#luis ant-man

The MCU has an interesting history with sidekicks. As in, they’re generally people of color who are sidekicks for their white superhero friends. Rhodey to Tony, Sam to Steve, Wong to Strange, Ned to Peter, and Heimdall to Thor. I think that’s it (because the Guardians don’t really do sidekicks, and I’m not counting love interests like Valkyrie). I’ll write more on this on a later day, but that’s not my focus right now.

But Luis and Scott comes across as a little bit different. Like most of these cases, they’re best friends. And Luis, unlike Scott, has his shit together. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, he’s the boss of their business, keeps an eye on the other three men, and also helps Scott with things he can’t do while under house arrest. This dynamic is probably because Scott is, you know, under house arrest. But Luis isn’t the exasperated sidekick who sticks with his hero out of love (Rhodey being the perfect example of this). Nor is he the bumbling idiot who isn’t really much help (which the MCU has stayed away from, probably because it would make the poc sidekick dynamic more problematic if they did). He’s a genuinely fun loving guy who gets something from being friends with Scott, and not just the other way around. 

Luis also is one of the funniest characters in the MCU. His storytelling in the first Ant-Man was so successful, I was worried any attempt at it in Ant-Man and the Wasp would come across as a watered-down version of the first. No spoilers, but they definitely topped it! His excited smile as he joins in on the antics lowers the stress levels of those watching (though I doubt he’s lowering Hope’s stress in any way), but he still gets to do things that save the mission for the heroes. 

When Scott Lang has no one else to turn to, he goes to Luis. And instead of seeming like an inevitable choice due to Luis’ skills, it’s obvious Scott chose to have Luis there because he’s someone he cares about, and someone he trusts. And at the end of the day, that’s what makes a good sidekick.