Tales to Astonish! Hank Pym Appreciation 2019

[XPac]

How can they meet? Hank is dead.

When I heard about Nadia's creation, I thought it was for the sole purpose of mirroring the MCU in the sense that, in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hank and Hope worked together to rescue Janet. I thought they would mirror that and that in comics, Nadia and Janet would work together to rescue Hank. But no, they don't really seem to care. They care about his money, his company, his house in NJ, his gadgets, but not his life or his name, apparently.

Nadia can still meet Pymtron doen the line. Assuming he comes out of soul workd in one piece, that should be interesting encounter.

[Mary Jay]

Jeremy Whitley seems to be possibly planting seeds for some Pym/Pymtron type reunion with the AIM as a factor although I have a feeling Marvel might veto him bringing Pym back in that book even though it would probably make sense to bring him back in that title.

I got the feeling Hank has been completely yanked from Ultron in Infinity Wars... whatever Pymtron pretends to be these days, he's probably delusional. There is nothing to reunite there IMO.

[Mary Jay]

Nadia can still meet Pymtron doen the line. Assuming he comes out of soul workd in one piece, that should be interesting encounter.

Pymtron is loose somewhere in the galaxy by now. As for Hank, we have no idea where he could be... is there another dimension inside Devondra?

[maklelin highbain]

Pymtron is loose somewhere in the galaxy by now. As for Hank, we have no idea where he could be... is there another dimension inside Devondra?

i was really hoping that cliffhanger was to be addressed in infinity wars but to my great disappointment it seems that he was utterly forgotten. And even worse I can't see any a route back for poor lost Hank. I thought it was an especially cruel ending (both for Hank and myself as a fan). I live in optimism that (as mentioned by Mary Jay) that he managed to transfer his consciousness into a digital matrix and is somehow floating around in some form of cyber space seeking a way out or already working on one

[Mary Jay]

i was really hoping that cliffhanger was to be addressed in infinity wars but to my great disappointment it seems that he was utterly forgotten. And even worse I can't see any a route back for poor lost Hank. I thought it was an especially cruel ending (both for Hank and myself as a fan). I live in optimism that (as mentioned by Mary Jay) that he managed to transfer his consciousness into a digital matrix and is somehow floating around in some form of cyber space seeking a way out or already working on one

Yeah, I felt the same about the ending of Infinity Wars. What was the point of bringing Hank into the story? It served no purpose. Well... he is now free from Ultron, so I guess that's something. But how could he come back now? I have no idea...

I read the sollicits for No Road Home, and in issue #9 there is a new world involved, called "Euphoria", the "whishing world"... and I can't help thinking: what was Hank doing just before Devondra got the best of him? Whishing he was back home with his friends and Jan... so... the crazy optimist in me thinks it might be something. The realist thinks I'm grasping at straws here.

[XPac]

i was really hoping that cliffhanger was to be addressed in infinity wars but to my great disappointment it seems that he was utterly forgotten. And even worse I can't see any a route back for poor lost Hank. I thought it was an especially cruel ending (both for Hank and myself as a fan). I live in optimism that (as mentioned by Mary Jay) that he managed to transfer his consciousness into a digital matrix and is somehow floating around in some form of cyber space seeking a way out or already working on one

No one stays dead in comics. One way or another he'll come back.

[maklelin highbain]

No one stays dead in comics. One way or another he'll come back.

yeah but sometimes it can take years budding into decades (also Mar-Vell is possibly the one exception, they have temporarily brought him back a few times but thankfully, as it would have stole the impact, it was never permanent). Oh and I just thought (as far as I know) Bill 'Goliath' Foster (again hopefully not as again that would have taken the sting out of CW)

[maklelin highbain]

Yeah, I felt the same about the ending of Infinity Wars. What was the point of bringing Hank into the story? It served no purpose. Well... he is now free from Ultron, so I guess that's something. But how could he come back now? I have no idea...

I read the sollicits for No Road Home, and in issue #9 there is a new world involved, called "Euphoria", the "whishing world"... and I can't help thinking: what was Hank doing just before Devondra got the best of him? Whishing he was back home with his friends and Jan... so... the crazy optimist in me thinks it might be something. The realist thinks I'm grasping at straws here.

i pray you are correct, not long to wait now fortunately

[kilderkin]

It'd be REAL nice if Editorial vetoed the Pym slap.

As I understand it that came about as a miscommunication between writer and artist

Given that, some sort of fix by retcons might work, but it's a defining moment

It's certainly a damning one

[chamber-music]

No one stays dead in comics. One way or another he'll come back.

This.

Not really sure why people think Pym can't comeback. Comics have brought back characters from the dead that have died definitive deaths lots of times. Wolverine and Cyclops have just come back from the dead. Scott Lang was 'dead' for years before being brought back in Children's Crusade. War Machine has died 'twice' in recent years and has been revived. In the fantasy world of comics anything is possible.

I think the question is if there is any desire from anyone at Marvel to bring him back or are they deliberately shelving Hank Pym for a while in the hope that his absence will generate more demand and sales for any title he returns in.

Marvel have tactically shelved characters in the past (Thor, Fantastic Four, ect) using the whole absence makes the heart grow fonder approach so that there is more interest in a character returning.

[Mary Jay]

This.

Not really sure why people think Pym can't comeback. Comics have brought back characters from the dead that have died definitive deaths lots of times. Wolverine and Cyclops have just come back from the dead. Scott Lang was 'dead' for years before being brought back in Children's Crusade. War Machine has died 'twice' in recent years and has been revived. In the fantasy world of comics anything is possible.

I think the question is if there is any desire from anyone at Marvel to bring him back or are they deliberately shelving Hank Pym for a while in the hope that his absence will generate more demand and sales for any title he returns in.

Marvel have tactically shelved characters in the past (Thor, Fantastic Four, ect) using the whole absence makes the heart grow fonder approach so that there is more interest in a character returning.

I don't think it's the question of "he can't come back" but moreso, as you say, the willingness from Marvel to do so. It's coming up on four years now, and the few writers that have used Pymtron (Duggan and... nobody else, I guess...) have not done a great job at untangling the story, or giving us fans hope of the real Hank's return.

There is certainly an interest in the character coming back, but I'm not delusional to the point of thinking it equals that of say Cyclops or Wolverine or the Fantastic Four. But it is true that Marvel seems to like teasing a return in some form, otherwise they wouldn't have used Hank or Pymtron in Infinity Wars, so you might be on to something here.

I guess patience is indeed a virtue

[XPac]

Too bad Pym isn't around. For some reason, I thought of him when I was reading No Road Home today and how he could have beena good fit for the story. Maybe because seeing Wanda and Clint gave me a sort of old school West Coast Avengers vibe. Plus Clint pulling out some Pym particles.

[Frontier]

I'm kind of surprised the comics keep trying to wipe their hands as Hank when he's still so prominent in the Ant-Man movies.

Granted, Michael Douglas' Hank doesn't have the slap to weigh him down like it does comic Hank, but he's still portrayed as a major, pivotal, figure and is as much a main character as Scott is.

[XPac]

I'm kind of surprised the comics keep trying to wipe their hands as Hank when he's still so prominent in the Ant-Man movies.

Granted, Michael Douglas' Hank doesn't have the slap to weigh him down like it does comic Hank, but he's still portrayed as a major, pivotal, figure and is as much a main character as Scott is.

Maybe the idea is to get him to retire again, so he's more like the MCU Hank.

I will say one of my favorite versions of Hank was actually the retired Hank in West Coast Avengers.

[Mary Jay]

Maybe the idea is to get him to retire again, so he's more like the MCU Hank.

I will say one of my favorite versions of Hank was actually the retired Hank in West Coast Avengers.

I'd be disappointed if they were to bring him back only to be retired. Don't get me wrong, I loved Hank as the "scientific adventurer" in WCA, but the only thing he was retired from was wearing a suit and going by a codename. He was pretty much part of the action all the time. Not to mention, not a senior citizen

I love Michael Douglas's portrayal of Hank Pym in the MCU (I love Michael Douglas, period ). Considering the decisions Marvel made with the Ant-Man franchise (having Lang as the active Ant-Man, making Hank an old man, etc...) I think we got the best outcome all things considered. But I wouldn't want this for the comics. I don't want an elderly Hank, and I'd like him to come back in his costumed identity. If one thing 50+ years of comic book history has shown us is that Hank Pym never stays retired