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Agent. Cretin. Pervert. Thief. Hero. Irredeemable. All these words could be used to describe Eric O’Grady, the third Ant-Man. How does someone who tends to be seen so negatively become an Ant-Man, let alone a hero? Let’s find out

Eric O’Grady was just a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent doing what he could to get by when he and his friend and co-worker, Chris, were tasked with protecting Hank Pym and his new Ant-Man suit design. Thing is, Eric and Chris weren’t the best agents and so when the facility was under attack, they freaked out and Chris ended up getting trapped and lost in the suit at tiny size. While Chris searched for his way back to both his original size and the room he started in, Eric started to put all the blame on Chris and used this time to get closer to Chris’ girlfriend.

During another attack, Chris would find Eric and before anything could be done, Chris was killed in the attack. Eric took the suit from him and began his own career as Ant-Man, not as a hero, more as a super-powered con-artist. Using the suits abilities, Eric would use it to rescue only would-be dates, being a peeping tom, and avoiding capture from S.H.I.E.L.D. who had sent Eric’s boss and the intended recipient of the new Ant-Man suit, Mitch Carson, after him in a prototype suit. In their first fight with one another, Eric would burn half of Carson’s face off, increasing Carson’s desire to catch Eric even further.

Eric would meet the cat burglar, the Black Fox, and the two would fight over jewels the Black Fox had stolen. In their fight, Eric would end up saving a child and meeting the new Damage Control team, who would mistake his work as heroics and offer him a job. Taking the stolen jewels, Eric was able to get some money and a new identity. He began working for Damage Control, not as Ant-Man, but as Slaying Mantis, Eric wasn’t good with names.

Working with Damage Control, Eric would begin dating teammate, Abigail. He would end up befriending the Black Fox as the two were able to steal back the money the jewels Eric had pawned off for more than they were worth. During a battle with the Hulk, Eric would get injured to the point he would need hospitalization, this is when S.H.I.E.L.D. would step in to arrest him. Carson would steal Eric away so he could torture him and begin to do the same to Eric’s face and had been done to him. Iron Man would intervene and both men would be arrested.

Seen to be incredibly skilled with the Ant-Man suit, Eric was allowed to keep it and stay out of prison if he joined the Initiative. His work here would be seen as so good that he would then be promoted to the Thunderbolts. It’s with the Thunderbolts that Eric begins to question which side he’s on, as he is asked more and more to do villainous things for heroes. He defects and his work of disobeying the Thunderbolts gets him into the Secret Avengers. While Eric is able to do some good with the team, he dies while saving the life of a child. A Life Model Decoy of Eric would be made to become the Black Ant.

There you have it! Eric O’Grady was an unlikely anti-hero, mostly a degenerate who could do heroic things when given the right opportunity. He’s been animated on the small screen, but not much else. Will we ever see Eric appear in live action on the big or small screen? Time will tell. See you next time!

Suggested Reading
Irredeemable Ant-Man
Initiative
Thungerbolts
Secret Avengers
Ant-Man and Wasp

Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net