| “ | This is your chance. To earn that look in your daughter's eyes. To become the hero that she already thinks you are. It's not about saving our world, it's about saving theirs. Scott, I need you to be the Ant-Man. | „ |
| ~ Hank Pym to Scott Lang in Ant-Man |
| “ | There must be something else. Well I suppose the human mind just can’t comprehend the experience, but you made it. You went in and you got out, that’s amazing. | „ |
| ~ Hank to Scott on his survival in the quantum realm. |
Doctor Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym is a major character of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is the deuteragonist of the 2015 Marvel film Ant-Man, the tritagonist of its 2018 sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, a minor but pivotal character of Avengers: Endgame, and will return in the upcoming film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
He is a brilliant scientist who managed to create quantum particles that allowed him to shrink in size, becoming the first Ant-Man, and later became a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. and partner of Wasp. Decades later, Hank decided to have Scott Lang become the new Ant-Man, and help him stop his former protégé, Darren Cross, from using the same particles to sell across the world.
Hank would later work on trying to find his wife, Janet, in the quantum realm after Scott managed to return from it when defeating Darren. He would succeed in finding Janet, and was later killed by the Mad Titan Thanos during the hunt for the Infinity Stones. He was resurrected by the Hulk in 2023, and later attended Tony Starks' funeral to honor his sacrifice in stopping Thanos and his army.
He is portrayed by famous actor Michael Douglas who previously played Nick Curran in Basic Instinct.
Biography
Early Life
Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym was born either in the early 1940s or 1950s to unnamed parents, and became a well regarded scientist in the fields of chemistry, physics, and entomology. Hank would receive training from the United States Army, and later joined S.H.I.E.L.D. as one of their consultants. Around this time, Hank came across particles that allowed the user to shrink in size, and developed a formula that allowed him to change the distance between atomic particles. With his formula, Pym became an field agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. under the codename "Ant-Man", going on undercover while wearing his suit that allowed him to control the particles' effects. Additionally, he invented a device that allowed him to speak with ants telepathically.
Around the 1970s-1980s, Hank started to work with Bill Foster and Elihas Starr, specifically working on Project G.O.L.I.A.T.H. with Foster to see if he could grow instead of shrink. He worked with Starr on learning more about the Quantum realm, but learned that Elihas was planning on stealing his particles to make his own Quantum tunnel. Pym learned the truth and exposed Starr's plans, causing his former colleague to go into hiding as punishment. This would further increase Hank's fear of someone trying to steal the particles, and started to refuse to allow anyone to know of how he made the formula. Despite his distrust, Hank fell in love with a fellow scientist named Janet van Dyne, and the two would have a daughter named Hope. Janet would become an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. herself, and Hank developed a suit for under the codename "Wasp", allowing her to shrink as well.
While doing missions for S.H.I.E.L.D., Hank and Janet were tasked to stop Starr, who had escaped with his technology so he could continue his work on the Quantum tunnel. The two confronted Starr and destroyed his plans for the tunnel, but Hank failed to save Elihas when the Quantum tunnel overloaded due to gunfire. Hank and Janet continued to do missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. under the guidance of Peggy Carter, and during one mission to stop a missile, Janet sacrificed herself since Hanks' regulator was damaged. Distraught with the loss of his wife, Hank continued to search for his wife within the Quantum realm, but became distant towards his daughter. When tasked by the agency to go on another mission, Hank made a detour to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s labs and learned that Howard Stark was trying to replicate his particles. Angered by his colleagues actions, Hank resigned from the organization, declaring that as a long as he lived, no one would have his formula.
After leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., Hank started his own company named Pym Technologies, which became a huge success and made him a wealthy businessman. While heading the company, Hank became a mentor to his assistant Darren Cross, seeing a lot of potential and a lot of himself in the man. Years later, Hank was voted out of the company by his daughter, who was still resentful for sending her off to boarding school. Darren was made the new CEO of his company, and Hank became a recluse as he tried to find his wife within the Quantum realm. Despite Hope's resentment, when she learned that Darren was planning on replicating the Ant-Man suit and formula to sell to the highest bidder, she informed her father.
Ant-Man
Returning to his former company (now named Cross Technologies), Hank encountered Cross and watched his pitch for the Yellowjacket project. Seeing that Cross was close to replicating his formula, Pym came up with a plan to steal the Yellowjacket suit and Cross' formula before he could sell it to HYDRA or the Ten Rings. Hank overheard of the story of Scott Lang stealing from VistaCorp to give the money back to its users since the company was stealing, and decided that Lang was the right choice due to his hacking and thieving skills. He would have Scott steal his suit, and later broke him out of jail after Hope indirectly had him arrested when he tried to return the suit to his residence. Afterward, Hank started to train Scott with Hope on how to communicate with ants and using the particles with the suit.
During the heist, Cross revealed that he knew of Hank's attempt at stealing the Yellowjacket suit, and wounded him when Scott and Hope started to fight his guards. Hank and Hope escaped from the building by using a tank he kept shrunk, and Pym later learned of Scott's success in defeating Cross. Scott revealed that he survived going into the Quantum realm, and Hank took this as a possibility that Janet was still there. Afterward, Hank decided to give Hope the mantle of Wasp, revealing a new suit that he and Janet previously worked on before her disappearance.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Hank worked with Hope on creating the Quantum tunnel so they could travel into the Quantum realm, but when trying to get the final part from Sonny Burch, they lost their mobile lab by a mystery figure named "Ghost". Working with Scott once again, Hank was able to track down the mobile lab by using the regulator from the second Ant-Man suit. Hank was captured by Ghost alongside Scott and Hope, who revealed herself to be Ava Starr, the daughter of Elihas, and was working with Bill Foster to find a cure for her intangibility. The group escaped and worked on the tunnel, and Scott was possessed by Janet, who revealed her coordinates within the Quantum realm. After escaping from the FBI, Hank traveled into the Quantum realm and rescued his wife, who used Quantum energy to heal Ghost, revealing that she could use the energy make her intangibility stable.
After rescuing his wife, Hank worked with Janet on trying to harness Quantum energy from the realm so they could cure Ava of her condition. Monitoring Scott with his wife and daughter, Hank was turned to dust with them after the mad Titan Thanos snapped his fingers with the Infinity Stones. Scott was left within the Quantum realm, but would manage to escape five years later and rejoin with the remaining Avengers.
Avengers: Endgame
In 2023, Hank was resurrected along with everyone else by the Hulk, who had participated in time traveling to obtain the Infinity Stones. After the Battle of Earth, Pym learned of Tony Stark's sacrifice, and attended his funeral with his wife, daughter, and Scott.
Personality
Hank is described as being a cold and abrasive individual, having falling outs with those close to him such as his daughter, S.H.I.E.L.D. colleagues Howard Stark and Mitchell Carson, and his former protégé Darren Cross. This stimulates from the "death" of his wife, feeling guilty since he allowed Janet to become his partner. His guilt made him distant, pushing everyone away from him, notably sending Hope off to school since he couldn't deal with his pain. His temperamental nature also made him easily provoked, such as when he assaulted Mitchell Carson when the latter mentioned his wife. Hank's cynical attitude also caused him to cut ties with his allies, doing this to Scott when he made him and Hope fugitives.
Pym was very protective of his formula and his equipment, as he refused to allow S.H.I.E.L.D. use his suits or know the details of his particles. When he learned that Howard Stark was trying to replicate his formula, Hank left the agency and developed a disdain towards the Stark family for years. He also fired Bill Foster and Elihas Starr when they tried to steal his formula, which possibly increased his paranoia and obsession with protecting his formula. He would go on to destroy his former company after learning that Cross was developing his own particles, knowing that Darren's motivation was to turn the formula to a weapon.
Despite his flaws, Hank is a compassionate and caring person, as he didn't want the world to suffer if his formula got into the wrong hands. He would make amends with his daughter, telling her what happened with her mother, and became determined to find his wife after Scott survived shrinking into the Quantum realm. After stopping Cross, Pym realized from his mistake of trying to control or destroy power, but give it to the right hands. Pym also believed in second chances, as he tried to reason with both Elihas and Cross, and gave one to Scott. Though he held his disdain for the Stark family when speaking to Scott, he would attend Tony Stark's funeral to honor the latter's sacrifice. This possibly indicates that Hank can let go of his grudges, and was willing to honor a man whom he believed was just like his father.
Powers and Abilities
Former Powers
- Size Manipulation: With his Pym particles, Hank could manipulate the size of his body.
Abilities
- Genius-level Intellect: Hank Pym is exceptionally intelligent, being able to make his Pym particles that many scientists across the world couldn't replicate correctly. His intellect also extends to being a master scientist and engineer, capable of making a suit to allow him to use the particles.
- Business Acumen: Hank is a skilled businessman, as he headed his own company for years.
- Military Training: Due to receiving Army training when he was young, Pym is a skilled combatant.
Relationships
Family
Allies
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Enemies
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Quotes
| “ | As long as I am alive, nobody will ever get that formula. | „ |
| ~ Hank to Howard Stark, resigning from S.H.I.E.L.D. |
| “ | I'm a scientist. | „ |
| ~ Hank Pym to Mitchell Carson. |
| “ | I created the formula that altered atomic relative distance. I had learned how to change the distance between atoms. That's what powers the suit. That's why it works. But it was dangerous. It was too dangerous. | „ |
| ~ Hank to Scott. |
| “ | This is not some cute technology like the Iron Man suit. This could change the texture of reality. | „ |
| ~ Hank to Scott. |
| “ | Don’t do this. If you sell to these men, it’s going to be chaos. | „ |
| ~ Hank to Darren Cross, trying to convince him not to sell the particles. |
| “ | I realized you can't destroy power. All you can do is make sure it's in the right hands. | „ |
| ~ Hank to Hope, handing the mantle of the Wasp to her. |
Gallery
_from_Marvel%27s_Ant-Man_Prelude_Vol_1_1_0001.jpg "Henry Pym (Earth-199999) from Marvel's Ant-Man Prelude Vol 1 1 0001.jpg (114 KB)")
Trivia
- Despite his disdain for him, Hank is similar to Howard Stark:
- Both are brilliant scientists and inventors.
- Both have children who became superheroes.
- Both were betrayed by colleague that intended to steal their technology (Elihas Starr and Anton Vanko), who would have children that become villains (Ghost and Whiplash).
- Hank Pym's actor, Michael Douglas, reprised his voice for a different version of the character in the Disney+ animated series, What If...?
