Ant-Man
Summary
Marvel Comics ' latest toying with body positivity has arrived in the form of the newUltimateAnt - Man . The publisher ’s revamp of its Ultimate Universe line is in full - golf stroke , and Earth-6160 is slowly finding its mightiest sub . Marvel ’s Ultimate Good Book have always been a sandpile to diddle with ground character reference in ways the chief universe does n’t allow . Hank Pym is a prime candidate for this kind of reinvention , and changing his consistency eccentric is one of the first hints fans have about this new hero .
The designing for the new Ultimate Ant - Man and Ultimate Wasp began circulate onlineahead of their debut inTheUltimates#1by Deniz Camp , Juan Frigeri , Federico Blee , VC ’s Travis Lanham , and Wil Moss . Fans were quick to notice that Frigeri ’s design for Ultimate Hank Pym appear to have a diffuse jawline , a rounded , protrude breadbasket , and loggerheaded backside .
However , fully grown body can be a sensitive national in the earthly concern of superheroes , leading some to be diffident if they could trust what they were seeing . In the years that followed , writerDeniz Campshared the designing sheet again on X / Twitter , elucidate " Pudgy Hank Pym is peradventure my favorite fictitious character design from issue 1 . "
The New ULTIMATE ANT-MAN May Represent A Shift in Marvel’s Fat Politics
productive body have long been used as ocular shorthand for greedy , gluttonous , and often atrocious characters ( i.e. the Blob , the Shadow King ) .
Similar to race , sexuality , and power , correspond dissimilar body shapes and size of it in media is impactful . The depicting of those bodies shape how those marginalized group are sympathize in the public ’s imagination . cartoon strip are as guilty as other democratic media in their clumsy and harmful depictions of fatness . juicy bodies have long been used as visual stenography for grasping , gluttonous , and often monstrous character reference ( i.e. the Blob , the Shadow King ) . The function of get ahead or losing weight is often used clumsily to incriminate a declension in mental health or unworthiness that must be overcome . Otto Octavius is either the vile , chubby Doc Ock , or the chopped antivillain Superior Spider - Man .
In cape comics , heroic characters are scarcely let to be fat at all without their fatness being the tail of a joke . Rarer still is a fat torso tolerate to be a hero ’s condition quo , unless it is framed as an underlying issue to be resolve . for the most part this is due to fatphobic biases in mainstream dish standards , after which many grinder are model . This circumstance makesthe newfangled Ultimate Ant - Manunique . bivouac also responded to a response that " there are no design to slim [ Hank ] down , " as part of the narration .
This lends credence to the idea that this novel fat hero is here to detain .
A ‘Body Positive’ Ant-Man Is Only A Step In The Right Direction for Marvel & Hank Pym
For many comic reviewer , Hank Pym ranges from a blemished , tragical Cuban sandwich , to dancing with outright villainy . His untreated Bipolar Disorder and the fantasm of his abusive past with his former married woman , the Wasp , have made Hank Pym a very difficult characterfor writers . Even his most charitable portraying in recent year paint Pym as a genius whose ego prevent him from seeing the part he plays in his own suffering . Hank Pym is a character who could greatly benefit from being rebuilt from the ground up in the fresh Ultimate Universe . give him a body that fracture from the distinctive superhero mould is the first whole tone in reimagining the original Ant - Man .
Introducing any new zep that diversifies what bodies are set as " superheroic " is good news . However , one white , capable - corporal man who happens to be fat is hardly the picture of success for soundbox positiveness in comedian . The movements of body positivity and fat liberation were formed by Black and Brown handicapped productive women who saw these polite movements get to across the axes of race , disability , and blubber . Both Marvel and Hank Pym as a reference stand to benefit from the newUltimateAnt - Man , but it is a victory that must be built upon rather than pillow on .
Sources : Deniz Camp , Jonathan Jones , Deniz Camp
The Ultimates#1will be available June 5 from Marvel Comics .
The Ultimates#1 ( 2024 )
