Who is Ant-Man?

- by Steve Garcia, 28 July 2013

After movies like "The Dark Knight" and "The Avengers" broke that billion-dollar mark that all other studios dream of, the demand on comic book-based films is through the roof. Naturally, the audience will come to experience films like "The Amazing Spider-Man 2", "X-Men: Days of Future Past", "Thor: The Dark World", and all those other superheroes that, as of today, are household names. But ever since it was first announced around the same time the first Iron Man film was released way back in 2008, there’s been this one character that will finally make his film debut in 2014: Ant-Man. Who is Ant-Man? Why is he getting his own movie? What’s a dude that can talk to bugs doing alongside the likes of Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man? Well kiddies, let me learn ya something about my favorite Marvel.

Ant-Man, Ant-Man logo and all images here are © Marvel Comics.

Tales to Astonish #27

Just like the Flash, Robin, and Green Lantern, there have been several characters who have claimed the Ant-Man helmet ever since the character’s first appearance in Tales to Astonish #27, in the January of 1962. While I could go on for days about all three of them, I’ll be focusing on the first, and most important, man to talk to ants: Hank Pym. Unlike your average scientist, Pym didn’t do science to pay the bills—he did science for science sake. Why create some boring weapon that you can sell to thegovernment, when you can make a contraption that specifically scoops out the cream in Oreo cookies, a gizmo that could let you pick the sound of your car horn, and even a light that can “make the sick go away?” Any smart guy can build a suit of armor that can fly in the Marvel universe, but Pym chose to make gimmicky things like that because he could… when he was only seven years old.

As he grew older, he discovered how to shrink matter, labeling the reduction agents “Pym Particles.” After testing the technology on himself, he began his first micro-sized adventure in an ant hill. After finding these seemingly brainless drones to be actually very intelligent and strong for their size, Pym chose to build a helmet that can communicate with them to get them to do his bidding, much in the same way Aquaman tells the fish what to do. He also altered the Pym Particles to maintain his normal-sized strength in his ant-sized body. One thing lead to another and a new superhero was born; a superhero that would soon become a founding Avengers member.

Now before we move onto Pym’s time as an Avenger, let’s take a look at Pym’s powerset as Ant-Man and what he can do with it.

When Pym shrinks down to Ant-Man, he maintains the strength of “a man his age, strength, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.” You know how Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound? Well, theoretically, Ant-Man could run towards an unsuspecting opponent, leap that incredible distance with his normal-sized leg strength, and kick out that guy’s kneecap without even breaking a sweat. He’s like a teeny-tiny bullet that can, as seen in the test footage for his upcoming film, run in ant-size, increase his momentum, and grow back to normal sized proportions for the scariest surprise takedown of all time. As for his tech, Ant-Man’s cybernetic helmet helps him communicates with all insects. That’s right. He’s not just limited to ants, but if Pym truly wanted to do some harm, he could command an entire nest of wasps to kill all the things. In later incarnations of the Ant-Man suit, his gloves are also capable of shooting repulse beams, similar to that of Iron Man’s. Ant-Man may not have the most intimidating name on the planet, of course, but the capabilities of the powerset and technology are without a doubt impressive... Impressive enough to stand next to the likes of Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk, anyway. No biggie.

Pym, going from Ant-Man to Giant-Man

During his time as an Avenger, Pym reached ultimate highs and embarrassing lows. After being a key player in the legendary Kree/Skrull War written by Roy Thomas in the early 1970’s, Pym suffered from a mental breakdown that would impact the character in both the best and worst ways imaginable. The first was the creation of Ultron, an artificial intelligence that rebelled against Pym, and became one of the Avengers’s most dangerous foes to date. While Hank was cursed with this mechanical monster’s creation, Ultron, with his ability to adapt and evolve at an incredible rate, is a scientific achievement that is arguably more impressive than other scientists such as Reed Richards, Tony Stark, or Victor Von Doom, could ever claim to fame. 

Pym created Ultron.

Because of the major pain Ultron has caused for the Avengers, it’s safe to say that he outclasses any Iron Man armor, for example. Sure, Pym isn’t exactly blessed by his creation, but building an A.I. capable of defeating “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” on more than one occasion is a pretty respectable feat, all things considered.

Random Ant-Man Badassness

The other terrible outcome of Pym’s breakdown was an issue that was never fully explored during this time: domestic abuse. In the heat of Pym’s breakdown, he struck his wife, Jan (the Wasp), while verbally assaulting her in the process. What fans may or may not know about this particular instance, however, is that this single panel that turned the character’s life upside-down for years to come was the result of an artist’s mistake. What writer Jim Shooter had originally intended was for Pym to “have accidentally struck Jan while throwing his hands up in despair and frustration—making a sort of 'get away from me' gesture while not looking at her." While the intended circumstance still wasn’t right by any stretch, there’s a world of difference between accidentally striking someone, and striking them with the intent to harm. Nevertheless, the issue was printed anyway, and the character was labeled a “wife-beater” by comic readers for decades to follow. What really grinds my gears about this situation, if I may, is that Reed Richards has beaten Sue on more than one occasion, yet the guy is free of ridicule. Ain’t that just fantastic?

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the character, and my personal favorite quality, is the fact that he’s always owned up to his mistakes. In regard to Ultron, for example, not once has he ever made an excuse for his creation. Pym always took full responsibility for Ultron’s existence, and whenever he comes back to torment the planet, it’s Pym who deals with the mess in one way or another. In the aforementioned wife-beating incident, Pym always showed remorse for that action and constantly went the extra mile to make sure that that would never happen again. People have a breaking point, and even if what he did wasn’t right in the heat of the moment, at least he manned up and faced the consequences, which is a heroic action in and of itself.

The future?

Of the plethora of characters that Marvel has to offer, Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man, Giant Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, and Wasp (dude likes his identities) is my personal favorite. While I’m in total agreement that it’s an odd fact that characters such as Black Panther, Dr. Strange, or Ms. Marvel won’t be staring in their own films before Ant-Man, I think it’s a bold move on Marvel Studio’s part to get this film off the ground. Hank Pym has always been a crucial Avengers member in the comic books, and it’s extremely refreshing to see a fun hero bless the screen, regardless of his popularity. If there’s anything to take away from this (surprisingly) long article, righteous readers, it’s that this is a character that’s worth checking out. Don’t judge a book by its cover, because I will guarantee that when the time comes, Ant-Man will be just as welcomed by the public in the same way Iron Man was post-2008. 

Currently, youcan find Hank Pym leading his very own team in Marvel’s new series Avengers A.I. which had a very solid first issue. Other recommended readings include: Avengers Origins: Ant-Man and Wasp, The Kree/Skrull War, Trial of Yellowjacket, Ultron Unlimited, Avengers: The Initiative, Avengers Academy, Dan Slott’s Mighty Avengers, Ant-Man and Wasp, Age of Ultron #10AI, and the current Daredevil series where Pym is a recurring guest star. 

Thanks for reading, and as always, be good to one another!


Enjoyed the article? Are you a fan of Hank Pym? Want to voice an opinion of your own? Leave us a comment!

Tagged: comics, movies & TV.

blog comments powered by Disqus

---

Follow @TrashMutant