Dr. Henry “Hank” Pym is a brilliant scientist who made an incredible advancement in science and used it to become the superhero Ant-Man. But he didn’t stop there. During his earliest days in comics, Hank Pym was also Giant-Man, Goliath, and Yellowjacket.
Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby, he was introduced as Hank Pym in Tales to Astonish #27 (January 1962) then debuted as Ant-Man in Tales to Astonish #35 (September 1962). Hank began as a biochemist who discovered a kind of subatomic particles that he called Pym particles. He harnessed the particles to create a formula that could alter his size and conversely, a formula to revert him back to his regular size.
In his first experiment, Hank reduced his size to that of an insect and ended up stuck in an anthill, causing him to panic and reverse himself to regular size. For a brief period, he thought the serum was too dangerous, but his scientific curiosity had a strong hold on Hank. He started studying ants and created a cybernetic helmet that he could use to communicate with ants and a suit that could prevent the ants from harming him. With his new technology ready, Hank Pym became Ant-Man.
Dr. Vernon van Dyne reached out to Hank to ask for his help contacting aliens, but Ant-Man declines the request, and unfortunately, Dr. Vernon was killed by an alien criminal. His daughter, Janet Van Dyne, reached out to Hank to help avenge her father’s death. Hank told her about his alter ego as Ant-Man, and used Pym particles to create wings that she could use when she shrank. Now going by Wasp, she and Ant-Man stopped her father’s killer, and they went on to become founding members of the Avengers.
Never one to settle, Hank used his Pym particles to grow to 12 feet tall and become Giant-Man in Tales to Astonish #49 (November 1963). By this time, Pym and Wasp had become romantically involved and took a break from the Avengers.
Once they returned to the team, Hank took on the new persona of Goliath in The Avengers #28 (May 1966). But a mistake left him stuck in his giant form for a period and it had an effect on his confidence. After he was back to being his normal size, Hank created Ultron to help the team, but the robot gained sentience and turned on them.
Hank had another project gone wrong when he was doing an experiment and accidentally inhaled chemicals that altered his mind. In The Avengers #59 (December 1968), he returned to Avengers Mansion with a more arrogant attitude and a new persona as Yellowjacket, claiming that he got rid of Hank. Janet was able to see through Yellowjacket to recognize him as Hank and eventually, he recovered from the alterations and became Ant-Man once again.
