Ant-Man's autobiography: 5 fun MCU details you need to know

“Look Out for the Little Guy!” is Scott Lang’s autobiography, which is actually written by comedy writer Rob Kutner, but remains strictly in-universe as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. The memoir was publicized in the pre-Quantum Realm parts of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and is therefore Scott Lang’s account of everything that happened with him as Ant-Man up until the Avengers: Endgame climax.

The book goes into more details about the events of Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, as well as interpreting Captain America: Civil War, and especially Avengers: Endgame, all from Scott’s vantage point. Basically, the pages touch upon many of the stories we have already watched onscreen, only from Ant-Man’s perspective. And of course, there are still some areas where “Scott Lang” sheds more light on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

1. Ant-Man's additional Avenger interactions

From early on in the autobiography, it is clear that Ant-Man was filled in on events that he was not present for and people that he did not have a personal connection to. Some details could have been gained from a general knowledge that the masses learned via media outlets, yet Scott’s initiation with the Avengers is pertinent.

When losing out on the Space Stone to Loki during the time heist, Scott mentions characteristics of the God of Mischief that MCU viewers are well aware of, however Ant-Man had never faced off against Loki in the MCU. So, when he compares his thievery skills to Loki in historical terms, he is working with second-hand information.

Ant-Man even dedicates an entire chapter to Natasha Romanoff. Yes, he did cross paths with her in Civil War and worked alongside the Avenger in Endgame, but Scott reminds readers about her bravery in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War, two narratives he was absent from. Scott evidently acquired most of this information from Hawkeye and refers to the time Clint was ordered to assassinate Black Widow.

Scott divulges that it was Clint and Bruce who asked him to tell the Avengers’ story. Since the world only broadly knew what had happened with Thanos, they felt that someone close to it all should make sure the specifics were revealed faithfully. When convincing Scott to write the book, Hawkeye is quoted as saying, “you’re the guy who got scooped up in all this pretty recently. You’ve still got one foot in their world. And you’re the guy everyone likes… and trusts.”

2. Confirming how the Wasp suit works

At the end of most chapters, Scott answers a frequently asked Ant-Man Question (or FAAMQ). One of the earlier queries wonders how similar the Ant-Man and Wasp suits are to each other. Something that is illustrated in the movies is literally spelled out in “Look Out for the Little Guy!” – Ant-Man confirms that Wasp manipulates her size with her mind. Ant-Man pushes the buttons on his suit and it seems that the original Wasp manually operated the suit as well; she activates the Pym particles on her belt during her flashback scene in Ant-Man.

Aside from wings and blasters, Hope’s Wasp suit utilizes a neural reaction system for her ability to change sizes. This admittedly makes her even more swift than Ant-Man. They both use some sort of neural link to communicate with ants, so just like the wings and blasters, it seems that Hank just never felt Scott could handle the more advanced suit.

3. More Ant-ventures

A vast majority of the action-filled events that Scott references in “Look Out for the Little Guy!” are well-known sequences from one of Ant-Man’s MCU excursions. So, it is fun to spot tidbits about previously unrevealed incidences. In the chapter “Ant Inc.”, Scott shares about Hank Pym’s earlier Ant-days and how he once fought against an army of bullet ants, before he teamed up with them to battle a centipede. Later on, when writing about his partnership with Wasp, Scott mentions another Ant-Man circumstance that does not occur in film and television. Ant-Man and Wasp got stuck in their tiny forms and were almost cut up by mechanical gears.

Scott doesn’t go into a lot of details about these tales; in fact, they come off rather like side-notes to larger points he is discussing. If Marvel Television continued to branch out with their animated division, maybe Ant-sized stories like these would work well in such a forum. Scott even labels the former episode - “Hank and the bullet ants vs. the centipede”.

4. Giant-Man counter

For those who are trying to keep track, the book reviews all the times Ant-Man enlarges into Giant-Man.  His first outing was when he was testing out the enormous ability in the lab. He indicates that trial to his Captain America team in Civil War, where he inflates for a second time at the airport battle. Audiences aren’t told of any other test runs, but Scott confirms in his memoir that the third time he went full giant was in the San Francisco Bay, which was depicted in the climax of Ant-Man and the Wasp.

By the time we reach the Avengers compound battle in Endgame, we have followed Ant-Man’s path pretty closely, between him getting stuck in the Quantum Realm during the Ant-Man sequel's mid-credits’ scene and the important part he plays in the time heist, so giant-sized Ant-Man stomping on Thanos’ soldiers is perceptibly his fourth excursion. He even notes in the text when referring to the battle, “apparently it takes more than three falls to keep a good, constantly size-shifting man down.” Therefore, before the plot of Quantumania begins, the Giant-Man counter is officially at four.

5. The true love of Scott's life

A lot of the book dives into Scott’s relationship with his family, including his Ant-family the Pyms, but the most undeniable pattern that emerges throughout the memoir is Scott’s love for his daughter. He gushes over Cassie, brings up his regrets about missing so much of her life, recounts anecdotes of the time they did spend together, and also includes letters that they wrote to each other.

It is in Ant-Man’s personal message to Cassie where we gain insight into his time in between returning to his daughter, after spending five years in the Quantum Realm, and before heading to Avengers headquarters in Avengers: Endgame. At that stage in her life, Cassie was no longer a little girl, but she was still in her pre-Stature superhero phase that we see in Quantumania, and Scott credits her with helping him, emotionally, during that jarring period – she would even wipe his tears away and tell him “It’s okay, it’s okay”.