Ant-Man

When Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) learns that Howard Stark (John Slattery) has been trying to copy his shrinking technology, he leaves SHIELD in 1989.

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has completed his final day of incarceration in San Quentin State Prison. His former cellmate Luis (Michael Pea), who is waiting to get him up, offers to let him remain at his flat. Scott's criminal history prevents him from obtaining a respectable career. He broke into the system and sent millions of dollars back to the consumers after learning that the corporation he worked for had been overcharging them. Dave (T.I. ), a getaway driver, and Kurt (David Dastmalchian), an expert in identity theft, are introduced to him by Luis. They could commit a robbery jointly thanks to a tip Luis possesses.

Hank receives an invitation to a presentation at Pym Tech, the business he established. He bumps with his former student, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who shows him a prototype of the Yellow Jacket suit that is based on the Ant-Man outfit that Hank wore, as well as his daughter, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). Darren has failed to successfully reduce live tissue.

Scott visits his daughter Cassie's birthday celebration in his borrowed van from Luis (Abby Ryder Fortson). He meets Officer Jim Paxton (Bobby Cannavale), Cassie's upcoming stepfather, who is not pleased to see him. Before allowing him to see Cassie, his ex-wife, Maggie (Judy Greer), demands that he get a real job and settle his back child support obligations. After saying farewell to Cassie, Scott is compelled to leave the party by Jim and his partner Gale (Wood Harris).

Hope and Darren are working at Pym Tech to reduce sheep to microscopic size. When their experiment goes wrong, a sheep perishes. With another sheep, Darren demands that they proceed.

Scott understands that it will be more than a year before he can see Cassie again if he takes a minimum-wage job, so he takes up Luis on his offer. Ernesto (Nicholas Barrera), the cousin of Luis, had a housekeeping friend named Emily (Lyndsi LaRose), who was dating Ernesto's friend Carlos (Carlos Aviles). She informed Carlos that the owner of the home she was cleaning had a huge safe that was undoubtedly filled with riches. Scott consents to assist them with the heist.

Kurt borrows a communication technician's uniform as Luis goes to get supplies for the heist. Kurt breaks the electrical circuit that night by scaling a pole outside Hank's home, stopping all phone communication. In order to access the basement, Scott scales the fence, removes the window sensors, and then prys open a window. After opening the basement door, he discovers a second door with a fingerprint code. He lifts Hank's print with tape and unlocks that door.

When he arrives near the safe, he understands that he will need some creative thinking to open the steel door. He makes little holes all around the lock, squirts water in them, and uses nitrogen to quickly freeze the water. The steel is bent by the frozen water, which also makes the bolts protrude. The only items in the safe when he opens it are an odd-looking body suit and helmet. He takes that and leaves. Hank has been watching the entire episode upstairs in the meantime.

The party returns to Luis' place feeling defeated at not having obtained anything worthwhile. Scott wonders why the outfit was so closely guarded as he examines the suit he took in the restroom. He sees tubes holding liquid in shades of red and blue. He dons it out of curiosity and enters the bathtub to get a better view of himself in the mirror. He notices a red button on the glove and presses it, quickly shrinking to only half an inch in height.

When Luis enters the bathroom and switches on the tub's water, it feels like a tidal wave to little Scott. A voice can be heard coming from the helmet's earpiece. He attempts to press a broken blue button to shrink back to his original size. He rushes out of the water in panic and finds himself floating across the room. He stumbles and falls through a crevice into the apartment below.

There is a party going on in that room when Scott finds he is on a record player with the needle travelling in his direction. He leaps into the air and lands on the dance floor. He ducks under the door to escape the enormous footfall and enters the hallway before being immediately dragged into a vacuum. He jumps again and lands on a rat when the dust bag is empty. He flees but crashes into a mouse trap. He is launched through a window and into the rainy night when it is activated, sending him flying. Before they fall on a car, he observes droplets the size of his head. He shrinks back to his original size after the impact rattled the blue button loose.

Scott rushes inside and slips the outfit off. He chooses to give the outfit back to Hank's safe after becoming aware that someone had been following him all along. He enters the home again without difficulty and replaces the suit. However, when he exits, he is besieged by police. Paxton awaits him in prison once he is taken into custody. Gale alerts Paxton to the presence of Scott's attorney. Scott, who is perplexed, consults the unknown and unasked-for attorney.

Hank is the "lawyer" who is waiting for him. Scott is given the option of obeying him or spending the rest of his life in prison. Hank informs Scott that he allowed him to steal the suit after he notices how perplexed he is. After being returned to his cell, Scott is given the suit by an army of ants. He dons it, contracts, and soon escapes from the jail. Scott boards one of Hank's ants that has spread its wings and soars above the city.

Hank explains to Scott that he created the suit but kept it locked away out of concern that it would be misapplied. Hank refused to share the shrinking technology with Darren after Darren learned about it, thus Darren expelled Hank from Pym Tech. Hope and Hank joined forces to stop Darren after realising how deadly he was. Scott is informed by Hank that he must transform into "Ant-Man" in order to stop people like Darren. Scott is aware of the potential he has to become the kind of hero his daughter deserves in a father.

Scott receives instruction in both leadership skills and martial arts. He shrinks and grows back to practise his timing. Hank informs him that an abandoned SHIELD building contains a piece of technology he'll need to take the suit from Darren. Scott flies to the structure and discovers that it houses the current headquarters of the Avengers. Scott jumps forward and lands on the roof, setting off a sensor. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who is called in to look into the matter, can make out Scott even when he is small. Scott gets inside Falcon's jetpack during the next combat, shorting it out. Scott makes his getaway with the tools he requires.

Hank reveals the real cause of Hope's mother's passing to Scott when he comes back. Hank was attempting to halt an ICBM that had been fired at the United States, but even at ant size, he was unable to enter. The Wasp was the name of the outfit she wore. She made the decision to shrink to sub-atomic size, which allowed her to intercept the missile but left her unable to return and trapped in the quantum world.

Finally, Darren Cross is successful in shrinking a lamb. He sees himself acquiring Pym Tech. He phones Hope and informs her that he has enhanced security, including sealing all the vents with microscopic mesh, before inviting Hank to the grand opening. They understand they'll need additional staff and that the work would be harder than they anticipated. Dave, Kurt, and Luis are invited in. In order to allow Scott to enter through the pipes, Luis appears as a security guard and decreases the water pressure.

Scott places bombs all over the structure, but when he tries to steal the suit, Darren, who had foreseen the burglary, captures him in a glass cage. Darren intends to sell HYDRA the technology. Scott escapes and eliminates the Hydra operatives. Just before the building catches fire, Darren boards a helicopter from the roof and flees. By expanding a small tank to its full capacity, Hank and Hope escape by riding it out the side of the structure.

After donning the Yellow Jacket gear, Darren and Scott engage in combat inside the chopper. After their argument, Scott manages to capture Darren in a bug zapper, but Jim Paxton arrives to take him into custody before he can destroy the suit. In an effort to entice Scott, Darren visits Jim and Cassie's home and threatens their lives. They fight when Scott shows up. Scott causes Darren to vanish since the only way he can fit inside Darren's suit is to shrink to subatomic size.

Despite being imprisoned in the Quantum Realm, Lang is able to reverse the process and return to his normal size by rewiring the suit after hearing Cassie's voice. After the struggle, a thankful Paxton stands in for Scott to prevent him from being sent back to jail. Hank ponders the possibility that Hope's mother is possibly still alive. Scott is being sought after by the Falcon, according to Luis.

In the middle of the credits, Pym offers Hope an updated version of the Wasp Suit after Lang has left. She responds, "It's damn time," in response.

Post-Credit Scene: Captain America and Falcon are deciding what to do with the Winter Soldier now that they have him in their hands. Wilson claims he knows who to contact for assistance but is unable to notify Iron Man because of the "Accords."