Ant-Man does not fit in the traditional Marvel superhero mold. Actually I should say Ant-Men, because more than one character have assumed the title of Ant-Man since the first appearance of the hero in the 1962. Three of them share the legitimacy of Ant-Man:
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Dr. Henry Pym: he discovered size-altering particles (which he called modestly "Pym particles"). Being able to reduce his size and armed with a helmet that can control ants he was the first Ant-Man. But he has always been kind of mentally unstable and was even infamous for beating his wife...
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Scott Lang: a former thief who once borrowed the Ant-Man's suit to save his daughter took over the job with Henry Pym's approval.
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and Eric O'Grady: an substandard agent from the SHIELD, he stole the Ant-Man suit from a lab and tried to impersonate the superhero. But his dirty habit to spy on naked women (I bet any man with the same abilities would be tempted to do so...) does not help to build his reputation.
Director Edgar Wright (who brought us Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) is tackling the adaptation of Ant-Man into a movie. Talking about the film he said:
"It's written and we're doing a second draft of it. It's going to be less overtly comedic than anything else I've ever done. It's more of a full-on action adventure sci-fi film but with a comedic element - in the same spirit of a lot of escapist fare like that. It's certainly not a superhero spoof or pastiche.[...]
It could be Scott Lang, it could be Hank Pym, it could be both - okay it is both, now there's an exclusive for you."
I don't mind the comedic element, but I would have preferred a script inspired by the O'Grady version of Ant-Man: come on! A superhero who is also a voyeur can but make a blockbuster!
The movie is slated for a release in 2010.
Ant-Man is rather D-list in the Marvel universe, but still, he was one of the first Avengers! So let's wish that Director Edgar Wright will reveal the greatness of the shrinking character!
:)