Kang's 18147 Bridge Code In Quantumania Hides Deep-Cut Ant-Man Easter Eggs

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is filled with Easter eggs and little details for comic book fans to watch out for. From one-off guest characters with big significance on the illustrated page to lines that allude to fan-favorite storylines, these wink-and-nod moments help pay tribute to things that just can fully fit on the big screen. "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is no different in this regard. Of course, with so much time spent on both Scott Lang's (Paul Rudd) story and setting up the rest of Phase Five, you might not notice all the Easter eggs on your first watch.

"Quantumania" is an ambitious movie, albeit one that doesn't necessarily deliver on all of its promises. It's the first proper introduction of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), the first chapter of the MCU's Phase Five, and a full-on sci-fi odyssey that brings a whole new universe to the franchise. That's a lot to cover in just two hours, and sadly, it doesn't pull it all off. But there are still some fun little references for die-hard fans to suss out.

One "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" Easter egg that's particularly easy to miss involves the code for a bridge in Kang's fortress. More than just a number, it's actually a clever nod to the beginning of Scott Lang's journey in the comics.

During the final act of "Quantumania," while Jentorra (Katy O'Brian) and her rebel faction are storming Kang's citadel, they reach an impasse (literally) when one of the bridges is retracted. The telepathic rebel Quaz (William Jackson Harper) is quickly able to read a nearby soldier's mind and extract the code: 18147.

This number might seem innocuous to many viewers, but it actually holds two different references to the "Ant-Man" comics, as pointed out by Redditor u/Rosililly27. The first part of the code, 181, is a reference to "Avengers" #181 — the issue in which Scott Lang first appears. The second part of the code, 47, references the issue in which Scott took on the actual mantle of Ant-Man: "Marvel Premiere" #47. Both issues were published in the spring of 1979, about a month apart. Scott has been a key piece of the Marvel universe ever since.

The Easter egg is certainly easy to miss, as the whole bridge scene flies by in just a few seconds. Conceptually, it's nice to reference Scott's origins in the third installment of his journey. Unfortunately, "Quantumania" doesn't seem committed to moving forward Scott's narrative in any meaningful way.

In the same Reddit thread mentioned previously, u/thorsmagicbelt commented that the movie "felt less like an Ant-Man story and more like Marvel Studios presents: The Rick and Morty feature film." The film's writer, Jeff Loveness, was a writer on the popular Adult Swim sci-fi series before making the leap over to the Marvel side of things. At the time of this writing, Loveness is also set to pen the script for 2025's "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty," which has many fans greatly concerned. To be sure, "Quantumania" has a number of things in common with "Rick and Morty," including its goofy alien character designs and constant quipping.

Regardless of how you feel about that style of humor, there's no doubt that "Quantumania" could have felt more like an "Ant-Man" movie. Though Scott Lang is still the protagonist, he doesn't get the kind of arc you might expect at this stage in his narrative. His relationships with his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) and girlfriend Hope (Evangeline Lilly) are scattered and underdeveloped, he barely gets to interact with his mentor Hank Pym (Michael Douglass), and references to his traumatic experiences in "Avengers: Endgame" are played mostly for laughs.

Making reference to Scott's comic book origin story is all well and good, but the Easter egg almost feels like a miss in a film that does so little for Ant-Man. Turns out, cheeky references are no substitute for quality character writing.