Black Panther

Black Panther 

The Black Panther (T'Challa) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). He is the first black superhero in mainstream American comics, debuting years before such early African-American superheroes as Marvel Comics' the Falcon (1969) and Luke Cage (1972), and DC Comics' Green Lantern John Stewart (1971), Tyroc (1976), and Black Lightning (1977). The character is usually depicted as the king and protector of Wakanda, a fictional African nation. Chadwick Boseman portrays the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and is set to return in Black Panther (2018), both set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Concept and creation

Name

The Black Panther's name predates the October 1966 founding of the Black Panther Party, though not the black panther logo of the party's predecessor, the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, nor the segregated World War II Black Panthers Tank Battalion. He is the first black superhero in mainstream comic books; virtually no black heroes were created before him, and none with actual superpowers. These included the characters in the single-issue, low-distribution All-Negro Comics #1 (1947); Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who starred in his own feature in the omnibus title Jungle Tales, from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics; and the Dell Comics Western character Lobo, the first black person to star in his own comic book. Previous non-caricatured black supporting characters in comics include U.S. Army infantry private Gabriel Jones of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos.

Co-creator Stan Lee recounted that the name was inspired by a pulp adventure hero who has a black panther as a helper. Because many people mistakenly assumed the name referenced the Black Panther Party, the character was briefly renamed the Black Leopard, which Lee said was reverted because neither the readers nor the creators cared for the new name. Jack Kirby's original concept art for Black Panther used the concept name, "Coal Tiger."

Kirby's original concept art
for Black Panther

Publication history 

Following his debut in Fantastic Four #52–53 (July–Aug. 1966) and subsequent guest appearance in Fantastic Four Annual #5 (1967) and with Captain America in Tales of Suspense #97–99 (Jan.–March 1968), the Black Panther journeyed from the fictional African nation of Wakanda to New York City, New York to join the titular American superhero team in The Avengers #52 (May 1968), appearing in that comic for the next few years. During his time with the Avengers, he made solo guest-appearances in three issues of Daredevil, and foughtDoctor Doom in Astonishing Tales #6–7 (June & Aug. 1971), in that supervillain's short-lived starring feature. He later returned in a guest-appearance capacity in Fantastic Four #119 (Feb. 1972) during which he briefly tried using the name Black Leopard to avoid connotations invoking the Black-militant political party the Black Panthers.

He received his first starring feature with Jungle Action #5 (July 1973), a reprint of the Panther-centric story in The Avengers #62 (March 1969). A new series began running the following issue, written by Don McGregor, with art by pencilers Rich Buckler, Gil Kane, and Billy Graham, and which gave inkers Klaus Janson and Bob McLeod some of their first professional exposure. The critically acclaimed series ran in Jungle Action #6–24 (Sept. 1973 – Nov. 1976).

Fictional character biography

The Avengers # 52 (May  1968)
debut of the short mask lived  cowl mask
Art by John Buscema 

The Black Panther is the ceremonial title given to the chief of the Panther Tribe of the advanced African nation of Wakanda. In addition to ruling the country, he is also chief of its various tribes (collectively referred to as the Wakandas). The Panther habit is a symbol of office (head of state) and is used even during diplomatic missions. The Panther is a hereditary title, but one still must earn it.

In the distant past, a meteorite made of the (fictional) vibration-absorbing mineral vibranium crashed in Wakanda, and was unearthed. Reasoning that outsiders would exploit Wakanda for this valuable resource, the ruler King T'Chaka like his father and other Panthers before him, concealed his country from the outside world. T'Chaka's first wife N'Yami died while in labor with T'Challa, and his second wife Ramonda was taken prisoner by Anton Pretorius during a visit to her homeland of South Africa, so for most of his childhood T'Challa was raised by his father alone. T'Chaka was murdered by the adventurer Ulysses Klaw in an attempt to seize the vibranium mound. With his people still in danger, a young T'Challa used Klaw's sound weapon on Klaw and his men, shattering Klaw's right hand and forcing him to flee.

T'Challa was next in line to be the king of Wakanda and Black Panther, but until he was ready to become the leader of the nation, his uncle S'yan (T'Chaka's younger brother) successfully passed the trials to become the Black Panther. While on his Wakandan walkabout rite of passage, T'Challa met and fell in love with apparent orphaned teen Ororo Munroe, who would grow up to become the X-Men member Storm. The two broke off their relationship due to his desire to avenge his father's death and to become the type of man who could suitably lead Wakanda, but they would see each other over the years when they could.

T'Challa earned the title and attributes of the Black Panther by defeating the various champions of the Wakandan tribes. One of his first acts was to disband and exile the Hatut Zeraze—the Wakandan secret police—and its leader, his adopted brother Hunter the White Wolf. He sold off small portions of vibranium to scientific institutions around the world, amassing a fortune which he used to arm himself with advanced technology.Later, to keep peace, he picked dora milaje ("adored ones") from rival tribes to serve as his personal guard and ceremonial wives-in-training. He then studied abroad for a time before returning to his kingship.

In his first published appearance, the now-adult T'Challa invites the American superhero team the Fantastic Four to Wakanda, then attacks and neutralizes them individually in order to test himself to see if he is ready to battle Klaw, who had replaced his shattered right hand with a sonic weapon. After the ruler makes proper amends to the superhero team, the four befriend and help T'Challa, and he in turn aids them against the supervillain thePsycho-Man. T'Challa later joins the Avengers, beginning a long association with that superhero team. He first battles the Man-Ape while with the group, and then meets the American singer Monica Lynne, with whom he becomes romantically involved. He helps the Avengers defeat the second Sons of the Serpent, and then reveals his true identity on American television. He encounters Daredevil, and reveals to him that he had deduced Daredevil's true identity.

Powers and abilities

The title "Black Panther" is a rank of office, chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan. As chieftain, the Panther is entitled to eat a special Heart-Shaped Herb which, in addition to his mystical connection with the Wakandan Panther God, grants him superhumanly acute senses, enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, healing, and reflexes.

He has since lost this connection and forged a new one with another unknown Panther deity, granting him augmented physical attributes as well as a resistance to magic. His senses are so powerful that he can pick up a prey's scent and memorize tens of thousands of individual ones. Following his war with Doom, T'Challa loses his enhanced abilities only to once again establish a connection with the Panther God. In addition to the resurgence of his now superhuman abilities, he is anointed "King of the Dead", granting him the power and knowledge of all the past Black Panthers as well as the ability to control the undead.

T'Challa worked with his sorcerer, Zawavari, to endow T'Challa with immunity to mystical attacks and detection in order defeat Dr. Doom. When T'Challa's alchemical upgrade was tested by means of Wakanda's most powerful acolytes attacking T'Challa in unison, each mystical attack was absorbed and only served to strengthen T'Challa. During these preparations, T'Challa invented a potent mystical/scientific hybrid art called "shadow physics" and was able to use it to craft shadow weapons and to track vibranium on a quantum level. 

As king of Wakanda, the Panther has access to a vast collection of magical artifacts, advanced Wakandan technological and military hardware, as well as the support of his nation's wide array of scientists, warriors, and mystics. The Wakandan military has been described as one of the most powerful on Earth. His attire is the sacred vibranium costume of the Wakandan Panther Cult.

He is a skilled hunter, tracker, strategist, politician, inventor, and scientist. He has a Ph.D. in Physics from Oxford University. Considered one of the eight smartest people on the planet,^[81] he is a genius in physics and advanced technology, and is a brilliant inventor. He also has been granted the strength and knowledge of every past Black Panther.

T'Challa is a rigorously trained gymnast and acrobat and is a master in various African martial arts as well as contemporary martial arts and fighting styles that belong to no known disciplines.

The chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan is one of the wealthiest people in the world, though financial estimates are difficult given Wakanda's isolation from the world's economy and the uncertain value of Wakanda's vast vibranium reserves and extremely advanced technologies.

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch

Wanda

Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Men #4 (March 1964) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character has since starred in two self-titled limited series with husband the Vision and appears as a regular team member in superhero title The Avengers.

Scarlet Witch is initially depicted as a mutant, born with the ability to alter reality in unspecific ways. Originally revealed to be the daughter of the Golden Age superhero Whizzer, it was later established she and her twin brother Quicksilver were the children of X-Men villain Magneto with his daughter Polaris being their half-sister. This parentage was their status quo until 2014, when a further retcon revealed that she and Quicksilver were in fact non-mutants who had been kidnapped and experimented on by theHigh Evolutionary, and then misled to believe that Magneto was their father.

The character was ranked 97th in Wizard's "200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time" list, 12th in IGN's list of "The Top 50 Avengers", and 14th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. The character has also appeared in other Marvel-endorsed products such as animated films; arcade and video games; television series and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards. Elizabeth Olsen portrays Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, debuting in a mid-credits scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and playing a central role in Avengers: Age of Ultron and in Captain America: Civil War.

Publication history

The first appearance of Scarlet Witch
on the cover of  X - Men  #4
(March 1964)

Scarlet Witch debuted, together with her brother, Quicksilver, as a part of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in X-Men #4 (March 1964). They were depicted as reluctant villains, uninterested in Magneto's ideologies. Scarlet Witch is depicted as a calm and submissive girl, as most female comic book characters of the time. Her costume was mainly composed of a red bathing suit with straps, opera gloves, short boots, a leotard covering her body, a superhero cape, and a wimple; everything colored in shades of red.

After several appearances as a villain in issues #5 (May 1964); #6 (July 1964); #7 (September 1964); and #11 (May 1965), Wanda and her brother were added to the cast of the superhero team the Avengers in Avengers #16 (May 1965). Scarlet Witch was a semi-regular member of the team until issue #49 (February 1968), and then returned in issue #75 (April 1970) and was a perennial member of both the main team and several affiliated teams such as the West Coast Avengers and Force Works until Avengers #503 (December 2004), the final issue of the first volume. Upon her return to the Avengers she was given a long-running love interest in the form of fellow Avenger the Vision. Writer Roy Thomas recounted

Fictional character biography

Avengers #16  (May 1965)
featuring the debut of Scarlet Witch
in The Avengers

The Avenger

Soon after Magneto's abduction, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch join the Avengers. Along with Captain America as leader, and former villain , the four become the second generation of the Avengers and are later dubbed as "Cap's Kooky Quartet".

Wanda is accidentally shot on a mission against Magneto. Quicksilver rejoins Magneto and leaves the Avengers with his wounded sister. After a pair of encounters with the X-Men, the twins left Magneto, but did not rejoin the Avengers immediately. Wanda and Pietro are then kidnapped along with several other mutants by the Sentinels, but are subsequently freed by the X-Men.

Quicksilver later returns to the Avengers and advises them that Wanda has been kidnapped and taken to another dimension by the warlordArkon. After being rescued, both of them rejoin the team. Scarlet Witch then falls in love with android teammate the Vision. Before long, the two develop a romantic relationship. Their relationship has a tumultuous start as both Quicksilver and Hawkeye object—Quicksilver cannot accept the idea that his sister loves a robot while Hawkeye loves Wanda himself. Despite this, the pair eventually marry with the blessing of the entire team.

Scarlet Witch begins to be tutored by a true witch, Agatha Harkness, which allows her even greater control over her hexes. Wanda and Pietro also meet Robert Frank, who believes them to be his children. This is later disproved when Wanda and Pietro are abducted by Django Maximoff and taken to Wundagore. Wanda is temporarily possessed by the demon Chthon, and after defeating it is advised by Bova that neither Frank nor Maximoff is their biological father. Soon after, while trying to track down Magda one last time, Magneto learns that he is the father of the twins. He immediately informs them of their relationship, shortly after the birth of Pietro's daughter Luna. Scarlet Witch and the Vision take a leave of absence from the Avengers, and she conceives the twin boys named Thomas and William. As the Vision is an android, she got pregnant using magic.Wanda gives birth, and, with the Vision, eventually leaves the East Coast to join the West Coast Ave

Powers and abilities

Scarlet Witch is able to manipulate probability via her "hexes" (often manifesting physically as "hex spheres" or "hex bolts"). These hexes are relatively short range, being limited to her line of sight. Casting a hex requires a gesture and concentration on her part, though the gestures are largely a focus for the concentration. Despite this precision, the hexes are not necessarily guaranteed to work, particularly if Wanda is tired or using her powers excessively. If overextended, Wanda's hexes can backfire, causing probability to work against her wishes or even undo previous hexes. Early in her career, Wanda's hexes were subconscious on her part, and would be automatically triggered whenever she made a particular gesture, regardless of her intent. These hexes would only manifest "bad luck" effects. She later gained enough control over her powers so they only work when she wants them to, and they are not limited to negative effects. She can use her hexes to light flammable objects, contain or remove air from a particular volume, deflect objects, stop the momentum of projectiles, open doors, explode objects, create force fields, deflect magical attacks etc. The effects are varied but almost always detrimental to opponents, such as causing the artifact the Evil Eye to work against the inter-dimensional warlord Dormammu, forcing the robot Ultron to short circuit, or a gas main underneath theBrotherhood of Mutants to explode. Scarlet Witch also has the potential to wield magic and later learned that she was destined to serve the role of Nexus Being, a living focal point for the Earth dimension's mystical energy.

Writer Kurt Busiek redefined Scarlet Witch's powers, and maintained that it was in fact an ability to manipulate chaos magic, activated due to the demon Chthon changing her mutation at birth into an ability to wield and control magical energy. This was offered as an explanation for her various feats that seemed to go beyond probability alteration, as well as why her hexes almost always have an effect that is favorable to her goals. During Busiek's run as well as the subsequent run by Geoff Johns, she was shown to be capable of large-scale spells given enough concentration and time to shape the chaos magic to a specific goal, including the resurrection of Wonder Man.

In House of M, her power was depicted as sufficient to rewrite her entire universe, and cause multiverse-threatening ripples. In The Children's Crusade it was revealed that this omnipotence was not part of her natural power level, but the result of a cosmic magical source that increased a magic user's powers to god-like levels. By the end of the event she had returned to her previous power level, able to alter probability and work magic, but not able to change reality at will.

She also has a degree of resistance to the Phoenix Force and can also cause pain to its hosts, such as Cyclops when he tried to stop Hope from going with her. However, this becomes less effective as the Phoenix Force portions are divided among those who have not yet been defeated. A vs X #12 confirmed that her powers involve chaos magic, and stated that she has "Mutant Magic", and the "primal source of her chaos" magic is cosmic.

Wanda is also an expert combatant, having been trained by Captain America, Hawkeye, and Wonder Man, as well as being an adept tactician due to her years of experience as an Avenger and her involvement in a variety of combat situations.

Ant Man

Ant Man

Scott Lang

Ant-Man is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name: Scott Lang and Hank Pym. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the twelfth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Peyton Reed, with a screenplay by Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish and Adam McKay & Paul Rudd, and stars Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip "T.I." Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian and Michael Douglas. In Ant-Man, Lang must help defend Pym's Ant-Man shrinking technology and plot a heist with worldwide ramifications.

Development of Ant-Man began in April 2006, with the hiring of Wright to direct and co-write with Cornish. By April 2011, Wright and Cornish had completed three drafts of the script and Wright shot test footage for the film in July 2012. Pre-production began in October 2013 after being put on hold so that Wright could complete The World's End. Casting began in December 2013, with the hiring of Rudd to play Lang. In May 2014, Wright left the project, citing creative differences, though he still received screenplay and story credits with Cornish, as well as an executive producer credit. The following month, Reed was brought in as Wright's replacement, while McKay was hired to contribute to the script with Rudd. Principal photography took place between August and December 2014 in San Francisco and Metro Atlanta.

Ant-Man held its world premiere in Los Angeles on June 29, 2015, and was released in North America on July 17, 2015, in 3D and IMAX 3D. Upon its release, the film grossed more than $519 million worldwide, and received positive reviews from critics, who generally welcomed the film's smaller stakes than preceding MCU installments, as well as its cast, humor, and CGI sequences. A sequel, titled Ant-Man and the Wasp, is scheduled to be released on July 6, 2018.

Scott Lang was an ex-convict and electronics expert hired by Stark International, which enabled him to steal the Ant-Man suit from Hank Pym who had long since given up the name. Lang stole the suit to help his sick daughter, which, when Pym found out, caused Pym to give the suit to Scott, allowing him to become the second Ant-Man. As Ant-Man he served as an Avenger for years, until he was killed during the Avengers Disassembled storyline. Years later he was resurrected in the Avengers: The Children's Crusade mini series. Following his resurrection, Lang was briefly the head of the Future Foundation.

Fictional character biography

Early life

Scott Edward Harris Lang was born in Coral Gables, Florida. A movie fanatic, he turned to burglary when his occupation as an electric engineer failed to provide him with enough excitement in life. (This was later retconned with the statement that he did so because he couldn't support his family.) Apprehended, Lang served his prison sentence and was paroled after four years for good behavior. In prison, he furthered his study of electronics and was soon hired by Stark International to work in its design department. Under Tony Stark's direction, he helped install a new security system in Avengers Mansion.

The second Ant-Man

When his daughter Cassie became seriously ill, Scott Lang sought out Dr. Erica Sondheim, the only person capable of helping her. However, at the very moment he attempted to contact her, Sondheim was forcibly taken away to Cross Technological Enterprises, and in order to get her out, he decided to return to burglary as a final resort. He broke intoDr. Hank Pym's home and stole the Ant-Man suit and shrinking gas canisters. Garbed as Ant-Man, Lang broke into Cross Enterprises and discovered that Sondheim was being held prisoner by Darren Cross. He rescued the doctor from Cross' clutches and was relieved when Sondheim was able to save his beloved Cassie's life. Lang had intended to return the Ant-Man suit to Pym and turn himself in for its theft but Pym, aware of the use to which Lang had put the stolen goods, offered to let him keep them, provided he only use them to uphold the law.

Hero

Shortly after, Scott Lang donned the Ant-Man costume on various occasions, primarily to assist Iron Man and the Avengers. Scott came to the rescue when Iron Man was trapped in his armor in the aftermath of a system overload. He also helped Yellow jacket (Hank Pym's alias at the time) attempt to rescue the Wasp captured by Dr. Parnell Solomon, and alongside the Avengers he first battled Taskmaster. He then battled Odd John's mutated insects, and encountered Biotron of the Micronauts. Alongside Spider-Man, he again battled Taskmaster, exploiting Taskmaster's belief that he was Pym by using his growth capsules on one of his ants as a surprise tactic. As Lang, he attempted to stop the Raiders at a Dallas electronics engineers convention. He then battled the malfunctioning GARD computer security system at Stark International. As Lang, he aided Iron Man and Jim Rhodes against Mauler. He then met the Fantastic Four, and on their behalf first journeyed to a "micro-world", and joined the Thing in battle against its denizens.

Scott was instrumental in helping Iron Man discover who possessed copies of his technology during the Armor Wars storyline.He also aided the Avengers in infiltrating Taskmaster's henchmen-training facility, battling the Taskmaster alongside Hawkeye, and visited Henry Pym while he was in prison. He encountered Rick Jones and Alpha Flight, and then battled Dire Wraiths alongside Rom and Starshine. Scott was serving in an Avengers back-up team created when Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil took control of the Mansion and captured some of the current team; he even helped the Wasp defeat the Absorbing Man and Titania when they attacked a hospital in an attempt to kill a comatose Hercules. He accidentally shrank Spider-Man and battled the Scarlet Beetle. He also battled Dragonfly.

Lang was even briefly hired by the Fantastic Four to serve as their technical consultant when Reed Richards was missing and presumed dead, helping them deal with such foes as the Dark Raider — an alternate psychotic Reed Richards who'd failed to save his world from Galactus — until Reed was recovered from the past where he'd been trapped thanks to Hyperstorm. Also serving with the Fantastic Four at this time was Kristoff Vernard, the heir of Doctor Doom and himself a technical genius. Lang and Kristoff often clashed, the younger man being very arrogant and disparaging of Lang's abilities. He did, however. design a new Ant-Man outfit which Lang took full advantage of. Much to Lang's annoyance, Kristoff also became close to his daughter Cassie who took a liking to him.

Lang later returned to form a temporary Fantastic Four with the Human Torch, She-Hulk and Namorita when the other three were temporarily trapped in the Negative Zone,the team disbanding after the other team members returned.

Lang played an important role in helping Mister Fantastic cure the Hulk, who was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease; using a cure devised by Leader, Lang shrank down to microscopic size, entered Hulk's genes, and replaced the damaged genes causing the disease with healthy genes taken from the corpse of Bruce Banner's father, the energy surge released when Hulk returned to human form integrating the new genes into Hulk's system and curing of the disease.

After his ex-wife Peggy Rae gained custody of their daughter, Lang accepted an offer to join the Avengers officially. His personality clashed immediately with fellow AvengerJack of Hearts. However, in Avengers vol. 3 #76, Jack helped save Cassie from a child-murderer, shortly before committing suicide by traveling into space with the murderer and exploding rather than return to the containment cells required to control his power.

He also appeared in the series Alias by Brian Michael Bendis, where he dated the leading character Jessica Jones, a former costumed superhero named Jewel who left thatavocation to become a private investigator.

He assists her in a matter with Mattie Franklin, one of the many female heroes to take the Spider-Woman name. Assisting the duo is S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clay Quartermain. Purple Man uses his powers to make it seem as if Scott had been consumed by ants.

"Death"

When Jack of Hearts reappears on the grounds of Avengers Mansion in a zombified state, Scott Lang rushes to Jack, only for Jack to blow himself up, destroying much of the mansion and seemingly killing Scott. This Jack may have been some type of "apparition" created by an insane Scarlet Witch rather than the actual Jack of Hearts, starting the crisis known as Avengers Disassembled.

His daughter Cassie Lang subsequently takes the name Stature as a member of the Young Avengers, having apparently taken enough Pym particles over the years to enable Cassie to automatically grow and shrink in size whenever she wants.

His Ant-Man helmet falls into Amadeus Cho's possession for a time with Cassie's blessing, choosing to focus on the insect mind-controlling abilities.

Return

During the events of the limited series Avengers: The Children's Crusade, Iron Lad takes the Young Avengers and an amnesiac Wanda Maximoff into the past, back to the day that the events of Avengers Disassembled began. Here, despite Iron Lad's assurance that they could not interact, Scott Lang is hugged by his daughter, and to take him away from the zombified Jack of Hearts who is revealed to be the real Jack of Hearts under the control of an insane Scarlet Witch. When Jack explodes, the Scarlet Witch regains her memories and returns them to the present, including Scott (thus his death is retconned as having never actually happened, as he was merely taken from his time and brought forward). Scott is proud that his daughter followed in his footsteps. However, a subsequent battle ensues (regarding the fate of the Scarlet Witch) involving the Avengers, Young Avengers, X-Men, Magneto, X-Factor and Doctor Doom. In the course of the fight, Scott is seemingly killed by Doom, although he actually survives relatively unscathed; enraged, Cassie attacks but Doom kills her, much to Scott's grief.

Then, Scott joins the new Defenders team composed of Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Namor, Red She-Hulk, Iron Fist and Black Cat.

Eventually, Lang became the second Future Foundation's leader replacing Reed Richards when the Fantastic Four went on a time travel trip. Still suffering from his daughter's death, he decided to aim all the Foundation's resources towards making Doctor Doom pay for his crime; in the meantime he engaged in a romantic relationship with Darla Deering, aka Ms. Thing.

After a heated battle, Scott managed to exact his revenge on Doctor Doom by gradually overwhelming and defeating him, and by having him believe he had killed Valeria Richards. He also determined the true meaning of Pym Particles, and how they operate on three distinct axes determining size, strength and durability.

During the AXIS storyline, a now-heroic and repentant Doctor Doom used Scarlet Witch's powers to resurrect Cassandra Lang, seeking to atone for at least one of his crimes; she turned out alive and well on Scott's doorstep.

Following this, Lang moved to Miami to start a new life as well as to spend more time with his daughter. Scott later established Ant-Man Security Solutions. When he was attacked by Grizzly mistaking him for Eric O'Grady unaware of the latter's death, Scott had to clearing up the misunderstanding. Afterwards, Scott offered Grizzly a job in the company. When Cassie was kidnapped by Crossfire on behalf of Augustine Cross to use Cassie's Pym-particle irradiated heart could revive the very first villain Scott had fought, Scott was forced to turn to Grizzly and his fellow supervillain Machinesmith to infiltrate Cross' plant to save his daughter. With Machinesmith disabling all the security Scott was able to get into Cross Technologies and fight his way to Darren Cross, whom Dr. Sondheim was blackmailed into reviving using Cassie's heart. Darren engaged in combat against Ant-Man while the hero tried to buy time for Sondheim to transplant another heart into Cassie. After Cross was forced to flee when the Pym Particles now in his body caused him to shrink down, Scott shrank down to microscopic size, and was guided by Sondheim to attack Cassie's white cells and allow her body accept the new heart's tissue. Even though the procedure was difficult, Scott was finally able to help Cassie survive the experience. When Peggy and Blake arrived, Sondheim told her that Cassie suffered an infraction and Scott took them to her. Although he saved his daughter, Scott decided to distance himself from her so that she could have a normal life.

Some months ago, Ant-Man helped Giant-Man into rescuing a computer technician named Raz Malhotra from Egghead. Months later after the incident where Hank Pym and Ultron were fused together with Pym seemingly perishing as a result of the fusion, Scott received one of Pym's labs. Recalling his encounter with Raz, Scott sent Raz a present in the form of the Giant-Man suit.

During the "Last Days" part of the Secret Wars storyline, Ant-Man recovers an unnamed Asgardian artifact from Slug which he won from Mary Morgan in a game of contact bridge. Ant-Man delivers the goods to Mary Morgan where he learns that she is Miss Patriot. Mary Morgan revealed that Valhalla Villas is a retirement home for Golden Age heroes and villains where they live out their days in blissful remembrance. Mary Morgan then assembles the residents of Valhalla Villas like Golden Girl, Doctor Fear, Thunderer, Leopard Girl, Human Top, Sun Girl, American Ace, Flash Foster, and Wax Master. Using the Asgardian artifact, Mary Morgan rejuvenated the Valhalla Villa residents as Miami sees the unexpected resurgence of characters from the Golden Age. Mary decides to remain elderly since the past was too much to bear the first and only time. Scott then visits his ex-wife Peggy Rae in an attempt to see his daughter Cassandra Lang. Peggy puts Scott in his place due to him making no effort to visit her since she was in the hospital. Peggy also tells Scott that Cassandra is at a school excursion to Atlanta. While drinking at a nightclub, Ant-Man encounters Janice Lincoln and tries to take her down, only to get blasted. Janice states to Ant-Man that he should party like there is no tomorrow since it is the last night on Earth. Ant-Man takes in Janice's suggestions as they both hit the dance floor. He wakes up the next morning with Janice in his bed as the final parts of the Incursion occur.

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, Ant-Man becomes a target of Whirlwind when Power Broker offers a demonstration of the Hench App to Darren Cross. When Cross was unable to pay $12,000,000.00 to Power Broker, Whirlwind received orders to not attack Ant-Man. Ant-Man later helped Darla Deering when she was attacked by the second Magician (the son of the original Magician) when he was hired by a publicist named Marlena Howard through the Hench App to pretend to have a grudge agains

Powers and abilities

Using a gaseous form of "Pym particles" kept in a compartment in his belt, Ant-Man had the power to shrink himself (and other people and objects along with himself) to the size of an ant and return to normal. Over time, he has acquired the ability to change size at will, seemingly without the need for the gas. His cybernetic helmet allows rudimentary telepathic communication with insects, and is equipped with sound amplification equipment allowing normal-sized humans to hear him. The helmet also has a retractable plexiglass face shield and a limited air supply. Lang retained his normal strength in ant size.

Scott Lang can also shrink to sub-microscopic size, and thereby enter the countless "subatomic universes".

He has advanced training and expertise in electronics, having earned an electronics technician certificate, plus additional advanced electronics training he received while in prison. At times, Lang even made his own modifications to the Ant-Man equipment, such as installing the Pym gas dispenser in his helmet rather than leaving it on his belt, or mounting an electric disruptor into his helmet for offensive purposes.