Despite the obviously small nature of its titular character, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to be the most consequential adventure yet for Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. Following the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s continued exploration into the multiverse and different realities throughout Phase Four, the third Ant-Man film is set to kick off Phase Five with a bang as Scott comes face-to-face with the franchise’s new “big bad,” Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). Majors isn’t the only fresh face in the cast; the film also includes a performance by comedy legend Bill Murray as the enigmatic Lord Krylar.
In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Scott, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) travel to the dangerous Quantum Realm on an exploratory mission that introduces them to Kang. Scott is still struggling with his new life in the wake of “the blip” — he lost years with his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), who is now grown up. However, the Quantum Realm presents many new perils for him to endure; Lord Krylar is the leader of the elaborate Axia community, and may know a thing or two about Janet’s past that she hasn’t shared with the rest of her family.
The Ant-Man films are typically lighter and more comedic than some of the other installments in the MCU, so it’s fitting that someone as deeply rooted in the history of American comedy as Murray will be popping up for the conclusion to Peyton Reed’s trilogy. However, Lord Krylar is also a character of importance in Marvel history, and has an interesting publication history that draws from some of the more obscure stories.
Lord Krylar First Appeared in a 1972 Issue of 'The Incredible Hulk'
Although Krylar is set to play a pivotal role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his appearance in the comics is actually a fairly brief one. The character first appeared in 1972’s The Incredible Hulk #156. During this stretch of the Marvel stories, the Hulk had been sent into the subatomic universe to go on trippier, generally weirder adventures. Hulk is surprised to find an entire community of humanoids within this tiny pocket universe, and they hail the mysterious visitor as a green-skinned god of sorts. Hulk is hailed as their champion.
However, not everyone in the subatomic universe has taken kindly to Hulk’s surprise visit. Krylar lives on the isle of assassins, Pitll Pawob, and hails from the ancient subatomic planet K’ai. K’ai is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the Marvel timeline, but the extremely advanced civilization on Pitll Pawob crashed deep beneath the ocean. Many of the technological advances were buried forever, and the few survivors either sold or used their powerful weapons to make a living. Krylar has managed to survive on the civilization of Pitll Pawob, and serves as one of the chief scientists.
...And Died in the Same Issue, Never to Appear in Marvel Comics Again
During this period during the story, Hulk had fallen in love with Queen Jarella of K’ai. As the leader of the green-skinned humanoids on the subatomic planet, Jarella holds a position of power that makes her kingdom a threat to her rivals, specifically Lord Visis. Jarella is able to teach Hulk how to speak with Banner’s voice and intelligence using the language of K’ai, but she is kidnapped by Psyklop and the Dark Gods. During his attempt to rescue his new lover, Hulk comes to blows with Lord Krylar, who has created a powerful weapon that embodies the worst fears of its victims.
When subjected to the power of Krylar’s weapon, Hulk’s anxieties about not being able to control his persona nearly cripple him in combat. Unfortunately for Krylar, this means that Hulk is locked in combat with an anti-Hulk, which only creates more chaos. Krylar deactivates the machine to avoid additional collateral damage, but this is misinterpreted by the Visis leadership as a sign of disloyalty. He is stabbed and killed, and has not appeared in any other Marvel comics since.
The Micronauts
While Krylar may have been killed off after only a single issue, Hulk remained in the Microverse throughout the late 1970s. The Microverse also spawned a series of adventures centered around the subatomic heroes known as “The Micronauts,” who were based on a popular toy line. The Micronauts was initially created in Japan (with the name Microman), but the line of toys and figures received a North American distributor in 1976 thanks to Mego. Marvel’s The Micronauts series ran from 1979 to 1986, but after the rights expired they were forced to cancel the series. This made it challenging to introduce any of the Marvel characters from the Microverse in additional storylines.
The Marvel-created Micronauts characters Marionette and Arcturus Rann appeared in a few 1990s comics, and the superhero Bug was spotlighted in a one-shot. However, Marvel could not use the name “Microverse,” and as a result, it was essentially turned into the “Quantum Realm” in the MCU. Image Comics briefly had the rights to The Micronauts and ran a limited series from 2002 to 2003, but Devil’s Due Publishing took over the franchise in 2004. Currently, the rights are held by IDW Publishing, who purchased the property in 2015.
A feature film based on the franchise has been in development hell at Paramount Pictures for over a decade; although J.J. Abrams considered working on the project back in 2009, it was announced in 2019 that How To Train Your Dragon trilogy director Dean DeBlois would be helming a new adaptation. There hasn’t been any updates on the project since Paramount pulled the film from its schedule in 2020, but the studio has essentially chosen to refocus on their other Hasbro franchises G.I. Joe and Transformers.
What Will Krylar’s Role Be in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'?
It’s interesting that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is using such an obscure villain, particularly one that Ant-Man has never had any interaction with. However, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for the MCU to revamp a popular villain; the depictions of Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) in Captain America: Civil War and The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) in Iron Man 3 differ greatly from the comics. Nonetheless, an actor of Murray’s caliber should hopefully do something interesting in what is certainly one of 2023’s most anticipated releases.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premieres exclusively in theaters on February 17. You can watch the trailer below: