Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #3!Before the MCU releasedAvengers: Endgame, and immediately followingAvengers: Infinity War, fans were left wondering how the likes of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, andAnt-Manwere going to come back from their crushing defeat and takeThanosdown. Fan theories raged online during that time, but it’s fair to say that one theory got far more attention than others. And now, that viral fan theory has just been flipped in Marvel Comics - and that’s bad news for Ant-Man.
InMarvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay#3 by Thomas Krajewski and Jason Muhr, almost every member of the Avengers has been infected with a new kind of alien ‘zombie’ virus akin to thefungus-zombies fromThe Last of Us. The only Marvel heroes who haven’t been infected are Groot and Bruce Banner, who are making their way to Avengers Tower where Bruce can cook up a cure. On their way, however, the two have to fight through hordes of zombies, including those that used to be their fellow heroes - and Ant-Man is one of them.
Ant-Man, in his Giant-Man form, attacks Groot and Banner. However, it is Ant-Man who quickly finds himself in danger whenBanner transforms into the Hulk. Groot and Bruce knew that they couldn’t kill any of the zombies, as Banner was confident that he could cure them. Unfortunately, Hulk didn’t share that opinion. When Hulk launched his attack against Ant-Man, he was trying to kill him. Yet even the Hulk found it difficult to inflict any real damage - until he had an idea. Hulk decided that he would climb inside Ant-Man and rip him apart from the inside-out.
Hulk Almost Did to Ant-Man What Fans Wanted Ant-Man to Do to Thanos
MCU Fans Wanted Ant-Man to Kill Thanos from the Inside-Out
Hulk’s plan was to crawl inside Ant-Man’s body and kill him, which is exactlywhat fans wanted Ant-Man to do to Thanos in the MCU. Of course, there are a few key differences, including the respective points of entry and the fact that Hulk wouldn’t have been able to rapidly grow inside Ant-Man like Ant-Man would have inside Thanos. However, killing an opponent who has a tough exterior from the inside-out is the broad-stroke point of these plans, which is why it’s interesting that it was just flipped on Ant-Man.
Again, the fan-theory calling for Ant-Man to take out Thanos in this manner in the MCU was all over the internet circa 2018-2019, inspiring fan edits, original artwork, and YouTube explainers digging into if it would actually work. That means Marvel Comics’ decision to have Hulk attack Ant-Man this way inDawn of Decaylikely wasn’t an accident, but a seemingly deliberate twist on Ant-Man’s viral plan to beat Thanos.
Hulk is Actually Susceptible to This Gross Ant-Man Attack
The Ultimates#6 by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri
While it was Hulk who planned to kill Ant-Man from the inside-out in this comic, another comic actually indicated that Hulk himself is susceptible to this gross Ant-Man attack. InUltimates#6, the Wasp is swallowed by a gamma-mutate created by the Hulk, who was just as strong as the Green Goliath himself (minusHulk’s newfound Iron Fist upgrade in the Ultimate Universe). Rather than being killed, however,Wasp rapidly grew inside his stomach, bursting out of him and reducing the Hulk-strength villain to a bloody messon the ground.
Marvel Officially Confirms That MCU Fans' Thanos Butt Theory Is 100% True (Doubling Down On the Sickest Way to Beat the Mad Titan)
The “Thanos Butt Theory” was popular among MCU fans during the lead up to Avengers: Endgame, but now Ultimates #6 has put it to the test.
It seems Hulk should be careful when using an attack like this on Ant-Man, as Wasp proved that Hulk is susceptible to the same thing, and could face that fate himself. However, the real twist here isn’t how Hulk could be killed by this attack, but howAnt-Mannearly died the same way MCU fans called for him to killThanos, putting a disturbing twist on that viral plan.
Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #3by Marvel Comics is available now.
Ant-Man
TheAnt-Manfranchise is a key component of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, blending heist film elements with superhero action. It centers around Scott Lang, a former thief who becomes Ant-Man, using a suit that allows him to shrink or grow in scale while maintaining his strength. The franchise explores the Quantum Realm, familial bonds, and redemption, with a unique mix of humor and heart.
