Warning: SPOILERS for Ant-Man #1
Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man) has always been a down-on-his-luck superhero. He’s been to jail, his business ventures have failed, and both he and his daughter Cassie have watched each other die (fortunately, they got better). So, it’s not really surprising that his latest comic book finds Ant-Man basically homeless and living as a guest in an anthill with some six-legged friends.
Only… Scott doesn’t have to live like a pauper. Thanks to the Pym technology of his suit, Scott already has access to some very comfortable living accommodations, which could be very spacious for a size-changing superhero. So… why isn’t he taking advantage of these Pym Particle perks?
The average fan of Ant-Man or the Avengers may not know it, but Scott Lang's helmet contains one of the best kept secrets in the Marvel Comics Universe. Allow us to explain.
The Secrets of Ant-Man’s Helmet
Back in Ant-Man Annual #1, Scott Lang was approached by Janet Van Dyne (aka The Wasp). Hank Pym had been killed by Ultron (naturally he got better) and Scott was one of Hank’s beneficiaries in his will.
Hank’s final gift to Ant-Man was actually something Scott already possessed in his Ant-Man helmet. Thanks to Hank’s Pym Particle technology, however, the helmet contained one of Hank’s fully-stocked laboratories, hidden in miniature form. Hank had shown the lab to Scott in a previous adventure and admitted that he had forgotten the lab was in Scott’s helmet because he had so many labs and Scott’s helmet was one of his “backup-backup facilities.” Despite Hank’s dismissive attitude toward Scott’s helmet lab, the laboratory was impressive – it had multiple floors, state-of-the art technology, and even a painting of the original Avengers.
When Hank died, however, he instructed his ex-wife Jan to insert another miniature lab in Scott’s helmet. According to Jan, this new lab was Hank’s latest laboratory and contained “his best stuff” – so good, in fact, that Bruce Banner would turn green (with envy) if he ever learned what Scott now had. As a result, Scott Lang now has two laboratories in his Ant-Man helmet with untold riches – including the source code for Pym Particles, cybernetic research, and a suit of Yellowjacket armor.
The Infinite Avengers Mansion
So, how big (to Ant-Man) are his personal laboratories? Given their relative few appearances, there aren’t any definitive answers – but a look into some of other examples of Hank Pym’s Pym Particle architecture offers some enticing clues about what Scott’s helmet contains. In The Mighty Avengers, Hank Pym assembles a brand-new team of Avengers including Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie (then going by the superhero name Stature), Hercules, U.S. Agent, Quicksilver, Vision, and hyper smart kid genius Amadeus Cho. While the superheroes are initially hesitant about joining Pym’s team, they quickly come around when Pym shows them his version of the Avengers Mansion.
Using Pym Particles and his massive device Salvation Two, Hank Pym constructs the Infinite Avengers Mansion – a massive headquarters that makes Dr. Who’s TARDIS look like a poor man’s shack. Existing in the Underspace, a dimension below the Microverse, the mansion was later revealed to be built around the expanding body of Janet Van Dyne (who was dead at the time). So huge that even Quicksilver has trouble getting around the mansion on foot, the Infinite Mansion had at least a million floors. To help guide visitors, Pym positions multiple units of the Avengers’ robot member Jocasta at every mile marker, allowing Jocasta to project herself into her alternate bodies and offer directions. To top it off, the Infinite Mansion is self-cleaning (which relieved the Avengers’ butler Jarvis).
Given the insane amount of space the Infinite Mansion offers, it’s not surprising that Pym also stocked it with the best of everything – including multiple state-of-the-art labs and a near endless supply of comfortable rooms. The doors of the mansion even lead to different countries and even planets, allowing the Avengers to get to disaster areas quickly (and giving Jarvis a limitless marketplace to shop in and prepare the Avengers’ breakfast). After the Mighty Avengers disbanded, the Infinite Mansion was used in Avengers Academy as the home of Pym’s new students. Unfortunately, the mansion was ruined in a later battle, forcing the Avengers to relocate once more.
Why Isn’t Scott Lang Living in Luxury?
Given the insane amount of luxury and space Hank Pym was able to provide the Avengers with his Infinite Mansion, there’s every reason to believe that the miniature labs in Scott Lang’s helmet also contain some very nice accommodations. Even if Hank only spent a minimal amount of time building his labs, there’s every reason to believe he included multiple guest rooms, a game room, free cable, and an Olympic-size swimming pool as standard features. So, why isn’t Scott Lang lounging around in his own personal mansion?
One reason might be that after coming back to life, Hank Pym simply took back his laboratories from the Ant-Man helmet. While this might make Hank Pym seem like a jerk, it should be noted that by the end of Scott’s Astonishing Ant-Man comic book, both Darren Cross and Egghead had snuck into the helmet and raided it for Pym’s technology (with Cross taking the deadly Yellowjacket armor). Scott and Cassie stopped them, but it’s possible Hank figured Scott couldn’t be trusted with his toys.
Another possibility is that Scott… simply forgot where those laboratories were or lost the access codes to them. Scott Lang has been portrayed as very absent-minded in the comics lately (in direct contrast to the time he cleverly took down Doctor Doom during his time with the Future Foundation), so “losing the keys” to his labs is actually a viable reason why he can’t get into them anymore.
Finally, it’s possible that Scott’s ego wants to show everyone he can make it on his own without any outside help – which is why he’s (literally) trying to build himself from the ground up by living in an anthill. Scott’s shown he wants to prove to his daughter Cassie that he can be a good provider, and using Pym technology to live rent free might feel like cheating to him. It might not be the best judgement call considering his suit’s powers, but it is keeping with Scott’s character flaws.
Ant-Man #1 is on comic book store shelves now.