Hank Pym
| Henry Pym | |
|---|---|
 Henry Pym as Yellowjacket | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Tales to Astonish #27 (Jan. 1962) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Larry Lieber Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Henry "Hank" Pym |
| Species | Human (empowered) |
| Team affiliations | The Avengers The Initiative West Coast Avengers Secret Defenders |
| Notable aliases | Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, Doctor Pym |
| Abilities | Intellect Size-shifting Energy attacks |
Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym is a fictional, comic-book scientist and superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciler Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27 (Jan. 1962).
Publication history
Henry "Hank" Jonathan Pym debuted in a standalone science fiction story in the SF/fantasy anthology Tales to Astonish #27 (Jan. 1962), in the seven-page cover story, "The Man in the Ant Hill", about a scientist who tests a shrinking technology on himself. Eight issues later, the character and the technology were recruited for a new costumed-superhero feature, "Ant-Man", in the 13-page, three-chapter story "Return of the Ant-Man / An Army of Ants / The Ant-Man's Revenge" in Tales to Astonish #35 (Sept. 1962). Both issues' stories were by the same creative team of editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, penciler Jack Kirby, and inker Dick Ayers. Joining Pym in #44 (June 1963) was his socialite girlfriend and laboratory assistant, Janet van Dyne, who adopted the identity of superheroine the Wasp and co-starred in all future Pym stories. The pair went on to become founding members of the superhero group the Avengers.
Reversing his shrinking technology, Pym adopted an alternate identity as the 10-foot-tall Giant-Man in #49 (Nov. 1963). He and the Wasp continued to star in the feature "Giant-Man" through #69 (July 1965), while simultaneously appearing in The Avengers through #15 (April 1965), after which the couple temporarily left the team.
Pym rejoined the Avengers and adopted the new identity of Goliath in The Avengers #28 (May 1966). Gradually falling to mental duress, he adopts a fourth superhero identity, Yellowjacket, in #59 (Dec. 1968). Pym joins the team the West Coast Avengers as a scientist and inventor, known simply as Doctor Pym, rather than as a costumed hero in West Coast Avengers vol. 2, #21 (June 1987), and eventually returns to the Avengers as a superhero (in his Giant-Man persona) in The Avengers vol. 3, #1 (Feb. 1998). When the team is disbanded after a series of tragedies, Pym (now using the Yellowjacket persona again) takes a leave of absence beginning with vol. 3, #85 (Sept. 2004), alternately numbered vol. 1, #500 in an anniversary return to the original series numbering. Pym/Yellowjacket returns to the Avengers fold on a full-time basis as one of a leader of the Initiative in Avengers: The Initiative #1 (April 2007).
Several related or semi-related characters have taken Pym’s previous identities (See: successors).
According to BusinessWeek, Henry Pym is listed as one of the top ten most intelligent fictional characters in American comics.[1]
Fictional character biography
Henry Pym is a biochemist initially married to a Hungarian woman, Maria Trovaya, who is later killed by the Hungarian Secret Police. Shortly afterward, Pym discovers what he calls "Pym particles", a rare group of subatomic particles from which he formulates a size-altering formula. Testing the solution on himself, Pym discovers that one type of particles shrinks objects while the other restores an object to its natural size. Pym shrinks himself to the size of an insect and has a dangerous encounter with ants from a nearby anthill. [2] After restoring himself and undertaking an exhaustive study of ants, Pym constructs a cybernetic helmet that allows him to communicate with and control ants. Pym designs a costume and reinvents himself as the superhero Ant-Man. [3] On his first adventure, Pym defeats several KGB agents trying to steal his formula for an anti-radiation gas.
Pym is later contacted by Dr. Vernon Van Dyne, who asks for Pym's help in contacting aliens. Pym refuses, but becomes attracted to Vernon's daughter, Janet. Vernon Van Dyne is later killed by an alien outlaw and Janet asks for Hank's help to avenge his death. Pym then reveals his secret identity to her, and uses Pym particles to graft wasp wings beneath her shoulders, which appear when Janet shrinks. Janet assumes the alias of The Wasp, and together they track down and defeat Vernon's killer, forming a working partnership and a romantic relationship.
Avengers founder
Pym, together with the Wasp, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk, went on to found the superhero team the Avengers. [4] Shortly after the group's formation, Pym developed a gas and later tablet that could increase his size, and using these became Giant-Man [5] and later Goliath.[6] Unfortunately, this change was driven by an inferiority complex and feelings of inadequacy when comparing his powers to those of Thor or Iron Man.[7] This situation was exacerbated when Pym found himself trapped in giant form for a time. [8] Pym then suffers a serious setback when he creates the robot Ultron,[9] which becomes sentient and plots to kill Pym and the rest of the human race. Pym then has a mental breakdown and reappears at Avengers Mansion as the cocky "Yellowjacket", [10] which he later speculates[7] was the result of his subconscious desire to remove the inhibitions that kept him from proposing to Janet. Pym recovers after the two are married.
Downfall and Redemption
Pym, now using the Yellowjacket identity, and his new wife return to the Avengers briefly before taking a leave of absence so that he can pursue full-time research. The Avengers encounter Pym at the start of the Kree-Skrull War, when Pym has been reverted to a caveman-like state by the alien Kree.[11] After Pym is restored to normal, he and Janet retire from the Avengers, although Pym returns briefly as Ant-Man to repair the android Avenger the Vision.[12]
Following two adventures alongside the Defenders,[13] Pym returns to the Avengers (again as Yellowjacket) at the insistence of his wife, but is now uncomfortable in his role as a super-hero. Pym's vulnerability is exploited by Ultron, who brainwashes him - causing Pym to regress back to his original Ant-Man costume and personality, forgetting all of his subsequent adventures with the team. As Ant-Man Pym attacks the Avengers until stopped by Janet.[14] After Ultron's brainwashing is reversed, Pym re-joins the team as Yellowjacket until he is forced out when the roster is restructured by government liaison Henry Peter Gyrich.[15]
Pym and the Wasp later rejoin the Avengers, but by this stage Pym has begun to mentally deteriorate and is verbally abusive towards Janet. On their first mission after rejoining the Avengers, Pym attacks a foe who had ceased fighting. Leader of the team Captain America brings charges against Pym, and he is suspended from Avengers duty pending the verdict of a court-martial. At this point, Pym suffers a complete breakdown, and becomes extremely paranoid and violent. Pym then concocts a plan to salvage his credibility - he builds a robot and programs it to launch an attack on the Avengers at his court-martial. Pym then plans to expose the robot's weakness at the critical moment and regain his good standing with the Avengers. Janet, however, discovers the plan and begs Pym to stop, at which point he strikes her. Although the robot does attack the Avengers as planned, the Wasp reveals Pym's plan, and together the Avengers defeat it. Pym is subsequently expelled from the Avengers.[16]
Left penniless and friendless in the wake of his disgrace, Pym is then manipulated by his old foe Egghead (believed at the time to be dead), who tricks him into stealing the national reserve of the metal adamantium. Upon leaving the scene of the crime, Pym is confronted by the Avengers, whom he had anonymously summoned, but now is forced to fight. Pym is defeated and blamed for the theft, as Egghead skillfully erases all evidence of his involvement. Blaming a supposedly dead villain is taken as further proof of Pym's madness and he is incarcerated.[17] During Pym's imprisonment, he suffers another setback when Janet begins a relationship with Tony Stark, the alter ego of fellow Avenger Iron Man. [18]
Still not fully satisfied with his victory over his archenemy, Egghead then reforms the supervillain team the Masters of Evil and kidnaps Pym at his trial and creates the impression that Pym himself staged his own escape. Egghead then plans to use Pym in another of his schemes, but is tricked when Pym uses Eggehead's own apparatus to defeat the entire roster of the Masters of Evil. In a final act of desperation, Egghead attempts to kill Pym, but is stopped and accidentally killed by the Avenger Hawkeye, whose brother had been murdered by Egghead years ago. With the real perpetrator exposed, Pym is cleared of all charges. After an emotional farewell with Janet and his former team mates at Avengers Mansion, Pym leaves to devote his time to full time research. [19]
Return to the Avengers
Pym later rejoins the Avengers, first in an advisory role and then as a full-fledged member (as the non-costumed Doctor Pym) of the West Coast Avengers,[20] and later rejoining the East Coast team as Giant-Man.[21] During this period, he and the Wasp became friends again eventually resumed a romantic relationship. Pym faces a moment of truth soon after this as together with the Wasp and many of the other Avengers, he apparently sacrifices himself to stop the villain Onslaught, but actually exists in a pocket universe for a year before returning to the mainstream universe. [22]
Pym makes a valuable contribution once the team reforms,[23] and as Giant-Man he scores victories over both Imus Champion [24] and his flawed creation Ultron.[25] While in his Giant-Man guise, both he and the Wasp are plucked out of the timestream by the being Immortus, and team up with several Avengers from various periods in the team's history, including the mentally unbalanced Yellowjacket that the Avengers first encountered.[7] During the events of the Kang Dynasty, [26] Pym is injured, but is restored to full health when a rogue version of Yellowjacket - revealed to have been hiding outside Avengers Mansion - merges with him. The integration of their personalities enables Pym to resolve his past problems, and he decides to adopt his Yellowjacket costume once more.[27] After the events of Avengers Disassembled and the disbanding of the team, Pym and Janet left the team to re-kindle their relationship in England. [28]
Soon after this Pym and the Wasp and a number of other metahumans are then transported to a "Battle World" by a god-like being to battle each other.[29] During the events of Civil War, Pym adopts his Yellowjacket persona and sides with Iron Man, believing superheroes should register with the government and be held responsible for their actions. Together with Reed Richards and Tony Stark, Pym creates a clone of Thor to help against the anti-registration heroes, but is horrified when the clone kills Bill Foster - who has had taken up Pym's former identity, Goliath - in battle.[30] Pym is later kidnapped by Young Avenger member Hulkling, so that the young Skrull-Kree Hybrid can impersonate Pym and free several captive heroes in anticipation of the final battle between the two factions.[citation needed]
At the conclusion of the Civil War, Pym is named "Man of the Year" by Time magazine for his role. Pym then becomes one of the chief administrators at Camp Hammond, a U.S. military base for the training of registered superheroes in the government program The Initiative. He and the Wasp call off their attempt at reconciliation, and Pym becomes involved in a romantic relationship with the superheroine Tigra.
Powers and abilities
Dr. Hank Pym is a scientific genius of the highest order with expertise in the fields of quantum physics, robotics/cybernetics, artificial intelligence, biochemistry, and even entomology. Notable achievements in robotics include the invention of Ultron and occasional repair of the android Vision. Pym also discovered the self-titled "Pym particles", that enable mass to be shunted or gained from an alternate dimension.
Pym has experimented with size-shifting for much of his adult life, initially via ingested capsules and later via particle-filled gas. Enough exposure eventually allows Pym to change size at will, as well as change the sizes of other living beings or inanimate objects. Pym retains his normal strength when "ant" size, and possesses greatly increased strength and stamina when in "giant" form, courtesy of the increased mass. Being able to attain a stated maximum height of roughly 100 feet. Pym's costume is composed of unstable molecules and automatically adapts to his shifting sizes.
He also uses a variety of aids, including a cybernetic helmet for communicating with ants (Ant-Man) and artificial wings and bio-blasters built into his gloves (Yellowjacket). Since his days with the West Coast Avengers as Doctor Pym, he has also armed himself with a variety of weaponry, provisions, and scientific instruments, which were stored in shrunken form in the pockets of his uniform.
Other versions
Earth X
In the alternate future of Earth X, Pym is one of the Avengers killed in battle against the Absorbing Man.[31]
Fantastic Four: The End
In this alternate future, Pym is seen to be wearing his Goliath costume, and has two children who aspire to become superheroes, calling themselves Beetle Boy and The Wasp.[32]
MC2
In the MC2 alternate universe, Hank and Janet are survived by their children Hope Pym and Henry Pym Jr., who become the superheroes Red Queen and Big Man respectively.[33]
Marvel Zombies
On Earth-2149, the reality of the Marvel Zombies, Pym uses his Giant-Man identity and is one of the many heroes infected and transformed into a flesh-eating zombie. After being turned into a zombie, he captures and hides his friend T'Challa, the Black Panther, to keep as an emergency food supply. [34] Pym later assumes leadership of the "cosmic" zombie group, the Galacti. [35]
Ultimate Henry Pym
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Henry "Hank" Pym is a brilliant but mentally fragile scientist who takes Prozac and is married to Janet Pym. He is chosen to work on the "Super Soldier Project" for S.H.I.E.L.D. under Nick Fury. Hank is also the superhero "Giant-Man", able to grow to 59 feet and 11 inches (60 feet being the point where the human body cannot support its own mass). He gains his powers after experimenting on the blood of his wife Jan, who is a mutant. [36] After Hank's abuse of his wife and subsequent flee/discharge from the Ultimates, Giant Man joins the Ultimate version of the Defenders. [37] This was, however, short lived and Giant Man defected to the Liberators, although aided the Ultimates in a final battle between the two teams. [38]
More recently, in the pages of Ultimates 3, Dr. Pym falls to the floor from an apparent drug overdose (both pills and a pill bottle liter the scene as he falls with what appears to be either foam or spit oozing from his mouth).[39]
In other media
Television
- Henry Pym was featured regularly in the animated television series The Avengers: United They Stand, voiced by Rod Wilson.
- Henry Pym in his Ant-Man alias was featured in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode "World's Tiniest Heroes", voiced by John Payne II.
Films
- Pym appears in the animated features Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2, based on the Ultimates rendition of the character. He is voiced by Nolan North.
Video game
- Hank Pym appears as an NPC in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Jerry Houser.
Cards and miniature Games
Pym appears in his various guises in the HeroClix miniatures game and in the Vs. System card game.
Toys
- In 1999, a toy line was produced for The Avengers: United They Stand cartoon series, with an action figure of Hank as Ant-Man released.
- Toy Biz released a figure of Hank Pym in his Giant-Man costume in an Original Avengers box set that also included a miniature Ant-Man figure.
- Toy Biz released the same figure in Series 4 of their Marvel Legends toyline a few years later, only as a repaint of Hank in his Goliath outfit. The figure also came included with miniature Ant-Man and Wasp figures. The figure was reissued in ML7, again as a short-pack.
- In 2006, an exclusive series of Marvel Legends figures was released to Wal-Mart stores in the United States. This series required the purchasing 10 of the figures in the assortment to complete the "Build-A-Figure" toy of Giant-Man.
- In 2007, after Hasbro took over Marvel Legends, a Hank Pym in his Yellowjacket persona was released with the second series. A mini Yellowjacket had previously been included with Wonder Man in the ToyBiz Legendary Riders series.
Bibliography
- Tales to Astonish (as Henry Pym) #27 (Marvel Comics, January 1962)
- Tales to Astonish (as Ant-Man) #35-49 (Marvel Comics, September 1962 - November 1963)
- Tales to Astonish (as Giant-Man) #49-69 (Marvel Comics, November 1963 - July 1965)
- Ant-Man's Big Christmas #1 (2001)
- Essential Ant-Man (black-and-white trade paperback) (2002)
- Fantastic Four #539 (Civil War 2007)
Footnotes
- ^ Pisani, Joseph (2006). "The Smartest Superheroes". www.businessweek.com. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
- ^ Tales to Astonish #27 (Jan. 1962)
- ^ Tales to Astonish #35 (Sept. 1962)
- ^ The Avengers #1 (Sept. 1963)
- ^ Tales to Astonish #49 (Nov. 1963)
- ^ The Avengers #28 (May 1966)
- ^ a b c Miniseries Avengers Forever #1-12 (Dec. 1998 - Feb. 2000)
- ^ The Avengers #28-35
- ^ The Avengers #54
- ^ The Avengers #59 (Dec. 1968)
- ^ The Avengers #90 (July 1971)
- ^ The Avengers #93 (Sept. 1971)
- ^ Giant-Size Defenders #4 (May 1975) and Defenders #23-25 (May-July 1975)
- ^ The Avengers #160
- ^ The Avengers #181 (March 1979)
- ^ The Avengers #212-213 (Oct.-Nov. 1981)
- ^ The Avengers #217 (March 1982)
- ^ The Avengers #224
- ^ The Avengers #228-230
- ^ West Coast Avengers vol. 2, #21 (June 1987)
- ^ The Avengers #368 (Nov. 1993)
- ^ The Avengers vol. 2, #1-13 (Nov. 1996 - Nov. 1997)
- ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #4 (May 1998)
- ^ Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual '98 (Sept. 1998)
- ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #19-22 (Aug.-Oct. 1999)
- ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #41-55 (June 2001 - Aug. 2002), The Avengers Annual 2001 (Sept. 2001)
- ^ The Avengers Annual 2001 (Sept. 2001)
- ^ Avengers: Finale (Nov. 2004)
- ^ Beyond! #1-6 (2006)
- ^ Civil War #7 (2007)
- ^ Miniseries Earth X #0-12 (March 1999 - April 2000)
- ^ Miniseries Fantastic Four:The End #1-6 (Jan.-June 2007)
- ^ Avengers Next #1-5 (Jan.-March 2007; published biweekly)
- ^ Marvel Zombies #1 - 5 (2005)
- ^ Marvel Zombies 2 #1 - 2 (2007)
- ^ Ultimates #1-13 (March 2002 - April 2004)
- ^ Ultimates vol. 2, #7
- ^ Ultimates vol. 2, #9 - 12
- ^ Ultimates 3 #1