9 Avengers Fates Worse Than Deaths

While he may have been shunted to the background in favour of Scott Lang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hank Pym is one of the most notable and important characters in the history of Marvel Comics.

Created by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Larry Lieber back in 1962, Hank's importance is highlighted by the fact that he was a founding members of the Avengers. Away from being a key cog of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, though, even more important was the fact that Pym was a multi-layered, at times flawed hero during a period when heroes always made the right decisions and forever saved the day.

Unheard of at the time, the late-1960s and into the '70s saw Marvel showcase mental health issues with how it used Hank. During this period, Pym's battles with his own thoughts saw him adopt the identities of Giant-Man, Goliath and Yellowjacket in addition to his Ant-Man moniker. Yellowjacket was Hank at his most unhinged, and it was under this guise that he was kicked out of the Avengers after being too erratic and violent for the group. Likewise, it was after this expulsion that Hank shockingly lashed out and struck his wife, Janet van Dyne, aka Wasp.

The emotional breakdown and mental instability of Hank Pym at that time - and as displayed in the decades since - have had Hank contemplate taking his own life at several points. And all of this is without taking into account how Pym is the man responsible for creating the nefarious Ultron, with that creation near-immediately detesting the man who made him and soon becoming one of the greatest threats to Earth and beyond.