From minuet (pun) beginnings comes a big hero. |
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........One Giant leap for Henry "Hank" Pym, Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady to the big screen.
There has been a lot of talk about the future Marvel Studios movie endeavors lately. The current line-up of movies set to take place within the same universe and continuity are: Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2010), Ant-Man (2010, unofficial), Nick Fury (2010, unofficial), The First Avenger: Captain America (2011) and The Avengers (2011). This list is partly based on an official statement from Marvel Studios (although the list was pulled from Wikipedia so it is not 100% accurate - attentive Alpha.) Two things are clear to me fro the aforementioned list. Marvel is trying to keep all of their intellectual properties together to form a cohesive unit under one production studio and they are trying to push out origin movies for as many of the original Avengers as possible so they can do an Avengers movie without going through the arduous process of explaining each character in a single film. Whew, that was a long sentence. What has me interested in Ant-Man being on the list is that he is not a character most people think of when they think Marvel comics. I could rattle off a list of characters people tend to think of before the name Ant-Man comes to mind, but that would be counterproductive (and comes off as me bashing him which I am by no means doing - considerate Craig.) Instead I want to focus on Ant-Man and how I feel about the potential movie.
First off I am all for comic book adaptation movies. More times than not I am quite familiar with the source material and I always get a kick out of seeing the larger-than-life characters on the big screen looking, well, larger-than-life (sorry, I couldn't 
Which one is Pym, Yellowjacket or Giant-Man? |
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help myself - apologetic Alpha.) The idea of Ant-Man brings a whole new dynamic to the concept. There is an inherent "David and Goliath" aspect to him. To understand the idea behind the character of Ant-Man, you need to know of the origins (there are, after all, three different men who took on the mantle of Ant-Man – citing Craig.)
Henry "Hank" Pym
This is the first guy to be able to shrink down to the size of an ant while retaining his human strength speed and agility (and was later able to grow to approximately 100 feet as Giant-Man and Yellowjacket - comprehensive Craig.) He achieved these amazing feats through his discovery of a rare group of subatomic particles he dubbed "Pym Particles. His achievements aren't limited to his shrinking/growth powers. He is considered a scientific genius of the highest order with expertise in the fields of quantum physics, robotics/cybernetics, artificial intelligence, biochemistry, and even entomology ( study of insects - adverting Alpha.) Along with discovering and utilizing "Pym Particles, he also built the robot who would go on to become a great adversary known as Ultron and occasionally helped in the repair of the android Vision. Every other preceding character to use the names Ant-Man, Yellowjacket or Goliath or used size manipulation gained their abilities through use of Pym Particles so if it weren't for Hank Pym there wouldn't be Scott Lang (as Ant-Man), Eric O'Grady (as Ant-Man), Bill Foster (as both Goliath and Giant Man), Erik Josten (as Atlas), Tom Foster (as Goliath), Rita DeMara (as Yellowjacket), and Cassie Lang (as Stature).
Scott Lang
Much like Clint Barton (Hawkeye to those of us in the know - cultivated Craig), Scott Lang started out as a 
Wash that suit before you return it Lang! |
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criminal. His first occupation as an electronics expert didn't pan out so he turned to a life of crime. When he was caught and sentenced to prison, he spent the majority of the time continuing his studies into the field of electronics. After getting out of prison, Lang was hired by Tony Stark for his expertise in electronics. His new laudable life didn't last long. When his daughter Cassie became seriously ill he returned to his criminal roots. He broke into Dr. Henry Pym's home, steeling his Ant-Man uniform and canisters of Pym Particles. Under the guise of Ant-Manhe broke into Cross Technological Enterprises where Dr. Erica Sondheim (the only person capable of helping his daughter - adorned Alpha) was being held prisoner. He rescued Sondheim who was able to save Cassie's life. Lang had every intention of returning the items he stole from Pym, but was told by Pym himself to keep them and continue to use them for crime fighting and maintaining the law.
Eric O'Grady
He is by far the least likely hero out of the three. As a low-level agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. ( Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division, Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate or Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division depending on your choice of interpretations - construing Craig) found a prototypical Ant-Man suit that Dr. Henry Pym had stored in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters. His first instinct was not to thwart evil, but to be a jerk and use the suit to stalk and seduce women as well as acting as a nemesis to former bullies (Nemesis = a righteous infliction of retribution, manifested in the form of an appropriate agent - anglophile Alpha .)
Now with that list of choices of 
"A thousand ants of the O'Grady empire descend upon you!" |
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Ant-Man incarnations, you might think that one would be sufficient enough for the leading role in a movie right? Well according to Edgar Wright, the Ant-Man movie he would direct would include all three Ant-Men. He says it would be an action/adventure movie with some light humor. He is adamant that Ant-Man " would not be a comedy like Fantastic Four or a spoof. Instead it would be a generational movie starting in the 60s with Henry "Hank" Pym, leading to Scott Lang in the 80s/90s and ending in the 00s with Eric O'Grady. The more I think about the prospect, the more I like it.
It appears as though not everyone shares the respect and admiration for Ant-Man and his potential blockbuster debut. This is an excerpt from an interview with Adam Brody while promoting his latest movie Jennifer's Body, "When asked if he'd (Brody) consider playing a different superhero in the proposed adaptation of the DC Comics franchise, Brody laughed. "F--k Ant Man, man," he said." This is an odd statement considering that Ant-Man is a Marvel property/character so I am not sure why he dropped that name when asked about a proposed DC Comics adaptation movie (which also makes me not want to see anything this "huge George Miller fan" is attached to when he not only bashes a great character, but can't even get his publishers straight -annoyed Alpha.)
No matter who is in charge of the writing, producing or directing of future Marvel Studios movies, there sure looks like there is enough coming our way to keep even the pickiest of fan-boys grinning whilst dropping massive amounts of money at our local theatres. Here is to hoping Ant-Man is one of them. Thanks again for reading true believers, EXCELSIOR!
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Bringing you a vast wealth of comic book movie knowledge from a 4,000 plus book collection and experience at Rain City Comics.
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| The Alpha Craig |
I am the first and the last, maybe not. I'm 31 years old and still spend my disposable income on comic books. Might as well put it to good use.
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