This article is about the current Ant-Man of the MCU Universe. For his predecessor, see Hank Pym.
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Overview[]
Size does matter for this hero! With miniaturization technology that enables him to shrink to microscopic sizes and electro-communicator helm that gives him the power to command ants; Scott Lang is the Astonishing Ant-Man!
Lang is the second and modern day Ant-Man who inadvertently stole the miniaturization technology from his predecessor, Dr. Hank Pym. A reformed thief, Lang now fights to protect the world and his daughter from harm no matter what size!
In the 2015 film Ant-Man, he is portrayed by Paul Rudd who has been contracted to reprise his character in several future films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Background[]
An Army of Ants led by Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man!
The Ant-Man is a Marvel Comics character whose name has been passed on and down by a number of characters over the decades.
Originally it was the namesake of Dr. Henry Pym who first appeared in Tales to Astonish #26 in January of 1962 as an ordinary lab coated scientist who inadvertently shrank himself to the size of an ant before restoring himself to his original height through his creation of a size-altering gas known as Pym Particles. He was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby.
The character would return and subsequently jumped onto the superhero bandwagon, taking up the alias of the Ant-Man in Tales to Astonish #35 in September of 1962. Pym would also quickly acquire a female side-kick and love interest, Janet van Dyne as the Wasp. The pair would become founding members of the Avengers with Pym adding the power of growing to gigantic sizes and attaining commensurate superhuman strength with the refinement of his Pym Particles.
Hank Pym would have a rather turbulent superhero career and over the course of the next few decades. He would go on to assume numerous aliases over the years including Giant Man, Goliath, and Yellowjacket before he would marry Janet van Dyne in 1969. However, Pym ultimately suffered a nervous breakdown which led to their divorce and dismissal from the Avengers for a time when it was revealed that he had become physically abusive towards her in 1981.
Despite this, Pym has sought to restore his reputation and relationship with van Dyne and the pair have tentatively sought reconciliation. Pym has also been retconned to suffer from bipolar disorder and other psychological problems exacerbated by his Pym Particles thanks to his radical size changes from insect-sized to giant-sized. When Janet van Dyne was later apparently killed in action in the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline in 2008, Pym would even assume her alias of the Wasp for a time out of tribute to her.
Scott Lang aka Ant-Man
Ant-Man #1 (Mar. 2015)
Two other characters, Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady have also assumed the mantle of the Ant-Man during periods where Pym was not utilizing the alias, using his size-changing paraphernalia. Scott Lang was created by David Michelinie and John Byrne, first appearing in The Avengers #181 in March of 1979 and shortly afterwards as the second Ant-Man in Marvel Premiere #47 in April of 1979.
Lang originally used his talents in electronics to support his family by turning to crime. He was eventually caught and sent to prison where he reformed and educated himself, becoming an electronics engineer. Shortly after he was released from prison, he discovered that his young daughter Cassie had a dangerous congenital heart condition that threatened her life. Desperate to save her, Lang learned that the sole doctor with the training and expertise to conduct a delicate heart operation, Doctor Erica Sondheim had been kidnapped by criminal Darren Cross.
Lang would steal the Ant-Man equipment from Dr. Hank Pym's lab in order to rescue Sondheim who successfully performed surgery on Cassie. Lang was about to turn himself in afterwards when he was stopped by Pym who was impressed with both his use of his equipment and his reasons. Pym gave the suit and Ant-Man name for Lang to use with his blessings.
Lang would ultimately serve as a member of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers with Cassie following in her father's footsteps by stealing his Pym Particles to become a superhero known as Stature. Lang would have a fairly successful career as a superhero until his untimely death in the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline in 2004.
The Amoral Eric O'Grady
The Irredeemable Ant-Man #2 (Mar. 2007)
Eric O'Grady was created by Robert Kirkman and Phil Hester; first appearing in Civil War: Choosing Sides #1 published in December of 2006. He was a low-level S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent who stumbled across an advanced prototype shrinking suit being created by Hank Pym for miniaturized secret agents. O'Grady took to using the insectoid-based suit for his own purposes; mainly to impress women, petty theft, and peeping on hot women along with the occasional lapse into superheroics. He ended up taking up the Ant-Man mantle of the then-deceased Lang and surprisingly lasted up until 2013 when he was killed. Scott Lang himself was resurrected in 2012 and shortly afterwards would resume the identity of the Ant-Man.
Various version of Hank Pym in his various aliases and guises have appeared over the years in numerous animated television series and films as Ant-Man as well as some of his other superhero aliases. In addition, both Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady have also appeared in other animated television series and films as well. Of the pair of successors, Scott Lang is the most prominent and continues to appear in the Marvel Comic-verse as the current holder of the Ant-Man mantle.
Major Plots[]
Personality and Traits[]
Appearances[]
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Trivia[]
- Although Yellowjacket is a villain and the primary enemy of Ant-Man in the 2015 Ant-Man movie; in the comics, Yellowjacket is one of the identities assumed by Dr. Hank Pym over the years. The movie version of Yellowjacket is also heavily based on the Eric O'Grady's Ant-Man Suit with a pair of robotic waldo armatures that double as weapons as well.
Quotes[]
- "Wait I didn't steal anything! I was returning something I stole!" ―Scott Lang to Police Officers; Ant-Man
Other Versions[]
Related Pages[]
Affiliations[]
Ant-Man Legacy Characters[]
