Published on July 30th, 2022

Marvel's Ant-Man may be known as a wisecracking, family-friendly character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the comic version has plenty of flaws that occasionally blur the line between hero and villain. Three individuals have worn the Ant-Man suit, and every one of them is a nuanced character who struggles with major problems in their life. In the new series beginning with Ant-Man #1, Marvel examines the lives of Hank Pym, Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady in an attempt to answer the question: is Ant-Man worthy of being a hero?

Hank Pym is one of the older superheroes created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. In a story first published in Tales to Astonish #27 in 1962, Doctor Hank Pym is a brilliant scientist who creates two chemicals: one that shrinks matter and the other that grows it back to the original size. These would later be called Pym Particles, and Hank Pym would eventually create a device that allowed him to command ants (via his helmet) and fight crime as the Astonishing Ant-Man. He was also one of the founding members of the Avengers, along with his parter the Wasp.

In Ant-Man #1, written by Al Ewing and Tom Reilly, Hank Pym expects an uneventful night at the movies with Janet - but trouble has a way of following him. Two moviegoers toss popcorn at Hank's head (one of them is revealed to be future Ant-Man Eric O'Grady) and his temper eventually gets the better of him; when O'Grady refills his popcorn at the concessions stand, Hank changes into his Ant-Man suit and shrinks down, using his helmet to command an army of ants to crawl out of the popcorn bucket. O'Grady, scared and disgusted out of his wits, drops his popcorn and dashes out of the theater.

This is remarkably petty for a founding Avenger, but Marvel fans know it's well within Hank's character to get angry and annoyed at the smallest issues in life. Unfortunately, he's also well-known for an infamous moment in which Ant-Man slapped his wife - and even though he was partially under the influence of a chemical from a supervillain, the moment continues to define Hank Pym. Other Ant-Men have their own issues as well: Scott Lang is a rather inept thief, and Eric O'Grady is a selfish self-serving man who constantly takes advantage of others (and even stole the Ant-Man suit).

The first issue ends with Hank Pym meeting a strange man from the future - who also happens to be an Ant-Man - and asks him to save the future from a terrible past. The blurb for the upcoming Ant-Man #2 mentions both the current Ant-Man Scott Lang and future hero Eric O'Grady - and specifically calls out the latter for being "irredeemable." It appears this new Ant-Man series isn't finished exploring the weaknesses and failings of the smallest Avengers - as well as their heroic moments.

Original article: Marvel's New Ant-Man Series Explains Why Every Version is Horrible