The first look at William Jackson Harper’s role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has arrived thanks to a new image. The first Phase 5 movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings back several familiar faces to the franchise. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is headlined by Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne, Michael Douglass’ Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet van Dyne, Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang, and Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror. There is plenty of excitement to see how each of these characters progress in their next MCU appearance, but it will also introduce new characters.
One of the casting announcements that elicited the most speculation from fans was the news that The Good Place star William Jackson Harper had joined the MCU. Now, Empire has released the first look at his character, Quaz, with a new Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania photo
According to the outlet, William Jackson Harper’s MCU role as Quaz is a telepath inside the Quantum Realm. Quaz is a freedom fighter and is pictured next to Katy M. O’Brian’s Jentorra. There are no other details confirmed about how Quaz factors into Ant-Man 3‘s story, but he could have a chance to fight alongside the movie’s main heroes against Kang.
Is William Jackson Harper’s Quaz From Marvel’s Comics?
Ever since it was announced that William Jackson Harper was in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, theories ran wild about who he could be. The confirmation of his character and first look at Quaz indicates that The Good Place‘s star is playing an original character. There is no character from Marvel’s comics with the same name. While plenty of Marvel characters have telepathic powers, all signs at this time point to William Jackson Harper’s Quaz being a character not from the comics – at least not in any direct way.
There has been some speculation that Quaz could be a not-so-subtle name change for Quasar to keep William Jackson Harper’s MCU role a bit more of a surprise. Quasar is a mantle held by many different characters in the comics, but Wendell Vaughn is the most recognizable version of the character. While Quaz’s name is similar to Quasar, the comic character does not have telepathic powers. His abilities come from the Quantum Bands (which Ms. Marvel likely introduced) and allow him to draw upon Quantum Energy. In fact, Quasar’s use of the Quantum Bands makes him resistant to telepathy.
Quaz might not be a character directly from Marvel’s comics, but he could be an amalgamation of several more obscure characters potentially. William Jackson Harper’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania photo featuring him with Jentorra could be important in that regard. Jentorra is part of the Micronauts, a team of superheroes from the Microverse, which is also known as the Quantum Realm. The leader of the Micronauts in the comics, Arcturus Rann, is notably a telepath. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania could be on the verge of introducing a version of the Micronauts through William Jackson Harper’s character, but using the Micronauts’ name and some characters might be impossible as their rights are held by Hasbro.
Source: Empire