Ant-Man #5 is now available to purchase and read from Marvel Comics. The release date was on Wednesday, May 6th.
This issue continues from where the previous one had left off, where Darren Cross was resurrected with a new heart. That new heart came from Cassie Lang, the daughter of Scott Lang aka the titular Ant-Man.
Scott and Cross have a brutal fist fight with each other, where the former is overwhelmed by the latter’s superhuman strength. Augustine, Cross’ son, openly pats himself on the back and revealed that it was his idea to kidnap Cassie.
Scott is horrified at the revelation that they took Cassie’s heart and used it to resurrect Cross.
Augustine kidnapped Dr. Sondheim and forced her to do the heart transplant. The doctor apologizes and asks Scott to keep Cross at bay to buy her time. Scott is overpowered, which requires him to use his brain.
Scott uses different tactics to take the fight outside, where he has the advantage. He mentally notes that Griz and Metalsmith should have gotten the signal to help him out, but that’s not the case. It leads to a funny circumstance when Metalsmith assumes that Scott and hold his own because he’s a superhero.
Metalsmith tells Griz that they have done more than enough, where he points out that the latter already beat the living s—t out of Crossfire. They walk off and assume Scott is fighting Cross with ease, which is not the case.
Sondheim manages to shrink Cross down, which Scott takes advantage of.
One should remember that Cassie did a stint as Stature, which means the Pym Particles are still in her bloodstream. That means the Pym Particles are in Cross’ bloodstream, too.
Scott is about to deal the finishing blow to Cross, but is foiled by Augustine’s surprise arrival.
There is the opportunity to pursue Cross and to make sure that he stays dead, but Lang’s priority is to his daughter. He finishes one battle and enters a new battle, saving Cassie’s life with a risky operation that requires him to enter her bloodstream. The operation is successful as Dr. Sondheim tells Lang’s wife that he is responsible for saving her.
Scott understands that Dr. Sondheim was covering for him, but ultimately feels that he has himself to blame. The issue ends as Scott makes the hardest decision in his life, leave his past behind in order to ensure that his family will remain safe.
What did I think of Ant-Man #5?
It was all right.
Nothing special happened in terms of action, but it was still interesting because Scott’s daughter got dragged into his mess.
Darren Cross’ return marks the rekindling of a battle between villain and hero. Most heroes need to have a specific villain.
The X-Men have its fair share such as Mr. Sinister, Spider-Man had Norman Osborn, Daredevil has Kingpin, the Fantastic Four has Dr. Doom, Captain America has Red Skull, Thor has Loki, and the list goes on.
Scott Lang has Darren Cross.
This is the first time that Scott’s responsibility as a hero and as a loving father converge. As a hero, Scott has the duty to make sure that Darren Cross does not hurt let alone kill anymore people. As a father, Scott has the due to make sure that Cassie is safe.
In layman speak, Scott made the difficult decision to leave his family behind in order to protect them.
I give Ant-Man #5 a grade of A.
