How does Ant Man size up against other Marvel heroes?

Question

To what extent has Ant Man interacted with other Marvel heroes such as the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, etc.? Has he fought alongside them (or perhaps against them) in any of the comics? If so, how does he size up (no pun intended) against the other heroes, i.e., how did he fare fighting alongside or against them?

Answer 1

Ant-Man is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comics published by Marvel Comics. Ant-Man was originally the superhero persona of Doctor Henry Pym, a brilliant scientist who invented a substance that allowed him to change his size. Hank Pym was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Tales to Astonish#27 (Jan. 1962); his first appearance as Ant-Man was in Tales to Astonish #35 (Sept. 1962).

• After Pym retired his Ant-Man identity, successors Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady have used Pym's technology to take on the role of Ant-Man.

As to whether Doctor Pym has interacted with other characters in the Marvel Universe:

• He has worked with all of the heavies of the Marvel Universe, particularly if science was involved. He has worked on more than one occasion with Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four.

• He has performed a variety of scientific endeavors with other Avengers including Tony Stark, Dr. Hank McCoy (the Beast), the Vision, Peter Parker and the Black Panther. He has studied the powers of Wonder Man, helped to repair and modify the Vision.

• As a fighter, Pym admitted his failings but used science to augment his merely human abilities, particularly during his periods as Giant-Man and Goliath. He augmented the fighting ability of the early Avengers as Giant-Man but would eventually become the scientific mind behind the team and would later mentor the Young Avengers.

• His human body would never give him the durability of the Hulk, the damage dealing capacity of Thor or Iron Man and would part of the inferiority complex along with his bipolar psychology, which would lead to his descent into madness.

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• Ant-Man may have made his first appearance in Tales to Astonish but he really didn't hit the big time until he became a charter member of the World's Mightiest Heroes, The Avengers.

• Yes, that's right, for all of you Marvel Cinematic Universe types, Ant-Man and his wife-to-be Janet Van Dyne (the Wasp) were founding members of the Avengers.

Hank Pym, is a certified creative genius:

• His expertise includes cybernetics, genetic manipulation, robotics, computer design, computer programming, extra-dimensional realms, subspace, and artificial intelligence.

• Creating his cybernetic helmet he would be able to communicate intelligently with ants thus giving himself an army of tiny helpers or tiny informants depending on his needs.

• Before he could fly, he would use a catapult to launch himself into the air before landing on a pillow of ants... He would later decide to figure out how to ride on the back of a winged ant named Korr for increased mobility. Pym and his wife had a career fighting crime even before they became founding members of the Avengers.

• He developed the serum which would later give him access to the size-changing extra-dimensional material he would dub "Pym Particles".

• His "Pym Particles" would give him both the power to alter his size from the size of an ant to over one hundred feet tall. In his identity as Giant-Man (and later Goliath) his serum would also give him superhuman strength in his giant forms. Unfortunately, it was almost always limited by the strain on his Human physiology. At his tallest, he was capable of moving weights of 100+ tons for a limited time.

• He would also genetically engineer his future wife Janet Van Dyne, giving her the power to change her size and develop insect-like wings when she shrank. He also bio-engineered an energy blast capacity she called her "Wasp's Sting". He would upgrade it several times during her career as well.

• He would create the artificial and developing intelligence which would become the greatest recurrent threat to the Avengers and the world at large. His sentient robot, Ultron would grow to be one of the greatest threats the world had ever known.

• Ultron, whose mind is patterned from Pym's, would create the Vision from the body of the Original Human Torch and a robotic companion based on Janet Van Dyne's mental engrams, who would be called Jocasta.

• He has acted under many memorable, identities, such as Ant-Man, Giant Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, Doctor Pym and in homage to his dead wife, he became the Wasp. For a time he would give up his superheroic identity, due to the strain of changing size and became the adventurer, Doctor Pym. While he could no longer change size, he could carry around any number of devices exposed to Pym Particles and could return them to normal size as needed.

• His scientific creativity made him one of the most respected scientists on the Avengers. He was also considered Earth's Scientist Supreme, as decreed by the cosmic entity, Eternity.

Here in his identity as the Wasp, Pym is confronted by Eternity and revealed to be The Scientist Supreme of Earth.

He would also suffer greatly:

• He is a sufferer of mental illness. His bipolar activity would cause him to be at least for a time, considered a wife abuser.

• He would be partially responsible for the transfer of the mental engrams of Janet Van Dyne to the android, Jocasta.

• His imbalance would lead him, because of a personal inferiority complex, to seek greater power and greater risks for himself and the Avengers.

• Ultron would during the course of its robotic reign of terror be responsible for untold deaths and destruction, affecting events around the world.

• He would eventually be merged with his most terrible creation, Ultron. He would be declared deceased though his mind is trapped inside of the robotic body of Ultron.

Doctor Hank Pym had an amazing career as a hero in the Marvel Universe, he was both brilliant and flawed, that rare combination of hero who struggles to achieve greatness and is often destroyed by his quest for it. For all of his trials, his successes and failures, Doctor Pym is a legendary member of the Avengers.

See Also: Why is Ant-Man so strong when he is so small?

See Also: Is Marvel's Antman ripped off from DC's Atom?

Answer 2

Depends on which Antman to which you are referring. Hank Pym--the original Antman--is wicked smart; comparable to the likes of Reed Richards.