Ant-Man (Henry Pym)

Henry Jonathan Pym

• Long-term exposure to Pym Particles allows Hank to generate Particles within his own body naturally
• When shrunk, Hank's body retains the same overall mass he would if he were normal-sized. As a result, he basically becomes a human bullet, capable of jumping several hundred times his size and landing hits on opponents with as much force as he would at normal size as well
• Conversely, when as Giant-Man, Hank possesses colossal strength and speed. He can lift up to 4,000 metric tons at maximum height and run at speeds of up to 94 miles per hour when giant-sized

• Hank cannot remain Giant-Man for long stretches of time, typically between 12 to 36 hours, depending on height

Hank is a well-meaning but mentally unstable individual. Suffering from a major inferiority complex he buries under his workaholic nature, Hank constantly compares himself to his friends and peers, ignoring his own success in favor of lifting theirs up. As a result, Hank suffers from frequent depressive episodes which he does his best to hide from others. In short, he is the personification of the phrase "suffer in silence."

Despite his low self-esteem, Hank is a very righteous person, never once hesitating to protect an innocent person from harm. He is greatly motivated by his guilt over failing to protect his late wife Maria from being murdered by the Sokovian secret police. Hank's relationship with Janet van Dyne, his partner the Wasp, is also influenced by this guilt, as Janet's striking resemblance to Maria Trovaya, along with her flighty and playful personality, but it also makes Hank afraid of fully committing to his relationship with Janet for fear of losing her. Despite all of that, Hank deeply and truly loves Janet independently of Maria. He admires her effectiveness in combat and is extremely protective of her.

Because of Hank's sense of justice being almost to a fault, he has a noble, if not somewhat naive, desire to see genuine world peace. This determination to realize global disarmament and diplomacy between peoples has caused him to contemplate whether or not the Avengers truly are a force for good or if they perpetuate the problem.

Growing up, Henry Pym was pressured by his peers to develop inventions which could be used for practical reasons. However, Hank wanted to develop inventions for fun and amusement. The only person who ever encouraged Hank to pursue his creativity was his grandmother, Angela. However, when she passed away from cancer, Hank capitulated to the incessant pressure and pursued a career in hard sciences.

When Hank was young, he married a Sokovian refugee and fellow scientist named Maria Trovaya. While visiting her father while on vacation in Sokovia, however, Hank and Maria were attacked by agents of the corrupt secret police, who arrested Hank and murdered Maria for her prior outspokeness against the Sokovian government. Distraught, Hank dedicated himself to fighting injustice.

A few years afterwards, Hank made a marvelous discovery; a particle which could manipulate the molecular cohesion of an object or person, capable of shrinking them in size while retaining their full mass. Accidentally shrinking himself, Hank narrowly survived being eaten alive inside an anthill before he was able to restore himself to proper size. Hank destroyed his existing samples, but secretly kept records of his notes on how they work.

A year later, physicist Thomas Mackie, an old friend of Hank's from college, was abducted and held for ransom by a small, London-based terrorist cell. Forced to take action, Hank pulled his notes out of storage and developed another batch of his so-called "Pym Particles." He also created a special costume designed to process the Particle, allowing him to alter his size at will. Inspired by his adventure in the anthill, Hank also constructed a helmet which allowed him to communicate with insects via manipulation of electromagnetic waves in the air.

Afterwards, Hank traveled to London to confront the terrorists himself. His small size combined with retaining his full mass allowed him to easily dispatch the criminals and rescue Thomas.

Returning to the United States, Hank decided to use his technology to fulfill his earlier vow to combat injustice, becoming the superhero Ant-Man. Some time after his debut as Ant-Man in England, Hank was personally approached by Vernon van Dyne, C.E.O. of Van Dyne Innovations, and hired as a contract engineer. It was here where Hank first met Janet van Dyne, who bore a striking resemblance to Maria. Vernon would soon be killed by members of the Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), who vied for his research on behalf of their leader, M.O.D.O.K. Ant-Man investigated A.I.M., but was nearly killed in the ensuing firefight, narrowly saved by Janet. Hank revealed his secretly identity to her and, despite his reluctance, conceded to her demands to allow her to help him fight M.O.D.O.K. so she could avenge her father.

Hank used the opportunity as a chance to test out prototypes of new weapons he'd designed, specifically a pair of experimental, bio-synthetic wings and wrist-mounted "stingers." Taking on the codename "the Wasp," Janet helped Hank defeat and drive away M.O.D.O.K., avenging her father's death. Afterwards, the two began a relationship and pursued a life of love and adventure as the duo Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Not long after Janet's debut as the Wasp, she and Hank found themselves caught up in a day unlike any other, when they and three more of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Thor (Sigurd Jarlson), and the Hulk (Bruce Banner), found themselves united against the time-traveling warlord of the forty-first century Kang the Conqueror, who had come to subjugate the twenty-first century. Working together, the five heroes defeated Kang and sent him fleeing back into the future. In the aftermath, the group stayed together as a team on Hank's suggestion, with Janet suggesting the dynamic moniker "the Avengers," which stuck.