Big things come in Ant-Man-sized packages

From the studio that brought you a talking raccoon and an anthropomorphic tree comes a superhero who can shrink to the size of an ant. The folks at Marvel Studios are the ballsiest people in the movie industry. When MCU’s Phase 2 was first announced, Ant-Man was cast with the most skeptical glances. Talking to ants isn’t a head turner of a superpower. It’s even curiouser that Ant-Man formally ends Phase 2, rather than the sure hit, Age of Ultron. It’s too easy to imagine that Ant-Man won’t be a chart topper, but if it’s anything we’ve all learned from Marvel Studios these past several years, it’s to never trust your instinct. Despite his underrated superpower, Ant-Man has garnered quite the reputation in the comic universe. His résumé spans several decades. Here’s an ant-sized summary of his tenure in the Marvel Universe.

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Who is Ant-Man?
The shrinking superhero is the brainchild of Dr. Hank Pym, a biophysicist who invented a serum that could shrink anything to the size of an ant and a serum that reversed its effects. Frustrated at his research’s lack of recognition, he decided to apply the serum to himself, shrinking himself to the size of an ant. His debut featured his first transformation, an adventure in an ant colony, and his quest to reach the reversal serum before ants kill him.

This little caper was meant to be just a one-issue sci-fi story. On release, it was so well received that Stan Lee promoted Hank Pym into a full-fledged superhero. Lee gave him a costume and a helmet which emitted rays that communicated with a colony’s hive mind. Hank Pym turned into an army general of a legion of ants. He also has superhuman strength while in ant form to boot.

In the upcoming film, Hank Pym will not be donning the cowl. Rather, his thieving protégé Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd) will be suiting up as Ant-Man in the MCU. In canon, Scott Lang is a common thief, forced to a life of petty crimes to help his ailing daughter. He broke into Dr. Pym’s house to steal the super-powered suit. Seeing an opportunity to save his daughter, he used the suit to search and break into labs of scientists who could cure the illness. The only one who was capable of doing so happened to have been kidnapped at the time of his search. He used the suit to save the scientist. After successfully healing his daughter, Scott decided to return the suit and turn himself in for theft. Dr. Pym had other plans once he found out about what happened: to let him keep the suit but only if he used it for good.

Why does Ant-Man matter?
Helmed by Dr. Pym, Ant-Man made major contributions in the Marvel Universe. For one, he is one of the founding members of the original Avengers team along with Iron-Man and Thor. He was also the original father of the Avenger’s latest baddie, Ultron, before the MCU changed canon and made Tony Stark and Bruce Banner the (un)lucky parents.

After Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War is up next in the MCU timeline. Our tiny superhero also had a big impact on the huge crossover event. He sided with Tony Stark in the infamous Superhero Registration Act which required every superhero to reveal their identity and register themselves in the government.

The MCU has a different canon, but Paul Rudd is already slated to return in Civil War. Whatever his role may be, he’ll surely have a lasting impact on the MCU. Welcome to the latest Avenger, Ant-Man.

This article first appeared in the July 2015 issue of 2nd Opinion.