Do writers hate Hank Pym Ant-Man?

[Michael Watkins]

As opposed to a fictional dude who struck his fictional wife during a fictional breakdown? For someone who says he doesn't care about (fictional) Pym, you've spent an awful lot of time in this thread trying to knock him down. Fictionally speaking, of course.

at what point did i say that I don't care about the character? i'll wait.

[Snoop Dogg]

The X-Men are currently buddies with Gorgon, a man who kidnapped a child, killed him and fed his body to pigs just to lure Wolverine into a trap in his first appearance. Most X-Men readers seem perfectly fine with this.

Probably because the point of villains on Krakoa is not to redeem them or pretend that they are good.

[Commissioner Wayne]

at what point did i say that I don't care about the character? i'll wait.

“i consider Pym to be a villain. i just consider him to be completely uninteresting.”

[Mary Jay]

I didn't read the whole thread so sorry if this is covered, but honestly I think the answer is much more surface level and we're digging too deep:

Readers stopped caring about Pym decades ago. He's just not interesting.

Ultron is literally the only thing people really know or care about ... and for new readers they wont even have that (thanks to a movie retcon). At this point Marvel is swamped with super smart people, so outside the super villain he created he brings nothing to the table. The fact that he even gets pages every now and again feels like fan service more than anything else. Know your base I guess.

I don't think writers hate him. I think they are simply apathetic. He hasn't been an important character in decades.

If readers stopped caring, Marvel wouldn't have continued to publish him. The very fact that people are writing in this thread saying "hey, I like that character" renders your point invalid. He IS interesting to a lot of people. The fact that he's not interesting to you doesn't mean everybody feels the same.

And if he hasn't been an important character for decades, why was he involved in pretty much every story involving the Avengers for decades? Mighty Avengers, Civil War, Secret Invasion, Avengers Academy, Secret Avengers... heck, an entire event was based on "what would happen if we erase him from existence?"

Maybe writers are apathetic about him. Maybe they feel like somebody painted Hank in a corner with this whole Pymtron thing, and they can't find a way to carry out the story properly. Personally, I hope someone will find a way to do it. Because I find the character interesting

[Frontier]

Maybe writers are apathetic about him. Maybe they feel like somebody painted Hank in a corner with this whole Pymtron thing, and they can't find a way to carry out the story properly. Personally, I hope someone will find a way to do it. Because I find the character interesting

Same here .

[Skullkid]

I think there’s also the issue that the controversy around Hank keeps him from fading into the background

And Hank needs to fade into background why?
There's no reason he can't be in the forefront of events and be a hero besides the fact people can't stop throwing the past in his face.

[Mike]

I don't think it's hate.
Just lazy.
Hank Pym had a very interesting history, then Jim Shooter writes one terrible story and that is all writers can write about.
Just lazy.

[Michael Watkins]

“i consider Pym to be a villain. i just consider him to be completely uninteresting.”

I find him uninteresting. But I’m an ant-man fan. So I care that a toxic character like Pym is associated with that identity. Do you understand now?

[Skullkid]

I would think an Ant-Man fan would know the most toxic thing about Hank is the fact people keep trying to retroactively make him look as such.

[Michael Watkins]

I would think an Ant-Man fan would know the most toxic thing about Hank is the fact people keep trying to retroactively make him look as such.

his bad reputation existed long before i started reading comics.

[king of hybrids]

And Hank needs to fade into background why?
There's no reason he can't be in the forefront of events and be a hero besides the fact people can't stop throwing the past in his face.

Because if it was a choice between him fading into the background, becoming a supporting character to Janet, Scott, Bill etc and then returning to prominence later due to MCU/Ultron; and the perpetual roundabout Hank’s currently in; which is the better in hindsight.

[Alphaxman]

I don't think it's hate.
Just lazy.
Hank Pym had a very interesting history, then Jim Shooter writes one terrible story and that is all writers can write about.
Just lazy.

I totally agree. If they would have let him keep the Avenger Academy or just have him as the de facto mentor to the younger generation and lead as an example on what not to do, it could help cement his legacy. They could use the fact that he has so many legacy characters (before Marvel started making it fashionable to have legacy characters like DC) proves that his basic concept worked. Even though some might think that so many has taken his names and powers from him proves the otherwise. If they just could leave that stupid mental breakdown go, he might have a chance to join Reed and Stark (and imo when it comes to robotics and bio-chemistry he should be smarter) as the leading big-brains of the MU.

[Michael Watkins]

they could give him a beehive shaped school and call it Inch High.

[stingray]

Hank was just voted #65 on Marvels top 100 characters of all time on this very site. Well ahead of Scott Lang, flavors of the month like Gwenpool, and long time characters like Mystique, Blade, and Archangel. Anyone who says nobody cares about Hank is clearly mistaken. Also, Michael Watkins, you have Magneto as your avatar. A man who has done things far, far worse than Hank Pym, including murder. How can you like him and vilify Hank?

[Michael Watkins]

Hank was just voted #65 on Marvels top 100 characters of all time on this very site. Well ahead of Scott Lang, flavors of the month like Gwenpool, and long time characters like Mystique, Blade, and Archangel. Anyone who says nobody cares about Hank is clearly mistaken. Also, Michael Watkins, you have Magneto as your avatar. A man who has done things far, far worse than Hank Pym, including murder. How can you like him and vilify Hank?

just when i thought i was out, they keep pulling me back in.

Again, i never said that i didn't care or even implied that others don't. i said that i find him uninteresting. How can i like a supervillain and "vilify" Pym? quite easily. i have a different standard for characters held up as heroes and those rightfully labeled as villains. Magneto, the character, knows exactly what he is. he embraces it or did no one notice the "Evil" in Brotherhood of Evil mutants. And i'd argue that Pym has still done far worse than Magneto. the latter has been alive since before WWII. Pym, through Ultron, is guilty of mass murder on an epic scale. and he added a few thousand more before coming back to Earth as Pymtron. him being 65 on a popularity list is exactly why i'm not going to shut up about him being a wife-beating piece of trash. that just reinforces stereotypes about comic book readers.