12 Things You Didn't Know About Hank Pym, The Original Ant-Man

Pym's early experimentation leads him to create the Pym Particles which facilitate his ability to shrink and restore his height again. This discovery leads to his development of the Ant-Man persona in the first place. However, he also assists Janet van Dyne in becoming a superhero. She approaches him after her father (and friend of Pym), Dr. Vernon van Dyne, has been slain. Begging for help with avenging him, he eventually agrees to help her and provides her with her own Pym-powered wings. She takes on the persona of the Wasp and, with Pym, tracks down and banishes her father's slayer. 

Pym's mental instability has plagued him for years and has led to his irrational behavior in many situations. He often copes with his lost sense of self by creating multiple personas, some of which he is not even aware of. His first mental breakdown is caused by the passing of his first wife, Maria Trovaya, after he finds out she was slain. Since that event, his breakdowns have been triggered by times of extreme stress. In some of these moments, he creates a new persona to deal with his issues temporarily. Then, he switches back to Ant-Man or one of his other monikers. 

Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe places the fault of the development of Ultron on Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, Pym is actually to blame for his creation in the comics. During his experimentation with creating artificial intelligence, he designs the first Ultron model, Ultron-1. He designs the robot to have thought patterns similar to his. Unfortunately, that level of intelligence leads him to become a sentient being. He soon escapes from Pym and begins his career as a major Marvel supervillain.

Despite being a superhero, Pym has made some morally dubious choices during his career. However, hitting his wife is one thing he has never recovered from. After being accused of striking a captured enemy, Pym gets suspended from the Avengers by Captain America. In an effort to clear his name, he invents a robot that he plans to fight the Avengers with. However, he designs it so he knows where the weak point is so he can triumphantly defeat the enemy and save the day.

The Wasp discovers his plan and threatens to reveal the truth. In his anger, he slaps his wife across the face in Avengers #213. Although writer Jim Shooter originally intended the slap to be an accident, the final artwork depicted an intentional strike. The character's actions lead to him being court-martialed from the team and van Dyne divorces him. 

In one of his many times of self-doubt and low-self esteem, Pym takes the words of one of his enemies to heart. After failing at being the Yellowjacket, he takes a break from being a hero and works as an advisor to the West Coast Avengers. During his time with the team, he runs into Whirlwind, an old nemesis. His enemy taunts him and refers to him being a failure.

Pym is broken by Whirlwind's words and agrees with the painful truth: he isn't cut out to be a hero. In a shocking moment, he writes a note, says his goodbyes to the Wasp, and then pulls out a piece and holds it to the side of his temple in 1987's West Coast Avengers #17. However, he is stopped when Firebird appears and give him a mission to do instead. 

Hank Pym's decision to take on the persona of his wife came from a place of pain. At the time, Janet van Dyne was believed to have been slain during the Secret Invasion arc in 2008. Devastated by the loss, he decides to take on her moniker in tribute to her. He asks to be called the Wasp and creates a Wasp-inspired uniform. With his new identity in place, he creates and serves as the leader of the Mighty Avengers. However, once he creates Avengers Academy, a place for kids to learn how to use their powers, he decides to return to his persona of Giant-Man in Avengers Academy #7. Since then, he has returned to the identity on occasion.