Marvel is on the verge of releasing a new Ant-Man series to celebrate the character's 60th anniversary, and it's slightly different from volumes of the past. For instance, not one, but four different Ant-Men will star in the book, bringing together every character that's donned the red costume and silver helmet: The Original (Hank Pym), The Irredeemable (Eric O'Grady), and The Thief (Scott Lang), along with a mystery character billed as The Future. This future Ant-Man is traveling to the different eras to recruit his predecessors to help defeat a foe only the four of them can beat together.
ComicBook.com has an exclusive preview of Ant-Man #1 from Al Ewing, Tom Reilly, and Jordie Bellaire. It begins in the far-flung future of 99 AV/2549 A.D. as the Ant-Man of Tomorrow is preparing for time travel. An A.I. system narrates the proceedings, with the clever title of a "MARVL narrative experience." Readers do get a good look at this future Ant-Man, but his identity is kept a secret and we're told not to "pre-acquire knowledge of this character's identity."
After making it to the past, we catch up with The Astonishing Ant-Man and The Wonderful Wasp as they catch a movie starring The Sub-Mariner vs. The Fantastic Four. Dr. Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne appear to be alone at the movie theater, taking a break from their work in Hank's lab. While Janet believes this is an opportunity for the two of them to enjoy some alone time, Hank's motivation is to see how Mr. Fantastic uses his size-altering abilities in battle. After Janet voices her frustration, Hank is hit with a balled up piece of paper from behind to end the preview.
"For Ant-Man's ant-iversary, we wanted to go BIG with the world's smallest hero – burrowing an ant tunnel right through his sixty-year history and far beyond, from the wild and wooly 1960s all the way to a future you'll have to see to believe!" Ewing said when the series was announced in February. "You'll find out how Henry Pym, Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady impacted each other's lives in ways they never knew themselves – but who's the mysterious final member of this Ant-tastic Four? Tremble with ant-icipation, true believer – the answers are coming soon to a hill near you!"
"I'm very excited to work with Al again, this time to celebrate, and add to, the legacy of Ant-Man!" Reilly added. "Several different people have taken the name, and Al's written a fun story that gives them all a chance to shine. I also look forward to working with Jordie Bellaire again, her colors elevate any book that she's on. There's lots of inspiration to be taken from Ant-Man's rich artistic history, and there'll be plenty of room for both of us to experiment in this series. I can't wait for everyone to check it out!"
You can check out the exclusive preview of Ant-Man #1 below. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
- ANT-MAN #1 (OF 4)
- Written by AL EWING
- Art and Cover by TOM REILLY
- Flash back to the early days of Hank Pym's career as the astonishing Ant-Man! It's date night for Hank and his girlfriend Janet Van Dyne, but nobody told that to Ant-Man's enemies! Watch as Hank's ant-agonists band together to finally take down the scientific adventurer! But will anyone come to his rescue? And who is the mysterious stranger who stalks him? Join Al Ewing (IMMORTAL HULK) and Tom Reilly (THE THING) as they explore the history of every hero (past, present and future!) called Ant-Man!
- 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
