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I am asking the question that the OP here started to but doesn't quite at the end.

In Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), it was revealed that Janet Van Dyne was lost in the Quantum Realm for 30 years. In those years, she gained certain abilities. These abilities, however unclear at the moment, do indicate that she can absorb and release quantum energy. Absorbing such energy could probably have kept her alive and fulfilled her body's energy requirements over the years. But she couldn't have learned to do so on the first day or week itself.

Typically, a person can survive 3–4 days, or a maximum of one week, without water (according to these sources 1, 2). How did she survive the first few days in the Quantum Realm without food and water?

Some of the comments got me thinking, and I developed a theory of sorts. When Hank and Janet embarked on missions, they probably carried food supplies shrunk with them. This would have helped on extended missions. This is, however, purely a hypothesis, and admittedly, there is no in-movie reference to something like this.

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    Since she did it in the movie....it's magic! Logical physics don't apply.
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 15:25
  • Well I certainly appreciate movie magic as the next person. And I am all for suspending my beliefs when talking about the movie universe. Even then there has to be some sort of in-movie explanation coz the entire plot hinges around the survival of Janet and bringing her back.
    – Sayan
    Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 15:30
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    In an completely different universe where time & space are irrelevant! That seems like explanation enough...simple biology doesn't stand a chance....and don't get me started on how Bruce Banner is still in one piece....that's simple biology too! :)
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 15:33
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    cough Pym Particles cough Oh, look over there! There's something growing and shrinking!
    – Kakturus
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 9:28
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    @KeyBrdBasher I'm saying that the movie doesn't let logic or physics get in the way of showing cool scenes where lots of things grow or shrink as needed. Seems to me that the people involved in this movie hoped nobody would think about it too hard. I don't think anyone in-universe would have shrunken supplies for her, given that nobody knew she was alive or how to even find her.
    – Kakturus
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 14:06

6 Answers 6

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According to director Payton Reed, there’s food in the Quantum Realm... possibly from a civilization:

[Janet Van Dyne] has this spear things and these other items that feel like it’s from some sort of culture. There’s something going down. It’s not just some wasteland.

[...] There is definitely a shot as Hank and Janet are blasting out of the Quantum Realm where it appears there might be some sort of civilization down there.

There’s definitely a specific backstory to what Janet Van Dyne has been doing the past thirty years… There’s some great food down there, guys. The food scene in the Quantum Realm is not to be believed (laughs).

They're talking about this shot:

far off domed city

Quantumania explores a city called Axia. According to Quantumania producer Stephen Broussard:

It is one and the same as the city depicted briefly in Ant-Man 2 (see above). “That [shot in Ant-Man 2] was laying our marker down for a Part Three, if we come back,” Broussard adds, “You never know if you're gonna get a chance to do another one. That was us saying what we would do, if we should be so lucky.”

According to Jentorra in the movie, Axia is a

"citadel [built] on the bones of our people", so it would seem Axia was built by Kang after Janet left by exploiting the people who helped her survive down in the Quantum Realm.

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There is food and water in the Quantum Realm.

Janet Van Dyne's survival in the Quantum Realm is explained in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), which reveals that the realm has its own ecosystem and native inhabitants. In the film, we follow Scott, Cassie, Hope, Janet, and Hank as they are unexpectedly transported to the Quantum Realm.

The Quantum Realm is not just a barren subatomic wasteland but a vibrant world with its own diverse ecosystem, inhabited by intelligent native beings. Janet didn't spend 30 years in isolation; she in fact lived among these inhabitants.

Most importantly, for the question, there's food and water available. The native inhabitants have access to sustenance, which explains how Janet could survive for such an extended period.

Hope, Hank, and Janet dining in the Quantum Realm

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The Quantum Realm's counterparts in comic books are a variety of microverses that actually have life and edible food so the same may apply to it. On the flip side it's definite that Janet acquired superpowers from her lengthy exposure to the environment down there. We can dismiss the idea that time didn't pass down there. She aged.

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Completely spit-balling here... There my be something to do with metabolism and sizing... I.e., when Scott gets big, he has to sleep for a long time. Maybe at extremely small sizes, the body metabolizes a lot slower and a subatomic sized person can survive for 30 years on the energy consumed in a single day??? There is something to be said for suspend your disbelief...

If you're wondering how he eats and breathes And other science facts, Just repeat to yourself "It's just a show, I should really just relax

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    Welcome to M&TV. While this is a nice theory, we generally prefer answers sourced with facts (i.e in this case a quote from the film or a creator). I recommend taking our tour and visiting the help center to get familiar with site. Cheers!
    – Skooba - Stands Against AI
    Commented Oct 30, 2018 at 11:57
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    I really like your train of thought GT_Bob. I reckon, you could have a full fledged answer if you spend some time fleshing it out.
    – Sayan
    Commented Oct 31, 2018 at 0:26
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The Quantum Realm is a reality where all concepts of time and space become cease to exist as you shrink for all eternity. The idea that you can't survive 3-4 days without food is irrelevant when you're in a reality where time ceases to exist.

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    Could you edit in any evidence to support your theory?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Dec 13, 2018 at 1:04
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In the Quantum Realm, 1 Hour is equivalent to 1 year so in reality it was just a day, and a half. Which is why Ant-Man also did not starve by Endgame's first Minute.

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    Why does Janet Van Dyne look so old then?
    – Laurel
    Commented May 9, 2019 at 3:08
  • She would age the same as she did in Earth time.
    – WaterIsGood
    Commented Jun 2, 2019 at 6:22
  • Ya know wibbly wobbly timey whimey.
    – MrInfinity
    Commented Aug 20 at 16:30

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