WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If…? Season 1, Episode 3, “What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes,” streaming now on Disney+.
In the third episode of Marvel Studios’ What If…?, Nick Fury is forced to contend with an unknown assailant who is killing off his recruits for the Avengers Initiative. While the killer’s identity remains a mystery as they pick off the Avengers one by one, Fury eventually figures out that the culprit is a vengeful Hank Pym. And during the episode’s climactic conversation, it’s revealed that Pym blames Fury for the death of his daughter Hope van Dyne, who was working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
As Hank argues with Fury, it becomes clear that he’s mentally unstable and feels no remorse for any of the murders he’s committed. While the loss of his daughter would certainly cause Hank Pym an incredible amount of pain, a killing spree still seems out of character for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s original Ant-Man. However, 2015’s Ant-Man, where the MCU’s Hank first appeared, might hold the answer as to what pushed him over the edge: Pym Particles.
The main villain of Ant-Man is Darren Cross, Hank Pym’s former protege who became obsessed with his size-changing Ant-Man suit and the Pym Particles that power it. Due to the supposed death of his wife Janet van Dyne, while using the technology, Hank refuses to disclose its secrets. While Darren Cross was once a brilliant and loyal friend to Hank, his obsession overtakes him and causes him to become a cruel and greedy businessman. Cross creates his own version of the suit called the Yellowjacket and battles Scott Lang, who was given the Ant-Man suit by Hank.
During a conversation between Hank and Scott in the film, Hank reveals that experimenting with the Pym Particles without a specialized helmet can affect the brain’s chemistry and cause them to become unstable. Later, Hope attempts to reason with Darren by reminding him that the Particles have altered his brain. Thus, it stands to reason that What If…‘s Hank Pym became psychologically unbalanced for a similar reason. While Hank would be aware of the potential problems with using Pym Particles, he would most likely be too consumed by his quest for vengeance against S.H.I.E.L.D. to care.
This idea is supported by the fact that Hank Pym is wearing the Yellowjacket suit in What If…?. Darren Cross’ Yellowjacket suit symbolized his obsession with Hank and the Ant-Man suit, and it seems that it continues to symbolize obsession in What If…?. In this case, it represents Hank’s need to exact his twisted version of justice for the death of his daughter.
Additionally, Hank wearing the Yellowjacket suit is a tribute to the comic book source material. After ingesting mind-altering chemicals, Hank briefly adopted the persona of Yellowjacket and became far more hostile and aggressive, even striking his wife Janet at one point. The fact that Hank initially became Yellowjacket, after being exposed to a substance that altered his mind, lends even more credence to the idea that What If…?‘s Hank was affected by his own creation.
To see Hank Pym’s villainous turn, the third episode of What If…? is streaming now on Disney+.
About The Author
