Why The Original Ant-Man Wasn’t An Avenger

The original Ant-Man in the MCU could have been featured in Marvel Studios’ first Avengers team, but this never came to pass. 2015’s Ant-Man marked the first time the size-changing hero made an appearance in the MCU, with Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang donning the Ant-Man suit. While Lang has become the most consistent user of the Ant-Man moniker, he received training from the original superhero, Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym, the man behind the creation of the Pym Particles. With a long history as a part of SHIELD, Hank Pym’s Ant-Man could have become an original Avenger in the MCU’s eponymous The Avengers, but never made his way onto the team.

Michael Douglas has had an impressive career as the MCU’s Hank Pym, featuring him as SHIELD scientist, size-changing superhero, Quantum Realm explorer and family-man throughout his live-action appearances in Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man franchise. More recently, What If…? season 2 on Disney+ featured a variant of Hank Pym from 1988 as a member of a rag-tag Avengers team compiled by SHIELD’s Peggy Carter and General Ross. Hank Pym’s inclusion on 1988’s Avengers team in What If…? season 2, episode 2, “What If… Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?,” raised the question as to why Hank Pym wasn’t a part of the original Avengers team in the live-action MCU.

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Hank Pym’s Avengers Rejection Explained

In What If…? season 2, episode 2, the Avengers were brought together to battle a superpowered Peter Quill and Ego in 1988, a year after Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym’s wife, was seemingly lost to the Quantum Realm. Janet sacrificed herself in 1987 to ensure a Soviet ICBM wouldn’t reach the United States, saving millions, but apparently losing her own life. Of course, Janet would be found several decades later, but she was thought dead until Scott Lang journeyed to the Quantum Realm and back again in 2015. The loss of Janet Van Dyne put a huge strain on Hank Pym’s relationship with SHIELD, culminating in his resignation in 1989.

Upon Hank Pym’s resignation, Howard Stark attempted to convince him to stay, claiming that the Ant-Man suit and Pym Particles were SHIELD’s property. This prompted Hank Pym to stay away from SHIELD and the Starks, and this animosity emanated into the lives of Tony Stark and Scott Lang when they initially met in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Hank Pym’s strained history with SHIELD, the loss of Janet Van Dyne, and his hatred for anything associated with a Stark meant that it was impossible for him to be involved in the MCU’s original Avengers team back in 2012, even though he would have been a huge asset to the team.

Ant-Man Would Have Made The Original Avengers Stronger

It would have been fantastic to see Hank Pym’s Ant-Man as a member of the MCU’s original Avengers team, not least because Janet Van Dyne’s Wasp was an original member of the team when they came together in Marvel Comics’ The Avengers #1 in 1963. What If…? season 2, episode 5, “What If… Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper?,” provided a glimpse of what this could have looked like, as the Wasp was featured in Captain Carter’s Avengers. Ant-Man’s size-changing abilities would have come in handy during the Battle of New York, so it was a shame that Hank Pym’s bitterness made it impossible for him to even be considered.