Ant-Man (Avengers 1988 What If...?)

Ant-Man's History

Early Life

Doctor Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym is an entomologist and physicist who developed the Ant-Man Suit after discovering the Pym Particles. For a time, he worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a consultant and became the superhero Ant-Man, fighting beside his own wife, Janet van Dyne. However, during one mission, Ant-Man witnessed his wife disappear, seemingly dying, resulting in Pym retiring as Ant-Man and leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., choosing to raise his daughter Hope as a single father

Back to Duty

Despite having left the agency, Ant-Man was contacted by Howard Stark to be enlisted in a team to contain the invasion of Earth by a young Peter Quill. Ant-Man was reunited with his former colleagues and teamed up with Black Panther, Winter Soldier and Wendy Lawson. Ant-Man and his team were then sent to Coney Island for a first confrontation against Quill.

While Quill was enjoying his time on a ride, Ant-Man unleashed a swarm of ants against him, forcing him to flee and steering him towards a house of mirrors where he was confronted by Black Panther. However, Quill ragingly resisted capture, causing Ant-Man to suggest falling back. The team subsequently boarded the Asis, where it was attacked by Quill, but the intervention of Thor enabled to defeat Quill.

However, Ant-Man failed to realize that his daughter had stolen his keycard and his Pym Particles to release Quill from custody due to having befriended him. Ant-Man then learned that Quill was coming from Missouri and that he had been influenced by his father Ego. Ant-Man thus promised his daughter that the Avengers would try and help Quill instead of trying to kill him. Ant-Man was then flown by Lawson to the Missouri graveyard where his mother was buried, while the rest of the Avengers left to confront Ego who had landed on Earth as well.

Knowing that they would not be able to win Peter Quill to their side through the use of brute force, Ant-Man gently approached him and listened to the boy expressing his loneliness. Ant-Man then shared his own feeling to get closer to Quill, detailing how he felt since his wife was gone and how the event had changed him, and offered to help Quill provide the support he needed. He then shared a hug with Quill, who agreed to join the Avengers.

With this new ally at his side, Ant-Man was able to come to assist his teammates in the Battle of Mojave Desert. Attacking at small size while riding an ant, they infiltrated the gigantic Ego-shaped mountain created by the Celestial and confronted Ego himself, leading to his destruction at the hands of Quill. In the aftermath of the blast, Ant-Man found Quill and hugged him once again to express his gratitude.

New Mission

In order to celebrate the victory, Ant-Man invited his allies - minus the Winter Soldier, who had defected - to his house, where he struggled to cook a decent meal. As Thor revealed that he planned to track down Ego's planet to destroy him once and for all, Ant-Man reminded him that they were supposed to work as a team, embarking the Avengers for their next mission.