The Original Ant-Man!: Hank Pym Appreciation

[itspopularnowitsucks]

To be fair, anyone would have lost their marbles seeing the things Pym saw in NA #30.

I would say about the sixth, but this is something people with mental illness have to deal with in real life all the time. No point in making fun of it (if that was your intention).

What do you mean? Comics ARE fun! Mental breakdowns are fun too!

1.Death of Maria
2.The Name Is... Yellowjacket!
3.Mind Regressed by Ultron
4.The Court-Martial of Yellowjacket!
5.Suicide Attempt in West Coast
6.Age of Ultron A.I.
7.Massacre of Cosmic Abstracts

Since I don't actually read comics and only post jerkish and misinformed stuff on Internet all my time, I may have missed one or two there.

[scribbleMind]

Idk. The Age of Ultron breakdown was a...positive breakdown? It was only made to look like a breakdown in the beginning, but in actuality he was just realizing his own self-worth. As for the Massacre of the Abstracts, it's a breakdown that effected nothing and no one. Hank doesn't seem to be any worse/different for it, and it only lasted what? 2 panels? It doesn't matter much, so I don't see why it's worth lingering on.

[Godlike13]

Im not sure the Abstracts murder breakdown was a comment on Hanks mental health, but more of an illustration on what was going on there. Reality was breaking, or more appropriately being murdered. And not just one.

[chamber-music]

The Death of your wife, your own murder and witnessing Cosmic gods massacred would make even the most mentally healthy person go a bit crazy.

The Ant-Man comic tie in prelude takes place in the mid-80's which matches with some of the casting rumours of a mid-eighties Michael Douglas being sought for the Ant-Man movie and why they went with Slattery's older Howard Stark.

[Mary Jay]

What do you mean? Comics ARE fun! Mental breakdowns are fun too!

1.Death of Maria
2.The Name Is... Yellowjacket!
3.Mind Regressed by Ultron
4.The Court-Martial of Yellowjacket!
5.Suicide Attempt in West Coast
6.Age of Ultron A.I.
7.Massacre of Cosmic Abstracts

Since I don't actually read comics and only post jerkish and misinformed stuff on Internet all my time, I may have missed one or two there.

-_- Not sure if you're joking or trying to provoke Pym Pals here... But let's see:

1- Yep. The death of Maria was a real one. Because you know, having your newly-wedded wife be killed during your honeymoon might trigger something...
2- The coming of Yellowjacket was a lab accident, induced by fumes from a chemical that altered his personality. I wouldn't count this as a real one.
3- Same for the Ultron brainwashing. Outside influence again.
4- The events leading to the court-martial of YJ were the big one. Definitely counts, IMO.
5- Does trying to commit suicide count as a "breakdown"? He seemed pretty level-headed actually. Clearly clinically depressed, but still. I'll humor you and count it as one.
6- there was no real breakdown in AoU: AI. Like ScribbleMind said, it was actually a positive thing.
7- This one I wouldn't count. He said he lost it temporarily because of everything he was seeing, and the fact that Reality itself was shattering or something.

[Mary Jay]

The Ant-Man comic tie in prelude takes place in the mid-80's which matches with some of the casting rumours of a mid-eighties Michael Douglas being sought for the Ant-Man movie and why they went with Slattery's older Howard Stark.

I heard more like the 70s, but I'm really not certain. Some rumors even say the 60s, but that would honestly make for a very young Pym, not to mention most probably wife-less and child-less.

Do you have any idea as to why we haven't heard anything about the supposed flash-backs scenes from the movie? We heard about Haley Atwell and John Slattery being in the movie, but nothing more. I'm kind of worried it's because it's just one scene in the movie and not worth talking about... and quite frankly it's the part of the movie that interests me the most.

[itspopularnowitsucks]

-_- Not sure if you're joking or trying to provoke Pym Pals here... But let's see:

1- Yep. The death of Maria was a real one. Because you know, having your newly-wedded wife be killed during your honeymoon might trigger something...
2- The coming of Yellowjacket was a lab accident, induced by fumes from a chemical that altered his personality. I wouldn't count this as a real one.
3- Same for the Ultron brainwashing. Outside influence again.
4- The events leading to the court-martial of YJ were the big one. Definitely counts, IMO.
5- Does trying to commit suicide count as a "breakdown"? He seemed pretty level-headed actually. Clearly clinically depressed, but still. I'll humor you and count it as one.
6- there was no real breakdown in AoU: AI. Like ScribbleMind said, it was actually a positive thing.
7- This one I wouldn't count. He said he lost it temporarily because of everything he was seeing, and the fact that Reality itself was shattering or something.

I am a dick with no money and friends but all the free time, so I learned as much about Pym as a I can so that I can post stuff provoking virtual conflicts on the forum.


#1 Pym was shouting like a crazy man and stuffed in a cell after the breakdown. When other "normal" characters suffer such tragedy, they just wept and found some random reasons to fight evil.
#2-3 is recounted as his mental breakdowns in Avengers #227.
For #2 The writer suggests that Pym was already suffering from his inferiority complex, hence the chemical triggers his breakdown and "split-personality".
For #3 the writer suggests Pym's strings of failures in science research led him to smash his equipments to vent his anger, and comforted by Janet immediately after. However shortly after Ultron messing with his mind tipped him over the edge and achieved the brainwashing effect.
So these two are "canon" breakdowns : )
#4 I have to disagree with your wording. The event leading to the court-martial is not a mental breakdown, it's just him being overly eager to fight EVIL and generally being in a "mania" state. The breakdown happened after they decided to court-martial him, hence he spent 3 days in his lab to build Salvation One.
#5 Totally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_breakdown
"One major symptom of a mental breakdown is depression."
#6 If you connect it with Avengers A.I. beginning, Pym again shut himself in and spent time feeling depressive and suicidal. It's a breakdown according to someone who edited that wikipedia page that introduces mental breakdown.
#7 Hickman wrote the words. He lost his grip on sanity. It's crazy time!

Definitely they all count!

[chamber-music]

I heard more like the 70s, but I'm really not certain. Some rumors even say the 60s, but that would honestly make for a very young Pym, not to mention most probably wife-less and child-less.

Do you have any idea as to why we haven't heard anything about the supposed flash-backs scenes from the movie? We heard about Haley Atwell and John Slattery being in the movie, but nothing more. I'm kind of worried it's because it's just one scene in the movie and not worth talking about... and quite frankly it's the part of the movie that interests me the most.

The sixties movie prelude may of gone with Edgar and Joe's Ant-Man draft. There could be flashback's to the seventies I guess. If I had to date Pym's Bunker laboratory I would guess seventies or eighties.

Will Corona Pilgrim who is the writer of “Marvel’s two-issue Ant-Man Prelude" comic and Creative Director of Research & Development at Marvel Studios said his comic prelude takes place in the mid 80's.

If Janet suffers a tragic accident it would be after 1979 because that is the year Evangeline Lilly is born and given the likely chance Hope Pym is around the age the actress is who
will be playing her.

Backstage, a site dedicated to casting calls, reported that Ant-Man is on the lookout for an actor/stand in that can double for a 30-45 year old Douglas, specifically in the era "circa Wall Street, Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction."

I think it is a good bet there may be a flashback scene may take place in the eighties.

[Mary Jay]

I am a dick with no money and friends but all the free time, so I learned as much about Pym as a I can so that I can post stuff provoking virtual conflicts on the forum.

Thank you for telling me. I'll stop feeding you, then :P

[chamber-music]

I am a dick with no money and friends but all the free time, so I learned as much about Pym as a I can so that I can post stuff provoking virtual conflicts on the forum.


#1 Pym was shouting like a crazy man and stuffed in a cell after the breakdown. When other "normal" characters suffer such tragedy, they just wept and found some random reasons to fight evil.

Definitely they all count!

It was a breakdown but I think it was probably the most justifiable one.

Your knocked out, your new wife is kidnapped and murdered on your honeymoon. Your new father in-law is blown up in his factory back in the states. That is a pretty brutal thing to go through in the space of 24 hours and they don't even catch the people who did it. Pym running around Budapest trying to hunt down the perpetrators probably seemed like something a grieving guy who just lost the woman he loved would do.

It is a shame that it was never really followed up on (the West Coast Avengers story fake out not with standing). It would of been cool to see Pym get some closure and finally solve the conspiracy of who murdered his wife and Father in-law.

[itspopularnowitsucks]

It was a breakdown but I think it was probably the most justifiable one.

Your knocked out, your new wife is kidnapped and murdered on your honeymoon. Your new father in-law is blown up in his factory back in the states. That is a pretty brutal thing to go through in the space of 24 hours and they don't even catch the people who did it. Pym running around Budapest trying to hunt down the perpetrators probably seemed like something a grieving guy who just lost the woman he loved would do.

It is a shame that it was never really followed up on (the West Coast Avengers story fake out not with standing). It would of been cool to see Pym get some closure and finally solve the conspiracy of who murdered his wife and Father in-law.

Yes, we definitely need more MODAM making sweet love to MODOK so we can have another Nextwave book!

I can't say which breakdown is the most justifiable one. Personally I would go with the total defeat of Eternity, Infinity, In-Between, Order, Chaos and Living Tribunal.

But #1 is definitely the most realistic and relatable one. Not many have the chance to compete against gods and genius billionaire playboy philanthropist (since Pym discovered Iron Man's secret identity from the start), or accidentally build a Living Automaton.

[CoCoJones]

Ahhh hank pym. does it bug anybody else that hank pym is not going to be in Avengers: AOU? (No pun intended with the "bug")

[Mary Jay]

Ahhh hank pym. does it bug anybody else that hank pym is not going to be in Avengers: AOU? (No pun intended with the "bug")

This has been discussed at length on this thread:

http://community.comicbookresources....tion-on-no-Pym

and even before this, even since the Age of Ultron movie was announced, in several threads.

To summarize: it pissed me off at first, but I can see the logic in it. Let Stark deal with all the crap Hank has taken on for the last 40 years because his invention got out of control ;-)

As long as Marvel doesn't mess with comics canon.

[FlashingSabre]

I'm really hoping Duggan's book has a decent cast and concept. I'm already having to skip Robinson's book (and most of Secret Wars) due to the stupidity of its demise (I REALLY hate Marvel Zombies. The concept just makes me angry.)

[itspopularnowitsucks]

Marvel Zombies are fun! At least those written by Kirkman.

So is Pym again Scientist Supreme now?

During the earlier story, Mapmakers and Black Priests are usually shown as equal a threat, as two ends of spectrum of Science and Magic. Now Doctor Strange went off and found the Black Priests, Pym went off and found the Beyonders.