"Who Is The Ant-Man? What Is The Ant-Man? Why Is The Ant-Man?"

[numeronone]

"It's the most common answer -- I'm a fan. I've been a fan of the character from way back before I even got work at Marvel. But when I say a fan of the character, I have to qualify with which Ant-Man I'm talking about and when. I mean Hank Pym and a particular '60s-era Hank Pym from those old black-and-white Essentials collections that printed 500 pages of old comics in these big black-and-white phonebooks. Hank had a run of stories that were wonderful one-offs having all kinds of fun with the concept of shrinking down and commanding ants. They felt much lighter and more whimsical than other stories of the era -- they were almost camp."

- Al Ewing










(Insert a charming classic-style comics story I don't have room to add)





(Insert classic shenanigans with ants and Janet and a spray that paralyses you, and so forth)











 

Comments

[shakalooloo]

What an elaborate prank to pull on Pym - no-one ever needs his help! XD

[numeronone]

Hey now, this is pre...everything Hank Pym, during a time when his character flaws amounted to pulling a prank on a mean kid or going to a movie with Janet to partly study Mr. Fantastic's fighting techniques.

[mindsweeper]

Between Pym and McCoy, I think Marvel is anti-Hank, at least the genius ones.

[sabertoothlotus]

hmm... Pym, McCoy, Gyrich. I think you're onto something.

[cainofdreaming]

So, will there be a twist reveal that this is actually the Black Beetle Ant? Pym's evil(er) alternate universe self? From the future.

[coldfury]

Isn't Eric currently Black Ant?

[cainofdreaming]

The LMD that replaced Eric was, last I heard, yes. But I don't think his trademark will last to 2549 A.D.

[blues32]

Hey now, Eric died a proper hero, fighting to protect people while powerless and was beaten to death. It's just some LMD running around being all evil. The Irredeemable Ant Man was redeemed.

[blues32]

Deadliest menace of yesterday, huh? What good is Pym going to do at this point? From the looks of him, he's still using pills to grow and shrink and hasn't become Giant Man yet. He doesn't even have a full grasp on just what Pym Particles can do.

[angry_marmot]

Considering how many ants there are in the world, Hank telling them to swarm could seriously f**k somebody up. Threat level underrated, like Spidey's strength when he's angry.

[blues32]

Against the "deadliest menace of yesterday"? The deadliest menace of yesterday sounds like Ultron to me. This Hank hasn't invented Ultron yet and he wouldn't react very well when told that this thing is his creation.

[cainofdreaming]

Knock. Knock.

"A mister the Mad Titan to see you, sir."

[blues32]

Okay, "the deadliest menace of yesterday" that Hank Pym could possibly help defeat.

[numeronone]

I'd be very surprised if Ewing tried to bring Ultron back, especially since his name is mud since the movie. (Notice how there's been two robot underground movements in recent years and he's been dormant the entire time)

It being Ewing it'll likely be a more obscure and unappreciated character - this issue involved four classic Ant-Man villains that haven't been used in decades.

[shakalooloo]

Solicitation for October's final issue of this miniseries:

"ANT-MAN #4 (OF 4)
AL EWING (W) • TOM REILLY (A/C)
GAMES VARIANT COVER BY NETEASE
Who is the mysterious Ant-Man of the future who the past Ant-Men keep bumping into? Find out here as the Ant-Man of 2549 recruits Hank Pym, Eric O’Grady and Scott Lang to take on a godlike Ultron! Don’t miss this epic anniversary finale as the Ant-Man of past, present and future come together to save the world!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99"

[numeronone]

Well I guess it takes a mature person to admit when they've made a bad call, and I---

[shakalooloo]

Ewing did write the pretty awesome 'Ultron Forever', so hopefully we'll get some resolution of a similar quality, even if it's not the de-Ultronisation of modern Pym.

[scorntx]

I mean... is it?
He's maybe not been A-List, but he didn't exactly fade into obscurity.
There was the whole Pymtron thing (ugh), and being an entirely irrelevant side-villain in Duggan's cosmic stuff, and something in Slott's Iron Man, and that was only two years ago

Maybe Marvel just haven't been trying to constantly put him everywhere to convince the readers he is the Hot Shizz, like Thanos.

[super_fly]

He can really fuck up your picnic, not something to be taken lightly.

[ap0cryphal]

Just realised that if I had to describe Ewing's oeuvre to DC folks, it'd be "Tom King, but actually good and also without the long-winded misery"

Granted, I'm comparing / contrasting King's Strange Adventures and Heroes In Crisis to Ewing's Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Defenders.

[numeronone]

With both writers there's a sense of wanting stories to be -about- something important  - an issue they want to explore - but King's work always comes off as cold because he treats the characters as a means to that end (see also Wally West: mass murderer?!), where Ewing is coming from a place of warmth and affection. That's why I added that quote above - as with the interviews he did in the run up to Immortal Hulk, he's not ashamed to say "I'm doing this because I love it".

(Though he's also a very rewarding writer in that he's not turning that into pure hero worship - he's also got room for criticism. IH was very much a love letter to the tragedy of the Hulk while telling it from the perspective of the traumatised people left in his wake.)

[wizardru]

Ewing also seems to really just want to have FUN. Look at his run on Mighty Avengers, for example. King is a 'No, But' and Ewing is a 'Yes, And', perhaps. One is working through his PTSD and trauma half the time, the other is just saying "HOLY SHIT I GET TO WORK WITH JACK AND STAN'S TOYS! THEY'RE JUST LETTING ME DO WHATEVER I WANT?!?"

[numeronone]

This is true, but I guess I wanted to note he also looks at it all with a skeptical eye (if you check out his tumblr, there is a...lot of deep Hulk analysis from the archives).

We've already seen in writers like Slott and Johns this sense of characters as toys, which inevitably leads to them going back in the toybox. To Ewing they're more like tools, which means they can do a variety of jobs - especially jobsbthey were made to do. Like finding someone's old sewing machine in the attic and realising you can mend your household's patchy clothes.

I've noted plenty of attempts to redefine the Defenders as a team, but no-one except Ewing has tried to redefine them as an experience.

[lego_joker]

How about Kieron Gillen?

[numeronone]

"As imaginative as early Neil Gaiman but without the covert racism, misogny and blatant attempts to crib from Alan Moore"?

[super_fly]

Okay, but How is the Ant-Man?

[numeronone]

Bewildered! And probably wishing he'd sprung for popcorn at the movie he was at.

[broblawsky]

Popcorn isn't very scientific, Janet.

[akodo_rokku]

Honestly, a question that should have and could have prevented the whole... y'know.

[cainofdreaming]

Also seeking proper medical help when your friend is clearly suffering from a mental disorder, rather than just going along with it and hoping for the best.

[numeronone]

Imagine if that had come back to bite 'em multiple times, huh.

(Looks at Tony, Carol, Wanda, etc...)

[huntleyhaverstock]

One gets the strong sense that this Tom Reilly fellow miiiiiight just know how to draw a good comic book.

[numeronone]

NTM Jordie Bellaire! Who also did the "Darkhold: Wasp" special earlier this year, so he's got a bit of experience with the Pym-Van Dyne dynamic.

[shakalooloo]

Gotta love any comic that brings back the classic 'blast!' exclamation. So much betetr than #$%&!

[thehood]

Al Ewing are just so fun and his ability to use old lore to enhance the story is amazing.