Hank Pym
Hank Pym is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Henry Christopher Pym was the only son of factory foreman Brad Pym and book keeper Doris Pym. Hank was raised at his family home in East Nowhere in Nebraska. At the age of three, doctors had diagnosed as being smarter than both his parents combined. Despite being a challenging child, it was noted that his parents had loved him though they were unsure how to interact with him. The one person that understood Hank was his father's mother Angela Pym who was a mid-list science fiction writer. His grandmother was close to Hank and he considered her his friend. Pym's parents tried to raise him intellectually with a view towards engineering and medicine whilst concepts such as needs and practicality was stressed. In contrast, his grandmother attempted to foster his creativity, and imagination. As a result, he grew up with a combination of both approaches towards life. By age five, his parents wanted Hank to build practical technology so that they could be rich but his grandmother continued to encourage his self-expression. However, at age seven his grandmother passed away despite Hank trying to build a machine to save her. After that point, he pushed aside his creative side and instead worked on practical technology that he considered dull. He went into higher education on a scholarship with numerous inventions being made whilst professors ensured that he remained focused on making further such creations. (Age of Ultron v1 #10AI)
One day, he came to develop his potions capable of shrinking an object and restoring it to its normal size. He attempted to showcase his findings but was mocked by the scientific community. This led to Pym focusing on his work where he considered the practical applications of the technology. After testing on objects, he decided to proceed with human testing and used himself as a test subject. However, this led to him being separated from the growth formula where he came upon a nest of ants. At first, he attempted to flee the creatures who he believed were chasing him leading to him going into their tunnels and stumbling on their store of honey. This nearly saw him drowning in honey but he was saved by an ant though he rest of the insects began to chase him. Pym came to sight the growth potion on the window ledge but was unable to reach it until he enlisted the help of the same ant that saved him where exposure to the formula restored him to his normal size. The incident led to Pym destroying his experiment after seeing the dangers posed by it and he claimed to his scientific colleagues that he experiment was a failure with Hank looking to dedicate to more practical projects instead. (Tales to Astonish v1 #27)
The first time that Henry became the Ant-Man for the purposes of fighting crime when he took up a government job trying to develop a means to make people immune to radioactivity. The notes on this formula were targeted by a group of spies who tied up Henry's colleagues. Unwilling to divulge any information, Pym was locked in an office until he was ready to talk. This allowed Henry to use his formula to shrink in size and, as Ant-Man, rescue his colleagues. Using his control helmet, he commanded an army of ants to help untie his fellow scientists and then attacked the spies. The spies panicked from all the insect bites and were soon incapacitated and tied up by the scientists who had no idea how they got free or what happened to their would be captors. Ant-Man quietly slipped away and reverted back to his normal size, leaving none the wiser about his involvement in their freedom. (Tales to Astonish v1 #35) As Ant-Man, Pym established a connection with law enforcement in New York City and developed technology that allowed him to learn of crimes in progress and police activity through a network of ants. He also developed a means to expose himself to Pym Particles using gas as well as a cannon that allowed him to fire himself across long distances where he would be cushioned by an army of ants or be able to fly on the backs of the flying variety of the species. The earliest record of Ant-Man helping the police was freeing a gang of bank robbers who managed to trap themselves inside a bank vault, rescuing them before they could suffocate. His activities eventually drew the attention of figures in Russia who wanted to know the secret of the Ant-Man's ability to shrink as they wanted to acquire for themselves. Thus, they dispatched one of their elite covert agent names Comrade X who infiltrated the U.S. to track down the hero. Using this double identity she attempted to lure Ant-Man into a trap, but Ant-Man managed to uncover the truth and stop Madam X's attempt to capture him, turning her over to the Coast Guard. (Tales to Astonish v1 #36)
In his adult years, he became involved with a Hungarian woman by the name of Maria Trovaya. She and her father had been political prisoners till they escaped to the United States. Whilst there, she had met Pym with the two getting married with her being Maria Pym and having their honeymoon in Hungary despite Hank's reservations. Her father was in America working for his new homeland with Maria desiring to see the places of her childhood. During their honeymoon, however, armed men kidnapped Maria and knocked Hank out where they left him on the street. During recovery at hospital, he was informed that the body of his wife was found with her being dead which left Pym grieving. (Tales to Astonish v1 #44)
He later was met by a scientist by the name of Dr. Vernon van Dyne who was accompanied by his daughter Janet van Dyne. (Tales to Astonish v1 #44)
Later on, he conducted experiments in enlarging himself and distilling the chemicals in capsules that he could easily access on his uniform. During this time, the Living Eraser who used his powers to send Pym into Dimension Z where the natives wanted to force him to develop atomic weaponry for themselves. He came to battle them where he first used his ability to enlarge himself and began to operate under the name of Giant-Man. (Tales to Astonish v1 #49)
Avengers
He later answered the call to stop Loki where Hank became one of the founding members of the Avengers. (Avengers v1 #1)
The Space Phantom plotted to do turn the Avengers against the Hulk, using his ability to shift individuals into the timeless realm of Limbo while assuming their form. When the Space Phantom attacked the Avengers, he fled and then returned the Hulk to Earth and watched the battle in the shape of a wasp. When the Wasp detected the Space Phantom's presence, he tried to attack her and Giant-Man went to her rescue. When away from the other Avengers, the Space Phantom changed into Giant-Man. (Avengers v1 #2)
One of the reasons he resigned from the Avengers was because he learnt that the size-changing he put on his body placed unimaginable strain for his form and could become fatal. Thus, he stopped operating as a hero but after Janet was kidnapped by the Collector he decided to reveal his secret identity to his former team mates in order to get their help in rescuing the Wasp. In this time, he was provided a new costume by Scarlet Witch and he began to operate under the name of Goliath. (Avengers v1 #28)
The Avengers, not suspecting at first, were shocked to hear that she said yes to the proposal. Van Dyne and Pym, as Yellowjacket were married at Avengers Mansion amidst an assembled who's who of super heroes active at the time, as well as some villains who were hiding and secretly pretending to be the caterers. Immediately after the marriage, the Avengers were attacked by the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime. The shock of seeing van Dyne in danger of death via the Princess' python, which shocked Pym back into his normal personality. The Avengers defeated the Ringmaster and company. Despite the fact that Pym was married under an assumed name, the marriage between Pym and van Dyne was still legal, and Pym and Van Dyne happily agreed to let it stand. (Avengers v1 #60)
Matters came to a head when the Avengers battled the so-called Elfqueen. Suspecting that the Elfqueen was not acting from evil motives, Captain America attempted to calm her down. Yellowjacket, who was edgy because of his personal matters, blasted Elfqueen from behind without stopping to consider what Captain America was trying to do. As a result, Elfqueen resumed fighting, almost crushing a truck onto Pym until the Wasp saved him. (Avengers v1 #212) Afterward, Captain America felt forced to bring charges against Yellowjacket for acting recklessly since innocent people could have been killed because of Yellowjacket's actions. An Avengers court-martial meeting was set to examine the charges. Now beginning to undergo a nervous breakdown, Pym built a robot to attack Avengers Mansion during the court-martial. Pym designed the robot to have a secret weak point which he would use to defeat it. Pym fantasized that his defeat of the robot would make him a hero in the Avengers' eyes and lead to the dismissal of the charges. When his wife protested his plan, he struck her. Pym's plan ultimately went awry, and it was the Wasp who ended up defeating the robot. Pym was expelled from the Avengers. (Avengers v1 #213)
During this time, he required brain patterns as a template for the A.I. and used his own for the creation of Ultron-1. (Avengers v3 #22)
Yellowjacket
Hank called in Iron Man, Thor and Captain America to discuss the addition of the Vision into their ranks, accepting the responsibility as chairman and the pressure he would be getting from both the NSA and SHIELD regarding the matter. Not long after it was agreed that the Vision was to become an active member of the Avengers, SHIELD agent Jasper Sitwell had the Vision arrested for interrogation over possible connections to the missing Super-Adaptoid. (Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes II v1 #1) Pym was furious over this action and he demanded that Captain America get him an audience with SHIELD director Nick Fury. The meeting with Fury was tense, but a request was put to the table for the Avengers to follow a lead on the Adaptoid. Fury asked the Avengers to assist them in investigating reports that A.I.M. had created an army of Adaptoids to attack a small island off the coast of the Philippines. Pym accepted the mission on the condition that SHIELD release the Vision, whom they cleared of any connection with the Super-Adaptoid anyway. (Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes II v1 #2) When they arrived over the island, the Avengers Quinjet was shot down and Hank ordered his teammates to shut down the AIM facility on the island while he dealt with the army of Adaptoids alone. Growing to giant size, Henry evacuated a nearby village and then faced the army by himself. (Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes II v1 #3) Reminding himself that they were not living beings, Pym allowed himself to go into a berserker fury, rending the Adaptoids apart with his bare hands and destroying them all even though they had mimicked all the powers of every Avenger to date. While Hank destroyed all the Adaptoids, the Avengers destroyed the AIM facility, however the original Super-Adaptoid managed to escape capture. Hank was found in among the scattered remains of the Adaptoid army in a state of shock. After being treated by SHIELD for his injuries, he was released, but the Avengers were given grief over being incapable of capturing the original Adaptoid. After getting reamed out by both Nick Fury and NSA special agent James Murch, Hank was plagued by nightmares that evening. Awoken by these nightmares, Hank went out to his lab and in a fit of rage began smashing his equipment. (Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes II v1 #4)
Dr. Pym
Returning to scientific research, Dr. Pym looked to solve the secret of disappearing mass that occurred whenever he had shrunk his body as he concluded it was interdimensionally displaced. During this time, he had a research assistant who was a blonde haired woman named Alice Nugent. Whilst showing James Rhodes his research, an armed gunman arrived at the scene and wanted Pym to use his shrinking technology to alter his size. A fight with Rhodey caused both the gunman and Pym to fall through the interdimensional door with Iron Man in pursuit to save them. With Pym's aid, they returned back to Earth but the gunman jumped back into the portal to escape being sent back to prison. (Iron Man v1 #194)
Alongside Bill Foster, Pym worked with creation of a variant of the particle to help enlarge food to solve world hunger issues. This resulted in Project: B.I.G. (Biotechnically Induced Growth) that were a derivative of the Pym Particles. (Avengers v1 #379)
He was kidnapped by Ultron alongside Grim Reaper, Vision, Wonder Man, Wasp and Scarlet Witch when the machine had conquered the country of Slorenia and massacred its populace. This was because the robot had intended to harvest the brain patterns of the six he considered part of his 'family' in order to use them to create a new race of machines to rule the Earth once mankind was wiped from the planet. (Avengers v3 #20)
Mighty Avengers
During this time, the relationship between Hank and Janet began to suffer as he would continue his work whilst she would be out at parties. Whilst in England, he began to teach where he became attracted to a blonde haired female and began to have a secret affair with her when he and Janet had separated. During this time, she asked many questions about his life as an Avenger and his career. On one such day, it was discovered that she was actually a Skrull infiltrator who rendered Pym unconscious and taking him captive. The Skrull then went through a ceremony whereby she took on Hank Pym's form and masqueraded as him as part of a Secret Invasion of Earth. (Mighty Avengers v1 #15) This infiltrator provided Janet with a new version of the growth formula that was an improvement and allowed her to grow to giant size as she continued to work with the Mighty Avengers. (Mighty Avengers v1 #8)
He later dealt with the aftermath of Janet's death and came to learn of the events that happened after he was abducted by the Skrulls. (Mighty Avengers v1 #20)
Around this time, a Chaos Cascade was impacting the world that was secretly being created by the summoning of Chthon. In order to stop it, it was decided that the divided Avengers needed to assemble with Amadeus Cho and Hercules seeking to find someone to lead such a group. Upon meeting Edwin Jarvis, he took the pair to meet Hank Pym who was honoring his late wife by operating under the name Wasp and was conducting research in his Pym Pocket dimension. Cho helped convince Pym to lead a new team of Avengers to stop the danger that was coming from Transia. (Mighty Avengers v1 #21) Initially, Iron Man sought to take command of the team and despite the world's lack of faith in Pym he managed to aid the heroes by tricking Chthon back into the Darkhold thus defeating the god of chaos along with reversing his chaos magic around the world. Thus, Pym was chosen to head the new chapter of the Mighty Avengers in helping protect the world. (Mighty Avengers v1 #23)
Afterwards, he came to find that his lab had been untethered with it possible the danger of being lost in another dimension. To rectify this, Hank needed the Dimensional Wave Inducer that he and Bill Foster had worked on with the device being in the care of Mr. Fantastic. However, Reed refused to hand the item over as he felt that Pym was showing signs of mental instability. (Mighty Avengers v1 #25) Thus, Hank along with his Mighty Avengers staged an attack on the Baxter Building so that Pym could recover the Inducer. The device accidentally went off and sent Richards along with Pym being lost in other dimensions but by working together they returned to Earth. Hank managed to convince Reed to give him the device and he used it to complete Salvation-2. (Mighty Avengers v1 #26) The laboratory was saved and Hank succeeded in creating the Infinite Avengers Mansion as a base of operations for the team. (Mighty Avengers v1 #27)
He then conducted his next experiment in exploring the higher dimensions where he used a monofilament tether to anchor him to Jocasta as he grew in size to access those realities. This caused him to access Overspace where Hank encountered Eternity with the cosmic being declaring Pym his champion as Scientist Supreme as he sought to make the impossible possible. The encounter led to Hank overcoming his perceived flaws and insecurities over his past actions in order to finally embrace his calling as a hero. As a result, he returned back to Earth where he was informed of an Omega-level threat. (Mighty Avengers v1 #30) Pym joined the various Avenger teams summoned to China in order to battle the threat of the fallen Inhuman king known as the Unspoken. Hank attempted to battle the disgraced Attilan ruler but was unable to match his sheer power though the fight kept the villain distracted long enough for Amadeus Cho and Hercules to commandeer the Inhumans Slave Engine. They then turned its chronal ray against the Unspoken who was aged to the point where he was powerless and harmless to his enemies. Pym then destroyed the chronal ray rather than use its effects to erase peoples knowledge of Hank's past mistakes as he had come to terms with his actions. (Mighty Avengers v1 #31)
Pym then established Avengers Academy tasked with training young powered beings in the use of their abilities in order for them to become superheroes. (Avengers Academy v1 #1) He also established the Janet van Dyne Centers for Women in tribute to Janet to provide shelter and advocacy for those suffering from domestic violence. (Ant-Man & Wasp v1 #1)
He along with the students of Avengers Academy oversaw the transport of the captive Absorbing Man to a secure facility. Creel came to use his control over his wrecking ball to free himself where he used his powers to copy the abilities of the young superheroes. With them, he manifested in a giant state with Hank taking the form of Giant-Man to fight him. Despite his size, he was unable to stop Creel with their battle threatening to cause further damage to the city. To stop further harm, Hank altered himself and Creel's size from the Microverse to then go into Overspace where he was confronted with the abstract entities. Overwhelmed at the thought of such beings, Creel gave up and abandoned the stolen powers allowing for him to be taken into custody to be placed in a special cell at the Raft. (Avengers Academy v1 #7)
It was revealed that the being he thought was Janet Van Dyne was actually the wife of Korvac. Veil revived her, which brought Korvac to the Academy. They were only able to defeat Korvac by using the future versions of the Academy students. (Avengers Academy v1 #12)
Pym later joined the other founding members of the Avengers in a trip to the Microverse after an Avengers emergency signal was triggered there. Hank came to the realization that the signal could only have come from Janet Van Dyne. The group arrived in the Microverse and followed the signal until they found Janet who had just taken out an army. Their brief reunion was cut short by the Microverse gangster Lord Gouzar who was trying to kill Janet. The battle ended when Wonder Man intervened and helped the other Avengers escape, but Lord Gouzar followed them and tried to kill Janet but was stopped by the combined force of multiple Avengers members. After the battle the Avengers hosted a welcome back party for Janet. (Avengers v4 #32)
He came to work with the Secret Avengers where he and Hank McCoy helped construct a secret headquarters for them in the Lighthouse that was a shrunken space station whose occupants were in a small state until they deployed on a mission. (Secret Avengers v1 #22) Pym later conducted surgery on the Venom Symbiote in order to sever its synaptic coupling centre that would leave it in a more controllable state for a period of 24 hours. This was so that Flash Thompson could join the team as Agent Venom. (Secret Avengers v1 #23) Afterwards, the team returned from their battle with the Descendants though the Human Torch was heavily damaged to the point he was inoperable. Hank kept Jim Hammond in stasis whilst attempting to find a means of repairing the damage done to his body. (Secret Avengers v1 #25)
Ultron Pym
Afterwards, Pym's views on A.I. and the dangers posed by them had taken a dark turn as he looked to eliminate them before they could become a threat due to his prior experience with Ultron. He came to create a neural inhibitor that was designed to shut down and kill an A.I. with the act simply deactivating them. Pym came to use his creation when he accompanied the Avengers to stop Father and the Descendants as they liberated a Stark Sentinel from a factory. Later on, a Quinjet crashed in Titan, after years of isolation and being consumed by only one emotion: rage. Ultron corrupted Titan's A.I. I.S.A.A.C. and started infecting all of the Eternals, turning them into robots like him, soon completely taking over the satellite and its inhabitants, with the exception of Starfox, who managed to escape in order to warn the Avengers. Shortly after arriving to Earth and alerting the Avengers, Starfox and the other heroes were surprised by the arrival of an Ultron-shaped Titan next to the Earth. A group of androids modeled after the Avengers descended from it and fought the real Avengers. When the Avengers arrived to Titan, Ultron released enormous quantities of spores into the Earth which contained Ultron's consciousness and infected any all living creatures. When Giant-Man entered Ultron's base to confront him, the robot revealed that during the years of isolation he had discovered Hank's memories in his systems, and thus Hank's subconscious hatred for humanity, determining that he had been created as nothing more than a reflection of Hank. When Ultron was distracted, Vision phased through him and fought for control. Ultron managed to force Hank into the amalgamation and pushed Vision out, causing both to become merged into a single being. (Rage of Ultron v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After learning to enlarge himself, he came to operate by the name of Giant-Man. (Tales to Astonish v1 #49) When he returned to the Avengers, he abandoned the name of Giant-Man and at the suggestion of Captain America he began to use Goliath. (Avengers v1 #28) At one point, he came to tire of having code names after changing so many identities and simply went as Doctor Pym. (West Coast Avengers v2 #21) After the apparent death of Janet, he created a new suit and operated under the code name of Wasp. (Mighty Avengers v1 #21) In an apparent encounter with Eternity, he was labelled as the Earth's Scientist Supreme who served as Eternity's champion. (Mighty Avengers v1 #30) He believed that the reason he adopted so many different identities was usually due to his neuroses. (Avengers Academy v1 #7)
He was counted among the seven smartest human beings on the planet. According to Pym, magic was simply science that he had not managed to explain yet. (Mighty Avengers v1 #21) At first, Henry Pym was mocked by the scientific community who believed his theories to be ridiculous and believed that he should devote his time to practical projects. However, Pym refused as he said that he would only work on projects that appealed to his imagination. (Tales to Astonish v1 #27)
When he initially joined the original Avengers, Hank did not feel he measured up against the other superheroes. But after Loki's defeat, he came to regard himself as the smartest member on the team. This position was changed greatly when he accidently discovered that Iron Man was actually Tony Stark and he came to question himself on being the smartest member on the team. (Mighty Avengers v1 #21)
After his initial accident with his formula, he never knowingly stepped on an ant due to the fact that he owed his life to one small ant. (Tales to Astonish v1 #27) Hank claimed to be a big believer in second chances and giving a person another opportunity to prove themselves. (Mighty Avengers v1 #28)
Hank was said to had been 5 years old when he viewed the idea of a God being inconceivable. By adulthood, he came to believe there was no God nor soul either for living beings or artificial ones. (Rage of Ultron v1 #1)
He was noted to had loved his first wife Maria Trovoya with him becoming restless after her death with these being bitter memories. Janet van Dyne he noted for resembling Maria but being much younger and for a time he regarded her as a child. (Tales to Astonish v1 #44)
Such was his love for Janet that he was prepared to reveal his secret identity to others in order to get their help in saving her after she was kidnapped. (Avengers v1 #28) It took a long time but he looked to rebuilding his relationship with Janet with them keeping a fragile romance with one another for a time. (Avengers v3 #20) Hank said that he always missed Janet even before she was believed to had been killed in the Skrull invasion. He and Janet agreed not to have children together due to the dangers of being superheroes as well as due to Hank's fragile mental state. They had attempted to restart their relationship but the two ended up being miserable with Hank believing that she was no longer the young girl who loved him so much and that he could never undo the actions that threw away her love. (Avengers Academy v1 #7)
Pym was once supported in finding himself by the superhero Firebird where the two came to be romantically involved for a time. (West Coast Avengers v2 #21) He was once romantically involved with Jocasta. (Mighty Avengers v1 #26)
Hank had a low opinion of himself and he could understand no one wanting him as a father figure. (Avengers Academy v1 #7) After being abducted by the Skrulls, an infiltrator took his identity and embarked on a relationship with Tigra. This led to her becoming pregnant and bearing a son though Pym revealed that genetically the child was actually both Tigra and his son with no trace of Skull DNA in the offspring. Despite this, Tigra wanted to raise the child on her own but said that if anything were to happen to her that she wanted Hank to look after William Greer. (Avengers Academy v1 #7) Unknown to him at the time, his first love Maria Trovoya was pregnant with his child who was named Nadia. (All-New, All-Different Avengers v1 #9)
Hank did not believe in the concept of Heaven or in God though he admitted in meeting extradimensional god-like beings such as Thor and Hercules. However, these encounters were said to had reaffirmed Hank's faith in science and he said that he would not have any other gods before it. He claimed to had found no evidence of a soul nor the existence of God. (Ant-Man & Wasp v1 #2)
Hank was noted to had suffered a number of mental breakdowns in his life. The first stemmed from the loss of his first wife that led to him suffering from considerable strain. He came to be mentally weakened during the incident that led to the creation of Ultron-1 with him not recovering from that event when he inhaled experimental gases in a laboratory explosion. The strain of the second breakdown caused him to develop into his more aggressive Yellowjacket persona which was when he married Janet. He then succumbed to a third breakdown when Ultron captured him and reverted him back to his Ant-Man identity where he was sent against the Avengers. This led to a period where he fell into depression where he devalued his own life with this erupting into his fourth breakdown where he hit Janet. (Avengers v3 #20) It was later revealed that the trauma of learning that Ultron was based on his own mind led to him adopting the Yellow Jacket persona. (Avengers v3 #22)
The creation of Ultron weighed heavily on the mind of Hank Pym with the villain haunting his mind. Pym came to consider that every death and act of devastation created by the machine being his own fault. (Avengers v3 #22)
Powers and abilities
He had learnt judo and was knowledgeable in its practice. (Tales to Astonish v1 #27) As a scientist, he knowledgeable on molecular cell transition and cell specialization. (Tales to Astonish v1 #44) Holding a Ph.D., he came to be a fellow at CalTech in the School of Extradimensional Studies with him being a leading biochemist and geneticist. (Fantastic Four v1 #543) He was counted as one of the seven smartest human beings on the planet. (Mighty Avengers v1 #21)
The cybernetic helmet sent electronic-wave commands that could send messages to hymenoptera. (Tales to Astonish v1 #44) He later looked to expand this by creating a comm-network that was based on insect hive communications. (Avengers v3 #13)
The perfected serum allowed him to change the size of any object. (Tales to Astonish v1 #27) From his experiments, he came to create an enlarging fluid causing him to grow to giant size. Pym had said that he could not grow himself taller than 12 feet as anymore would mean that he would be too big to support his own weight. He began to store his growth and shrinking vapors in capsule form that allowed easy access to them. (Tales to Astonish v1 #49) In time, his nervous system became conditioned in the use of the Pym Particles allowing him to change size on mental command. An issue that began to emerge that size changing was dangerous as it placed the body under incredible strain with prolonged improper use capable of leading to death. Thus, for a time, he had to restrict his size to certain points with the strain causing him to fall unconscious. (Avengers v1 #28) His physiology was affected to the point where he could grow or shrink things within his body's energy field. This allowed him to store tools and items in a small size and use his powers to enlarge them thus giving him access to an entire arsenal of specialised weapons on his person. (West Coast Avengers v2 #21)
Another piece of equipment developed by Hank was the Toolbot that could be shrunk and enlarged to fit in his hand. It contained the top nine hundred tools he used all of which were shrunken down to fit into the handle. A smart-chip present on it was used to provide the necessary tool that Pym needed at any given time. (Mighty Avengers v1 #21) During his time as the Wasp, he built a pistol known as the Stinger that focused his bio-energy into a stun beam. (Mighty Avengers v1 #22) He could deploy a flying minicam allowing him to trail people unobtrusively where it could report back to his equipment and could be stored in a shrunken state where it was restored its actual size when he had need of it. (West Coast Avengers v2 #21)
He later began to experiment on shrinking portions of space and time creating what he termed as Pym Pockets that were large regions of space that existed within a small area. These Pym Pockets were also able to link to different points of space-time allowing a user to go through a door to any part in the world. (Mighty Avengers v1 #21) From within PymSpace, he could operate a laboratory and construct machines that could not exist in normal dimensions. (Mighty Avengers v1 #25) From there, he operated a laboratory that could be anchored anywhere such as Chicago whose doorways could link to various sites such as the Avengers Mansion. The tether to the world was capable of being severed to prevent entry by outsiders but losing this link meant that slowly the Pocket would disappear in less than 48 hours. This meant that an untethered Pym Pocket could still make use of the doors but slowly these would disappear until the laboratory itself was also lost with everyone inside stranded outside of space and time. (Mighty Avengers v1 #24) He once created a Pymporter that could teleport a person from across dimensions instantly. (Secret Avengers v1 #22)
He was known to had collaborated with Bill Foster on a number of technological projects together. The pair worked on one such initiative spearheaded by Hank were he was evolving virtual consciousness with lifelog software that allowed the mind to live beyond the body. With it, he could create an immersive reality that operated as a kind of artificial heaven. (Ant-Man & Wasp v1 #1) The iHeaven Halo lifelog software could allow others to journey into this virtual world. (Ant-Man & Wasp v1 #2) One of the last projects he worked with Bill Foster with was a Dimensional Wave Inducer. Foster had pioneered the technology that allowed the user to alter the vibrational frequency at the exact moment Pym Particles shunted through dimensions. (Mighty Avengers v1 #25)
For his various equipment, Hank placed a Pym Tracer to track them down if stolen though these could be disabled. (Ant-Man & Wasp v1 #1)
Hank later developed a science surrounding shrinking with an aspect of it being the Third Law of Molecular Compression. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #789) Pym later discovered that he could use his abilities to grow into the theoretical Overspace that was another dimension that lay above all other realities. (Mighty Avengers v1 #30) This was shown as being the realm of the abstract entities. (Avengers Academy v1 #7)
One of his creations was a neural inhibitor that was designed to deactivate artificial intelligences. It operated on set frequencies where it shut down the A.I. pain receptors and slowly diverted power from the C.P.U. The broadcast range was localised with Pym believing that it was a humane death. (Rage of Ultron v1 #1)
At one point, he made a vehicle called Rover that he had been developing under the working title of the 'Pymobile'. It was capable of serving his needs as a scientific hero where it was capable of flight, shooting flames/acid /gases, had a V.T.O.L. mode, had climbing and grappling capabilities. In addition to these abilities, it had the ability to talk and its intelligence was kept to the level of a faithful dog. (West Coast Avengers v2 #21)
Through quantum physics and M-Theory, Hank was able to create an extradimensional space that served as a base of operations. This became the Infinite Avengers Mansion that was inhabited by Jocasta's artificial intelligence that was countless miles long with a matter replication system to generate rooms along with dimensional doors to any location in the world. (Mighty Avengers v1 #27) This mansion existed in its own dimension with its own physical laws with the structure being far bigger than any on Earth itself. Access could be achieved by a subatomic key that as implanted in a person's palm allowing them to summon the mansion's door. (Mighty Avengers v1 #28) It was tied to Underspace that lay at the bottom of the Multiverse even below the Microverse. (Mighty Avengers v1 #35) The structure served as a substitute nervous system for the being that was believed to had been Janet van Dyne and prevented her from fading away. (Avengers Academy v1 #7)
Notes
- Hank Pym was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Tales to Astonish v1 #27 (January, 1962).
- Mighty Avengers v1 #26 (2009), Jocasta referred to him as Henry Jonathan Pym.
- In Stan Lee: Conversation (2007), Stan Lee speculated on why the character never became a top-seller or had his own book, "I loved Ant-Man, but the stories were never really successful. In order for Ant-Man to be successful, he had to be drawn this small next to big things and you would be getting pictures that were visually interesting. The artists who drew him, no matter how much I kept reminding them, they kept forgetting that fact. They would draw him standing on a tabletop and they would draw a heroic-looking guy. I would say, 'Draw a matchbook cover next to him, so we see the difference in size.' But they kept forgetting. So when you would look at the panels, you thought you were looking at a normal guy wearing an underwear costume like all of them. It didn't have the interest."
- Jim Shooter noted on his website that he never intended Hank Pym to be a wife-beater as he intended for the slap to be accidental but artist Bob Hall came to misinterpret the instructions and exaggerated the hit to be more deliberate. He said that when the panel was drawn that it was too late to simply redraw the issue and thus it showed Hank Pym hitting Janet van Dyne.
Alternate Versions
- In Avengers v3 #2 (1998), an alternate version of Hank Pym named Gigantus appeared in Morgan Le Fay's warp reality designated as Earth-398 in the Multiverse.
- In Avengers: United They Stand v1 (1999), an alternate version of Hank Pym based on the animated television series appeared in the world designated as Earth-730834. He was shown to had developed insectile robots used to aid him and for training with these being called Antdroids.
- In Spider-Man 1602 v1 #1 (2009), an alternate version of the character named Henri Le Pym appeared as an inhabitant of Marvel 1602 where he resided on Earth-311 in the Multiverse.
- In Thor: The Mighty Thor v1 (2010), an alternate version of Hank Pym resided on this world. It was shown that he had a mentor in Professor Lew Stephens who was later killed by Mr. Hyde.
- In What If: Age of Ultron v1 (2014), a version of Hank Pym was shown who was married to Wasp but Janet was later killed. This led to a depressed Pym creating a more brutal version of Ultron earlier to replace the Avengers in order to prevent another such tragedy. Hanks creation then took over the world and converted Pym into a Cyborg named Ultron-1321 that served Lord Ultron.
In other media
Television
- In The Avengers: United They Stand, Hank Pym as Ant-Man appeared in the animated series where he was voiced by actor Rod Wilson.
- In Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, Henry Pym made an appearance in the episode "World's Tiniest Heroes" where he was voiced by actor John Payne. He was shown to be operating as Ant-Man and a noted expert in molecular reduction as well as a friend to Reed Richards. Ant-Man discovered a microscopic universe that he called Sub-Atomica though Mister Fantastic preferred the Microverse. Hank Pym arrived in the Baxter Building to assist the Fantastic Four who had been affected by atoms from the Microverse causing them to shrink constantly. Reed was shown to hold a friendly rivalry with Pym on learning the secrets of the Microverse.
- In Iron Man: Armored Adventures, the character did not appear but a Pym Industries was mentioned in the episode "X-Factor".
- In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Hank Pym made an regular appearance where he was voiced by actor Wally Wingert.
- In Avengers Assemble, Dr. Pym was referenced in the animated television series fourth season Secret Wars in the episode "Prison Break" with the Wasp referring to her father by name and that he always underestimated her.
- In Marvel Future Avengers, Hank Pym appeared in the setting of the anime television series in the episode "The Rage of Black Bolt". Wasp approached him for help in providing upgrades to her costume when the Inhumans declared war on Earth.
- In What If...?, Hank Pym appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was voiced by actor Michael Douglas. In the episode " "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?", his daughter Hope came to join S.H.I.E.L.D. only to die on a mission where a vengeful Hank looked to destroy Nick Fury by targeting his Avengers Initiative. As Yellowjacket, he secretly was responsible for the death of numerous Avenger candidates including Thor until Fury exposed him and had him taken away by Loki of Asgard. However, without the Avengers forming, Loki as ruler of Asgard came to lead his armies in the conquest of Earth.
Films
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hank Pym made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
- In Ant-Man, Hank Pym made his first live-action appearance where he was portrayed by actor Michael Douglas. Dr. Hank Pym was a scientist who discovered the Pym Particle that allowed a user to shrink and manipulate their size. With it, he constructed the Ant-Man Suit and operated as an American superhero agent where he was active in the 1980s. During this time, he married Janet van Dyne and the pair had a daughter named Hope. Janet later participated on missions with Hank where she wore her own suit and the pair were involved on a mission where Communist forces launched a missile towards the United States. On the rocket, Pym's regulator was damage which prevented him from shrinking further to damage the missile's circuitry. As a result, Janet used her regulator to enter the quantum realm and succeeded in stopping the missile but it led to her being lost in that subatomic universe where she was presumed dead. In grief, Dr. Pym attempted to study the quantum realm to find a means of bringing her back but distanced himself from his own daughter who was sent to boarding school in this time. Hank's time as a hero came to an end when he learnt that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been attempting to replicate the particle's formula and abandoned his time as the Ant-Man. He kept the suit and the particle a secret whereupon he formed Pym Technologies where he took on a young protégé by the name of Darren Cross.
- In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hank Pym made a return appearance in the live-action film where he was portrayed again by actor Michael Douglas.
- In Avengers: Endgame, Hank Pym appeared in the live-action film where he was once more portrayed by actor Michael Douglas.
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Hank Pym appeared as an NPC in the setting of the action role-playing video game where he was voiced by actor Jerry Houser.
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Hank Pym as Yellowjacket appeared as a boss to the Anti-Registration side in the setting of the action role-playing video game where he was voiced once again by actor Wally Wingert.
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Dr. Henry 'Hank' Pym appeared as a hero character in the Facebook video game. His backstory noted him as being quite possibly the smartest man in the world but his battle with mental illness which kept him in the shadow of Tony Stark and Reed Richards. Hank's discovery of the Pym Particle was listed as among his many scientific achievements with him using his genius to operate as a hero to fight injustice.
- In Marvel Heroes, Hank Pym wearing the original Ant-Man costume appeared in the game where he was voiced by actor Wally Wingert. He was shown to serve as an vendor at Avengers Tower who upgrades gear and as an alternate skin for Ant-Man.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, Hank Pym appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game. He appeared in his Goliath identity with an option to wear an alternate costume as Ultron Pym.
- In Marvel's Avengers, Hank Pym appeared as an NPC in the setting of the 2020 action role-playing brawler video game where he was voiced by actor Danny Jacobs. He operated as Ant-Man until after the events of A-Day when A.I.M. came to alter his physiology so that any attempt to shrink himself would be fatal. Following this, he came to be the leader of the Resistance to rescue Inhumans from A.I.M. and give them sanctuary in his base called the Ant Hill. To aid him, he created a series of service robots called Roy that were based on JARVIS but were less sophisticated and helped as vendors.
- In Marvel: Future Revolution, Hank Pym appeared in the setting of the mobile video game. He became the director of Omega Flight which looked to stop the Convergence that was the collision of two Earth's in the Multiverse. For this, he created the Convergence Engine but the device failed to operate with the Vision sacrificing himself to instead merge the planets to save everyone. This resulted in the creation of a new element called Convergium where the heroes looked to stop the unstable decay of the merged reality. An evil alternate version of Pym assumed the identity of Yellowjacket where he was arrested and placed in the Raft but escaped through the help of the Kingpin where he replaced the real Hank Pym to avoid going to prison.
Appearances
- Tales to Astonish v1: (1962)
- Avengers v1:
- Iron Man v1:
- Avengers v3:
- Mighty Avengers v1:
- Avengers Academy v1:
- Ant-Man & Wasp v1:
- Secret Avengers v1:
- Age of Ultron v1:
- Avengers AI v1:
- Avengers: Rage of Ultron v1:
- Uncanny Avengers v3:
- Secret Empire v1:
- Tony Stark: Iron Man v1:
External Links
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