Following the destruction of Sokovia during the Avenger's battle with Ultron in 2015,
as well as the deaths of dozens of innocent people during the battle with Crossbones in
Nigeria the following year, many of the world's nations gathered together and wrote the Sokovia
Accords, enacting a set of rules and regulations for enhanced individuals.
However, during the United Nations signing ceremony in Austria, the Vienna International
centre was bombed, killing many, including King T'Chaka of Wakanda.
Although the terrorist Helmut Zemo was behind the attack, it was blamed on the deadly assassin
Winter Soldier, previously known as Bucky Barnes, the childhood friend of Steve Rogers.
Already at odds over the merits of the Sokovia Accords, the hunt for Winter Soldier further
divided the Avengers as Captain America was convinced of his friend's innocence.
Determined to learn the truth, Captain America gathered together his allies, including Winter
Soldier, Falcon, Hawkeye, and Scarlet Witch.
Yet because they were helping a wanted fugitive, and working outside the law, Iron Man was
ordered to arrest them, and so gathered together his own team including Vision, War Machine,
Black Widow, Black Panther and Spider-Man.
Believing that they needed additional support for the approaching conflict, Captain America
recruited Scott Lang, also known as the Ant-Man, recommended by the Falcon who once faced him
in combat.
Eager to help an American hero like Steve Rogers, Ant-Man enthusiastically agreed to
join them, without informing his mentor Hank Pym, or his girlfriend Hope Van Dyne who wore
her own suit and was known as the Wasp.
These 2 opposing Avenger factions then collided at a German airport, where Ant-Man introduced
himself by returning Captain America's shield after it was stolen by Spider Man.
During the ensuing battle, Ant-Man faced off against Black Widow, and made himself small
enough to ride an arrow shot by Hawkeye, in order to enter Iron Man's suit and damage
it from the inside.
Needing a distraction, Ant-Man used his suits regulator to grow into Giant-Man, allowing
Captain America and Winter Soldier to reach a Quinjet and escape.
In the aftermath of the battle, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Scarlett Witch, and Falcon were arrested,
while War Machine was badly injured, leaving his legs paralyzed.
Continuing their investigation, Captain America soon proved Winter Soldier's innocence,
capturing the true culprit Helmut Zemo.
However even after the terrorist was captured, the Avengers remained broken apart with Captain
America breaking his allies out of prison and then going into hiding.
Yet because Hawkeye and Ant-Man both had families and could not simply disappear, they chose
to turn themselves in, making deals to retire and serve a sentence under house arrest.
Although Scott's family were willing to forgive his criminal behaviour, believing
that he was legitimately willing to leave it behind and focus on being a father to his
daughter Cassie, Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne were less understanding, as they were soon
targeted by the FBI for their association with Ant-Man, becoming fugitives when they
fled.
Yet while they lost their home and freedom, Hank and his daughter were able to rescue
much of their research, as it was kept in a mobile lab, an entire building that could
be shrunk down to the size of a suitcase.
Cutting off ties to Scott Lang, they continued their research into the Quantum Realm, hoping
to find a way to bring back the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, lost decades earlier.
And after nearly 2 years of work, their efforts paid off, by constructing a Tunnel which would
allow Hope to enter the Quantum Realm, and extract her mother.
Once complete, they powered up the Tunnel, only for it to quickly overload and shut down.
However for a brief moment the connection was successfully established, allowing Janet
Van Dyne to send a message through Scott Lang, having become entangled with him during his
time in the Quantum Realm several years earlier.
When Scott Lang informed them that he had a vivid dream about finding a little girl
hiding in a dresser, they realized it was a memory of Janet and her daughter, believing
this meant she was still alive.
Although Scott was prohibited from leaving his home, Hope set up a decoy to take his
place, allowing for Ant-Man to once again take his place by the Wasp's side.
In an effort to secure a necessary component to keep the Tunnel functioning and stable,
they made an enemy of Sonny Burch, a black market tech dealer determined to acquire their
research.
And while this made their work more difficult, they faced further challenges when they were
attacked an enhanced individual known as Ghost, with the ability to phase and pass through
solid objects.
She too sought to steal the mobile lab, hoping to use their technology to cure her molecular
disequilibrium, acquired after an accident in her father's lab where he was experimenting
with research originally developed under Hank Pym at SHIELD.
After a number of brief battles between the competing factions, Scott recruited his friends
at Ex-Con security to help secure the Lab, eventually allowing them to complete the Tunnel.
However with Ant-Man and the Wasp busy fighting Ghost, it fell to Hank Pym to put on a suit
and travel into the Quantum realm to find and bring back his long lost wife Janet van
Dyne who had acquired new powers during her time away.
Janet van Dyne then used these new quantum powers to stabilize Ghost's energy, saving
her from the immediate threat to her life.
Meanwhile Sonny Burch was arrested for his crimes, while Scott Lang was not, having successfully
hid his involvement from law enforcement, allowing him to complete his 2 years of house
arrest, to become a free man.
Having repaired his relationship with the Hope and her family, Scott Lang then continued
to serve as the Ant-Man, alongside the Wasp, and aided in their research, soon sent back
into the Quantum Realm to retrieve a sample they might use to cure Ghost permanently.
However when Ant-Man completed his mission and asked to be brought back, the countdown
ended in silence as this exact moment coincided with the victory of Thanos at the Battle of
Wakanda, collecting all 6 infinity stones to exterminate half of the population of the
universe.
Unfortunately this happened to include Hank, Janet and Hope, who vanished into black ash,
leaving Scott trapped in the Quantum Realm.
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