Michelle Pfeiffer Is Back Where She Belongs: In a Superhero Movie

Legacy is a real big deal when it comes to superheroes. In the comics, Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson have taken on the title of Captain America; Rhodey stepped into the Iron Man armor for Tony Stark; Jane Foster became worthy enough to lift Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. Captain Marvel, the next hero in the Marvel movie lineup, is but the latest in a long line of heroes (Phyla-Vell, Genis-Vell, Monica Rambeau, Mar-Vell, etc.) to adopt the moniker. On a meta level, every superhero comic–even ones where Peter Parker is the only Spider-Man and Stephen Strange is still Sorcerer Supreme–is built on the legacy of the creators that came before them, of the foundation laid down by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko in the ’60s. And even those visionaries were expanding on what the OG superhero mythmakers, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, established when they created Superman in 1938.

That’s a long, seemingly tangential intro for an article about Michelle Pfeiffer’s role in Marvel’s latest movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp, but it’s all relevant. Pfeiffer’s inclusion in the film as Janet Van Dyne, the original Wasp thought lost in the Quantum Realm decades ago, brings a real powerful feeling of legacy to what is otherwise the most freewheeling and fun movie in the MCU.

Marvel’s Ant-Man sub-franchise is, perhaps intentionally, small. The world isn’t in danger in Ant-Man and the Wasp. And because the property damage and cameos are kept to a minimum, you might believe that the franchise adds nothing but chuckles to the cinematic universe. You’re wrong: the Ant-Man movies add legacy, and they upped the ante by bringing in Michelle Pfeiffer as the original Wasp. The MCU has spent 20 films laying a solid foundation, but in-universe legacy hasn’t been part of the story. We’re still on our first Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. 2015’s Ant-Man introduced the concept of legacy by having Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) steal the titular hero title from Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Now, 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp establishes a second legacy hero: the Wasp, a legacy passed from mother (Pfeiffer) to daughter (Evangeline Lilly’s Hope).

A mother-to-daughter/woman-to-woman hero legacy is nearly unheard of in all of comics (Phoenix and Ms. Marvel spring to mind and…?). Legacies tend to go from father-to-son, or man-to-man, or man-to-woman. That’s because legacy heroes tend to be the ones that’ve been around a good long while, ones that were introduced between 1938 and 1968. As with all pop culture of that time, the men outnumbered the women by a lot. That’s the major reason why there aren’t that many super-women passing on their identities to a generation of up-and-comers; those elder-stateswomen don’t exist. The Wasp does. She’s existed in comic book form since 1963, and the MCU established that she was active as a covert hero in the ’80s. They retroactively added her legacy to the MCU, and have now let Evangeline Lilly slip into that role. The reclamation of the Wasp as an active force, not just a tragic incident in the backstory of other characters, is the best part of Ant-Man and the Wasp. And giving that role to Michelle Pfeiffer? Genius.

It’s a genius move because we have not given Pfeiffer nearly enough credit. We’re finally talking about how magnificent she is as a cinematic presence, due to her career resurgence last year in projects like mother!, The Wizard of Lies, and Murder on the Orient Express. That’s great, and now that she’s cemented her superstar status to the younger generation by starring in a big budget Marvel movie (that’s kind of a rite of passage as this point, isn’t it?), it’s time to talk about what Pfeiffer means specifically to the superhero genre and what her appearance as the original Wasp means–why it feels weighty and important. That’s because decades before Wonder Woman broke through the glass ceiling and gave female heroes a box office win, Michelle Pfeiffer was low-key the lead of her own superhero movie: Batman Returns.

Let’s talk about Batman Returns! The Tim Burton sequel obviously stars Michael Keaton as Batman, but rewatching the movie today, you realize it could easily be called Catwoman Begins. It’s certainly a better Catwoman movie than the one Halle Berry dragged into theaters in 2004. As Selina Kyle, Pfeiffer staked a claim in the superhero genre for women. Her Catwoman was menacing but sympathetic (we’ve all had awful bosses, although not nearly as bad as Max Shreck). We watched her fall into her origin story and unlock her inner confidence–of course that transformation involved her going on a hellbent revenge mission. And then there’s the way Burton directed her, giving her the most instantly iconic moments of the movie (the “hell here” neon sign, Catwoman peering through a cat stencil on a glass window). Catwoman owns Batman Returns, pushing Batman to the periphery (also Danny DeVito is there, scarfing down fish and spitting up bile).

There is a real weight that actors carry with them from role to role. Actors are supposed to disappear into roles, but a face is a face. The DC TV shows have reveled in this, casting veteran super-actors as the parents of their fresh-faced CW heroes (’90s Flash John Wesley Shipp playing Grant Gustin’s dad, or ’80s Supergirl Helen Slater and ’90s Superman Dean Cain playing Melissa Benoist’s adopted parents). Marvel’s dabbled in this, too; there’s a reason why Kurt Russell, the archetypal ’80s cocky hero, was cast as Star-Lord’s dad in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It’s why the always regal Angela Bassett was cast as the Queen of Wakanda in Black Panther. It’s why Michael Keaton, Batman himself, was so captivating to watch as a scene-stealing villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

That’s why Pfeiffer’s return to the superhero genre in Ant-Man and the Wasp means something. It connects this current movie to an early hit of the genre, and it calls back to one of the first and one of the most formative female super-movie performances ever. Because of that, you immediately buy without question that Pfeiffer’s Van Dyne was definitely a superhero 30 years ago, a superhero courageous enough to risk her life to save thousands. Pfeiffer has the gravitas of a true legend. And just like how there were few female comic book heroes in the ’40s-’60s to light the way for the women that followed, there were even fewer in the early days of superhero movies. Pfeiffer’s the one, the only one, who could play Janet Van Dyne and immediately convey the specific sense of history that this character is supposed to have.

Michelle Pfeiffer kicked ass in Batman Returns 26 years ago, and her return to the genre in Ant-Man and the Wasp feels like a recognition of that role and a celebration of Pfeiffer herself. She’s a legend off-screen, and she’s a legend on-screen.

Where to watch Batman Returns