The Original Ant-Man!: Hank Pym Appreciation

[Mary Jay]

Ant-Man and the Wasp will be released on BluRay and DVD on October 2nd!

There will be several special features, including one in which Hank and Jan take a stroll in the Quantum Realm! I can't wait to see this.

Old Man Hank with Janet is better than Dead-Hank-not-with-Janet in comics

EDIT: It seems it's the digital version that will be available on Oct. 2nd. BluRay and DVD will be released on October 16th.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Tales to Astonish #46 Aug 1963
"...When Cyclops Walks the Earth"
With a lull in crime, Henry Pym and Janet Van Dyne decide to take a vacation. Traveling to Greece,
they hear stories of a giant monster that has been reported to be stealing ships from sea,
which makes them unable to get someone to take them to the island. However, one man later lends them one.
Renting a boat and assuming their guises of Ant-Man and the Wasp, the two heroes seek to solve the mystery of this apparent sea monster.

While out at sea, they are attacked by what appears to be a Cyclops of Greek myth.
Shrinking down to ant-size so as not to be noticed by the giant creature, the heroes allow the monster to capture their boat.
The monster brings them to an island where they find all the missing people are being held captive by the monster Cyclops.

While exploring the island, they discover that aliens are plotting to take over the Earth (believe it or not),
and that they've captured the fishermen and sailors in order to study them.
They also learn that the cyclops is actually a robot the aliens created to capture their specimens.
The aliens, known as A-Chiltarians, surmise that the Human race is inferior to themselves and, thus easy prey for global conquest.

The invaders order the Cyclops to destroy the Humans on the island.

Ant-Man sends the Wasp to free the sailors while he tries to find a way to stop the Cyclops.
Entering into its mechanisms through the robot's mouth, Ant-Man realises that he can control the Cyclops by adjusting the frequency of his helmet.

He then uses the Cyclops to free the sailors, and scare away the aliens, leaving them to believe that Humans are more powerful than they had originally posited.

With the aliens defeated, and the sailors free, Ant-Man commands the Cyclops to walk to the bottom of the ocean to be lost at sea forever.
Ant-Man and Wasp return to the mainland where they enjoy their vacation for a few days before returning home.

Script by Stan Lee and Ernie Hart [as H. E. Huntley], art by Don Heck

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Tales to Astonish #47 Sep 1963
"Music to Scream By"
After preventing international criminal Ramond Theis from stealing the diamond known as "The Star of Ghana",
the grateful owner tells Ant-Man and Wasp a tale from his native India about a man named Ghazandi whose music
could hypnotize people and that his only weakness is playing the wrong note and be subject to hypnosis himself.
On their way back home, Ant-Man and Wasp fly past a club where musician Trago is featured playing Jazz.

The Wasp convinces Ant-Man to go back there with her in their civilian guises of Henry Pym and Janet van Dyne.
After the show they happen to witness Trago robbing the club owner's cash box.
Donning their identities of Ant-Man and the Wasp, the two heroes easily stop Trago and return the money.
The club owner decides not to call the police if Trago promises to return to his native India. Trago complies.

Two months later, in India, Trago manages to find the home of Ghazandi. Recalling the stories of
Ghazandi's musical powers he manages to convince the aged wise man to teach him how to play hypnotic music.
Many months later Trago returns to the United States and begins performing in clubs again.

Successfully using his hypnotic music to enthrall people, Trago manages to get himself into a radio station where he broadcasts his hypnotic music all over the city.
There he calls on the people to try and find Ant-Man and Wasp, who are also affected and stunned by the music.
Ant-Man's ants carry the two heroes deep into an ant-hill in an attempt to shield them from the music.
Realizing his current plan isn't working, Trago commands local snakes to start searching for Ant-Man and Wasp.

In the ant-hill, the duo are attacked by a snake and use their shrinking gas on it, but not before Ant-Man's faithful ant Korr sacrifices its life to save him.

Traveling to the radio station, Ant-Man gets inside Trago's trumpet, and while his ants distract Trago he bends part of the instrument out of shape.
This causes the next note to effect Trago instead of his audience, causing him to forget his criminal intentions and become a legitimate musician.
Ant-Man and Wasp decide to let Trago go because he had not committed any real crime.


We end with Hank and Janet both listening to Trago, as he now has no memory of the incidents.
Hank is still saddened by the loss of his ant, Korr, so Jan and he both walk home together.

Script by Stan Lee and Ernie Hart [as H. E. Huntley], art by Don Heck

[itspopularnowitsucks]

Any chance our dude gets restored when they undo whatever is happening in Infinity Wars (since everyone is fused with another)

[Mary Jay]

Any chance our dude gets restored when they undo whatever is happening in Infinity Wars (since everyone is fused with another)

His soul has been eaten by the soul-eating creatue lurking in Soul World... I wish he could be restored but I don't really see how right now.

Maybe we'll learn more about what happens to the souls that got eaten with the next issue of Infinity Wars. I still don't understand why Duggan would go to lengths to include Ultron in Infinity Countdown, who didn't do much in terms of story development - it seemed more and more like the only reason for his inclusion was to have an excuse to whack Hank's soul out of him. And then, why did Duggan send Hank to Soul World only to be re-killed by that creature? I'm still hoping, against all odds, that there will be some positive outcome to all this, otherwise it makes just no sense to have him involved at all in this story. So far, there isn't a single reason story-wise to have him be involved.

On the other side, there is so little for him to come back to... I mean, both Jocasta and now Jan are with Stark, Tigra is somehow inexplicably running a giant rampage on the west coast, and her own daugther hasn't lifted one finger to find him, doesn't want his name but only his money and his company (sorry but that's how it looks). The Academy doesn't exist anymore, the Avengers don't seem to care about his fate, Victor is dead (? not sure about that one), I have no idea what's going on with Vision... I fear that if he comes back, he'll go into another depression like in the beginning of Mighty Avengers

[Michael Watkins]

Isn't it Jan's company?

[Mary Jay]

Isn't it Jan's company?

Well, I have to admit that technically it's an imaginary company since nowhere in the 50+ years of publication of Hank Pym has there been any mention of a company whatsoever. Only recently, after the first Ant-Man movie, did Hank suddenly sprug a long-time-running company out of thin air (while at the same time being "dead", no less).

Nevertheless it does exist now, it was founded by Hank, it was run by Hank, and it's called Pym Technologies. So argue all you want, these are the facts as I see them. And with this, I'll see myself out of this argument.

[chamber-music]

Hanks status is somewhat confusing. Avengers unity squad book made it seem like they though Hank was dead and Pymtron was just wearing his face. The Pymtron appearance Secret Empire made it seem like the Avengers thought Hank was 'in control' although Infinity Countdown shows he wasn't.

Hope still wants her father. Hope's desire to be with her dad is still a pretty big thing for her character as we saw in the recent Ant-Man and Wasp mini. Also the new Unstoppable Wasp run is going to deal with Hope battling A.I.M over something to do with Hank.

Victor is back in the Runaways feeling guilty about what he did in the vision family comic run.

Hank Pym doesn't need to come back for Janet, Tigra or Jacosta. Marvel should probably try giving him a new love interest if they decide to bring him back and go down that route anyway.

[Michael Watkins]

Hanks status is somewhat confusing. Avengers unity squad book made it seem like they though Hank was dead and Pymtron was just wearing his face. The Pymtron appearance Secret Empire made it seem like the Avengers thought Hank was 'in control' although Infinity Countdown shows he wasn't.

Hope still wants her father. Hope's desire to be with her dad is still a pretty big thing for her character as we saw in the recent Ant-Man and Wasp mini. Also the new Unstoppable Wasp run is going to deal with Hope battling A.I.M over something to do with Hank.

Victor is back in the Runaways feeling guilty about what he did in the vision family comic run.

Hank Pym doesn't need to come back for Janet, Tigra or Jacosta. Marvel should probably try giving him a new love interest if they decide to bring him back and go down that route anyway.

what's wrong with single? his insecurities might be less triggered that way. just a thought.

[Mary Jay]

Hank Pym doesn't need to come back for Janet, Tigra or Jacosta. Marvel should probably try giving him a new love interest if they decide to bring him back and go down that route anyway.

I kind of agree with you, but Hank is the kind of person who needs a goal, a purpose. If he doesn't have anyone or anything to come back for, he'll fall, or he'll become a recluse. His heart will be broken enough, that's for sure...

what's wrong with single? his insecurities might be less triggered that way. just a thought.

Nothing wrong with being single. In this case, it could be interpreted as "person with a mental disorder isn't worthy of somebody's love and should stay alone forever".

On a side note, he had never been more stable and "normal" as when he was with Tigra in AA.

[Michael Watkins]

Nothing wrong with being single. In this case, it could be interpreted as "person with a mental disorder isn't worthy of somebody's love and should stay alone forever".
AA.

He had a wife. He has a daughter. He had love. That they chose the abusive guy to represent mental illness can be interpreted as an insult to that community. Especially one who thinks he's above actual treatment.

[Mary Jay]

He had a wife. He has a daughter. He had love. That they chose the abusive guy to represent mental illness can be interpreted as an insult to that community. Especially one who thinks he's above actual treatment.

I am part of that "community", as you say. I don't find it insulting one bit. Maybe because I don't define the character as "the abusive guy" like you. We've been down that road before, countless times, and I have no intention of going there again.

[Mary Jay]

Hanks status is somewhat confusing. Avengers unity squad book made it seem like they though Hank was dead and Pymtron was just wearing his face. The Pymtron appearance Secret Empire made it seem like the Avengers thought Hank was 'in control' although Infinity Countdown shows he wasn't.

Hope still wants her father. Hope's desire to be with her dad is still a pretty big thing for her character as we saw in the recent Ant-Man and Wasp mini. Also the new Unstoppable Wasp run is going to deal with Hope battling A.I.M over something to do with Hank.

Yes, Hank's status is pretty confusing, both for the readers and the characters in-story.

As for Hope, I agree with what you wrote, but that's only when Waid is writing her. When it's Whitley (the guy in charge of her solo, so in my mind the "main writer") she just doesn't seem to care that much. Waid wrote a beautiful issue in Ant-Man and the Wasp when Nadia thought back at her years in the Red Room, when that lady told him she'd never see her father or that he doesn't even know she existed... it broke my heart for her. It's the complete opposite of when Whitley writes her, then I can't stand her.

[Kyer]

So a couple of months ago Hank got eaten by a tentacle monster and just a bit ago Wally West OG was murdered off screen. Oh. And The Doctor is having a sex change and awful dress sense with a suit that looks like it's from Mork from Ork while Elementary has been ousted from New York.

I think I'm up the creek without a comic or TV fandom to turn to. For the first time in years I am bereft.

[itspopularnowitsucks]

So a couple of months ago Hank got eaten by a tentacle monster and just a bit ago Wally West OG was murdered off screen. Oh. And The Doctor is having a sex change and awful dress sense with a suit that looks like it's from Mork from Ork while Elementary has been ousted from New York.

I think I'm up the creek without a comic or TV fandom to turn to. For the first time in years I am bereft.

The Doctor change has been teased for like three seasons. I don’t know what you expected. Now whatever happened to Hank Pym etc is truly random.