Ant-Man & Spider-Man: Earth's Mightiest Scientists
is a Ant-Man/Spider-Man crossover fic by DominoSquare.
After Spider-Man’s dispute with the Fantastic Four, Hank Pym, known throughout the superhero world as Ant-Man, saw something in the young hero and offered to be his mentor. How will Peter Parker grow and develop under the shrinking superhero?
‘’Ant-Man & Spider-Man: Earth's Mightiest Scientists’’ contains the following tropes:
- 10-Minute Retirement: As in canon, Peter briefly quits as Spider-Man after his first battle with Doctor Octopus, but a pep talk the Human Torch gave his school inspires Peter to get back into action.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In most Spider-Man and Marvel iterations, Hank Pym and Peter Parker hardly have any interactions. In this fic, the former serves as a mentor to the latter.
- Ant Assault: Ant-Man is introduced leading an army of ants to take on Spider Man, riding one as his noble steed.
- Broken Pedestal: Peter Parker’s argument with the Fantastic Four left him with more than a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, to say the least.
- Demoted to Extra: With his job with Hank providing a new means of financial support, Peter never starts working for the Daily Bugle.
- The Fashionista: Janet swiftly starts devising new costumes for herself, and even offers to create a new costume for Peter.
- Hates My Secret Identity: Peter is frustrated that Aunt May thinks Spider-Man is a public nuisance who should go to jail.
- In Spite of a Nail: Despite Spider-Man's assistance, Janet van Dyne's father still dies in events that lead to her adopting the identity of the Wasp.
- Living Emotional Crutch: While Hank is not explicitly aware of it, being a mentor to Peter is encouraging him to adopt a more positive view, potentially avoiding his darker mental issues in canon.
- Mad Scientist: Egghead and Doctor Octopus maintain their status as this.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Basically applies, as Peter and Hank are facing each other's enemies now that they are fighting together, including Egghead and Doctor Octopus.
- Trauma Conga Line: Peter’s Uncle Ben dies, forcing him to become the man of the house. After a loud argument, he loses a lot of respect for the Fantastic Four. J. Jonah Jameson constantly subjects him to a smear campaign, and even his Aunt May thinks Spider-Man is a public menace. To say Parker isn’t in good spirits is putting it mildly.
