Quantumania & The Big Impact of Little Acts

“Well,” says Dr. Hank Pym, with a twinkle in his eye, “as a great writer once said, ‘There’s always room to grow.’” 

Upon hearing this quote, Scott Lang stares in amazement. “You read my book?”

As it turns out, not only did Hank flip through Ant-Man’s autobiography, he read every single word! Because Scott admires Hank, this moment blows him away. One would think that Ant-Man, whose occupation revolves around shifting size for maximum strategy, would have realized by now that even the tiniest act can have a tremendous ripple effect. A great superhero he may be; however, under the suit, Scott Lang is still human. He never dreamed that his family truly cared for the work he poured into his book; but in this moment, he finally sees that his writing moved them.

How often do we feel like what we do isn’t “big” enough to truly matter? How often do we discount our acts of service and love towards others, simply because we deem those acts as “just a small thing” or “not a big deal”? 

Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania demonstrates the truth—there is always room to grow, and little acts can indeed leave a big impact on the world.

Photo Credit: Agents of Fandom

When her family disappeared during the Blip, Cassie devoted her time to building a transponder for Quantum Realm exploration. “I could have found you,” she tells her dad, who had been lost there. While Scott had escaped by another method, Cassie’s work wasn’t for nothing. In fact, her transponder became the catalyst of the Quantumania plot. You could perceive that scene as a mishap, since no one wanted to be yanked into the Quantum Realm; but you could also view it as a blessing, since this unplanned event ultimately led Ant Man and his allies to free the Quantum Realm from Kang the Conqueror.

Janet’s thirty years stranded in the Quantum Realm were hard on her. However, the connections she made during that time provided valuable knowledge for navigating the realm upon return. Without Janet’s expertise, Hank and Hope wouldn’t have traveled as quickly to reconvene with Scott and Cassie—and the Wasp likely would not have arrived in time to rescue Ant-Man from the maddening Probability Storm.

When Janet deliberately ruined the power core of Kang’s ship, this “small” choice threw away what she believed was her only chance to escape the Quantum Realm. Yet, by so doing, she also spared countless timelines from Kang’s multiversal genocide.

Ant-Man inspired Cassie to also stand up on behalf of others. Scott’s advice for Cassie on how to use the suit helped her fight Kang’s soldiers; and when Cassie broke Jentorra out of prison, she kickstarted the uprising. Hank’s care for his beloved ants resulted in the ant army coming to rescue his family in a dire situation. During the final battle, Hope did not wait in safety for Scott to come home through the portal himself, but chose to step back inside, just in time to back him up against Kang. Over and over, the story reinforces how “little” acts are bigger—and reach farther—than they seem.

Now, unlike Cassie, who witnessed Darren’s change of heart soon after exhorting MODOK, we may not see instantaneous impact. It can certainly be discouraging to not realize the fruit of our work right away—if we indeed are ever recognized for the good that we do day by day. Even so, that does not diminish the truth. If you wonder whether your acts of service make any difference…saddle up, Ant-Man, because I promise you that they do.

Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.