| “ | 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 |
Hank Pym was the first Ant-Man and the deuteragonist of the 2015 Marvel film Ant-Man, the tritagonist of its 2018 sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and a minor character in Avengers: Endgame.
He is portrayed by famous actor Michael Douglas who previously portrayed Nick Curran.
Biography
Early Life
Military Career
A young promising scientist, Hank Pym trained in the United States Army before he was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. to work as a consultant. He eventually discovered a type of particles that could shorten the distance between an object's molecules, effectively reducing its size while maintaining its mass. Utilizing the newly-discovered particles, Pym developed a suit that could shrink a human being to the size of an ant, yet maintain his original strength and resilience.
Ant-Man
Creating the Suit
Pym also developed the EMP Communication Device, a device that allowed him to telepathically communicate with ants. Through concentration, he could manipulate and control ants into doing what he wished. He found it difficult to control bullet ants, but eventually learned to control them.
Mission in Berlin
In 1987, a group of radicals in the Soviet-controlled East Berlin discovered a piece of an old HYDRA technology; the leaders of S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to send an agent to Berlin and stop them from reverse-engineering it. Howard Stark confronted Pym about giving S.H.I.E.L.D. his Ant-Man Suit. However, Pym was unwilling to give his suit to anyone else, so Agent Peggy Carter had to convince him to go to Berlin personally. To see if the suit actually worked, she fired a few bullets at Pym, and he became small like an ant in the blink of an eye.
In Berlin, Pym successfully snuck past the Berlin Wall only to be spotted by a guard dog. Pym managed to escape by jumping on an anti-personnel device which then fired him to safety. He made his way into the radicals' headquarters by controlling a flying ant. He discovered that the group had not even built the device yet. He soon found a group of HYDRA scientists torturing a prisoner. Pym intervened and defeated them, liberating the prisoner in the process. Back at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Stark thanked Pym and told him that was his last mission but Pym refused, realizing there were more problems in the world. Still only trusting himself to wear the Ant-Man Suit, Pym decided to continue to do field missions.
Tragic Loss
At the same year, Pym and his partner and wife, Janet van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, were called upon to intercept a Soviet ICBM mid-flight; however, they were unable to break through the missile to disable it. Pym attempted to shrink into subatomic size, but his suit had sustained heavy damage and could not.
This prompted van Dyne to disable her own suit's safety measures and shrink into subatomic size in order to penetrate the missile's titanium shell. Though managing to disable the missile, she disappeared into the subatomic Quantum Realm doing so and was lost, seemingly forever. Pym would spend the next ten years studying the Quantum Realm in hopes of finding his lost wife, to the detriment to his relationship with his daughter, Hope, whom he sent away to a boarding school.
Quitting S.H.I.E.L.D.
| “ | "I formally tender my resignation."
"We don’t accept it. Formally. Hank, we need you. The Pym Particle is a miracle. Please, don’t let your past determine the future." "As long as I am alive, nobody will ever get that formula." | „ |
| ~ Hank Pym and Howard Stark |
Knowing the danger that his technology possessed, Pym then returned to his home where to took his Ant-Man Suit and placed it in his safe. As Pym took one final look at the suit, he locked the door of the safe before sealing it shut in with sealed door, intended to never again wear the suit and become the Ant-Man again. For the next twenty years, the suit remained locked away from Howard Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D., with the power of the Pym Particles being hidden from the world for its own protection as Pym viewed it.
"Experiences" with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Hank Pym became friends with Erik Selvig and told him some information about his dealings with S.H.I.E.L.D., making his resentment very clear and warning Selvig to keep his distance from them whenever he could. When Selvig himself would come into contact with S.H.I.E.L.D., he would call upon Pym for advice and guidance on how to deal with them.
Pym Technologies
Losing the Company
Having left S.H.I.E.L.D., Pym created his own company named Pym Technologies. Although he continued to bury the research into the Pym Particles and the Ant-Man Suit, Pym Technologies was a huge success, earning Pym billions and making him one of the richest men in the world. As he continued to take an active part in the company, Pym hired a young assistant named Darren Cross and trained him.
Seeing the potential in the young man, Pym took him under his wing and, training him as his protege, Cross developed a strong connection with Pym and found a fascination with the legend of the Ant-Man, although Pym always dismissed the stories as an urban legend. When Pym got older, a vote was taken on whether or not he should continue being a part of the company. The vote came down to Hope van Dyne, who voted her father out of the company, allowing Darren Cross to become the new CEO. Over the next few years, Pym rarely, if ever, returned to Pym Technologies and instead lived as a recluse in his mansion, still continuing his experiments to try to understand the Quantum Realm.
Reunion with Darren Cross
Seeing the Yellowjacket Suit
Pym was invited to a presentation at Pym Technologies and, much to the surprise of everyone, Pym did indeed attend. As he drove into the facility the security guard could not hold back his shock upon seeing his arrival, to which Pym told him that he was not dead as some seemingly believed. When Pym entered the building, the next security guard asked to see is I.D., to which Pym simply pointed to the portrait of himself hanging on the wall.
As he explored the building for the first time in decades, Pym was greeted by Hope van Dyne, who refused to call him Dad despite his wishes. Upon seeing Pym's arrival, Darren Cross greeted him warmly and welcomed him back. As he walked to the presentation, Pym was greeted by Mitchell Carson who asked how he was enjoying retirement, Pym sarcastically replied by asking how his face was, reminding him of what happened last time they saw each other in 1989. Cross began his presentation and discussed the history of the Ant-Man Suit, calling on Pym to remind everyone that the stories were simply an urban legend.
Cross then revealed that it was a legend no longer as he finally was near completion on his own version of the technology which he was calling the Yellowjacket Suit, a battle armor designed to shrink and cause massive damage to an enemy force. Pym watched in horror as the video presentation demonstrated how, despite his best efforts to destroy the research, his Pym Particle technology was now being used to fuel weapons of war which could destroy the world. Only one guest questioned the presentation, noting that it was simply a suit and that as a weapon it could be highly dangerous if it were to fall into enemy hands.
After the investors had left, Pym confronted Cross and attempted to convince him that the technology was too dangerous, however, Cross was too caught up in the fact that Pym had finally confessed that the technology had existed and Pym had been lying to him. Despite Pym's best efforts to convince Cross that there were reasons why he had attempted to bury these designs all those years ago, Cross refused to listen, instead informing Pym that they could have made this breakthrough together, before leaving to speak to Carson.
Once Cross had left, Pym spoke to Hope van Dyne and they discussed how close Cross was to completing his work on the Pym Particles, with van Dyne noting that he had not yet mastered transforming live subjects. Although van Dyne continued to push the idea that she should be given the Ant-Man Suit and allowed to complete the mission, Pym refused as he did not wish to lose her like he had lost Janet van Dyne. He then informed her that he had found a guy who could help their mission to stop Cross.
Testing a Thief
Having heard of Scott Lang's prison sentence for breaking into the Vistacorp Headquarters hacking their systems and paying back the money VistaCorp had been stealing from their users, Pym became fascinated by Lang's selfless act to help people being cheated by the company and his skill in hacking one of the most advanced security systems in the world. Believing he was the right man for the job, Pym decided to test Lang's skills by allowing him to learn about the whereabouts of his Ant-Man Suit within his safe.
Pym watched from CCTV and hidden cameras as Lang broke into his home after disabling his security. Upon finding Pym's safe, Lang used his quick thinking to find and copy Pym's fingerprint from a kitchen knife to get through the first door before freezing the second safe from the inside, causing it to break open. Once inside, Lang found the Ant-Man Suit and was horrified to not find any money or other valuables with it. Seeing no other choice of how to make money, Lang took the suit and escaped while Pym watched.
Trial by Fire
As Scott Lang studied the Ant-Man Suit, he tried it on and accidentally activated the suit's shrinking abilities, becoming trapped in his bath. Hank Pym used the intercom inside the suit's helmet to communicate with Lang, telling him he was going to have to test out the suit. Pym watched from his hidden cameras as Lang was thrown out of the bath when his flatmate Luis turned on the bathwater. Lang was thrown from room to room in the flat before finally being tossed from the window when he was finally able to return to normal size.
Breaking Lang Free
With Scott Lang back in jail after being caught by police sent by Hope van Dyne, Pym went to the jail pretending to be Lang's lawyer and met him there, using his Ants to cover up the security cameras. Once they introduced each other Pym explained that he was willing to give Lang a shot at redemption if he assisted him in his mission to stop Darren Cross. To this end, Pym sent a team of ants into Lang's jail cell to deliver the Ant-Man Suit to him, which he used to escape.
Training Scott Lang
Explaining the Mission
Pym brought Scott Lang back into his home and explained to him why he had been brought into their plan. While Hope van Dyne continued to question why he was there, Lang understandably had many questions, and Pym explained how he was able to train his Ants by using high frequencies to communicate with them, demonstrating by having the ants bring sugar into Lang's cup of tea, before explaining in more detail why he needed Lang to assist him in stopping Darren Cross' plan.
Taking Lang into the basement, Pym showed him what he and van Dyne had been planning for the last few months in their attempt to stop Darren Cross from building an army with the Yellowjacket Suit. Lang remained skeptical and suggested that they call the Avengers to help them in their mission, Pym dismissed this idea as he claimed he had spent much of his early career ensuring that Howard Stark did not get ahold of this technology, so he would not allow Tony Stark to use it either. When Lang remained unconvinced that he was the right man for the job, Pym gave a speech about how they were not doing this mission to save themselves, but to save their children and earn the respect in Cassie Lang's eyes, which Lang noted as a great speech before agreeing to help them.
Pym trained Scott Lang in learning to use and control the suit in such a way that he and it became one and the same, he demonstrated this by having Lang attempt to jump through the gap in a key-hole and turn back to normal size on the other side. Lang attempted this time after time but without a true understanding of the suit, he constantly failed and crashed into the door. Eventually, after much practice, Lang succeeded and jumped through the key hole, only to crash into the wall on the other side, although he still claimed to have nailed the attempt.
The next stage of the training involved teaching Lang how to communicate and use the various forms of Ants at his disposal. To do this, Pym sent Lang into the ant's tunnels in his garden to meet them; these included Bullet Ants, Carpenter Ants, Crazy Ants and Fire Ants, all of which had their various uses and skills for their mission. However when Lang would go into the tunnels, the size and numbers of the ants would often surprise and alarm him, causing him to regrow into his normal size, much to his embarrassment and Pym's annoyance. Pym also tasked Hope van Dyne in teaching Lang how to fight in the Ant-Man Suit.
Hank Pym found Scott Lang in his study one afternoon fiddling with the Ant-Man Suit's generator on the belt, claiming that he believed he could improve it. Pym told him to stop as any change to the generator would be highly dangerous as if the generator became unstable then the user could potentially fall into the Quantum Realm where they could be lost to time and space forever. Seeing Pym's fear of the dangers that this involved, Lang agreed not to fiddle with the suit any longer.
Explaining the Truth
Despite Pym's best efforts, Scott Lang continued to struggle to master how to communicate with the Ants. As he became more frustrated, Hope van Dyne ordered him to commit to the attempt. To demonstrate that she should be the one going on the mission, van Dyne communicated with the ants and made them place the sugar in the tea before bringing in a small army to do the same. Pym yelled at van Dyne to stop and she stormed out of the house.
When Lang and van Dyne returned into the house after taking a moment to continue their training, Pym made the choice he had been avoiding for decades. He explained to Van Dyne the details of the final mission he had undertaken with her mother Janet van Dyne, telling her of how she had sacrificed herself to save millions of lives and been lost in the Quantum Realm which Pym had spent the next few decades trying to understand. Van Dyne hugged her father and their relationship finally began to rebuild once again, although the moment was somewhat ruined by Lang's comments.
Duel at New Avengers Facility
To put his training to the test, Pym organised a mission in which Scott Lang would be sent to steal a device from one of Howard Stark's old facilities which would help them in their mission by disrupting transmissions from Pym Technologies, allowing them to sneak inside without Darren Cross' security team being aware of their presence.
As Lang rode Ant-thony to the facility while Pym and Hope van Dyne watched from the mansion, Lang quickly reported that the facility had become the New Avengers Facility which was guarded by the Avengers. Realizing their mistake, Hope van Dyne ordered Lang to abandon the mission, but he refused. Once Lang landed he was confronted by Falcon who attempted to stop him, causing them to fight. Lang was just able to overpower and defeat the Falcon before escaping the facility with the device.
Confronted by Darren Cross
Going through the house, Pym discovered that Darren Cross had seemingly broken into his house and was close to discovering their plans. Pym calmly spoke to Cross and as they spoke Scott Lang used the Ants to hide the plans. Cross invited Pym to join him at the presentation for his Yellowjacket Suit, as he claimed that he wanted his mentor to be beside him at his greatest moment of achievement. The two had a conversation about why Pym picked Cross as his mentor in the first place. Pym agreed and Cross left the house, seemingly having not found out about Pym's plans.
Pym discussed if Cross had known that Hope van Dyne was in the house. The question was seemingly answered when van Dyne was called by Cross, who ordered her to increase security at Pym Technologies, leaving the team with seemingly no hope of completing their mission. Scott Lang suggested that they could still complete their plan if they used the water pipes and increased their team to include people to complete other tasks. Realizing that Lang intended to hire his former team of Luis, Dave and Kurt, Pym attempted to argue.
Building the Team
Much to Hank Pym's annoyance, Luis, Kurt and Dave were brought into his home and invited to join their team. The three seem mostly surprised to have been welcomed back into the house after robbing it just a few days earlier. Scott Lang came into the room dressed in the Ant-Man Suit, scaring Luis out of the room when he demonstrated its shrinking abilities.
They worked out the new plan involving Luis, Kurt and Dave, giving them each individual tasks to complete, including allowing Luis to pose as a security guard at Pym Technologies. Pym remained unconvinced by their unprofessionalism and noted that they were doomed to fail with their help. Not helping Pym's confidence was Luis' instance to improvise during his mission by whistling as he believed it would help him blend in as a security guard, despite Lang and Pym's objections who were disgusted by the idea.
Stealing the Yellowjacket
Arriving the Pym Technologies
The plan went underway and Pym arrived at Pym Technologies to meet with Darren Cross. Before Pym could enter however, he was stopped by Jim Paxton and Gale, who wished to question Pym over his relationship with Scott Lang. Pym tried to talk his way out of the situation, telling the men that if he did not get inside the building then a lot of people were going to die. Before he could be arrested however, Dave stole the officer's police car and drove away, forcing them to give chase.
Once inside the facility, Pym was greeted by Darren Cross, who seemed delighted that Pym had turned up. Cross invited Pym and Hope van Dyne into the demonstration room for a private discussion on Cross' achievements. All the while they spoke, Scott Lang made his way through the water line after Luis successfully opened the valves. Lang only needed to wait for Kurt to disable the security systems for a moment so he could steal the Yellowjacket Suit and escape.
Darren Cross' Revenge
Darren Cross welcomed Pym and Hope van Dyne and walked them into the demonstration room, where his men immediately held them at gun point, revealing that he had learnt of their scheme. Cross trapped Scott Lang and took the Yellowjacket Suit before welcoming Mitchell Carson into the room and introduced him as the representative from HYDRA; Pym punched Cross in the face and told him to reconsider selling his designs to the terrorist organizations.
Cross ordered his men to execute Pym, but changed his mind and decided to kill him himself. Before Cross could kill his former mentor, Scott Lang broke free from the glass enclosure and he and Hope van Dyne began fighting Cross' guards. Pym fought Darren Cross and was shot in the shoulder before Cross escaped. Lang and Van Dyne ran to Pym's aid and he ordered Lang to stop Cross while van Dyne stayed with him. Van Dyne told them they had to escape as the entire facility had been rigged to explode.
Pym revealed that the tank key-ring he kept with him was in fact a real tank which had been shrunk down. They transformed the tank to its original size and used it to escape. Van Dyne and Luis took Pym to get medical attention from a nearby ambulance as they witnessed the Pym Technologies building exploding from the C4 which Scott Lang had planted inside. As Pym was treated for his injuries, Lang tracked down and fought Cross. Eventually, Lang was able to kill Cross by damaging his suit's internal mainframe, briefly teleporting him to the Quantum Realm before he was able to return to normal size.
Learning of the Quantum Realm
Back in his mansion, Pym spoke to Scott Lang about what he remembered from his experiences within the Quantum Realm and how he escaped, pushing him for any new details although Lang assured him that he had no recollection of what happened to him, which Pym explained must mean that the human mind cannot cope with such an experience which was why Lang had failed to remember.
Although he gained no real evidence about the realm, knowing that it was possible for someone to go to the Realm and return sparked a new passion within Hank Pym and a hope that it could be possible for Janet van Dyne to return to the normal realm once again. As Lang left, he was walked out by Hope van Dyne; when Pym went out into the corridor, he found Lang and van Dyne kissing. Lang claimed that it was van Dyne who had kissed him but Pym told him that he was full of shit; Lang did not disagree.
Wasp Suit
Hank Pym later took Hope van Dyne into the basement of his mansion, explaining to her that before her death in the 1980's, he and Janet van Dyne had been working on a prototype for a new Wasp Suit. He told her that although they had made it for her mother, he now knew that it should be used by Hope van Dyne. As Pym proudly unveiled the suit to his daughter, she did not disagree and happily accepted the suit, noting that it was about time this happened.
Giant-Man
New Upgrades
Pym and Scott Lang worked together on making the Ant-Man Suit grow instead of shrink. They were successful in one of the laboratory trials, but only for a few seconds before Lang passed out.
Personality
Hank Pym is a multi-faceted man, a passionate scientist who did not wish to see his work fall into the wrong hands. Pym was also a caring father and husband; however, once his wife, Janet van Dyne, sacrificed herself to save the world from a soviet ICBM, Pym became colder and distant. He sent his daughter Hope off to boarding school in order to protect himself and his young daughter from their loss.
Pym has an aggressive side and a tendency to lash out when provoked. When he was insulted by S.H.I.E.L.D. Head of Defense Mitchell Carson about not being able to protect his wife, Pym smashed Carson's face into the desk to the point where his nose bled and threatened him should he mention his wife ever again. This also happened with Darren Cross when Pym found out about Cross wanting to sell Pym Particles to a terrorist organization. He was willing to destroy Pym Technologies to keep his technology out of the wrong hands, though he showed concern for the people inside and planned for it to be evacuated, despite leaving at least some of Cross' men and knocked out terrorists inside when the building was destroyed.
Pym seems to be extremely distrustful of anything related to S.H.I.E.L.D. after they tried to copy the technology behind the Pym Particles. This distrust seems to be even higher towards the Stark family. When Scott Lang asked to bring in the Avengers to help with Cross; Pym replied that he had spent much of his early life keeping Pym Particles out of the hands of Howard Stark and he would not let it fall into the hands of Stark's son Tony. Pym also believes in second chances and redemption, Scott Lang, for example.
Powers and Abilities
Insect Manipulation: Pym can communicate with ants, allowing him a rudimentary form of control over the insects. He uses electromagnetic waves to stimulate their olfactory nerve center and to mimic the pheromones of insect sized organisms using the EMP Communication Device. He could effectively project his will into ants and other insects, which influence their actions and behavior. As of now, he uses the device in the form earpieces similar to hearing aids or coiled communication earpieces. Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne also have these earpieces.
Former Powers
- Ant-Man Suit
- Size Manipulation: Using his developed technology, Pym was able to reduce himself to approximately the size of an ant. He still maintained his regular sized strength and durability during his shrinking. Also, the process of size alteration generates great amounts of physical force and momentum which is scaled beyond that of normal humans, which allows Pym to perform feats of superhuman strength and exert such extreme physical force and momentum in his regular size immediately after changing his size back to normal. He can exert force in his shrunken state that allows him to leap vast distances and great heights, though still in a small scale. Also, his durability in his shrunken scale is enough to him to fall from great height and crash onto a surface with the force of a bullet, leaving a bullet hole like crater in the surface while he can only remain stunned. The process of altering size compresses force and energy, manifesting as brief shockwaves of vibration around the target, which enhances the amount of force the target can generate. It also enhances the density and resilience of a target, making them stronger and harder than normal. Living subjects of this develop inhuman effort and exertion capabilities, notably giving them the force of a bullet while shrunk.
- Superhuman Strength: The process of size alteration grants him superhuman strength, which allowed him to defeat opponents of normal human size.
- Size Manipulation: Using his developed technology, Pym was able to reduce himself to approximately the size of an ant. He still maintained his regular sized strength and durability during his shrinking. Also, the process of size alteration generates great amounts of physical force and momentum which is scaled beyond that of normal humans, which allows Pym to perform feats of superhuman strength and exert such extreme physical force and momentum in his regular size immediately after changing his size back to normal. He can exert force in his shrunken state that allows him to leap vast distances and great heights, though still in a small scale. Also, his durability in his shrunken scale is enough to him to fall from great height and crash onto a surface with the force of a bullet, leaving a bullet hole like crater in the surface while he can only remain stunned. The process of altering size compresses force and energy, manifesting as brief shockwaves of vibration around the target, which enhances the amount of force the target can generate. It also enhances the density and resilience of a target, making them stronger and harder than normal. Living subjects of this develop inhuman effort and exertion capabilities, notably giving them the force of a bullet while shrunk.
Abilities
- Genius Level Intellect: Hank Pym is among the most intelligent individuals in the history of the earth, with intelligence comparable to that of Anthony Stark.
- Master Scientist and Engineer: Hank is among the most brilliant, if not, the most brilliant, scientific genius on Earth, particularly being unmatched in the fields of entomology, human enchantments, nanotechnology, molecular and atomic physics but also chemistry, and is also extremely adept at engineering magnificent scientific equipments. Pym's mastery of science was prominent even in his youth, having been a high-level enough of a promising scientist to be recruited as a consultant and even discovered and managed to personally and safely harness the extremely rare inter-dimensional Pym Particles, creating the Ant-Man Suit, which was an unmatched feat even with all of S.H.I.E.L.D's efforts and not even Howard Stark, an extremely accomplished scientist in his own right, was able to come close to replicating it. He also managed to create the EMP Communication Device to control ants, which he had mastered to an unseen level as it's creator. Hank would greatly advance the fields of nanotechnology, human enhancements, as well as molecular and atomic studies with his company Pym Technologies and years later, would tinker successfully with the Ant-Man Suit to allow it to also increase it's size.
- Expert Businessman: Having been adept enough to consult S.H.I.E.L.D in it's business affairs even while still young, Hank would become an exceptional businessman capable of founding the Pym Technologies and leading it single-handedly for years, overseeing it's activities so effectively that he would earn a distinguished reputation among the business community, earning billions of money, and Darren Cross, an excellent businessman in his own right, needed the aid of Hope Van Dyne to force Hank into retirement.
- Skilled Combatant: From his training in the US Army, Hank become an excellent fighter. He effortlessly overtook Mitchell Carson with a single swift slamming move that broke his nose upon hitting his desk and even at his old age, was able to take on the gun-armed Darren Cross, initially able to overwhelm him before being shot in the shoulder.
Quotes
| “ | I'm a scientist. | „ |
| ~ Hank Pym |
Gallery
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