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Ant-Man
Irredeemable Ant-Man Vol 1 5 Textless
Mitchell Carson and Eric O'Grady on the cover of Irredeemable Ant-Man vol. 1 #5 (April 2007). Art by Phil Hester
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceTales to Astonish #35 (September 1962)
Created byStan Lee
Larry Lieber
Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter egoHank Pym
Scott Lang
Eric O'Grady
Team affiliationsAvengers
AbilitiesSuperhuman strength and agility
Leading authority in myrmecology research
Size-shifting from nearly microscopic to ~100 feet gigantic (both at extremes)
Maintains strength of normal size in shrunken state

Ant-Man is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in Tales to Astonish #35 (September 1962). The persona was originally the brilliant scientist Hank Pym's superhero alias after inventing a substance that can change size, but Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady also took on the mantle after the original changed his superhero identity to various other aliases.

Fictional character biography[]

Over the years a number of different characters have assumed the title of Ant-Man, most of whom have been connected with the Avengers.

Hank Pym[]

The original Ant-Man was Biophysicist and Security Operations Center expert Dr. Henry 'Hank' Pym; who decided to become a superhero after the death of his first wife Maria Trovaya, who had been a political dissident in Hungary. Falling in love with him and believing that his American citizenship would protect her, Hank and Maria traveled to Hungary shortly after their marriage to start their new life together. Unfortunately they were confronted by corrupt agents of the secret police. Hank was knocked unconscious and Maria was murdered. Pym was greatly distraught by his wife's death, and decided to do whatever he could in the future to battle injustice. After discovering a chemical substance, which he called Pym Particles, that would allow the user to alter his size, he armed himself with a helmet that could control ants. After that, Pym would shrink down to the size of an insect to become the mystery-solving Ant-Man, solving crimes and stopping criminals.[1] He soon shared his discovery with his new girlfriend Janet van Dyne, who became his crime-fighting partner the Wasp, when he helped her avenge the death of her scientist father Vernon van Dyne who was killed by an alien unleashed by one of Vernon's own experiments.[2] The duo would become founding members of the Avengers, fighting recurring enemies such as the mad scientist Egghead, the mutant Whirlwind, and Pym's own robotic creation Ultron.[3] While Pym is the original Ant-Man, he has adopted other aliases over the years including Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket,[2] and Wasp after Janet's presumed death in Secret Invasion.[4] Leaving his original persona vacant, his successors have taken up the Ant-Man role while Pym explored these other identities.

Scott Lang[]

Scott Lang was a thief who became Ant-Man after stealing the Ant-Man suit to save his daughter Cassandra "Cassie" Lang from a heart condition.[5] Reforming from his life of crime, Lang soon took on a full-time career as Ant-Man with the encouragement of Hank Pym.[6] He became an affiliate of the Fantastic Four,[7] and later became a full-time member of the Avengers. For a period of time he dated Jessica Jones.[5] He was killed by the Scarlet Witch along with the Vision and Hawkeye in Avengers Disassembled,[8] and his daughter took up his heroic mantle as Stature in the book Young Avengers. He returned to life in 2011 in the mini series, The Children's Crusade, but lost his daughter when she heroically sacrificed herself to stop a super charged Doctor Doom, who would later revive her during the AXIS.

Eric O'Grady[]

Eric O'Grady is the third character to take up the Ant-Man title. O'Grady is a low-level agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who stumbles upon the Ant-Man suit in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters.[9] A man of few morals and willing to lie, cheat, steal and manipulate in order to get ahead in life, Eric stole the armor for his own selfish plans, which included using his status as a "super-hero" to seduce women[10] and humiliate and torment others.[11] He had his own short-lived title before being part of other teams such as joining Avengers: The Initiative as his first team and then joining The Thunderbolts but more recently Secret Avengers, where the character perished heroically while defending a child against the villain known as Father.

Other media[]

Television[]

  • Hank Pym made his animated debut as Giant-Man/Ant-Man in The Marvel Super Heroes 1966 series.
  • Hank Pym appears in his original Ant-Man identity in Avengers: United They Stand as the team's leader.
  • Two versions of Ant-Man (Hank Pym and Scott Lang) appear throughout Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
  • Scott Lang appears as Ant-Man in Ultimate Spider-Man television series.
  • Scott Lang appears as Ant-Man in Avengers Assemble.
  • An Ant-Man TV series was one of several planned TV shows from Marvel in 1980's.[12]
  • Ant-Man (Scott Lang) appears along with the Hulk in a Coke Mini commercial that premiered during Super Bowl 50. Paul Rudd, who plays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, reprises the role in the commercial by providing the voice of Ant-Man.[13]
  • Marvel's Ant-Man, a series of animated shorts aired on Disney XD in 2017. Josh Keaton voiced Ant-Man and Melissa Rauch voiced The Wasp. The series is created by Passion Studios' Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach.[14]

Film[]

Paul Rudd as Ant-Man

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang in Ant-Man

See also[]

  • Atom (comics), a DC Comics superhero with a similar ability to shrink in size.

References[]

  1. "Henry Pym Biography". IGN. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Secret Invasion Illumination". Marvel.com. May 30, 2008. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  3. "Psych Ward: Hank Pym". Marvel.com. December 29, 2008. Archived from the original on April 23, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  4. "Mighty Avengers: Assemble". Marvel.com. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Marvel's 5 Unluckiest Heroes: A Friday the 13th Special Report". Marvel.com. July 17, 2007. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  6. "Ant Man (Scott Lang) Biography". IGN. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  7. "Take 10: Replacement FF Members". Marvel.com. August 25, 2010. Archived from the original on April 12, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  8. Avengers #500 (September 2004)
  9. Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 (October 2006)
  10. Irredeemable Ant-Man #2 (November 2006)
  11. Irredeemable Ant-Man #3 (December 2006)
  12. "Uncovering Marvel's Lost '80s Cartoon Pitches – Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources". Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  13. Schultz, E.J. (February 7, 2016). "The Strategy Behind Coke's Marvel Super Bowl Ad". Ad Age. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  14. "NYCC: Marvel's Ant-Man Animated Shorts Coming to Disney XD". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017. {{cite web}}: ; dead-url
  15. Douglas, Edward (July 26, 2006). "Exclusive: Edgar Wright Talks Ant-Man". SuperHeroHype.com. http://superherohype.com/news/featuresnews.php?id=4566. Retrieved July 30, 2006. 
  16. Kroll, Justin (January 23, 2014). "Marvel's 'Ant-Man' Moves into Former Superman-Batman Release Date". Variety. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  17. "Director Peyton Reed and Writer Adam McKay Join Marvel's Ant-Man". Marvel.com. June 7, 2014. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  18. Sneider, Jeff (April 22, 2015). "Marvel's 'Ant-Man' Resolves Writing Credit Dispute (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  19. Graser, Mark (May 23, 2014). "Edgar Wright Exits Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man’ as Director". Variety. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. https://variety.com/2014/film/news/edgar-wright-exits-marvels-ant-man-as-director-1201190458/. Retrieved May 23, 2014. 
  20. Bibbiani, William (November 8, 2013). "Exclusive Interview: Kevin Feige on Thor and Marvel's Future". CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2013. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  21. "Paul Rudd Set to Star in Marvel's Ant-Man". Marvel Entertainment. Marvel Studios. December 19, 2013. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2013. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  22. Kroll, Justin (January 13, 2014). "Michael Douglas to Star as Hank Pym in Marvel's Ant-Man". Variety. Archived from the original on January 13, 2014. https://variety.com/2014/film/news/michael-douglas-ant-man-1201052848/. Retrieved January 13, 2014. 
  23. "Marvel Studios Begins Production on Marvel's 'Captain America: Civil War'". Marvel.com. May 7, 2015. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2015. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  24. Strom, Marc (October 8, 2015). "Marvel Studios Phase 3 Update". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  25. Mithaiwala, Mansoor (October 28, 2017). "Robert Downey Jr. Announces Avengers 4 Return". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  26. Hall, Jacob (February 10, 2017). "'Ant-Man and the Wasp' Will See the Return of Michael Douglas' Hank Pym". /Film. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl
  27. Loughrey, Clarisse (April 17, 2018). "Avengers Infinity War: Sebastian Stan reveals scene with Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018. {{cite web}}: ; deadurl

External links[]

Template:Henry Pym

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