Marvel is currently celebrating Ant-Man’s 60th anniversary with a new mini-series from Al Ewing and Tom Reilly. Ant-Man will bring together every hero who has used the costumed identity in a time-traveling tale. The story begins with Hank Pym, though Ant-Man wasn’t the only costumed identity the hero has used over the years.
Hank Pym’s diagnosis of bipolar disorder led to some mental instabilities in his history. His choice of alter ego sometimes reflected his mental state in the comics. He’s used the different costumes to help build up his ego, hide from his problems, or even deal with the loss of a loved one. Each identity left a lasting impact on Hank Pym until his final and unfortunately fatal costume change.
8 Dr. Pym Worked Casually With The West Coast Avengers As Their Resident Scientist
After a series of issues and losses, Hank Pym decided to retire from costumed superheroes. He became a scientific adventurer and went simply by Dr. Pym. Some fans might not know about the West Coast Avengers is the fact that Dr. Pym was the manager of Avengers Compound. This led to his work with the West Coast Avengers as the team’s resident scientist.
Dr. Pym usually wore a red jumpsuit in this role which he often paired with a lab coat if he was carrying out experiments. Pym also outfitted himself with miniaturized tools and weapons using his Pym Particles. He would eventually return to his costumed identity of Giant-Man and rejoin the official team of Avengers, though his time as the retired Dr. Pym was still memorable for fans.
7 He Briefly Took On The Medieval Gigantus Identity In Morgan Le Fay’s Reality
One of the worst things Onslaught did to the Marvel Universe was cause the sacrifice of heroes like The Avengers and Fantastic Four. Thankfully they were reborn in a pocket dimension thanks to Franklin Richards. Pym used his Ant-Man and Giant-Man identities during Heroes Reborn. However, he returned to his Giant-Man identity after the heroes returned to the mainstream universe.
However, the assembled members of the Avengers were all transformed by the magical Morgan le Fay when she warped reality. The Avengers became her medieval guards known as the Queen’s Vengeance. Pym warped into a new character known as Gigantus. His helmet featured an animalistic design that worked well with his suit of armor, though this identity was short-lived.
6 Hank Pym Created His Goliath Identity After Briefly Retiring From The Avengers
Giant-Man and the Wasp decided to take a leave of absence from the Avengers after Pym discovered his size alteration could be affecting his mind. However, they both soon returned to help the team in new costumes. Pym wore a blue and yellow costume that updated his old Giant-Man look. He also began using a new name as Goliath.
While Pym spent some time in the Goliath identity, it has been used by quite a few other heroes and villains over the years. Hawkeye briefly used Pym Particles to become Goliath after Pym quit. Bill Foster used it first as Black Goliath, and his son Tom later took over as Goliath as well. The villain Erik Josten also used it after he debuted as Power Man and before he became Atlas.
5 Pym Took On The Wasp Identity During His Brief Run As The Scientist Supreme
The Secret Invasion event revealed that a deadly Skrull named Criti Noll had taken and replaced Hank Pym. He later returned during the event along with other heroes who had been unknowingly taken by the Skrulls. The event also featured the death of Janet van Dyne/The Wasp. Tainted Pym Particles given to her by Criti Noll transformed Wasp into a living bomb.
The recently returned Hank Pym decided to honor the death of his former love by taking on her name. He created a new costume as The Wasp and formed his own team of Mighty Avengers. Loki posed as Eternity and also gave Pym the title of Scientist Supreme during this time. Janet van Dyne and Pym’s daughter Nadia later reclaimed The Wasp title.
4 Ultron Fatally Merged With And Killed Hank Pym To Create A Deadly New Being
One of Hank Pym’s greatest failures was his creation of the artificial intelligence known as Ultron. The powerful robot would become one of the most iconic Avengers villains over the years. However, it would also become one of the final costumed identities used by Hank Pym after the Avengers: Rage of Ultron graphic novel.
Pym was accidentally merged together with a powerful new version of Ultron, creating an entirely new being. This led to Ultron/Pym’s plans to forcibly merge humanity with robotics. His former teammates in the Avengers eventually learned that Pym died during the merger. Ultron was just replicating his creator’s personality and using his face after they merged.
3 His Yellowjacket Persona Was Created During A Period Of Mental Instability
Pym was suffering from a series of emotional losses that included his failed creation of Ultron. He dropped a vial of chemicals that released a noxious gas during a distracted experiment. He unknowingly inhaled these gases, which triggered his mental instability. He thought he had killed Hank Pym and assumed the new costumed identity of Yellowjacket.
Yellowjacket was everything that Hank Pym felt he wasn’t, which allowed him to finally propose to his love, Jane van Dyne. His Yellowjacket costume had buzzing wings for flight and powerful stingers. The villainous Rita DeMara later used the costume before she reformed with the original Guardians of the Galaxy. Darren Cross then took the name as an armored mercenary.
2 Hank Pym Used His Size-Changing Pym Particles During His Debut As Ant-Man
Dr. Henry “Hank” Pym created the size-changing Pym Particles in Tales to Astonish #27. This issue featured his first encounter with the ants that would later inspire his superhero identity. Creators Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby would return for Ant-Man’s debut as a costumed crimefighter in Tales to Astonish #35.
The Pym Particles allowed him to alter his size, and his advanced helmet allowed him to communicate with ants. Pym worked closely with Janet van Dyne as the Wasp during this time, and he helped found the Avengers as Ant-Man. Characters like Scott Lang and Eric O’ Grady would later follow in his tiny footsteps as Ant-Man.
1 He Adopted A Powerful New Role After Joining The Avengers As Giant-Man
Hank Pym’s identity issues began when he helped found the Avengers alongside gods and living legends like Thor and Captain America, respectively. He quickly decided to focus more on his ability to increase his size to incredible heights instead of shrinking down as Ant-Man. He created a new costume as Giant-Man to become one of Marvel's most powerful giants.
He still equipped his costume with the same tech he used as Ant-Man, though he internalized most of his helmet’s circuitry. Pym wore a few different costumes as Giant-Man. His first suit followed his classic red and black design though he upgraded and modernized it when he later returned. Other characters like Bill Foster and Raz Malhotra have also used the Giant-Man identity.