- "You’ve yet to learn about your greatest allies: the ants. Loyal, brave, and your partners on this job."
- ―Hank Pym to Scott Lang[src]
Ants are eusocial insects native to Earth. They are among the most socially advanced species on the planet, being one of the few earthly creatures capable of operating as a unified entity. Ants form organized colonies that may occupy large territories and consist of millions of workers. Most colonies consist mostly of sterile, wingless females forming castes of specialized groups, while one fertile female and one fertile male. The queen and her drones are in charge of breeding other workers.
During the 1990s, the scientist Hank Pym managed to create a device to communicate with ants, using it to control them, becoming the Ant-Man. Pym eventually passed on the device to his daughter, Hope van Dyne and the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang, who proceeded to use them as helpers during his superhero activities.
History
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Attempting to Communicate
- "How do you make them do that?"
"Ants can lift objects fifty times their weight. They build, farm, they cooperate with each other."
"Right. But how do you make them do that?" - ―Scott Lang and Hank Pym[src]
Ants were a significant item of scientific focus for Doctor Hank Pym. In his studies, he created the Ant-Man Suit, which not only allowed the user to shrink down to the size of an ant, but also allowed them to communicate and manipulate the activity of actual ants.[1]
Comparison
- "We have no quarrel with your people."
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot."
"Are you planning to step on us?" - ―Nick Fury and Loki[src]
When Loki first arrived on Earth and announced his intentions to conquer it, he compared humanity's lack of quarrel with him to an ant's lack of quarrel with a boot. Following his comparison, when Nick Fury saw Loki imprisoned aboard the Helicarrier, he called Loki an ant and the cage his boot.[2]
In order to make sense of Alphonso Mackenzie's sudden change in behavior after entering the Kree City, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons compared his mind controlled state to the entomopathogen known as: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a fungus that corrupts the minds of ants and transforms them into "Zombie Ants".[3]
Spies
An ant spying on Scott Lang
- "Why don’t you just send the ants?"
"Scott, they are ants. Ants, they can do a lot of things, but they still need a leader." - ―Scott Lang and Hank Pym[src]
When Scott Lang broke into the Pym Residence, an ant observed him, with a shrunken camera installed on it's back. The camera broadcasted it's footage to Hank Pym, who observed Lang's actions.
When Pym later visited Lang in prison, he commanded the Ants to crawl over the security camera lens, obscuring Pym from the footage.
Pym later sent a small squadron of ants with a pre-shrunken Ant-Man Suit into Lang's prison cell, commanding them to activate the suit, giving Lang an opportunity to escape. The ants began arranging themselves into numbers, telling Lang how long Lang had until Gale inspected his cell.
Jailbreak
- "Get back, get back, get back!"
"Scott, these are my associates."
"Huh? You got a camera on an ant? Yeah, sure, why not? Where’s the car?"
"No car, we’ve got wings. Incoming! Put your foot on the central node and not the thorax."
"Are you kidding..? How safe’s this?"
"Get on the damn ant, Scott!" - ―Scott Lang and Hank Pym[src]
Putting on the suit, Lang shrunk down and escaped the police building. Making it outside, Lang found himself surrounded by dozens of ants, causing Lang to panic. However, Hank Pym's voice over the suit's radio informed him that the ants were harmless. Lang tentatively approached the ants, climbing onto one of them, who promptly took off, landing on a moving police car, before taking off again and landing on a tram, trawling over a newspaper and being swatted at by a girl when it flew near her head. Flying over a steam vent, the updraft propelling it over San Francisco, where Lang, stressed out from the experience, passed out, falling out of the ant's saddle. The ant managed to catch Lang before he impacted with the ground.
Guard Ants
Bullet Ants guarding Scott Lang
- "Ugg, you don't bite me, I don't step on you, deal?"
- ―Scott Lang[src]
At the Pym Residence, Scott Lang woke to find the floor covered in Bullet Ants, causing him to worry. However, when he placed his foot down on the ground, the ants made room for his feet. When having breakfast with Pym and his daughter Hope van Dyne, Pym offered Lang some sugar for his tea, which Lang agreed to. Pym then commands several ants to push sugar cubes across the table, to which Lang then denied to consume, with the ants placing the cubes back to the sugar bowl. Lang asked Pym how he was able to make the ants follow his commands, with Pym explaining his EMP Communication Device.
Working with Lang
Ant-Man equipping the ants with spy gadgets
With Lang agreeing to becoming the next Ant-Man, Pym and van Dyne began teaching him about several ant species and their purposes on his upcoming mission. First, Lang was taught about the Crazy Ants. When Lang shrunk down to interact with the ants, a crazy ant jumped on him in a playful manner, to Lang's amusement, only to be suddenly swarmed by the insects, freaking Lang out, subsequently returned to human size, causing Lang to feel embarrassed about the issue. Lang then interacted with several bullet ants, where he was taught about their purpose as powerful attackers. Lang next was introduced to the carpenter ants, one whom he recognized as the ant who he road during his escape, subsequently naming the ant Ant-thony, forming a bond with it. Lang finally learned about fire ants, being taught on how to use them as bridges and pillars. Lang attempted to use the EMP Communication Device to command the ants to place sugar cubes into a teacup, unfortunately struggling to do so.
Van Dyne lost her patience with Lang and snatched the device away from him, demonstrating her control over the ant, only to lose the control, causing the ants to cover the light globes in the room. Pym shook her out of it, causing van Dyne to become embarrassed at her inability to command the ants and left the room. Lang followed her out to her car, where she told him to use he connection with his daughter to control the ants, being able to command them to flip a coin.
Duel at New Avengers Facility
Ant-Man with his squadron of ants
On a stealth incursion to the New Avengers Facility, Lang equipped numerous carpenter ants with Pym's cameras, sending them around the facility as lookouts. When Lang was confronted by the Falcon, Lang used Ant-thony to evade the Avenger, managing to escape the facility with the signal decoy.
Later, when Darren Cross broke into the Pym Residence, Lang used the ants to hide the blueprints for Pym Technologies Headquarters, hoping that Cross hadn't noticed.
Infiltration into Pym Technologies Headquarters
The ants break into Pym Technologies Headquarters
Upon Luis decreasing the water pressure of the plumbing in Pym Technologies Headquarters, Lang took a squadron of fire and carpenter ants into the pipes, with the fire ants assembling themselves into a raft, then a ladder, allowing Lang to navigating the pipes. Lang and the ants then exited the pipes and into a bathroom, entering the building.
Into the Servers
The Crazy Ants destroy the servers
Lang deployed bullet ants to disable several guards. Lang used the crazy ants to disable the buildings servers, destroying the backup plans to the Yellowjacket Suit. Several ants assembled a pulley system, ready to drop Lang into the Future's Lab.
Ants jamming Darren Cross's gun
During the firefight in the Futures Lab, Hope van Dyne used her EMP Communication Device to command several ants to jam Darren Cross's gun. Mitchell Carson was also attacked by several ants, but managed to steal the counterfeit Pym Particles and retreated while ripping ants off his skin. Cross retreated to a helicopter, only to see a swarm of ants heading his way. Taking a gun, he fired on the ants, killing several, including Ant-thony, but missed Lang. Lang managed to board the helicopter before it took off, yet the updraft scattered the ants, leaving them behind.
Duel at Maggie Lang's House
Ant-Man leads the Ants
- "Now where did you go, little guy? There you are."
"Not just me. Get him! Go! Go!" - ―Yellowjacket and Ant-Man[src]
During the duel in the Paxton Residence, Ant-Man summoned a swarm of ants, who assisted him in battling a crazed Yellowjacket, attacking him with their mandibles, forcing Yellowjacket to evade the attacks, confusing him as he had to fight a small army as well as Lang. During the fight, a Pym Particles Disk struck one of the ants, causing it to grow to the size of a dog, where it escaped the house, trampling Jim Paxton and startling his partner Gale.
After Yellowjacket was defeated, Cassie Lang kept the large ant as a pet, feeding it food scraps under the dinner table. [4]
Species
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- "Paraponera clavata. Giant tropical bullet ants. Ranked highest on the Schmidt pain index."
- ―Hope van Dyne[src]
- Bullet Ants - Paraponera clavata
These ants are classified as number one in the Schmidt sting pain index. Ant-Man used them for attacking or stupefying enemies.
- "Camponotus pennsylvanicus."
"Alternatively known as a carpenter ant. Ideal for ground and air transport." - ―Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym[src]
- Carpenter Ants - Camponotus pennsylvanicus
Ant-Man used these as transportation, in particular the flying male drones such as Ant-thony.
- "Paratrechina longicornis, commonly known as crazy ants, they’re lightning fast and can conduct electricity which makes them useful to fry out enemy electronics."
- ―Hope van Dyne[src]
- Crazy Ants - Nylanderia fulva
These ants can conduct electricity and can be used to carry cameras and other devices, like electric coils that Ant-Man used to fry Cross Technologies's computers. These ants are commonly called "crazy ants" because, instead of following straight lines, they dash around erratically.
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- "Solenopsis mandibularis."
"Known for their bite, the fire ants have evolved into remarkable architects. They are handy to get you in and out of difficult places." - ―Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym[src]
- Fire Ants - Solenopsis mandibularis
Fire ants are strong and durable. Ant-Man used them to create long structures, like rafts and bridges.
Noteworthy Ants
References
External Links
Ants on Wikipedia- Ants on Marvel Database
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