We'd be very surprised if the plot of Ant-Man which involves another genius billionaire inventor who exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't get referred to by or otherwise involve Tony Stark in some way. We'd also be surprised if the second Avengers film, Age Of Ultron, doesn't in some way play into a possible Iron Man 4. In the comic books the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, is responsible for the titular tyrannical robot the superheroes have to team up to defeat (he wasn't meant to be evil, it was an accident, honest!). In one of the biggest divergences from the source material to date, the big screen adaptation of the Ultron story will have Tony Stark responsible. Woops. Nice one, Iron Man. It makes thematic sense for the self-destructive Stark to, well, be responsible for the possible literal destruction of himself and his Avenging team mates. Rumour has it the hyper-intelligent android will come about as a potential replacement for Iron Man, what with Tony apparently hanging up the shellhead at the end of the third film; so, when we get around to an Iron Man 4, we imagine that Ultron will be the reason for him returning to active superhero duty. We also imagine a greater fallout than from the first Avengers, since the enemy they face this time will be all Tony Stark's fault he'll be distrusted by not only the public but also his friends. That's gonna be, like, double PTSD or something.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
