Its been revealed that John Slattery, who appeared as Howard Stark in Iron Man 2, will reprise his role in Ant-Man in some flashback scenes. And Peggy Carter will also appear in the film. Its still not quite known when S.H.I.E.L.D. was started. At the time this article is being written, the final episode of Agent Carter has yet to air, so its yet to be seen if S.H.I.E.L.D. will begin in that shows finale or not. But Iron Man 2 and The Winter Soldier established that both Howard Stark and Peggy Carter were founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Its very possible that S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded in the 60s or perhaps even the 50s. And now that Peggy and Howard will make appearances in Ant-Man, maybe Hank Pym is another founding member of the organization. After all, as mentioned before, this could be a nice nod to Pyms status as a founding Avenger in the comics. Agent Carter takes place in the mid-40s and Iron Man begins in the twenty-first century. That leaves about sixty years of continuity completely unaccounted for. Ant-Man could serve to fill some of that gap by showing us the early days of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the height of the Cold War.
Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com
