Ant-Man Primer: Getting to know Henry Pym

I'm a huge fan of Ant-Man. In fact, he's my favorite Marvel character.Ant-Man is a superhero that has gone through a lot of changes. He was originally a one shot character in Marvel's Tales to Astonish science-fiction series. He was a scientist named Henry Pym (Hank to his friends) that discovered Pym Particles, microscopic particles that could shrink anything to a smaller size by exposing it to a gas containing the particles. Any living thing exposed to the gas would still retain its normal strength, making him a true pint sized power house. After testing the serum on himself, he developed a cybernetic helmet that would allow him to communicate with ants and other insects.

Ant-Man from the cover of Season One

After a couple of issues by himself, Ant-Man found a kindred spirit in Janet Van Dyne, a young heiress who lost her father to an alien monster. So Hank did the most logical thing possible, turning her into the Wasp by splicing her DNA with said insect so that she could grow wings and wrist mounted gauntlets that could shoot "wasp sting" blasts. It was the 60's. What can I say. They eventually joined the Avengers, where Hank learned how to harness his size changing powers to become Giant Man, and later Goliath. Because comics are fickle I guess. Anywho, after a while, Hank went crazy while working with some chemicals and adopted the persona of Yellow Jacket, basically his Ant-Man identity modified to be more like the Wasp. And then she tricked him into marrying him. Because comics. To make a long story short, Hank has had a complicated life, with constant costume changes and identity crisis. Sometimes he's Ant-Man, sometimes Giant-Man aka Goliath, sometimes he's the Yellow Jacket. For a while, he assumed the identity of the Wasp to honor her memory after she died. But don't worry guys, it's comics. She will be back next year or so.

left to right: Ant-Man, Giant Man,  Goliath, Yellow Jacket, Wasp

  I was a little dissapointed when he wasn't included in the first Avengers movie, seeing as he was  a founding member of the original Avengers. But he's finally getting his own movie. I'm kind of excited because Edgar Wright of Scott Pilgrim, Hot Fuzz, and Sean of the Dead fame is going to be directing the film. Which is great, because Edgar Wright is very unique with his directing style and how he approaches characters.Considering Ant-Man's main powers are super intelligence combined with his ability to control his size and talk to insects, I'm hoping Wright is going to try to make this movie feel more like a fun sci-fi adventure with quirky dialogue. Sadly, Ultron, an evil robot that Henry Pym created, will not be tied to him even though Ultron will be in the next Avengers movie.

Edgar Wright and the Ant Suit.

Finally, it has been confirmed that Paul Rudd from I Love You Man, Anchor Man, and other quirk comedies will be playing Ant-Man. I'm not sure how to feel about this. He might to a good job as a clever witty scientist, and having to deal with the odd situations Ant-Man finds himself in. Hopefully, he will do a good job. I'm sure that Edgar Wright knows what he is doing, because he is very passionate about this film.

If anyone is interested in learning more about Ant-Man,  Ant-Man Season One is a good starting point to understand the character.  Hopefully I've stirred some interest in you guys to go see the movie. I'm really looking forward to it, and pray that enough people go see it so that it can get a sequel. It hits theaters in May 1st, 2015.