Many people have said the Marvel Cinematic Universe has faltered lately. Sure, there have been flops with movies like The Eternals, but I believe the MCU is still going strong.
The latest film in the MCU, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, proves that.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania takes one of Marvel’s tiniest heroes to the big screen for the third time. His first movie was fantastic. The second movie in the Ant-Man franchise fell flat. But… But… Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania brings back the character and fun we all loved from the original film.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania occurs many years after the first two movies. Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) has returned from The Snap caused by Thanos. He’s still struggling to connect with his daughter, Cassie Lang/Stature/Stinger (Kathryn Newton), because of the missed time with her. This lost time plays into her desire to learn, grow, and become something more.
Cassie has tinkered with her father and grandfather’s technology. She’s even created a suit that will help her shrink in size like her father and grandfather.
But her desire to learn more about the Quantum Realm wreaks havoc across her family’s world. She sends out a signal to the Quantum Realm, and someone answers.
Uh oh…
This leads us to the wild and fun adventure of Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania. It also leads us to the latest Reel Leadership installment. Watch the movie, grab your popcorn, and prepare to be taught by Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
1. Kang The Conqueror (Jonathan Majors):
What is this place?
Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) had been stranded in the Quantum Realm before Ant-Man rescued her. During her time there, she saw a spaceship crash land in the strange world. She was attacked by creatures that were set to kill her. Suddenly, the man in the spaceship shoots the beast, and Janet lives.
Kang The Conqueror looks at Janet and asks her, “What is this place?”
While Kang The Conqueror is a nasty dude, this quote is something all leaders should keep in mind.
Kang The Conqueror wanted to know where he was. He wanted to get a lay of the land.
Leaders, this is what you must do. You must be willing to ask those who have gone before you where you are. You can use this to figure out the culture of the organization, the direction they’re going, and more.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
2. Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly):
You know mom… You can talk about it.
After being rescued, Janet held in all she’d experienced in the Quantum Realm. It’s understandable. The Quantum Realm held a lot of trauma for her.
She’d had a romance with Lord Krylar (Bill Murray). Been trapped for ages. And helped unleash Kang The Conqueror upon the realm.
However, by not talking about her experience, she held back her family, hurt the inhabitants of the Quantum Realm, and unleashed Kang The Conqueror upon the earth (though we don’t see this in the movie).
I want to tell you: You know leaders… you can talk about it.
While you won’t be able to share everything with all of your team members, you can share more than you think. Share your experiences with your team. Help them to get to know what you’ve been through.
It won’t only help them. You’ll prepare them for the challenges they’ll face as they step into a leadership position.
3. People can tell when you’re not okay:
After Scott, Cassie, Janet, and Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) were pulled into the Quantum Realm, Scott and Cassie were separated from the rest of the family.
Scott kept trying to reach his mom and dad and significant other. There was no response.
To try to calm himself, Scott kept saying, “it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
Cassie picked up on Scott’s anxiety. She told him that he was saying it’s okay too much. It began to worry her.
We all have tells. These tells alert those we lead that things aren’t okay or we haven’t been as upfront as we state we are.
We can easily overlook these tells. The people around us don’t.
They see the small changes, the verbal cues, and more.
If you’re not okay, admit it. You can get help at that point.
4. Leaders have to do things that they don’t want to do:
Strange creatures carted off Cassie and Scott. The alien creatures were babbling in an unknown alien language.
Cassie told Scott to drink the ooze. It was a disgusting-looking drink. I’m guessing it didn’t taste any better than it looked.
However, by drinking the ooze, Scott and Cassie could understand the creatures’ language.
Think about your leadership journey. What things didn’t you want to do? What happened when you did those things?
My guess is that you grew in your leadership abilities.
We’re stretched and pulled when we have to do the things we don’t want to do. Put on your big boy or girl pants and do the hard things.
5. Sometimes, we have to be reminded of who we are:
Scott had stopped helping people after returning from the snap. He wanted to focus so much on his family that he hung up the Ant-Man suit.
The creatures in the Quantum Realm needed help. Kang The Conqueror had destroyed their homes. He saw this but avoided assisting them.
Cassie saw the need to help them. She reminded Scott that he could help. And he did.
We can lose sight of who we are or who we have been. This is why it’s important to have people around us that can remind us of who we are.
When someone tells you that you’re not doing what you should, you’ve changed, or that you’re going down the wrong path, listen to them. Let their words guide you back to where you need to be.
6. People know bad leaders:
Jentorra (Katy M. O’Brian) is a freedom fighter in the Quantum Realm. She’s fighting the tyrannical rule of Kang The Conqueror. Kang The Conqueror had sent a goon squad to find Cassie and Scott. They came upon Jentorra.
They believed Jentorra knew where Scott and Cassie were (she did). However, she wasn’t about to give them up.
The killers tried to convince Jentorra to give up their location. They even told her Kang The Conqueror would show mercy.
Jentorra’s response? I know Kang’s mercy…
What would the response be if someone asked your people if you showed mercy, loved them, or cared for them? Would they give the same sarcastic answer Jentorra gave about Kang’s mercy? Or would they be excited to share about all that you’ve done?
Your reputation will go before you. People will look at what you’ve done, said, and behaved. They can spot when the leader’s words do not align with their actions.
7. Leaders don’t benefit themselves at the expense of others:
Kang The Conqueror promised Janet a way out of the Quantum Realm. All she had to do was help him get out too.
Janet knew what would happen if she did. Kang The Conqueror would destroy other realms and universes.
While she may have been freed, she would have unleashed an evil force upon the multiverse.
We all have choices. We can do what benefits us and hurts others, what benefits others and hurts us, or what benefits others and ourselves.
Leaders cannot be people who hurt others to further their own advancement.
8. Scott Lang:
Cassie, my whole life happened because I screwed up.
That is such a great quote from Ant-Man.
Cassie had apologized to Scott for screwing up. She’d unintentionally brought her family to the Quantum Realm, and now they were all in danger.
Scott spoke up. He reassured her things would be okay. He also gave her words of wisdom.
Scott was always a screw-up. He messed up everything, or so it seemed. Yet, he became Ant-Man, an Avenger, and a loving father.
Everything he had in life was because he screwed up. It all worked out in the end.
If you’ve screwed up, keep heart. You can still succeed.
Your screw-ups can lead to your lead-ups. Don’t be discouraged. Be encouraged. You can make lemonade out of those lemons.
9. Leaders don’t have to burn down the things that oppose them:
Kang The Conqueror talked of burning down the worlds that challenged him. He believed the only way to succeed was to remove all the opposition.
He is wrong. He didn’t have to destroy everything that challenged him.
I believe if he had embraced the challenges and challengers, he could have become a strong leader. He would have grown because he would have to stretch himself.
Don’t destroy what challenges you. Instead, face it and grow from the challenge.
10. Cassie Lang:
I’m sorry I got your people hurt. How can I help?
Cassie went to rescue Jentorra from Kang The Conqueror. Upon saving her, Cassie apologized. She realized she had screwed up.
More than apologizing, Cassie also went a step beyond. Cassie asked Jentorra what she could do to help and make up for her mistake.
Wow!
Follow Cassie’s example.
Own your mistake. Apologize. Ask what you can do.
Imagine if every leader did this every time they messed up? They could change the face of their organization.
