Henry Pym (Earth-616)/Quotes

Stop him, my pets! Obey your leader! The Ant-Man commands you!

Hello! I'm Ant-Man! Perhaps you've heard of me! I've come to help you!

Stop squirming Garrett! It'll only hurt a minute!

It's taken me months to get up the courage, but I'm finally going to offer Jan an engagement ring and ask her to marry me!

I'll come right to the point. I received a cybernetic alarm from a frightened group of ants!

How can I remain here? I'm no longer an Avenger ... I'm an oversized freak!

I play cops'n'robbers... let somebody else play judge'n'jury!

As you know, my first identity was that of the super-small Ant-Man! Then I gained the power to increase my size as well and became Giant-Man... a name I later changed, for reasons I forget, to Goliath!

Then, the Avenger called Hawkeye is no more! And, since I've had to swear off the growing thing -- looks like there's a new Goliath in our ranks!

Sorry, Honey -- No time to Explain -- but this is the way it's gotta be!

That's it, Pym. Keep talking to yourself. It's the only way you'll stop yourself from going bananas in a place that looks like its interior decorator was Salvador Dali.

I'll also inform her that she has the services of .. Ant-Man!

I've got a problem, sure -- But I've got to face it as an Avenger!

Well, what do you know -- The gang's all here. It's good to see you people again.

You felt sorry for yourself-- so you tore up the warmest, brightest woman who ever walked the Earth! I don't care how scrawny you are-- little man-- I'm going to beat you till there's nothing left at all!

C'mon, Vision -- smile! We're supposed to help the Museum get donations, not do imitations of the statues!

Why did it have to be Jan? If -- if I couldn't do it...why her? Why? Why?

I never thought...how many people did I let down?

Get this straight, Scott -- it's killing me being trapped here. I'd give anything to get out...clear my name...regain my self-respect...and win back my beloved Jan. But I'm not going to make any more mistakes. Do you hear me? NEVER AGAIN!

Yes. I want you to think about that long and hard, Mister! and think about this... I did a pretty good job of screwing up my life recently. You just about finished the job for me! You used me, Egghead... and you tried to make me a criminal! But you couldn't. You see, I've come to terms with myself in the past month. I know who I am, and who I'm not! I'm not Ant-Man anymore. I'm not Giant-Man... or Goliath... or Yellowjacket! I'm Henry Pym! And it was Henry Pym who beat the Masters of Evil! You, Egghead... you turned to crime because you thought your scientific knowledge made you better than everyone else... put you above the law! But you were wrong. You weren't above the law, and you weren't better! I'm the better scientist... I just proved that! I assembled the pieces of your downfall -- Right under your nose!

Sorry... No outside influences. It would have changed a lot of things if there had been, wouldn't it? But no, I made my own mistakes... And I have to live with them.

And now, Mr. Rhodes, let's look into these headaches of yours!

It's time I stopped hanging onto a world I've written myself out of. It's time I killed myself...

-- so from this day forward, as an adventurer or an everyday guy, I am -- Doctor Pym!

Cap has to be told to stop all activity at once and come in for treatment.

I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to retire from the business.

But here's the kicker -- comparing it to the sample you gave me, the skeleton's DNA shows evidence of genetic drift. In short-- --it's a clone of you!

So lemme get this straight. The Avengers got led around... by a stick?

No-- You don't know the truth-- Not the whole truth. No one does-- No one but me. It's worse-- Worse than anyone ever thought--

Well, now. That was fun. But I wonder-- What kind of trouble can I get into next--?

Hi there. I'm you. And you've got something I want. Namely-- You're life!

I wasn't a very good husband, was I?

I believe the consensus is "Cap knows best".

But we really did something good here. Something lasting. How many people can claim that...?

Jan... I can't... they're not human... they're not human... they're not human... I don't know... who I am anymore... but I don't need to know... I just need... to fight... to destroy... to kill... I'm a hero... I'm an Avenger...

Ideas are cheap. Theories... hypotheses... mind traps. Just ways to avoid getting your hands dirty...! Pym... what a waste playing his his stupid toys... that's not living. He's better off dead.

Over the years, I've reinvented myself as a super hero so many times... Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket...always trying to carve out a legacy for myself. But now...? ...I can think of nothing more appropriate...than taking up someone else's mantle. The greatest hero I've ever known. Call me...the Wasp!

So...fate of the world. And me and the also-rans have to defeat the god of chaos...before Iron Man and "The Avengers" blow us all up. That about cover it?

I know we don't view this in the same way. You're an adrenaline junkie, through and through. Meanwhile, I'm still looking for some sort of greater purpose in all of this. The costumes, the code names...the specific application of scientific achievement to acts of heroic responsibility. And a whole army at our command. No one's 'playing super hero' hero. We are super heroes. Ant-Man and the Wasp. Let's ride.

One last time! Let's fight the good fight! Let's do the impossible! Avengers assemble!

Up til now, my 'mark on tomorrow' has been a human-hating robotic 'son' and a new Ant-Man who uses his shrinking powers to spy on girls in the shower. I'd like to think I can do better.

No matter how smart I am, or how much I think I know, there's only one thing I can say for certain. Hank Pym is not always right.

What have I been saying? No more making decisions out of fear. And I'm afraid of living without you, Janet. I always have been. But I'm going to have to learn. I'm not giving up on you. On finding a way to bring you back. But when it's best for you. If it's best for you. I love you, Jan. Goodbye.

I wish you could stay off the front lines for years. Train slowly. Let things sink in. But I'm afraid we don't have that luxury. There will come times when every adult hero on the planet isn't enough. When the survival of the world -- of the universe requires every hand on deck. It's my job to get you ready for that moment. And clearly I haven't. You have no idea how hard this life can get. How high the price is for simple survival. And I wish you never had to find out. But because you have powers...because of whats' been done to you...because you're who you are -- you will. All I can do is try my best to give you the tools to survive it. And I've failed that. So we'll try harder. Combat drills before school, strategy sessions after. Weekend classes from now on. Once again...I'm sorry. Sorry that I didn't prepare you for today...and that I can't spare you tomorrow.

God, devil...I don't care what you call yourself. Because of you, my students are fighting a war alone. All you are to me -- is what I have to smash through to get to them!

I believe in the Avengers. We came together to face threats no single individual could withstand. To make the world a safer place. Perhaps it was a simpler time. Perhaps we were naive. Jocasta just asked me were I'd be without the Avengers. I've thought long and hard about that. And I know, without question... I'd dead. Or insane. Or in prison. Or just not doing anyone much good. The Avengers have saved the world countless times. But they have also saved me. Have I faced hard times as a result of being an Avenger? Definitely. But I've also experienced some of the greatest moments of my life. Seen and done thing no other scientist can ever imagine. I've had the privilege of fighting beside some of the greatest heroes--and best friends--the world's ever seen. And I've found happiness. More than I probably deserve. If I'd never become an Avenger, I might have lived a quiet, contented, productive life as a researcher. But it's just as likely I'd have struggled with the same demons---depression, mental illness, suicidal thoughts--and not make it out the other side. And I wouldn't have had the great honor of teaching you. [...] What I take issue with is the idea that the Avengers are an outdated concept. The Avengers made me a far better man than I would have been without them. And I have yet to meet a person involved with the Avengers who is not better for that association. [...] Yes, we save the world. Yes we fight enemies no other force could battle... Certainly not a corporation. But beyond that... The Avengers inspire people. To preserve when every fiber of their being says, "give up." We are a symbol of people of different races, nations, even different species working together for the common good. We make the world a better place. We make those who join us better people. I will believe that until the day I die.

Victor, all the horrible things Ultron's done since I created him... things I bear part of the responsibility for... they're like a cancer. Gnawing at me. I can't tell you how much it means to me... that my actions also resulted in you.

Welcome to the inaugural flag football game between Avengers Academy and the X-Men's Jean Grey School!

You, sir, are a blemish on the good name of science!

That's it! I know what I did wrong now. I know what I have to do.

Since I was seven years old, I've let myself be a slave to other people's expectations. Leashed to a life that drags me nowhere worth going. Roboting soullessly through my days in the most colorless, thuddingly unimaginative, least frivolous way possible. All because I let people convince me that I was inconsequential without a necktie on and breakers in both hands. Well, they were wrong. So when I say I've finally lost it-- "it" is the yoke around my neck. The pressure to be practical, to conform to some 1950s notion of what an inventor is. The fear of being spontaneous. The social thermostat that keeps me from expressing myself fully through my chosen artform-- --SCIENCE. I feel as if I've been given a second chance at... at everything. As if this is the beginning of a whole new way of life for Dr. Hank Pym. Who matters.

It appears a human/A.I. war is coming, and we might be the only ones who care to prevent both sides from eradicating each other.

It is with great pride that I introduce the new annual intramural competition known as... The Contest... of Champions! Meta-Human schools from around the globe will all be selecting their best students to go into head-to-head competition. For the first time, Avengers Academy, Future Foundation, the Jean Grey School. Braddock Academy, the Wakandan School for Alternative Studies, the Pan-Asian School for the Unusually Gifted, and the Latverian School of Science will all be competing for the ultimate title of... Champion!

He didn't want to go but I talked him into it! He was just a kid and I pushed him--

Good lord, Bruce, what is it with you and bombs?

We made it! We're the first organic intelligences to step foot in the Diamond!

I ran as hard and fast as I could. I ran here to tell you...it's over, my friend. Done. The gods spent billions of years building something...all of the Multiverse...and these things destroyed it on a whim. What hope does man have now?

It's nice to see a friendly face. I'm grateful that intelligent apes haven't taken over since I've been off in space.

I've been told I suffer from hubris. But... maybe that's part of what it means to be Ant-Man. Because when you're the world's smallest hero, the best thing you can do... is think big!

I'm sorry I never told you I was back, Jan. But honestly, I'm just not safe to be around right now. Then again, nobody's safe... while he's out there. It's funny. I remember it happening twice. Early in my career as Ant-Man. I traveled through time, met a collection of Ant-Men from the near and far future-- and fought a crazy robot with my face. Those memories vanished when I returned to my own era... and then they didn't come back... until I went through it again. Trapped inside Ultron. Clinging to life while he spoke in my voice, expressed corrupted versions of my thoughts. used my genius-- to destroy worlds. But he made a mistake. In his madness, he amassed so much power that even the little sliver I had access to was near infinite. I just needed a true hero to show me the way. So, as so often before... it was Ant-Man who saved my life. It took all the power I could wrest from him in that moment-- but I tore myself free of him. Snapped back through time like a rubber band... to the moment we'd left. The experience took its toll physically--you can see that for yourself--But I'm the same Hank Pym who merged with Ultron. I remember everything he did. Wearing my face. Inside my mind. Everything.