Ant-Man (Scott Lang) is a fictional character, a superhero featured in the American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the second superhero character to use the name Ant-Man in the Marvel Universe after Hank Pym. He is a reformed thief and an electronics expert. Paul Rudd will portray Scott Lang in the upcoming Marvel Studios film, Ant-Man, set to be released on July 17, 2015.
Publication history
Scott Lang first appeared in The Avengers #181 (March 1979) and became the second Ant-Man in Marvel Premiere #47 (April 1979).
Ant-Man appears in the new series FF by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred, since its debut in November 2012.
An ongoing series focusing on Lang, titled simply Ant-Man and written by Nick Spencer, began in January 2015.
Fictional character biography
Early life
Scott Lang was born in Coral Gables, Florida. He turned to burglary when his occupation as an electronics expert failed to support his family. Apprehended, he served his prison sentence and was paroled after three years for good behavior.
In prison, he furthered his study of electronics and was soon hired by Stark International to work in its design department. Under Tony Stark's direction, he helped install a new security system in Avengers Mansion.
Becoming Ant-Man
When his daughter Cassie Lang became seriously ill, Lang decided to return to burglary as a final resort. He broke into Dr. Hank Pym's home and stole his Ant-Man uniform and shrinking gas canisters. Garbed as Ant-Man, Lang broke into Cross Technological Enterprises and discovered that Dr. Erica Sondheim, the only person capable of helping his daughter, was being held prisoner. He rescued the doctor and was relieved when Sondheim was able to save his beloved Cassie's life.
Lang had intended to return the Ant-Man costume to Pym and turn himself in for its theft but Pym, aware of the use to which Lang had put the stolen goods, offered to let him keep them, provided he only use them to uphold the law.
Hero
Shortly after, Lang donned the Ant-Man costume on various occasions, primarily to assist Iron Man and the Avengers. When Iron Man became trapped in his armor, Scott saved him. He also helped Yellowjacket (Hank Pym's alias at the time) attempt to rescue the Wasp captured by Dr. Parnell Solomon. Alongside the Avengers, he first battled Taskmaster. He then battled Odd John's mutated insects, and encountered Biotron of the Micronauts. Alongside Spider-Man, he again battled Taskmaster. As Lang, he attempted to stop the Raiders at a Dallas electronics engineers convention. He then battled the malfunctioning GARD computer security system. As Lang, he aided Iron Man and Jim Rhodes against Mauler. He then met the Fantastic Four, and with them first journeyed to a "micro-world", and battled there alongside the Thing.
Scott was instrumental in helping Iron Man discover who possessed copies of his technology during the Armor Wars storyline. He also aided the Avengers in infiltrating Taskmaster's henchmen-training facility, battling the Taskmaster alongside Hawkeye, and visited Henry Pym while he was in prison. He encountered Rick Jones and Alpha Flight, and then battled Dire Wraiths alongside Rom and Starshine. Scott was serving in an Avengers back-up team created when Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil took control of the Mansion and captured some of the current team; he even helped the Wasp defeat the Absorbing Man and Titania when they attacked a hospital in an attempt to kill a comatose Hercules. He accidentally shrank Spider-Man and battled the Scarlet Beetle. He also battled Dragonfly.
Lang was even briefly hired by the Fantastic Four when Reed Richards was missing and presumed dead to serve as their technical consultant, helping them deal with such foes as the Dark Raider â€" an alternate psychotic Reed Richards who'd failed to save his world from Galactus â€" until Reed was recovered from the past where he'd been trapped thanks to Hyperstorm. Also serving with the Fantastic Four at this time was Kristoff Vernard, the heir of Doctor Doom and himself a technical genius. Lang and Kristoff often clashed, the younger man being very arrogant and disparaging of Lang's abilities. He did, however. design a new Ant-Man outfit which Lang took full advantage of. Much to Lang's annoyance, Kristoff also became close to his daughter Cassie who took a liking to him.
Lang later returned to form a temporary Fantastic Four with the Human Torch, She-Hulk and Namorita when the other three were temporarily trapped in the Negative Zone, the team disbanding after the other team members returned.
Lang played an important role in helping Mister Fantastic cure the Hulk when he was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease; using a cure devised by Leader, Lang shrank down to microscopic size, entered Hulk's genes, and replaced the damaged genes causing his disease with healthy genes taken from the corpse of Brian Banner (Bruce Banner's father), the energy surge released when Hulk returned to human form integrating the new genes into his system and curing him of the disease.
After his ex-wife Peggy Rae gained custody of their daughter Cassie, Lang accepted an offer to join the Avengers officially. His personality clashed immediately with fellow Avenger Jack of Hearts. However, in Avengers vol. 3 #76, Jack helped save Cassie from a child-murderer, shortly before committing suicide by travelling into space with the murderer and exploding rather than return to the containment cells required to control his power.
He also appeared in the series Alias by Brian Michael Bendis, where he dated the leading character Jessica Jones, a former costumed superhero named Jewel who left that avocation to become a private investigator.
He assists her in a matter with Mattie Franklin, one of the many female heroes to take the Spider-Woman name. Assisting the duo is SHIELD agent Clay Quartermain. Purple Man uses his powers to make it seem as if Scott had been consumed by ants.
"Death"
When Jack of Hearts reappears on the grounds of Avengers Mansion in a zombified state, Scott rushes to him, only for Jack to blow himself up, destroying much of the mansion and seemingly killing Scott. This Jack may have been some type of "apparition" created by an insane Scarlet Witch rather than the actual Jack of Hearts, starting the crisis known as Avengers Disassembled.
His daughter Cassie subsequently becomes Stature as a member of the Young Avengers, having apparently taken enough Pym particles over the years to enable her to automatically grow and shrink in size whenever she wants.
His Ant-Man helmet falls into Amadeus Cho's possession for a time. He wears it with Cassie's blessing, choosing to focus on the insect mind-controlling abilities.
Return
During the events of the limited series Avengers: The Children's Crusade, Iron Lad takes the Young Avengers and Wanda Maximoff (who has no memories of her time as Scarlet Witch) into the past, back to the day that the events of Avengers Disassembled began. Here, despite Iron Lad's assurance that they could not interact, Cassie manages to hug her father, and to take him away from the zombified Jack of Hearts who is revealed to be the real Jack of Hearts under the control of an insane Scarlet Witch. When Jack explodes, the Scarlet Witch regains her memories and returns them to the present, including Scott (therefore, his death is retconned as having never actually happened, as he was merely taken from his time and brought forward). Scott is proud that his daughter followed in his footsteps. However, a subsequent battle ensues (regarding the fate of the Scarlet Witch) involving the Avengers, Young Avengers, X-Men, Magneto, X-Factor and Doctor Doom. In the course of the fight, Scott is seemingly killed by Doom, although he actually survives relatively unscathed; enraged, Cassie attacks Doom but he kills her, much to Scott's grief.
Then, Scott joins the new Defenders team composed of Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Namor, Red She-Hulk, Iron Fist and Black Cat.
Eventually, Lang became the second Future Foundation's leader replacing Reed Richards when the Fantastic Four went on a time travel trip. Still suffering from his daughter's death, he decided to aim all the Foundation's resources towards making Dr. Doom pay for his crime; in the meantime he engaged in a romantic relationship with Darla Deering, aka Ms. Thing.
After a heated battle, Scott managed to exact his revenge on Doom by gradually overwhelming and defeating him, and by having him believe he had killed Valeria Richards; he also determined the true meaning of Pym Particles, and how they operate on three distinct axes determining size, strength and durability.
During the AXIS storyline, a now-heroic and repentant Doctor Doom used Scarlet Witch's powers to resurrect Cassandra Lang, seeking to atone at least one of his crimes; she turned out alive and well on Scott's doorstep.
Ant-Man series
Following this, Lang moved to Miami to start a new life as well as to spend more time with his daughter.
Powers and abilities
Using a gaseous form of "Pym particles" kept in a compartment in his belt, Ant-Man had the power to shrink himself (and other people and objects along with himself) to the size of an ant and return to normal. Over time, he has acquired the ability to change size at will, seemingly without the need for the gas. His cybernetic helmet allows rudimentary telepathic communication with insects, and is equipped with sound amplification equipment allowing normal-sized humans to hear him. The helmet also has a retractable plexiglass face shield and a limited air supply. Lang retained his normal strength in ant size.
Scott Lang can also shrink to sub-microscopic size, and thereby enter the countless "subatomic universes".
He has advanced training and expertise in electronics, having earned an electronics technician certificate, plus additional advanced electronics training he received while in prison.
Other versions
Avengers Fairy Tales
Scott is seen in the "Alice in Wonderland" issue of Avengers Fairy Tales, where he is the Caterpillar as a representation of Cassie's dead father.
House of M
In House of M, Scott Lang is depicted dating Jessica Jones.
MC2
In the MC2 universe, Scott had retired from being Ant-Man, and was developing new technology that would give the powers of Ant-Man and the Wasp to a human (his daughter Cassie took the tech and became Stinger). Later, when Mainframe was severely damaged, Scott came out of retirement with the Ant-Man armor designed by Doctor Doom II (Kistoff Vernard), and shrank to microscopic size to repair him from the inside. He realized that he still enjoyed being a hero, and stayed "un-retired" and joined A-Next.
The Thunder Guard, a group of Nazi Avengers from an alternate universe who fought A-Next, included a highly unstable version of Scott called "Pincer", who had killed that universe's version of Cassie.
Ultimate Marvel
The Ultimate version of Dr. Scott Lang takes the codename Giant-Man. He first appeared in Ultimate Avengers 3 and then appears as a new recruit for the New Ultimates in Ultimate Comics: Avengers Vs. New Ultimates.
Marvel Zombies
Scott is seen with Nick Fury; he attempted to fight the zombies, but he is overwhelmed and turned, last seen screaming. He is later seen as a zombie. He is destroyed by the Power Cosmic Zombies again.
In other media
Television
- Scott Lang appears as Ant-Man in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episodes "To Steal an Ant-Man" and "Avengers Assemble", voiced by Crispin Freeman.
- Scott Lang will appear as Ant-Man in the second season of Avengers Assemble.
Film
- Paul Rudd is scheduled to portray Scott Lang in the upcoming Marvel Studios film, Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed and written by Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish and Adam McKay.
Toys
- Scott appears as Ant-Man in the Wal-Mart exclusive Giant Man wave of Marvel Legends. He also appear sculpted on to one of Hawkeye's arrows in Wave 7.
References
External links
- Ant-Man (Scott Lang) at Marvel.com
- Marvel Directory: Ant Man II