Ant-Man finally hits cinemas today and while it may not have been as hyped as much as Avengers: Age of Ultron we still can’t wait to see the latest superhero offering from Marvel.
But what do you know about Ant-Man? He may not be as well known as Iron Man or Captain America, but from reviews, we’ve read something tells us he’s going to have a big impact like them and of course he’s expected to make an appearance in Captain America: Civil War next year too.
So as the movie hits the big screen we’ve rounded up a series of facts about Ant-Man the superhero and the movies to make sure you’re filled in about the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Ant-Man hits cinemas today
Ant-Man facts you may not know
Since the late 80s Marvel have wanted an Ant-Man film, Stan Lee even pitched the idea to a movie company, but because they had just released Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, they decided against it.
The film originally planned to focus on Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man from the comics who helped start The Avengers. However, Pym had some questionable character flaws, such as domestic abuse, so they ended up going with Scott Lang. They still kept Hank Pym in a mentor role.
Originally, Hank, Pym invented a series of serums, one to shrink down to then another he had to take to grow back to regular size. That was the extent of it. Pretty basic, right? But when you're on a team with gods of thunder, super soldiers, iron men, and hulks you have to up your game. He soon gained the ability to communicate with ants and then grow larger. Nowadays he can shrink to near-microscopic sizes and grow upwards of 100 feet. Ant-Man also dishes out a bio-sting, incredible strength, speed, and agility.
Hank Pym now plays Lang's mentor
There were a number of people up for the role of Pym, which eventually went to Michael Douglas, those in the running included Sean Bean, Gary Oldman and Pierce Brosnan.
Three characters have donned the Ant-Man costume in the comics. Hank Pym, who invented the suit, was the first. He was replaced Scott Lang, and then by SHIELD Agent Eric O’Grady.
Hank Pym has changed his superhero identities several times. First was Ant-Man, then he became Giant-Man, Goliath, and eventually as Yellowjacket. In the movie, Yellowjacket will be the villain of Ant-Man, to be played by Corey Stoll.
Although Pym co-founded the Avengers, he has actually been part of numerous other teams and elite groups of heroes in the various Marvel universes.
Paul Rudd beefed up for his role in the film
Tales to Astonish #27 (Ant-Man's first ever appearance) was written by none other than Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (with some help from Stan's brother Larry Leiber). The incredibly prolific comic duo are also responsible for such incredible characters as the Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and The X-Men. Stan Lee is also responsible for Spider-Man and about 60 other characters you know and love, while Jack Kirby designed Captain America and dozens of other beloved comic heroes that are still around to this day.
For research for the film Paul Rudd bought an ant farm to see how they worked together, he even kept it.
There were a number of people up for the role which went to Rudd, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Ewan McGregor and Adrien Brody were all interested in the part.
Hope van Dyne, the lead female role in the film, is played by Hobbit actress Evangeline Lily. Before that, Jessica Chastain turned down the role because of some unfortunate conflicts with her schedule.
The Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie) is shown in the trailers to appear in Ant-Man. Although his role in the plot of the movie is still unknown, it is assumed that he will appear in the film to recruit Ant-Man in the Avengers initiative.
Paul Rudd even got his own ant farm in preparation for the film
The design for Ant-Man's helmet was based on Iron Man's helmet and Bumblebee from the Transformers movies.
In order for Paul Rudd to prepare for the role of Ant-Man, he started an intense exercise plan. The exercise worked, and Paul gained the classic muscular superhero physique. Unfortunately, he became too muscular, to his Ant-Man outfit had to be altered to fit.