Eric O'Grady is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The third character to use the Ant-Man name, he was created by Robert Kirkman and Phil Hester, and first appears in The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 (Dec. 2006).
Publication history
Eric O'Grady was the main character in the ongoing monthly series The Irredeemable Ant-Man, with the "Irredeemable" title given to the comic's title to indicate the character's immoral attitude and behavior. The series was canceled after issue #12, though no official cancellation notice was given (as Marvel Comics simply opted to not solicit issues of The Irredeemable Ant-Man beyond #12, though the final issue did mercilessly mock the idea of cancellation, such as having Eric scream in spite towards a massive assault of canceled comic characters).
Though canceled, the series ended with the character becoming enrolled in the Initiative. With Avengers: The Initiative #8, O'Grady joined the title's cast. He departed from the title after Avengers: The Initiative #20, and as of Thunderbolts #128, is a member of the new Thunderbolts team. After the events of Siege, he becomes a member of the Secret Avengers, beginning with issue one. Beginning in November 2010, he starred alongside Henry Pym in the three-issue mini-series Ant-Man and the Wasp, by Tim Seeley.
Ant-Man appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010–2013 Secret Avengers series, from issue #1 (July 2010) through the character's death in issue #23 (April 2012); the character was replaced by a Life Model Decoy with all of his memories in the following issue, renaming itself the Black Ant in issue #32, revealing itself as an antagonist in issue #36, before disappearing in its final issue #37 (March 2013).
Fictional character biography
Eric O'Grady is a low-level Irish agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who stumbles upon Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym's latest incarnation of the Ant-Man suit in the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. A man of very few morals with a willingness to lie, cheat, steal and manipulate in order to get ahead in life, O'Grady immediately steals the armor for his own selfish plans, which include using his status as a "super-hero" to stalk women and facilitate his thievery. A running theme with the character is his evil side clashing with a desire to be accepted by others, which leads to O'Grady vowing to renounce his evil ways and become a proper hero, leading to a cycle of the character relapsing and vowing to "change".
Mitch Carson is a S.H.I.E.L.D. security agent under Dum Dum Dugan and someone whom O'Grady looks up to. During the "Enemy of the State" story, when Wolverine attacks the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Carson orders O'Grady and his roommate Chris McCarthy to guard Hank Pym and the new Ant-Man suit. Pym walks out and they panic and knock him out. McCarthy accidentally runs off with the suit to escape Wolverine, but when Elektra attacks the Helicarrier a month later, McCarthy is killed by a HYDRA agent and O'Grady steals the suit from his dead body. Instead of returning the suit, he uses it to steal stuff and spy on the women's showers. When O'Grady joins fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Veronica King, McCarthy's girlfriend, in mourning his death, they start a brief relationship, with Veronica getting pregnant. Carson, originally trained to be the stolen Ant-Man suit's wearer, was forced to wear a hastily built prototype suit and track down the thief. Carson is able to track down O'Grady, but in the ensuing battle, O'Grady disfigured Carson's face by accident with his suit's jets, burning the left half of Carson's face and leaving Carson deaf and blind on that side. O'Grady took Carson to a nearby infirmary, but Carson still vowed revenge. After escaping the helicarrier, O'Grady then uses his powers to continue peeping and only saves attractive woman who he then tries to bed. He eventually tries to sneak into Ms. Marvel's purse, now leader of the Mighty Avengers.
During a battle, O'Grady tries looting a jewelry store and encounters the thief Black Fox and steals his stolen bag of jewels. He reluctantly saves a girl's life from rubble and encounters Damage Control's new "Search and Rescue" team.