The Hate Doesn't Always Stick With Me

Someone posted this question on a forum, and I thought I'd ask my audience. Is there a character you disliked when initially introduced to them, who you later warmed up to? The shift in your opinion can be caused by anything. The thread starter listed Amanda Waller, because they didn't like her on the Justice League cartoon, but changed their mind after reading some Suicide Squad.

I was having a little trouble thinking of one at first. It seems like if start out not liking a character, then I usually avoid them after that. Or any appearances they make after that are viewed through my biased perspective, and aren't able to change my mind. I didn't care for Cyclops when I first read comics with him in them, and that hasn't changed 20 years later, for example. I did come up with a few, but I only listed the first one that came to mind.

Hank Pym.

I hadn't read much Avengers prior to picking up Kurt Busiek's run, so I'm not sure how much I knew about Pym prior to that. Busiek made it clear Hank had made some mistakes in the past, and had some problems he was still working through, both in how he viewed himself, and in his relationship with Janet van Dyne. These problems were brought up, dealt with, and at least somewhat addressed. I don't have the comic with me, but I feel like Hank and Jan agreed reaffirmed their friendship, though they weren't back together as a couple, which is still nice. Soooo, great. Problem solved.

Naturally, subsequent writers went back to the well and tried to put them together again, seemingly so they (or the next writer) could have the fun of breaking them up. They became one of those comic couples doomed to try and get together only to have it destroyed somehow. With Hank and Jan, it seemed like it was his periodic mental instability, or the time he backhanded her. Which isn't something to be brushed over lightly, but it was strange how much of an issue it would be. It wouldn't prevent them from starting to get together, but it would eventually rear its ugly head and split them up again. Tedious.

Somewhere along the line I put together a run of Steve Engelhart's first 2 years on West Coast Avengers, where he did his own arc with Pym, and it was actually deeply satisfying to read. Hank was struggling with his various issues, almost killed himself, and Firebird (or La Espirita) came along and helped him out, by demonstrating he wasn't a big failure, as he believed. he had made mistakes, but they were ones he could learn from, so he could succeed the next time. It didn't solve all Hank's problems, but it gave him a way to go forward, and I was interested.

Eventually, I figured out it was better to simply ignore all the stories I didn't care for, and once I excised all those repetitive stories from my personal Hank Pym continuity, I liked him a lot better. He still has recurring difficulties with self-doubt and relationships, and that makes sense. Those sorts of insecurities and issues don't go away easily. But they're aren't occurring as frequently, the issue isn't always the same (like most recently he's had to cope with Janet's death or dissolution) and his solutions seem a little different each time. As though he's trying out different theories on how to get it right, which seems appropriate for a scientist.

Anyway, that's how Hank Pym won me over. A few good writers, and a conscious decision on my part to ignore all the other writers. Who's the character for you, and how did they win you over?