2

I have heard in multiple podcasts (sorry, no specific reference) allusions to there being issues with the personality, representation, or actions of the Hank Pym character in the comics in the past. In some instances, I believe there were comments about one particular panel which was particularly problematic.

What's the story with this?

2 Answers 2

5

There were a few issues with Hank Pym, I know in the 80s (Avengers #213) there is a panel that shows Hank beating his wife(which I don't want to display), which was very problematic. In the 60s, he constantly needed validation and developed giant man only when he didn't think he was as strong as the other avengers. With all of the experimentation on himself with various chemicals, he had a mental breakdown.

When they were referring to the 'problematic panel' it's definitely the aforementioned altercation with Janet.

7
  • 3
    Thanks. Having now googled that panel, think you should it should be part of the answer. We're all suposed to be mature here, and hiding the past is not the way learn from it. Jun 4, 2019 at 17:43
  • 3
    ... I really doubt that anyone is going to see a panel from thirty years ago and somehow it's the tipping point that justifies domestic violence for them. Perhaps we can wrap it in a spoiler tag? Jun 4, 2019 at 17:45
  • @ThePopMachine I might add it in later.
    – CBredlow
    Jun 4, 2019 at 17:49
  • If anyone is interested, I found it here: theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/…
    – Raj
    Jun 4, 2019 at 18:10
  • I think in the Ultimates he is responsible for actually killing Janet.
    – Darren
    Jun 6, 2019 at 9:32
5

Hank Pym has a long history of mental trouble.

He used many identities over the years; first Ant-Man, then Giant Man, then Goliath. Then the first severe mental change happened:

Hank Pym had long been in love with Janet van Dyne, but because of his repressed personality, and her abundant wealth, he resisted marrying her. One day while working in his laboratory, Pym accidentally dropped and smashed some vials containing various unknown gases, which wreaked a radical personality change; a sort of severe schizophrenia. He took the identity of Yellowjacket, who claimed that he had murdered Henry Pym, kidnapped van Dyne, and proposed marriage to her. Realizing that Yellowjacket was really Pym, Van Dyne decided to play along, fearing that she would worsen his psychological condition if she did otherwise.

After this, Hank stayed with his Yellowjacket identity even though he recovered his original persona. Later, he got very frustrated juggling his crime-fighting career with his preferred science career and was plagued by guilt over creating Ultron. He got increasingly erratic, using verbal and later physical against Janet/Wasp, and eventually leaving the Avengers after a self-created threat designed to show his usefulness to the Avengers backfired.

He eventually redeemed himself, but decided to forego crime-fighting and focus on science. He thought that regular size-changing might have harmed him mentally, so for a while, with the West Coast Avengers, he adopted the identity of "Hank Pym, Adventurer", where he used his Pym Particles to shrink and grow stuff other than himself.

Much later, after Janet van Dyne died, he adopted the identity of The Wasp in her memory, which his colleagues thought rather disturbing, and endangered his Mighty Avengers team in an effort to prove he was a greater scientist than Reed Richards.

In the Time Runs Out storyline, he again assumes the Yellowjacket identity and goes off into the multuverse to find Rabum Alal, instead finding the real originators of the crisis (dare I say it) on infinite earths. This ordeal also seemed to have affected his mind.

I haven't read up on what happened to him after that, but the Marvel wiki has tons of detail

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.