Scott Edward Harris Lang is a former convicted thief who was struggling to pay child support to his estranged wife for visitation rights to his daughter, Cassie Lang. With the promise of money, he was convinced by Hank Pym to take on the mantle of Ant-Man: a superhero with an advanced suit designed to shrink its wearer to a tiny size while increasing one's toughness, agility, and physical strength. Trained under both Hank and his daughter Hope van Dyne, Lang was to help foil Hank's former protege Darren Cross, who was intending to sell his Yellowjacket Suit design and his copy of the Pym Particles formula to HYDRA and the Ten Rings. However, their plan was discovered by Cross, culminating in a final fight between Cross and Ant-Man. To defeat Cross, Lang had to shrink small enough to enter Cross' Yellowjacket suit and destroy it, sending Lang to the Quantum Realm, but Lang was able to escape. Lang's heroism helped restore his relationship with Cassie and his ex-wife, as well as find a new romantic one with Hope. Lang soon learned that the Avengers were seeking to recruit him.