‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Stars Didn’t Read Marvel Comics as Kids

The stars of Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp say they were more into funny magazines and cartoons as kids than the colorful superheroes found in the pages of Marvel Comics, the stars told USA Today.

“My favorite comic book as a kid — my parents are British, and I used to read these British comics called Beano. And there was The Dandy and The Beano, and I loved them. They were funny comics,” said funnyman Paul Rudd, who was best known for comedic roles in Friends and Anchorman before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ant-Man.

Beano was home to well-recognized comic strip characters like Dennis the Menace and similar troublemaker Roger the Dodger, while super-strong cowboy Desperate Dan and superhero parody Bananaman were found in the pages of The Dandy.

“Of the American comics, I used to read the Laugh [Comics] Digest, the Archie and [friends] — I liked those. Yeah, you got them in the little books. I loved them,” Rudd said. “Yeah, Archie and Veronica and Betty, and then you get deep into, like, Midge. [Laughs] Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe.”

Evangeline Lilly, who plays Ant-Man’s newly minted superhero partner the Wasp, also read the exploits of Archie and the gang — but she was more of a fan of Filmation animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra: Princess of Power.

“I never read comic books as a kid — I read Archie and Jughead comics, you know, they technically qualify, so I’m gonna say Archie, Jughead, and Veronica and Betty, those comics,” Lilly said. “I was really obsessed with He-Man and She-Ra. On TV, though, not in the books.”

Veteran movie star Michael Douglas, who returns as old-school scientist Dr. Hank Pym, admitted he was “not a big comic book guy.”

“My memory was Mr. Magoo,” Douglas said of the near-sighted cartoon character. “I loved the [Looney Tunes‘] Road Runner, you know, a lot. I was not into the storylines of these types of — Superman, Batman, or the Marvel comics. So no, I was more a meat and potatoes guy.”

Ant-Man and the Wasp, co-starring Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins, Randall Park, Laurence Fishburne, and Michelle Pfeiffer, opens July 6.