One Character That Ant-Man 3 Should Definitely Introduce

Ant-Man 3 should introduce a new character – Raz Malhotra, the new Giant-Man. Introduced in 2015, Malhotra is a tremendous “Legacy Hero” who deserves his place in the MCU.

The Ant-Man movies really have two themes: family, and legacy. That’s why they’ve already featured two generations of Ant-Mans and Wasps, working together to take on the threats of Yellowjacket and Ghost. It’s currently unclear whether or not Marvel is planning an Ant-Man threequel, given the box office performance of Ant-Man & the Wasp has been a little disappointing. The House of Ideas is deliberately keeping its post-Phase 3 plans under wraps until after Avengers 4.

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Should Marvel choose to make Ant-Man 3, though, it seems clear the studio will choose to continue expanding Ant-Man’s world. That means they should strongly consider introducing Raz Malhotra, the new Giant-Man.

Who is Raz Malhotra?

One Character That Ant-Man 3 Should Definitely Introduce

Introduced in 2015’s Ant-Man Annual, Raz Malhotra is a genius who suffered a spate of bad luck. He believed that artificial intelligence would be crucial to the future of science, and studied the subject at university. Unfortunately, he graduated just after Hank Pym’s experience with Ultron led the world to begin banning artificial intelligences, shutting down Malhotra’s career path and leaving him with a worthless degree. Raz wound up working for a company called Techbusters, who provided technical support for computer problems.

Unfortunately for Raz, he came to the attention of the super-villain Egghead, who recognized Raz’s intelligence. Egghead called Raz out for technical support with his laptop, before taking control of the young genius’s mind and forcing him to help in a scheme against Hank Pym. Although Egghead was defeated, he exacted his revenge upon Raz when he gave him a one-star review with Techbusters, and Raz lost his job as a result. Fortunately for Raz, when Hank was believed dead Scott Lang decided to give him the Giant-Man costume, and the Marvel Universe gained a new Giant-Man. Giant-Man proved a capable ally, even working the Avengers on occasion. He’s a tremendously fun character, with a style that’s perfectly suited to the Ant-Man film franchise.

How Could Raz Malhotra Be Adapted for the MCU?

It really wouldn’t take much work to adapt Raz’s story for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Just as in the comics, he could be introduced as a scientist who focused on artificial intelligence. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4 revealed that the Sokovia Accords explicitly prohibited developments in AI; Malhotra’s degree subject would thus become worthless, and he could even wind up working for Techbusters too.

The character of Egghead was introduced in Ant-Man & the Wasp, and was believed killed, but it would hardly be a surprise to see Egghead return from the dead, and such a resurrection would have a phenomenal emotional impact of Ant-Man’s new ally, Ghost. There’s absolutely no reason why the MCU couldn’t lift Raz Malhotra’s story straight from the comics. Doing so would continue expanding the Ant-Man family, exploring the themes of “legacy” that are core to the franchise. It would also add another tremendous character into the MCU.