Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame has made us think about Skrulls yet again. Granted, we’ve never really stopped thinking about Skrulls, but now we’re wondering if Scott Lang is a green, extraterrestrial shapeshifter.
After all the brooding, angst, and tragedy in the first Avengers: Endgame trailer, Marvel gave us a little reprieve by ending the trailer with the uncle of the Avengers team: Scott Lang (i.e. Ant-Man, i.e. the most powerful insect in the Avengers — sorry Spidey).
The last time we saw Scott, he was stuck in the Quantum Realm, sequestering some medicinal energy, and potentially admiring all the snapped souls as they were erased from existence. If Scott was in the Quantum Realm, after the only people who were mitigating the excursion were turned to dust, is that really Scott Lang? Or could he be a Skrull?
The reason Steve Rogers is so surprised by Scott’s impromptu post-snap visit is that the Avengers likely paged all the Avenger-adjacent heroes to figure out who survived and recon later. Steve and the rest of the team probably tried to contact Scott, same with Hawkeye. However, once they didn’t get a response, they just assumed another one bit the dust (even though we know he’s stuck in the Quantum Realm). The lack of communication is why Steve was in disbelief when Scott literally showed up at their door. We have some shapeshifter-related theories on how “Scott” might have gotten out of the Quantum Realm.
We’re on self-imposed Skrull watch, and that might have something to do with our trust issues that Marvel is only amplifying. However, there could be a fair chance that the Ant-Man we saw in the Endgame trailer is actually a Skrull.
Granted, for Scott to be a Skrull, it would take a conveniently positioned Skrull soldier who just happened to be near Scott during the snap. After all, a Skrull scout would still need to be able to locate him and pull him out of the Quantum Realm, so the Skrulls would be able to capture him and extract his memories. That way, a Skrull would actually be able to look and act like him.
Avengers: Endgame first official trailer. Photo Credit: Marvel Entertainment
Given that Scott was already equipped with his Ant-Man suit while he was in the Quantum Realm, he would be a worthy opponent against one Skrull — even one who’s well-versed in the typically Skrull warrior fighting techniques that include shapeshifting their limbs into weapons. If Scott was faced with a horde of Skrulls, the odds might not have been in his favor, which would give us Skrull Scott.
Skrull Scott isn’t the only way that Scott escaped the Quantum Realm. We’re still not sure if Ava (Ghost) survived Thanos’ snap. However, we’d like to think she survived so she can thoroughly transform her story arch into full-fledged heroism. If Ava survived, she likely became suspicious when Scott didn’t deliver the energy he was harvesting in the Quantum Realm. She could have easily found him, or even recruited Casey Lang’s help to find him (after all, Casey’s status is still unconfirmed, too).
Some fans have theorized that neither of the above is true, and instead, Scott is our favorite Norse shapeshifter, Loki.
We’re not entirely positive that Loki even knows Scott exists. From what we’ve seen in the MCU, Loki hasn’t interacted with Scott, so he wouldn’t know to shapeshift into someone he doesn’t know exists — or knows is in close proximity with the Avengers for that matter.
Loki might have learned about Scott’s identity when he took Erik Selvig and Clint Barton hostage in the first Avengers film — seeing as he could have used their insider status in S.H.I.E.L.D. to gain access to some files on any prospective Avengers members. However, that’s only if Scott was even on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar prior to his Ant-Man days.
However, Loki was too busy being mind controlled by Thanos, and by extension the scepter, to take time out of his busy schedule (of being tortured and torturing other people) to scroll through S.H.I.E.L.D. files.
Even if Scott is a Skrull, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s evil. After all, in the comics, Hulkling is part Skrull and he turned out just fine. Not to mention, the comic Skrulls have had multiple, but infrequent, occasions where they mistakenly thought they were heroes, thus helping Earth’s heroes.
Plus, there was that time the Skrull disguised as Mar-Vell in X-Men Vol 2 (no. 89) willingly helped the X-Men, even though he had full control over his consciousness and knew he was a Skrull. The point is, we won’t stand for Skrull slander, so just because we have our suspicions that Scott might be a Skrull doesn’t mean he’s a warmonger like an archetypal Skrull.
Skrull or not, we’re just happy to see Scott Lang again.