Loki’s Multiverse Finally Fixed Ant-Man’s Disappointing Villain

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Loki episode 5.

Besides telling a time-hopping story about the God of Mischief, Loki also subtly fixes a villain problem from Ant-Man. In 2015, Ant-Man introduced Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Long before the Avengers were pulling off a time heist against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, Lang and his friends were pulling off their own heists to stop Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), a.k.a. Yellowjacket. A former protégé of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Yellowjacket tried to sell size-changing technology to HYDRA before being thwarted by Ant-Man.

Loki is filled with Easter eggs. While some, such as a callback to Scream, seem to be throwaway gags, others appear to have a deeper meaning. For instance, the show constantly hints at Kang the Conqueror, a villain who’s already been announced to appear in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. All of the Easter eggs have fans theorizing that Kang could possibly appear in Loki. There are also multiple references to The Wizard of Oz. In fact, there are so many nods to the Wizard of Oz in Loki that it seems they may point to how the series will end.

Among the many Easter eggs in Loki episode 5, one in particular fixes a major Marvel problem. Loki episode 5 mostly takes place in the Void at the end of time. The Time Variance Authority sends variants that wander off their path to the Void, so the place is full of various Marvel Easter eggs. These Easter eggs include several large stone-like heads, and one apparently belongs to Yellowjacket himself. It’s a mystery how a giant Yellowjacket helmet winds up in Loki, and it’s doubtful the series will answer it. However, with an appearance by Yellowjacket’s huge helmet, the MCU retcons Ant-Man’s villain.

Loki immediately makes Yellowjacket more interesting. Before Loki episode 5, Yellowjacket was one of the most forgettable villains in the MCU. Unlike Hiddleston’s Loki, whose trickery makes him a perfect foil to his brutish brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Yellowjacket has largely the same size-changing skillset as Ant-Man. There’s just not a lot that stands out about him. Loki episode 5 changes that, instantly making Yellowjacket more intriguing. It seems that Yellowjacket could grow to a giant size in at least one timeline. The appearance of Yellowjacket’s helmet means the TVA somehow pruned a giant variant Yellowjacket or the villain crossed the Quantum Realm himself and ended up as an Easter egg in the Void at the end of time.

The Yellowjacket helmet could have further MCU implications. Though Stoll’s Yellowjacket seemingly dies in the 2015 movie, with his malfunctioning suit crushing him into subatomic size, the character is reportedly (via Vanity Fair’s Still Watching) appearing in the upcoming Quantumania. If he did survive Ant-Man, the helmet could’ve belonged to the original Yellowjacket. It may hint a bit about where his story goes in the future. On the other hand, it could just be a meaningless Easter egg. Regardless, the villain was an afterthought in 2015, and this new Easter egg ensures he’s not anymore.

Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.