Ant-Man #4 Review

Written by: Al Ewing
Art by: Tom Reilly
Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Tom Reilly
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: October 5, 2022

Ant-Man #4 brings the anniversary run across time as Ant-Men from the past, present, and future band together to stop All-Father Ultron from taking over the world.

Is It Good?

Ant-Man #4 is not bad. We learned in the last issue that Ultron was the big threat that forced Ant-Man from the future to travel to the past in a quest to find a solution. And succeed future Ant-Man does, but to get there, you have to wade through multiple pages of well-crafted exposition and suspend your disbelief about a whole heck of a lot of superhero “science.”

Is there a lot of exposition? You betcha. Six pages worth of exposition to explain All-Father Ultron’s effect on the future, the history behind future Ant-Man, why future Ant-Man traveled to assorted eras in the past to scan ants (it makes sense), and why he needs an assembly of Ant-Men now. Ewing delivers the exposition well enough, lightened by the deadpan humor of the AI narration, so while six pages of exposition are unusual, it’s executed well enough here to work as part of the story.

The part of Ewing’s story that’s a little tougher to swallow is the hand-waving superhero “science” employed during the assorted battle tactics used during the final showdown. In fairness, every Ant-Man is given a few moments to shine in battle with their respective strengths (tactics and tech), so the battle doubles as a nice walk down memory lane showcasing which gadgets each Ant-Man uses. However, the winning tactic, while dramatically executed, is a head-scratcher.

In the end, all the Ant-Men share a bro moment to express relief and bond without sharing too much that would disrupt the timeline. It’s a wholesome moment that emphasizes the wholesomeness of the mini-series. If the goal was to celebrate Ant-Man in the character’s Anniversary year, Ewing gets high marks for doing just that.

Regarding Tom Reilly’s art, it’s fine. Reilly’s (mostly) lineless art style is unique among Marvel artists, but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea as shapes tend to blend into each other without a clean line separation. However, Reilly’s style works well enough for a visually pleasant read.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Ant-Man #4 brings the Anniversary mini-series to a close with tons of well-crafted exposition, interesting art, and head-scratching superhero “science.” Ewing should be commended for delivering one of the better Anniversary runs that pay honor to a character in recent memory.