Hank Pym has walked a twisted path on his way to becoming a hero in the Marvel universe. Several episodes of What If...? have pointed out his instability or short-sighted plans that backfire in spectacular ways. While he isn't a true villain, Hank’s struggles have spilled over into his relationships with his family, and those he’s worked with.
With his genius intellect, creativity, and technical know-how, Hank Pym is a great ally to have in the Avengers’ corner. Unfortunately, his dark side makes him a big threat to the Avengers, and it can be hard to tell which side they’re dealing with.
10 He Bit Blob's Head Off
The Ultimatum event was the pinnacle of the grim-dark ideas of what comics needed to be in the mid-2000s. Hank Pym in that universe was one of the darkest takes on any of the Avengers in that universe, and his revenge for the death of Janet Van Dyne was extreme.
After Blob ate Janet, Hank grew up and picked up his ex-wife’s murderer, biting off his head. He sacrificed himself shortly after that, saying that he wanted to make up for his actions within that universe, but his brush with cannibalism was definitely a sign of how dark his dark side could be.
9 In The Zombie Universe, He Ate Pieces Of T’Challa
While the Marvel Zombies universe is nothing if not brutal and focused on the worst of the worst possibilities, Hank’s story is one of the more horrific from the original run. Under the guise of finding a cure, he trapped T’Challa, carving parts off of him to feed on.
While in What If, Vision did the same, Hank did not have Vision’s reason for doing what he did. He just wanted to satiate his own hunger. Eventually, T’Challa escaped but Pym and the other zombies gained access to Galactus, and became a zombie horde, traveling the universe looking for meet.
8 Janet Was Not His First Wife
In his early mad scientist days, Hank Pym was married to a woman named Maria Trovaya. She was a Hungarian resistance fighter and, believing that the secret police in her home country wouldn’t attack the wife of an American, they went back to Hungary.
She was wrong, unfortunately. They were attacked. Hank was knocked unconscious, and Maria was killed. Her death pushed him toward fighting injustice throughout the world, so no one else would lose as he did.
7 Getting Kicked Out Of The Avengers
While battling Elfqueen, as Yellowjacket and in the middle of one of his worst breakdowns to date, Hank ignored Captain America’s attempts to deescalate the situation. His attack on Elfqueen caused her to increase her attack and he needed to be rescued by Wasp.
After the battle, he was court marshaled by Captain America. In a plan to prove his worth to the team, he built a robot to attack the Avengers that only he could defeat. He failed in this as well, and he was expelled from the Avengers.
6 He Nearly Took His Own Life
When Hank moved to the west coast and started working as a caretaker for the West Coast Avengers Compound, it did little to help his mental health, at first. In West Coast Avengers #17, Hank composes a suicide note, contemplating what a failure his life has been, in his eyes.
The emotional impact of a founding Avenger considering such things before being talked down is impressive, and Hank’s recovery from his depression and suicidal ideation, while very quick, lead to some of his more impressive growth and healing.
5 He Married His Dead Colleague’s Daughter
When Vernon Van Dyne was killed at the hands of an alien, his daughter wanted nothing more than she wanted to avenge her father. Hank told her he was Ant-Man and showed her how to use Pym Particles. On top of that, he experimented on her, letting her grow wings when she shrank.
That would be enough to raise some ethical questions, but he also allowed the fact that Janet reminded him of his first wife influence their crime-fighting and experimenting, and eventually they fell in love, despite a rather substantial age difference.
4 His Obsession With Janet Put His Students In Danger
While working with the students at the Avengers Academy, Hank was also trying to revive Janet Van Dyne. The problem was that the woman he thought was Janet was actually the wife of an incredibly powerful cosmic being, Korvac.
It took the future versions of the Avengers Academy students to take down Korvac and stop the danger he could present. In his search for his dead ex-wife, he didn’t consider the possibility that he might be wrong, and that arrogance put his students at risk.
3 Hitting Janet
During his breakdown that led to his expulsion from the Avengers, Hank hit one of his lowest points. As his wife, Janet, tried to talk him out of sending a robot after his teammates, Hank lashed out and hit her. Unfortunately, he's far from the only hero that has done this but Hank's reputation as a violent, abusive partner stuck.
Janet left him and filed for divorce. Though she did help him to get help with his mental health after their divorce, and he dedicated a lot of time and energy to help people in similar situations—at least in the main continuity—the damage was done. The Ultimate universe version of Hank was worse, and instead of lashing out during a breakdown, he was a serial abuser, nearly killing Jan.
2 The Long-term Effects Of The Pym Particles
Pym Particles are able to change the scale, mass, and density of matter, allowing items and people to grow and shrink to incredible sizes. They are what allow Hank Pym to be both Ant-Man and Giant Man, and Janet Van Dyne to be the Wasp. Several other heroes, like Scott Lang, Bob Foster and Clint Barton, have used them as well.
Unfortunately for Hank and his long-term use of the particles has had some negative side effects. Whether his mental instability is linked to the particles or just exacerbated by them, it’s unclear, but being Ant-Man, Yellowjacket, Giant Man and the Wasp have made things far harder on Hank than they might have otherwise been.
1 Ultron’s Creation And Evolution
Hank Pym’s tendency to play mad scientist has backfired most spectacularly with the creation of Ultron. Based on his own brain patterns, Ultron saw humanity as a threat and thought it best to wipe them out, leaving mechanical life—like him—to rule the planet. Ultron is the personification of Hank’s darkest thoughts.
After multiple iterations of Ultron and several attempts by Hank to take down his worst creation, the two were fused together. While Ultron has repeatedly wondered if what is left of Hank Pym is really in his mind or not, or if there is anything left of Hank Pym at all, Ultron will always be tied to Hank’s legacy.
0 Comments