A quick note before I start – I won’t be making a character profile on Hope Van Dyne because her character doesn’t really exist in the comics – there is a Hope Pym, but she is from Earth 982, not Earth 616, and only appeared in one run, so there won’t be much to talk about.

But, if you do want to know about Nadia Van Dyne, Hank‘s daughter from his previous marriage, let me know and I’ll get on it!

Name: Scott Lang

Superhero Name: Ant Man

Created By: David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Byrne

Played By: Paul Rudd

Powers: Genius-level intellect, skilled electrical engineer, master thief, ability to shrink to half an inch in size with the use of Pym Particles

Mini Bio: Scott Lang was born and raised in Florida, he had an uneventful childhood and grew up to become an electrical engineer. He married a woman called Peggy Rae, and the two had a daughter, Cassandra, aka Cassie. Sadly, Scott’s salary doing repair work couldn’t properly support his family, so he turned to burglary. He was soon caught and sent to prison, and Peggy divorced him. During his prison sentence, Scott spent his time learning more about electrical engineering, and when he was released, he was hired by Stark International as part of their design team.

When Cassie was diagnosed with a serious heart condition, Scott turned to burglary again, after finding out that the only doctor who could save his daughter was being held at Darren Cross’ (who also had a heart condition) facilities against her will. Scott broke into Hank Pym’s home, stole the Ant Man suit, and sort to rescue Doctor Erica Sondheim from Cross.

The rescue attempt was successful, and Sondheim was able to save Cassie’s life. Scott prepared to turn himself in, but Hank Pym, who had been watching Scott since he stole the suit, told him to keep it, as long as he used the suit lawfully.

Since then, Scott has been on hand to help other heroes in their time of need – he’s been hired several times by Tony Stark to infiltrate villainous rival companies’ headquarters, has helped out the Fantastic Four in Microworld, and has temporarily reformed the Heroes For Hire. He also briefly dated Jessica Jones after joining the Avengers as a fully-fledged member of the team.

Things did take a turn for the worse though during the Avengers Disassembled/House Of M event, as the attack on Avengers Mansion lead everyone to believe that Scott had died in the battle. His daughter, Cassie, became Stature, a hero in his honour, on the Young Avengers team, until he was discovered to be alive. The reunion between father and daughter was short-lived though, as Doctor Doom attacked soon after, killing Cassie in the process.

Scott swore revenge on Doom, and would eventually get that revenge when he was part of the Fantastic Four – the original four members had to go to a separate universe, so asked Scott, She-Hulk, Medusa and Johnny’s current girlfriend Darla Deering to take over, and naturally, this ended with the new Fantastic Four team battling Doom, who was defeated. When the original members of the team returned, Scott left.

Cassie was eventually revived by Doom when his moral compass was inverted, and Scott tried to do everything to be a good father, getting a job back at Stark Industries. But when Cassie and her mum moved to Florida, Scott moved too, starting his own business – Ant Man Security Solutions.

The business was short-lived, and ultimately failed for various reasons (including a second arrest after a heist gone wrong), but Scott still managed to come out on top, teaming up with his daughter as Ant Man and the Stinger – a team up he is still in today.

Interesting Trivia: Scott’s Ant Man helmet allows him to communicate with ants, but it also contains sound amplification equipment, so he can be heard by his teammates, even when in his shrunken size.

First Comic Appearance: As Scott Lang – The Avengers issue 181 (1979). As Ant Man – Marvel Premiere issue 47 (1979)

Most Common Team Ups: Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four

Comic Recommendations: The Astonishing Ant Man Complete Collection (2018) by Nick Spencer, Ant Man (2020) by Zeb Wells, The Saga of Scott Lang (2023) by Ralph Macchio, Leah Williams, Zeb Wells and others