dad in some of the panels with the things Wells has him say or do. To further drive this vibe home, Burnett’s art absolutely nailed the tone. Seeing Burnett expressions of Scott’s attitudes when he is trying to be big in front of his daughter, to shrinking in competence next to the more well know A-listers is a laugh each panel. Adding to the fun is just seeing Cassy’s reaction to every moment she watched her dad be so embarrassing she wants to hide I can only assume if it weren’t for her also wanting to be taken seriously. On top of all the fun moments too, this book does feature bugs from my nightmares, and Burnett does some gross icky justice to these bug-themed villains. The art comes together nicely with Spicer’s colors as the colors are bright, keeping the more grotesque moments spooky, but not scary.
This current Ant-Man has been an absolute blast. From the fantastic art, to the ants, to very heartwarming and silly dynamic Scott Lang and Cassy have as a team, each issue has me looking forward to the next one. If you haven’t considered picking up this series yet, I highly suggest crawling out of whatever ant-hill you are crashing at and check this one out because I can tell you that this a big favorite of mine.