David Robbins© 2015
Stick around long enough in this world of ours, and some things you wish for actually happen.
When I was a boy, I did what a lot of kids did, and devoured comics. One of the comics I liked most was TALES TO ASTONISH. At first they did monster stories. But then Marvel added a new superhero to their burgeoning line, none other than the inimitable Ant-Man….and his other half, the winsome Wasp.
I had long wished to see them, and other Marvel heroes, on the big screen. There were a few efforts, but nothing as outstanding until the recent cinematic explosion of not just Marvel but superheroes in general. And now, at long last, lo and behold, an ANT-MAN movie. But where did he come from?
Hank Pym was a dedicated scientist whose ‘Pym particles’ would have long-reaching consequences in the Marvel universe. Janet Van Dyne was a ‘society playgirl’ who wanted nothing more than to get his nose out of his test-tubes and have some fun.
The murder of her father brought them together. And they made quite the pair. For years their devotion to one another was exemplary, until Marvel decided to inject more ‘realism’ into their titles. Tony Stark---Iron Man---became an alcoholic. They turned poor Hank Pym into an abuser. They also had him go slightly nuts. But I digress.
Ant-Man premiered in one of those monster stories, way back in TALES TO ASTONISH #27. He was just a scientist then, no costume, no ‘super-power’. Later, when Marvel adopted super-heroics in a huge way, they put a costume on Hank, and presto, Ant-Man was born.
[The first appearance of Ant-Man as a superhero. Never underestimate an army of ants.]

The early stories were by Larry Leiber, the great Stan Lee’s brother, with art by the equally great Jack Kirby.  Leiber, by the way, also did the early stories for Iron-Man and Thor.

[The first appearance of the Wasp. Never underestimate a woman of any size, ever.] For about a year and a half, Ant-Man and the Wasp battled all sorts of far-out baddies, from a genius insect called the Scarlet Beetle to human villains like Egghead and the Porcupine. Then Marvel upped the ante, literally. It had occurred to someone that if the Pym Particles could make Hank shrink, they could also make him grow. Thus, Giant-Man appeared in issue #49. He and the Wasp would continue their adventures, including epic fights with Spider-Man and the Hulk, until issue #69, at which point they were replaced by the Sub-Mariner.
 [The first appearance of Giant-Man. He went through a lot of costume changes over the years.]
In addition to TTA, Hank and Jan were mainstays for years in another title, none other than THE AVENGERS. In fact, it was Hank who proposed forming the team after they joined up with Thor and Iron Man to stop the Hulk. And it was Janet who came up with the team’s name. (She even became their leader for a while. There was always more to her than that ‘socialite’ label.)

[Giant-Man and the Wasp vs Spider-Man. A great issue.]
It wasn’t until a decade and a half later that Scott Lang entered the picture as the new Ant-Man. By then, Hank nearly always was portrayed in his Giant-Man persona. I say ‘nearly always’, because during that ‘slightly nuts’ phase, he reinvented himself as the super-hero Yellowjacket. There was also a period when Hank called himself Goliath, and was the muscle of the Avengers until Hercules came on board.
All of which brings us to the new movie. It’s hugely respectful of its antecedents. Marvel gives us not only Hank ‘and’ Scott, but ties it all together in a fun and exciting way. The humor quotient is off the scale. We also get to see Janet, however briefly.
So there you go. The bare bones, but it gives you some idea of their history. Now catch the movie. The laughs and grins will make you glad you did.  [One of my favorite Hank personas. As Goliath, he kicked serious butt.]