History ComicBook / AntMan

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' (Hank Pym appears with a combination of both Ant-Man and Giant-Man powersets before passing his title to Scott Lang during the second season; after which Hank switches to Yellowjacket)

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[[folder: Ant-Man I (Henry "Hank" Pym)]]
* TenMinuteRetirement: Pym has retired several times over the years, sometimes taking Janet with him, but it never stuck.
* AbsentMindedProfessor: Has occasionally shown these tendencies, especially early in he and Janet's relationship.
* ActionDad: As revealed in ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'', he has a daughter with his deceased first wife, ComicBook/NadiaPym.
* AgentScully: Sometimes, he insists that magic isn't real and that there are no gods.
* AntiHeroSubstitute: As Yellowjacket.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Hank Pym is a confessed atheist. He dismisses [[PhysicalGods "gods"]] like [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] and [[ComicBook/IncredibleHercules Hercules]] as extra-dimensional heroes. But he either knows of or has met [[CosmicEntity Eternity]], [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the living spirit of the universe]] and is still an atheist.
* ArchEnemy : Originally it was rival scientist Egghead, but then became Ultron.
* AscendedExtra / BreakoutCharacter:
** Hank's first appearance in ''Tales to Astonish #27'' was a seven page story where as a scientist, he just tests his shrinking experiments on himself and runs afoul of some ants. "The Man in the Ant Hill" was intended as a one-off story, but positive response led to bringing him back almost a year later as a superhero.
** Scott Lang would follow suit and prove to be even more popular than Hank, due to being a more down-to-earth TheEveryman as opposed to a bitter scientist like Hank was. He soon comes to be regarded as ''the'' Ant-Man.
* BadassBookworm: He's much more "Bookworm" than most other scientists in the Marvel Universe.
* BattleCouple: With Janet, and later with Tigra.
* TheBeastmaster: Thanks to his helmet, he can control insects.
* BigShutUp: When he hit Janet in ''Avengers #213''.
* BitchSlap: During a moment when he was NotHimself, Hank [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten infamously]] slapped his wife Janet Van Dyne like this.
* ButtMonkey:
** Has become kind of a RunningGag both in and out of the comics, though it's technically not really deserved considering it stemmed from maybe two bad judgment calls on Pym's part at the most.
** At one point, Hank got abducted and replaced by Skrulls. Due to their method of infiltration, the Skrulls replacing him (yes, plural, there's a reason) inherit Hank's mental issues, and their superiors refuse to listen to them and their warnings that the Skrulls aren't going to win simply because they look like Hank Pym.
* CatapultToGlory: Only capable of shrinking early in his career, Hank used a catapult to launch himself around town.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' redesigned Pym after the likeness of Matthew Mc Conaughey.
* ControlFreak: Has some of these tendencies, wanting to control the actions of those around him, the world and most of his scientific advancements are in an effort to take more control over things he previously couldn't. It gets worse during his breakdowns.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: Hank Pym built the KillerRobot Ultron, which became one of the Avengers' most dangerous enemies.
* DeaderThanDead: Presumably as of ''Infinity Countdown #5'' [[spoiler: Hank's soul was removed from [[FusionDance Pymtron's body]] by the Soul Stone. And then his soul ended up getting devoured by a beast within the Soul Stone.]] This gets pushed even further in ''[[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark: Iron Man #19]]'' wherein [[spoiler: Tony shuts down any possibility that Hank is still somewhere in there in the FusionDance he's had with Ultron. Tony confirms that Ultron had been faking Hank's presence the entire time.]]
* DelayedDiagnosis: Hank Pym showed signs of some mental illness for years before it was finally revealed that he was bipolar.
* DomesticAbuse: Hank, who developed the persona Yellowjacket during a mental breakdown, marries Janet but their initially-happy marriage quickly deteriorates and culminates in Hank slapping Janet hard enough to bruise her face. For this, he is booted off of The Avengers, he and Janet are divorced, and their superhero partnership is broken.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: As seen in the opening description, the very first Hank Pym story was a science fiction-horror story with no superheroics and wouldn't feel out of place in an episode of ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}'' or ''Series/{{The Outer Limits|1963}}''. It wasn't until his second appearance where the concept was retooled into a superhero adventure story, with superhero comics undergoing a revival and the ComicBook/FantasticFour being a big enough hit from a year before that Marvel was ready to start branching out with other heroes and costumed adventurers.
* EnemyWithout: ''"Rage of Ultron"'' establishes that Ultron turned out like it did because Hank used an engram of his brain as a base and Ultron inherited all of his suppressed misanthropy.
* EngineeredHeroism: As Yellowjacket in Avengers #212, Pym unleashed a giant robot called Salvation I that only ''he'' could stop in an attempt to appear heroic in front of his fellow Avengers. When the actual incident happened, [[EpicFail he failed]], nearly got killed, and had to be saved by Janet.
* FatalFlaw: Hank's feelings of inadequacy, and later discovered he was bipolar, which caused seemingly every problem in his life outside of ComicBook/{{Ultron}}. Among other things, this led to him:
** Becoming Giant-Man after comparing himself to people like ComicBook/IronMan, ComicBook/TheMightyThor, and the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk. This gave him an increase in strength but made him clumsier and a much bigger target, as well as causing serious health risks if he grew beyond his limit.
** [[InsecureLoveInterest Not proposing to Janet when both of them were clearly interested in each other]], since he figured she'd be more interested in celebrities and millionaires as opposed to a scientist. This led to him developing a split personality and becoming Yellowjacket for the first time.
** Causing the breakdown of his marriage, as Jan's success and money coupled with his failures in science (most notably, Ultron) led to him becoming more bitter and angry towards her.
** Becoming desperate to prove himself as a meaningful member of the Avengers, which led to him attacking a super-villain after the conflict was resolved and being kicked out of the Avengers, as well as [[EngineeredHeroism creating Salvation-1]] to attack the Avengers so he could stop it.
** Very nearly outright committing suicide early during his run in the Avengers' [[ComicBook/WestCoastAvengers West Coast title]] while alone in their headquarters, when his body would no longer take the strain of changing size and he felt that without actual superpowers he'd just be TheLoad. Occasional guest heroine Firebird showed up just in time to talk him out of it.
* {{Flight}}: Hank uses artificial wings to fly as part of his Yellowjacket and Wasp personas.
* ForScience: The ultimate motivation for most of what he does.
* FreudianExcuse: His feelings of inadequacy and desire to prove himself come from his FantasyForbiddingFather, who was a scientist that stifled his [[MrImagination fanciful imagination]] as a child to work on "something practical" in direct conflict with his grandmother who was a fantasy author and encouraged him to follow his dreams. This only got worse when her influence was removed by her death, leading him to be lead by his father to take a dull job in science that would continue to stifle his whims.
* FusionDance: [[spoiler:Hank and Ultron fuse into one being during ''Rage of Ultron''. At first, Ultron's mind is dominant over Pym's, but Starfox forces the more human side to wake up. However, all later appearances have Ultron in the driver's seat.]]
* GeniusBruiser: Is a scientist who studies biology, robotics, and minerals. As Giant-Man he gains super strength.
* HappilyMarried: He and his first wife, Dr. Maria Trovaya, were happy together until her death. His relationship with Janet had happy moments but was not as fulfilling.
* HollywoodAtheist: Hank denounces Thor and Hercules as divine at most times but in his darker moods dismisses faith in anything through a perspective of rationalism.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Pym took to riding Korr, his flying ant companion, after Janet's flying power made the catapult superfluous.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: When he was Giant-Man and Janet, Wasp.
* IHaveManyNames: His superhero identities include Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket and Wasp. He even went as Dr Henry Pym for a while. After Rage of Ultron, he becomes [[spoiler:Ultron]].
* InstantAIJustAddWater: Hank is uncannily good at programming AI; Even with a brain engram starter, Ultron is both self-evolving and propagating, making AIs of its own. Heck, the deactivation subroutine time travel events led him to install into it kept developing once their task was completed into six fully sentient AIs of their own whose conflict motivated its own miniseries to resolve.
* ItsAllMyFault: He blames himself for every sin committed by Ultron. He also tends to be extremely hard on himself, even for things out of his control, as a symptom of his general self-hatred.
* TheMasochismTango: His relationship with Janet was this long before they got divorced. Janet was far younger than Hank and was a ReplacementGoldfish who resembled his first wife, Dr. Maria Trovaya. Personality wise, Janet was an extroverted socialite interested in fashion and invested in being a public superhero. She was often playful and flirty with her fellow male team-mates and insensitive to Hank. Hank was introverted and insecure, preferred staying in the laboratory and rarely communicated openly to her. This in part led to his breakdown as a "bad-boy" Yellowjacket. Janet consented to marry him in this state knowing that he was normally too shy to do it despite both of them wanting to. While Janet believed she was helping Hank, he would backbite and hurt her emotionally during their marriage until the incident when he slapped her led her to call it quits.
* MayDecemberRomance: His relationship and subsequent marriage to Janet. At nineteen, Jan was an adult but closer to Rick Jones' age rather than Hank and the other original Avengers’ ages.
* MonsterProtectionRacket: At his lowest point, he built one of his lesser-known robots (Salvation-1) to stage a fight and make himself look good. He ultimately failed. The Wasp defeated it and Hank was kicked out of the Avengers.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: His reaction to Ultron's decision that humans need to be purged.
* NeverLiveItDown[=/=]OnceDoneNeverForgotten:
** He provides the picture for the comics page, slapping his wife Janet/The Wasp. To this day, Hank is still accused of being a "wifebeater" and people that don't read comics frequently claim that he's a repeat offender. In actuality, he hit Janet only once while he was in the midst of a mental breakdown. The way people both in-universe and out talk about the incident, you'd think he'd been beating her since the day they met, or that all his relationships are like that, when his first marriage was perfectly happy.
** Invoked in ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' when it's used by Tony as a reason why the Avengers don't feel so much like a family unit anymore. Tony saying that is a BerserkButton to Hank, who goes a tirade on how he's accomplished so much and yet judged by one moment when Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and slews of others have made far worse and more destructive mistakes yet are EasilyForgiven.
* OmniDisciplinaryScientist: While starting out as "merely" a brilliant biochemist, Hank's story arc eventually led to him becoming an innovator in numerous fields, including particle and quantum physics ("Pym Particles"), electronics/robotics/programming (Ultron) and of course, entomology. [[CosmicEntity Eternity]] (later revealed [[UnreliableNarrator by Loki]] to actually be Loki in disguise) told Hank he was Earth's "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yandroth#Yandroth Scientist Supreme]]" because his prowess with wide-spread scientific disciplines allow him abilities akin to magic, a claim that tends to lose some credibility given the fact that Reed "I Can Make [[RealityWarper Cosmic Cubes]] For The Lulz" Richards exists. Eternity lampshades this in-universe, pointing out that Reed Richards uses science to facilitate his main goal (exploration), as does Tony Stark (futurism/engineering). It's Pym who explores and expands science simply because that's what he, as a scientist, is driven to do.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: In-universe, it was established via retcon that Hank first came up with the Giant-Man identity because he felt his shrinking abilities were useless when compared to the raw power the other Avengers brought to the table. This becomes a MythologyGag of sorts in ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures: The Avengers'' when Janet, here as Giant-Girl, thought the shrinking powers were incredibly lame and when she accidentally discovered she could grow with them, she decides to stick with that.
* PassingTheTorch: Pym usually gets a chip on his shoulder when someone adopts one of his identities, but he ultimately decided to become Giant-Man fulltime to give Scott Lang the Ant-Man mantle.
%%* PersonalityPowers
* ProfessorGuineaPig: in his origin story, he tested his Pym Particles on himself.
* QuestionableConsent: Hank Pym married Janet during an emotional breakdown where he claimed the identity of Yellowjacket, a supervillain who claimed to kill "Hank". Janet knew all along that Yellowjacket was Hank, and that Hank in his normal state was too insecure to pop the question, but she married him while he was in this altered state. While Hank was happy to be married to her when he snapped back, later writers, such as Kurt Busiek, have him and Janet discuss how messed up it was for her to marry him in that situation.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Hank's initial attraction to second wife Janet was because she bore a strong resemblance to his first wife Maria. Years later, Hank reflects that his attempt to have Janet take the role of Maria in his life was probably the cause for their relationship not working out.
* RoboticSpouse: Hank's relationship with Jocasta, the robot bearing some of the memories of his ex-wife.
* SanitySlippage: The stress from the amount of work he had on himself, his crushing self-doubt mixed with the disrespect of his teammates, and Janet's emotional abuse of him ultimately lead him down a disastrous spiral which has defined his superhero career since. It was ultimately revealed that these moments were caused by an undiagnosed case of bipolar disorder.
* ScienceHero: For a short time, he has ditched the costume, code name, and powers altogether and fought crime in a lab coat and civvies (or, more famously during his stint with the West Coast Avengers, a red jumpsuit) with nothing but his tool-belt full of super-tech. Recent plot developments have brought back the scientific acumen in full force. He's even got a fully functional pocket dimension lab on him at all times.
* ScienceHerosBabeAssistant: Janet [=VanDyne=] used to be nothing more than a source of fanservice and a {{Sidekick}} to Dr. Hank Pym, genuius inventor, before decades of CharacterDevelopment got hold of her. She frequently served as DamselInDistress and target for Hank's InsufferableGenius tendencies (and once his punches).
* SecondSuperIdentity: Hank Pym has a habit of juggling multiple superhero personae. Some attribute this to his insanity.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: The instability of the Pym Particles trapped Hank at various sizes over the years.
* TheSmartGuy: Plays this role in the original Avengers line-up, and a lot of traditional team builds.
* SpearCounterpart: As Wasp after [[spoiler:she was killed in the ''Secret Invasion'']].
* StrawNihilist: In his worst depressive episodes Hank doesn't believe in the value and meaning of anything and becomes callously pragmatic.
* TangledFamilyTree: Legacy-wise he technically has 4 "grandchildren": Cassie Lang (by being Scott Lang's daughter and inspired by his heroism), Victor Mancha (built from Ultron Tech and human DNA) and both versions of the Vision (as the original was built by his "son" Ultron, and the second was a back-up copy of the original's programming). Mind you before [[spoiler:their deaths in ''Avengers: The Children's Crusade'']] Cassie and the second Vision dated, making them something of KissingCousins.
** Also, if Ultron is his "son", Jocasta, his "robotic wife", can be considered both a robot clone of Janet and both Pym's niece, as Ultron created her, with some of Janet's memories, to satisfy his budding Oedipal Complex.
*** Jossed in-universe: Jocasta doesn't consider Henry Pym to be her grandfather, but, having created one of the first and the most powerful AI running rampant in the Marvel Universe, and being Ultron her creator, she staunchly and vocally believes that Henry Pym has to be regarded as the "God of Robots", and thus, when they dated, she claimed that her experience was more akin "Kissing God".
* WeddingSmashers: The Ringmaster and the Circus of Crime attack during Hank's wedding to Janet, prompting a return of Pym's Giant Man persona.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Hank has held two positions on sentient robots. In ''"Avengers A.I."'', he fully believes in civil rights for artificial intelligences while later on in ''"Rage of Ultron"'', he's so bitter over Ultron that he callously executes a group of A.I. terrorists who were simply fighting for their rights.
* WhatTheHellHero: Pym has gotten this more than a few times, but probably the biggest came when Pym led the Mighty Avengers. It turned out a member of their team, the ComicBook/ScarletWitch, had in fact been Loki in disguise as part of one of his trademark evil schemes. Pym's response was to ask the God of Evil to join the Avengers for real. Every person in the room, including Loki himself, reacted this way, and his Avengers team actually broke up for a time on the grounds that Pym was either too crazy or too stupid to lead them.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Before it was finally established that he was bipolar, his moments of insanity were explained away as being due to Pym Particles altering his brain chemistry, a detail carried over into the MCU adaptation. No one else ever having such a problem is probably why he was made bipolar via retcon.\\\
In an oft-forgetten part of the reviled ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'', the story that tried to say Iron Man was a ManchurianAgent for Kang, it attempted to retcon the cause of Hank's mental issues, saying that Tony's was Kang's ''second'' choice and Hank was Kang's first, the various issues Hank suffered were really the result of this attempt at brainwashing Hank. However, much like retconning that it was really Immortus manipulating Tony and only since the events of ''ComicBook/OperationGalacticStorm'', ''ComicBook/AvengersForever'' also revealed that Immortus lied and really did nothing of the sort to Hank.
* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: At the climax of ''Avengers #229'' (written by Creator/RogerStern) where he confronts Egghead:
--> '''Hank''': I did a pretty good job of screwing up my life recently. You just about finished the job for me! You used me, egghead...and you tried to make me a criminal! But you couldn't, you see. I've come to terms with myself in the past month. I know who I am, and who I'm not! I'm not Ant-Man anymore, I'm not Giant-Man...or Goliath...or Yellow-Jacket! I am Henry Pym! And it was Henry Pym who beat the Masters of Evil!
* WorkingWithTheEx: Hank and Janet continued to work together as Avengers even when she started dating other men. It was awkward for both.
* YankTheDogsChain: In ''Infinity Countdown'', Pymtron touches the Soul Stone, dragging part of Hank into the Soul World. He refuses to accept he's stuck there, and finagles a way back to the real world, apparently succeeding... [[spoiler:Nope, he hasn't. A demon in the Soul World is messing with his head. Then it eats him.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ant-Man II (Scott Lang)]]
* ActionDad: He has a daughter, Cassie Lang.
* AdultFear: He became a burglar first, Ant-Man later to properly care for his IllGirl Cassie. He spent his life protecting and caring for her. Then Cassie followed in his footsteps becoming a teenaged heroine. She died, brutally killed in front of him. Scott was devastated.
* AmicableExes: Averted, like how. Scott's ex-wife really doesn't think very highly of him, even successfully taking him to court of custody of Cassie.
* BrilliantButLazy: According to {{Word of God}} Scott Lang excels at electrical engineering as well as some other fields but never quite applies himself.
* ButtMonkey: After coming back from the dead, or more specifically after his time in ''FF'', Scott becomes a barely functional doofus who endangers everyone around him through his own thoughtlessness and stupidity.
* ComicBookDeath: He was killed at the beginning of ''Avengers: Disassembled'', and brought back during ''Avengers: Children's Crusade'', by his daughter and some time-travel shenanigans.
** Happens also with Cassie; in the [[CrisisCrossover AXIS Storyline]], the [[HeelFaceTurn morally inverted]] Doctor Doom uses a condensed portion of Scarlet Witch's reality warping powers to [[TheAtoner correct one]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone of his sins]], then Cassie [[OpenTheDoorAndSeeAllThePeople appears in front of Scott's doorstep]].
* CostumeCopycat: Scott stole the Ant-Man suit from Hank Pym's house, using it to break into CTE to confront Darren Cross as "Ant-Man".
* DatingCatwoman: He had a fling (and slept) with Janice Lincoln, the Lady Beetle. Lampshaded:
-->''(thoughts, as Janice is about to kiss him) "One rule that can never be broken no matter what--and no matter how many times [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony]] [[ReallyGetsAround Stark]] may tell you otherwise--if you want to be an Avenger, [[TemptingFate you do]] '''[[TemptingFate not]]''' [[TemptingFate sleep with the super-villans]]." (GilliganCut to him and Janice in bed [[SexyDiscretionShot the next morning]])''
* HeadbuttingHeroes: With Jack of Hearts, during his time on the Avengers. The two never got along, bickering at the drop of a hat over everything. And then Jack died in the process of saving Scott's daughter.
* HurtingHero: Scott is one after Cassie's death.
* IllGirl: Cassie Lang. At least when she was a child.
* InsistentTerminology: During Geoff John's Avengers run, Scott keeps repeating that he's not ''really'' an Avenger, he's just helping them. No-one listens. Eventually, a judge asks him just how often the Avengers have a problem they need help with.
* LoserProtagonist: In Nick Spencer's run.
* JustifiedCriminal: Scott turned to burglary as a last resort after his daughter is diagnosed with a congenital heart condition. His ''Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' incarnation provides the page image for HealthCareMotivation.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Gives one to Dr. Doom in Matt Fraction's {{ComicBook/FF}} run after Dr. Doom killed his daughter.
* PapaWolf: Go after Cassie and Scott will make you regret it.
* PartTimeHero: Scott only donned the Ant-Man costume for brief periods early in his career, preferring to raise his daughter and, later, run his own electronics store.
* ProfanityPolice: In the 2020 miniseries, Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and Stinger (his daughter Cassie) are stopping a drug operation by AIM. Stinger attacks them with SymbolSwearing, and Scott objects "Whoa! Language!"
* RememberTheNewGuy: In ''Avengers'' Vol 3 #62, Scott Lang's ex-wife Peggy Rae appears when she obtains a court ruling limiting Scott's time with Cassie to supervised visits for one month. She has a strained relationship with Scott both because of his past as a criminal and his career as a superhero, feeling it's too dangerous for their daughter. This despite the fact that in Scott's first appearances his wife, and Cassie's mother, never appeared or was mentioned, with it being implied that Scott was raising Cassie alone. And with him having custody of Cassie with no problems.
* {{Retcon}}: In Scott Lang's first appearance, his daughter Cassie suffered from a congenital heart defect. To save her life, Scott stole Hank Pym's Ant-Man equipment and Pym Particles, which he used to rescue Doctor Sondheim, the only doctor able to cure Cassie's condition, from Cross Technological Enterprises. Scott's wife, and Cassie's mother, never appeared or was mentioned, with it being implied that Scott was raising Cassie alone. In fact, when Scott was in prison, his sister Ruth Lang and her boyfriend Carl were the ones that took care of Cassie, and have since disappeared. Then in ''Avengers'' Vol 3 #62, Scott's ex-wife Peggy Rae appears when she obtains a court ruling limiting Scott's time with Cassie to supervised visits for one month. Despite the fact that before that issue, Cassie was under his custody with no problems.
* ReformedCriminal: Scott is a former thief.
* RomanticRunnerUp: Lang dated Jessica Jones for months but she ended up with ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}}.
* UnknownRival: During his most recent series, he says that after multiple fights, he considers Taskmaster to be his arch-enemy. Taskmaster barely remembers fighting him, and only attacked Scott because he was in town anyways.
** Taskmaster only remembers people through the physical abilities he can copy. Scott not being a martial artist and his powers not being immitable means Taskmaster has no reason to memorise Scott.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ant-Man III (Eric O'Grady)]]
* AchillesHeel: Eric's Achilles tendons become vulnerable when he's in giant form.
* TheAdjectivalSuperhero: The ''Irredeemable'' Ant-Man.
* TheAtoner: The reason why he joined the Secret Avengers. That, and [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]] decided to give him a second chance.
* ClearMyName: Subverted [[spoiler:O'Grady did indeed steal the Ant-Man suit and evade SHIELD while on the run. But in order to get back into their good graces after he was found, he passes most of the blame for the serious stuff onto Mitch Carson (who was revealed to actually be a serial killer and about to brutally kill O'Grady anyway when SHIELD caught up to where Carson was holding him) and sold out Black Fox at the end of his series as well.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Although by ''Secret Avengers'' he is doing this less often.
* ComedicSociopathy: Eric is a very selfish man, and he uses his superpowers to get what he wants at the expense of others.
* DeathEqualsRedemption: Eric is ultimately killed while saving a young child from the Descendants. In his final moments, he notes that it was worth it, since after a lifetime of being an asshole, his last moments on Earth were spent finally doing the right thing.
* DirtyCoward: O'Grady has a tendency to shrink and hide in the face of danger.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Less then a few issues into Remender's start on ''ComicBook/SecretAvengers'', after being given a back story that didn't even fit his previous history well, he is killed off and replaced.
* EccentricMentor: Black Fox was this for O'Grady early on, aiding in crimes as well as playing video games in their down time. The relationship went south however after Black Fox stole his UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time he appears, he smashes Hank Pym (well, [[spoiler:a skrull replacing Hank Pym]]) in the face with a rifle, when he's supposed to be ''guarding'' him, because he was jumpy.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite his long list of disreputable traits and general awfulness, Eric was horrified by Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts, and was looking for any opportunity to get out.
* FireForgedFriends: With ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}} from his days in the [[ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative Avengers Initiative]].
* HandsomeLech: He's pretty perverse and not above using his status as a superhero to pick up women. Best way to describe him would be [[Series/HowIMetYourMother Barney Stinson with superpowers]].
* HowDoIShotWeb: Eric went through a trial-and-error stage after he stole the Ant-Man suit, burning Mitch Carson's face with his rocket boots and nearly killing an attempted rapist because he underestimated his own strength at insect size.
* {{Jerkass}}: Just two examples:
** Having sex with Veronica, the girlfriend of his best friend Chris that was dead, leading to her pregnancy and ultimately abandoning her.
** At Camp Hammond, Eric provoked Stature when he slandered the name of her father and his predecessor, Scott Lang, blaming him for Eric's own voyeurism.
* JetPack: The G.I. Ant-Man suit [[{{Flight}} flies]] using a set of rocket boots. They can also be used as a [[WeaponizedExhaust weapon]] in the right circumstances.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: While never out-and-out villainous, O'Grady was on both the Shadow Initiative and Osborn's second ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}} team. Never mind playing DisappearedDad to his kid. With his death finally karma has caught him.
* KillAndReplace: Eric ends up being killed by the Descendants and replaced by a Life Model Decoy.
* MarshmallowHell: O'Grady snuck into the cockpit of Air Force One hidden in Black Widow II's cleavage.
* OddFriendship: Struck up one with Taskmaster during their time at Camp Hammond, starting when they both decide to sit out KIA's rampage and watch ''Chuck'' on Eric's [=iPod=].
* ThePeepingTom: A complete pervert, Eric used the Ant-Man's shrinking powers to spy on ComicBook/MsMarvel (when Carol was in the role) while she was in the shower.
* PoweredArmor: O'Grady's stolen Ant-Man suit. Later, Hank Pym would add the power to grow to the suit, renaming it the G.I. Ant-Man suit.
* RealityEnsues: During ''World War Hulk'', Eric - an otherwise ordinary human in powered armor - gets between Hulk and Iron Man's fight. He's badly injured.
* ShoutOut: To ‘’Franchise/Batman’’ When Eric was hiding inside Ms Marvel's purse he mentioned all the cool stuff she must have at her lair like a dinosaur or a giant penny
* SpiderLimbs: The G.I. Ant-Man suit has two retractable limbs used for balance and [[WallCrawl wall crawling]].
* StickyFingers: Eric has no compunctions about simply taking whatever he wants.
* StealthPun: His original suit's official name is "G.I.ANT-MAN" which could be read as General Infantry Ant-man or Giant Man, could also be considered FunWithAcronyms on [[spoiler:Skrull]] Hank Pym's part.
* TagalongKid: His role in the Secret Avengers seems to be this, though he tries hard to prove himself.
-->'''War Machine''': Let's go, kid.
-->'''Ant-Man''': I got a codename, you know?
-->'''War Machine''': Not to me. Not until you live up to it.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: A man of very few morals and willingness to lie, cheat, steal and manipulate in order to get ahead in life, O'Grady immediately steals the Ant Man armor for his own selfish plans, which include using his status as a "super-hero" to stalk women and facilitate his thievery.
* WorldsSmartestMan: Hank Pym is sometimes labelled the smartest man depending on the media. However, he's usually overshadowed by other scientific minds and remains reclusive.
[[/folder]]

** ''Film/AvengersEndgame''

In an oft-forgetten part of the reviled ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'', the story that tried to say Iron Man was a ManchurianAgent for Kang, it attempted to retcon the cause of Hank's mental issues, saying that Tony's was Kang's ''second'' choice and Hank was Kang's first choices, the various issues Hank suffered were really the result of this attempt at brainwashing Hank. However, much like retconning that it was really Immortus manipulating Tony and only since the events of ''ComicBook/OperationGalacticStorm'', ''ComicBook/AvengersForever'' also revealed that Immortus lied and really did nothing of the sort to Hank.

In an oft-forgetten part of the reviled ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'', the story that tried to say Iron Man was a ManchurianAgent for Kang, it attempted to retcon that Hank's mental issues, saying that Tony's was Kang's ''second'' choice and Hank's was Kang's first choices, the various issues Hank suffered were really the result of this attempt at brainwashing Hank. However, much like retconning that it was really Immortus manipulating Tony and only since the events of ''ComicBook/OperationGalacticStorm'', ''ComicBook/AvengersForever'' revealed that Immortus lied and really did nothing to Hank's mental state.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Before it was finally established that he was bipolar, his moments of insanity were explained away as being due to Pym Particles altering his brain chemistry, a detail carried over into the MCU adaptation. No one else ever having such a problem is probably why he was made bipolar via retcon.

* AscendedExtra / BreakoutCharacter: Hank's first appearance in ''Tales to Astonish #27'' was a seven page story where as a scientist, he just tests his shrinking experiments on himself and runs afoul of some ants. "The Man in the Ant Hill" was intended as a one-off story, but positive response led to bringing him back almost a year later as a superhero.

Prepared to return to prison for theft, Lang is shocked when Hank Pym allows him to keep the stolen Ant-Man equipment. Recognizing Lang's true nature, Pym's only condition was that Scott must use the Ant-Man persona to uphold the law. Relieved, Scott receives more good news from Dr. Sondheim: Cassie's heart condition was successfully cured. Scott spent the rest of UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks as an Iron Man supporting character, and spent UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks as a Fantastic Four supporting character. In the 21st Century he has been an Avenger, died and come back to life, returned to being a Fantastic Four supporting character, and (thanks to Nick Spencer and the Marvel Cinematic Universe) became the face of the Ant-Man brand.

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* ''VideoGame/LegoMarvelSuperHeroes2'': Hank Pym plays a minor role in the main story as Giant-Man/Goliath (using the former's name and the latter's costume). A bonus level features Pym as both Ant-Man and Yellowjacket, and the Scott Lang Ant-Man can also be unlocked. DLC based on ''Ant-Man and the Wasp'' adds an additional level and the movie versions of Lang's Ant-Man and Giant-Man.

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* DeaderThanDead: Presumably as of ''Infinity Countdown #5'' [[spoiler: Hank's soul was removed from [[FusionDance Pymtron's body]] by the Soul Stone. And then his soul ended up getting devoured by a beast within the Soul Stone.]]

* BitchSlap: During a moment when he was NotHimself, Hank [[NeverLiveItDown infamously]] slapped his wife Janet Van Dyne like this.

* NeverLiveItDown:

* ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance3TheBlackOrder'': Scott appears as a playable character.

* ''VideoGame/MarvelsAvengers'': Hank Pym appears in the story.

** ''Film/AntMan'': The Yellowjacket persona also appears in this film, but is used by the movie's villain Darren Cross (from Scott's comic book origin).

* Main/MayDecemberRomance: His relationship and subsequent marriage to Janet. At nineteen, Jan was an adult but closer to Rick Jones’ age rather than Hank and the other original Avengers’ ages.

* Main/ArchEnemy : Originally it was rival scientist Egghead, but then became Ultron.

* UsefulNotes/BipolarDisorder: ''Avengers A.I.'' has Hank admit to being bipolar. He cycles between states on a relatively short time scale of days and has put a lot of effort and computer power into trying to predict his manic and depressive phases.
** It's been discovered recently his daughter, Nadia also has bipolar and most likely genetically inherited it from him.

** Invoked twice in ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' when at first it's used by Tony as a reason why the Avengers don't feel so much like a family unit anymore. Then secondly, Tony saying that is a BerserkButton to Hank, who goes a tirade on how he's accomplished so much and yet judged by one moment when Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and slews of others have made far worse and more destructive mistakes yet are EasilyForgiven.

** Invoked in ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' when Hank goes on a tirade on how he's accomplished so much and yet judged by one moment when Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and slews of others have made far worse and more destructive mistakes yet are EasilyForgiven.

* InstantAIJustAddWater: Hank is uncannily good at programming AI; Even with a brain engram starter, Ultron is both self-evolving and propagating, making AIs of its own. Heck, the deactivation subroutine time travel events led him to install into it kept developing once their task was completed into multiple fully sentient AIs of their own whose conflict motivated its own miniseries to resolve.

* ThePeepingTom: A complete pervert, Eric used the Ant-Man's shrinking powers to spy on ComicBook/MsMarvel while she was in the shower.