The first trailer for Walton Goggins.
Prior to this morning's trailer, very little was known about the movie's plot. The teaser didn't seem to reveal much about the story behind Scott Lang's second solo outing at first glance, largely focusing on action shots starring Scott's actions in Captain America: Civil War, and it looks like the government won't be the only people chasing them.
Related: Ant-Man and The Wasp Trailer - Scott Lang Gets a Partner
The nefarious Ghost is only hinted at in the trailer, though there are a few clues in place that give us a pretty good idea of what her origin story will be in the MCU. Yep, we said her, and that alone may come as a surprise to Marvel Comics fans, because Ghost is a man in the source material. Gender aside, quite a bit of the comic villain's characterization could very well make its way onto the big screen this summer. Her origin story, however, looks to have been altered significantly.
Ghost's Comic Origins Explained
In the comics, Ghost gets his start as a lower tier Iron Man villain after being betrayed and nearly killed by the corporation he worked for. A deeply committed anticapitalist armed with some truly deadly tech of his own design, Ghost becomes a master saboteur dedicated to taking down corporate America. He's often seen loaning out his services as a mercenary, though only when the job aligns with his personal goals. He's gone after just about every corporation in the Marvel Universe at one point or another, including Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, and even Parker Industries.
Ghost is a gifted tactician, and his master hacking skills are aided by advanced technology that he invented himself. His costume sports the ability to become both intangible and invisible, and he can transmit those same properties to anything he touches. Ghost can also fire off energy blasts à la Iron Man (and the Wasp, as seen in the trailer) among other offensive maneuvers, though he usually prefers to keep a low profile while attempting to eliminate corporatocracy.
In short, Ghost is a formidable foe that matches up well on paper with Ant-Man and the Wasp. His comic book motives are well-suited for adaptation, and his suit's abilities should make for some spectacular visuals on the big screen.
Ghost's New MCU Origin
While the villain's screentime in the trailer is limited, what little we see of Ant-Man and the Wasp's take on Ghost (played by Hannah John-Kamen) suggests that the villain's origin story will be very different in the MCU. The trailer features several shots of scientific equipment in a dimly lit lab, and the teaser seems to imply that Laurence Fishburne's Bill Foster is involved her supervillainous birth. Whether it's the suit that's causing her glitchy physical form in the image above or if she'll be given actual superpowers in the film via that weird chamber is unclear. In either case, a pretty lethal villain will soon be born in the MCU.
Some sort of vessel is also spotted in the lab, one which will likely be used in our heroes' presumed rescue attempt of the MIA-but-definitely-not-dead Janet van Dyne. If it's all connected, could the Quantum Realm somehow factor into Ghost's abilities?
Ghost won't be the only villain in Ant-Man and the Wasp, as Walton Goggins' Sonny Burch will likely be going after our heroes as well. In the comics, Burch was an executive at Cross Technologies, a company that was all but obliterated at the end of the first Ant-Man. Burch probably wasn't too thrilled about that, and it seems likely that he'll be teaming up with Ghost in this film in order to take down Team Tiny Heroes. We're not too sure where Bill Foster factors into all that, but we're hopeful that Ghost will amount to more than a gun for hire in her big screen debut. If the character's anti-corporate views aren't adapted, and she's reduced to a scientific experiment gone wrong, it could prove to be a major missed opportunity for Ant-Man and the Wasp.
