The EMP Communication Device, also called the Ant Training Device, is a contraption created by Hank Pym to communicate with Ants. It uses electromagnetic waves to stimulate the olfactory nerve center of insects and mimic their pheromones, allowing the user to communicate with and control them. It takes mental and emotional commitment to get the insects to respond to the device's effect. The device is now a part of the Ant-Man Suit and also comes in the form of earpieces give to his daughter and Scott Lang.
History
Creation and Testing
Hank Pym put the EMP Communication Device through many tests to ensure its functionality. It appeared to work perfectly with all ants except for bullet ants, who seemed to ignore the orders he had given them. He eventually used his Ant-Man Suit to shrink down and talk to the ants on their level. They continued to be defiant and chased him around until they ran into a centipede that attacked them. Pym and the bullet ants worked together to defeat the centipede. Afterwards, Pym used the device to try and speak to the ants again, resulting in the same ignorance.[1]
The device was eventually incorporated as part of the Ant-Man suit.[2]
Training Scott Lang
- "I'm using electromagnetic waves to stimulate their olfactory nerve centers."
- ―Hank Pym[src]
In 2015, Hank Pym and his daughter, Hope van Dyne, trained the man that Pym had chosen to take up the mantle of Ant-Man, Scott Lang. Lang eventually mastered communicating with ants using the EMP Communication Device in the Ant-Man Suit.[2]