Across the comic universe, superheroes and villains love to draw inspiration from various animals. You’ve got Spider-Man and Batman, Killer Croc and Catwoman, and that’s just a few. Over 50 years ago, Marvel Comics added a new name to the animal inspired list. How much do you really know about this pint-sized creation?
Ant-Man, created by Stan Lee, Larry Lierber, and Jack Kirby made his first appearance in Tales to Astonish #27 in 1962. This year, 2017, marks the 55th anniversary of that initial appearance. The very first Ant-Man was biophysicist and security operations center expert Dr. Henry ‘Hank’ Pym. While working on a project, Pym discovered a new chemical substance – later named Pym Particles – that allowed the user to alter his/her size. After creating a helmet to control ants, Pym began shrinking down to fight crime as the mystery-solving Ant-Man. Eventually, Pym shared his discoveries with his girlfriend Janet van Dyne who joined him as the Wasp. The kick-butt pair would later become founding members of the Avengers. Over the years, Pym has adopted other aliases including Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, and even Wasp after Dyne’s presumed death. With his original persona vacant, various successors have taken up the mantle of the Ant-Man.
The next Ant-Man was a well-meaning thief named Scott Lang. In an effort to save his daughter Cassie from a heart condition, Lang initially stole the Ant-Man suit. Under the encouragement of Pym, a reformed Lang took up a full-time career as Ant-Man. For a period, Lang was affiliated with the Fantastic Four before becoming a full-time member of the Avengers. In the comics Lang was seemingly killed in Avengers Disassembled, leaving his daughter to briefly take up his heroic mantle in Young Avengers. Lang later returned in 2011 in the miniseries, The Children’s Crusade. Both Pym and Lang – portrayed by Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd, respectively – were featured in the feature film, Ant-Man. Rudd made an additional appearance in Captain America: Civil War and will reprise his role in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Prior to Lang’s reappearance, Eric O’Grady became the newest hero behind the Ant-Man mask. O’Grady was a low-level agent of SHIELD who discovered the Ant-Man suit in one of SHIELD’s basements. Despite working for SHIELD, O’Grady was an immoral liar and cheater who was willing to manipulate others to get ahead in life. When O’Grady stole the suit, he had no intentions of being a hero. He hoped to use his status as a “superhero” to seduce women and humiliate and torment others. Eventually, O’Grady renounced his evil ways to become a proper hero. He briefly made appearances in Avengers: The Initiative and The Thunderbolts before joining Secret Avengers. In the latter, O’Grady perished heroically while protecting a child against the supervillain, Father.
The long-enduring Ant-Man proves that great things come in small packages. Who knows what the next 55 years will hold for the iconic hero?