Paul Rudd Makes Shocking Marvel Confession on SNL

Paul Rudd dissed his own Marvel Cinematic Universe part this weekend during a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live. Rudd was one of several A-list stars to appear in the show’s opening sketch, which was all about host Martin Short’s induction into the “Five-Timers Club.” When they all began sharing secrets among themselves, Rudd said bluntly: “Ant-Man’s powers aren’t good.”

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SNL dusted off an old joke this weekend for Short’s fifth time hosting the show, bringing in other stars who have hosted the show five or more times. They pretended that this exclusive club came with lots of special privileges, and bonded them all behind the scenes. After over-sharing with the others, former SNL cast member and five-time host Kristen Wiig said: “It’s okay! In this club, you can be completely honest! Anyone else want to try?”

“I’ll go,” Rudd offered. “Ant-Man’s powers aren’t good.”

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Rudd’s fellow Avenger Scarlett Johansson was in the sketch as well, though she didn’t crack any jokes at the expense of Black Widow. She did, however, slam the door in the face of her husband, SNL‘s Colin Jost. All in all, the sketch was self-aware enough to make up for its repetition.

Rudd may have been reading a throw-away line here, or he may have been sharing a genuine gripe from one of the SNL writers. The MCU’s Ant-Man is certainly beloved, but he may be the target of more critiques than many of the other heroes in the franchise. For one thing, some fans were disappointed that Marvel chose to use Scott Lang rather than Hank Pym for its big screen Ant-Man. For another, the MCU’s explanations of Pym Particles have been woefully inconsistent.

Obviously, Pym Particles are science fiction — and not particularly rigorous science fiction at that — but their use in the MCU is particularly contradictory. In the first movie, Hank explains that the particles cause people or objects to shrink by reducing the distance between their atoms, which means they retain the same strength and mass even when they’re small. This is great for making Ant-Man strong, but it becomes confusing when he stands on another character’s shoulder without them noticing.

This atomic explanation really goes out the window when the quantum realm comes into the picture. Hank tells Scott that he needs to shrink “smaller than an atom” to enter the quantum realm, which shouldn’t be possible if his technology simply reduces the space between atoms. Add to that the time travel elements, and many fans classify the MCU’s Pym Particles as a simple plot contrivance.

Right now, we don’t actually know when Ant-Man, The Wasp or any other related characters are expected to appear next in the MCU. However, with two Avengers titles coming up in Phase Six, he’s sure to squeeze in somewhere.