HONEY, I SHRUNK THE HERO
Ahead of Ant- Man’s big screen debut, Jeffrey Renaud provides the essential primer for Marvel’s microscopic crusader…
Before the dawn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider- Man and X- Men were the two biggest properties to spring from Stan Lee’s prodigious imagination. And then along came Iron Man in 2008, starring the incomparable Robert Downey Jr, and all of sudden The Avengers became the most bankable blockbuster franchise spawned from Marvel Comics.
But guess what? Ant- Man pre- dates them all. And this incredible shrinking man’s the next hero in line to receive the Marvel movie treatment courtesy of director Peyton Reed, last minute sub for fan fave Edgar Wright, who nurtured the project for the best part of a decade before walking away earlier this year. But just who is Ant- Man? Created by Lee, his younger brother Larry Lieber and legendary artist Jack Kirby, this size- defying hero first appeared in Tales To Astonish # 27 in January 1962 – albeit purely in his secret identity of Henry Pym. Tales To
Astonish was a popular SF/ fantasy anthology title dealing in high- concept, twist- ending yarns and Pym’s comic book debut was a seven- page solo story, scripted by Lieber, called “The Man in the Ant Hill”.
In his debut appearance, a brilliant biochemist named Hank Pym invents a shrinking technology, tests it on himself and ends up battling ants and bees in an adventure that predates Honey, I Shrunk The Kids by nearly 30 years. The concept was so well received that Lee repurposed Pym into a bona fide superhero and Ant- Man was born.
Pym ( played by Michael Douglas in the movie) made his first appearance as Ant- Man in Tales To Astonish # 35 in September 1962 and he’s played a vital role in the Marvel Universe ever since, most notably as a founding member of The Avengers alongside Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and his equally miniscule love interest, the Wasp ( Captain America didn’t even join until the fourth issue).
“Hank Pym predates a lot of things that people know to be Marvel Comics,” says Brian Michael Bendis, a writer for Marvel and a member of its Creative Committee ( essentially a comic creator brain trust charged with keeping Marvel’s movie and TV work geek- friendly). “He’s the prototype for Tony Stark and Peter Parker. That alone makes him a very interesting character. He’s also a founding member of the original, original Avengers. This guy is legacy all over the place.
“He’s also done everything from having a fantastic journey through the human body to using an army of ants against some pretty powerful foes,” adds Bendis. “It seems silly but he has his own drone army. That’s pretty powerful stuff.”
Bendis is right. For all the love Spidey gets for his tingling arachnid senses, Pym actually talks to ants and other social insects like a modern day Doctor Dolittle – though heaven knows Rex Harrison never weaponised the pushmi- pullyu. Pym’s able to command the insect kingdom utilising a cybernetic helmet of his own revolutionary design. But while “Ant Whisperer” may look pretty cool on a business card, his real scientific breakthrough is Pym particles, the scientific technology he uses to shrink himself ( and later grow into his towering alter- egos of Giant- Man and Goliath).
“Pym particles are an enhanced genetic particle that when injected or inhaled can shrink you down without ripping your body to shreds,” explains Bendis. “They can also be programmed to make you grow. It’s a pretty cool effect. And it happens fast. It’s almost like you disappear.”
ultimate enemy
Pym’s deadliest foe – and arguably his biggest mistake – is Ultron, the sentient robot that he created, who first appeared in The Avengers # 54 in 1968. The computerised villain lends his name to the upcoming Avengers sequel Age Of Ultron, of course, but Bendis says the subtitle should not be confused with his event comic book series of the same name, which was launched in 2013.
“Ultron finally knows exactly how to kill all of the heroes that stand in the way of his eliminating all humanity from the Earth. And Age Of Ultron was this massive time travel story involving some of the heroes going back in time and telling Hank Pym not to create Ultron. And he wouldn’t stop it so they actually have to kill him to stop him and we get to see what a world without Hank Pym looks like – and how different the Marvel Universe would be.”
The darkest events of Pym’s comic book life came in the 1980s. Plagued by guilt over creating Ultron and his self- perceived lack of scientific productivity, the troubled boffin has a mental breakdown. In his alternate superheroic
identity as Yellowjacket, an out- of- control Pym attacks an enemy from behind during a negotiation and Captain America is forced to shut him down.
Awaiting a court martial from the Avengers, Pym creates another killer robot, not unlike Ultron, which he programs to attack his team so he can save the day. When his crime- fighting partner, who is now also his wife, Janet van Dyne ( aka the Wasp) figures out his plan, Pym strikes her down during the confrontation. Fittingly, the Wasp divorces him and Ant- Man/ Yellowjacket is expelled from the Avengers. While he eventually returned to superhero status, his relationship with the Wasp was never the same. Years later, when van Dyne is believed dead in the 2008 event miniseries “Secret Invasion”, Pym temporarily takes up her mantle as the Wasp.
With Pym changing personas every few years, the role of Ant- Man was up for grabs. To date, two successors have stepped up, with both Scott Lang and Eric O’Grady using Pym particles to their advantage. Lang made his debut in The Avengers # 181 in March 1979, an issue written by David Michelinie and featuring art by John Byrne. He’ll take the lead in Ant- Man, incarnated for the screen in the form of Anchorman’s Paul Rudd. O’Grady, who was created
“Scott’s like the tenured professor that got off on the wrong track”
by Robert Kirkman of Walking Dead fame for the 2006 event miniseries Civil War, isn’t believed to feature in the cinematic version.
In comic book continuity Scott Lang turned to a life of crime after failing to make enough money to support his family as an electronics expert. After parole, Tony Stark hires him as a security technician but when Lang’s daughter becomes seriously ill, he returns to burglary and steals the original Ant- Man costume and shrinking gas from Pym. Rescuing the kidnapped doctor that could save his daughter’s life, Lang’s rewarded by Pym with his own Ant‑Man costume and a new superhero is born.
In 2012 critically acclaimed comic writer Matt Fraction wrote Fantastic Four alongside spin- off title FF. The latter was illustrated by Mike Allred and featured a replacement lineup for Marvel’s first family while they were off- world do- gooding in their own series. Standing in for Reed Richards back at the Baxter Building was Scott Lang.
Fraction says Lang may not equal the sheer brilliance of Pym, but his ability to read a room while keeping his own emotions in check allows him to be an excellent leader and a go- to- guy on any mission, whether it’s with the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Heroes for Hire or the Defenders.
“Scott has more emotional intelligence than Henry. He’s like the tenured professor that got off on the wrong track. There is a little bit of ‘ bad boy’ in him,” says Fraction.
On a different world, in a different time ( and under different financial circumstances), Fraction says Lang could have easily been running NASA. Or, just as easily, could have kept on stealing from the rich to feed the poor.
“There is something a little Robin Hood about him when you consider the crime that sent him up the river,” says Fraction. “He’s not a dangerous man or a mean man. He’s not the Punisher. I find it impossible not to view him through the lens of economics and class. And I always liked his story best amongst the Ant- Men. I liked the Robin Hood side of things. I think it connects him to Spider- Man in a way. There is something that feels very Marvel about that. He’s kind of the anti- Bruce Wayne. And he’s not Tony Stark. He’s not Reed Richards. He’s a guy that’s going to need to build all of this superhero stuff in his garage – literally.”