Ant-Man—the star of last week’s opening blockbuster—is probably the only Marvel superhero who wasn’t created to be a superhero.
In 1961 before Marvel made it as a household name, the publisher released a collection of stories called Tales to Astonish.
One of them told of a scientist named Henry Pym that created a potion which reduced himself to the size of an ant.
Soon after the Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk became a hit, Marvel’s publisher wanted more superheroes which led Henry to become Hank.
With the summer of 1962, the Astonishing Ant-Man debuted as Dr. Hank Pym dressed in a black and red suit with a chromed metallic helmet.
By the end of the 70’s with little fan fare behind the character, Roy Thomas, editor-in-chief of Marvel at the time approached publisher Stan Lee with the newly minted Ant-Man, also known as Scott Lang.
This rendition of Ant-Man served as the basis for the film.
