Ant-Man: 13 Obscure Easter Eggs & References You Probably Missed
7. Did Janet Steal Bucky's Death?
Janet Van Dyne's "death" in the film is very obviously a reference to Marvel's Secret Invasion, in which she was banished to the Microverse, but there's more to the way she gets there that references another part of Marvel lore.
In the flashback that centres on her death, it is revealed that she sacrifices herself in order to save the US from a Russian missile, which was actually the fate of Bucky Barnes in the comics, so it would appear Marvel did return to their own pages to draw out inspiration.
If there's anything to be read in that inspiration, it could be that Bucky's death was long considered to be permanent (see the Bucky Clause), until he was unceremoniously hauled out of the grave. Perhaps the similarity was designed to foreshadow the fact that Janet will also return?