Pym Particles

Sometime in the 1960s Dr. Henry Pym discovered and isolated a rare group of subatomic particles, which have become known as the "Pym Particles", which could increase or decrease the size and mass of objects or living beings. He formulated it into a serum and built a special suit that allowed him to shrink down to the size of an ant. He and his wife Janet van Dyne used these abilities to become the superheroes "Ant-Man" and "Wasp". However in the 1970's a tragic accident during an experiment, with the Pym Particles, resulted in the death of Janet and Hank abandoned the serum and his heroics. Until 2015 when Henry was forced to recruit a new Ant-Man and teach him how to use the serum.