ANT (Eddie Whit)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy

Ant (Eddie Whit)

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Eddie Whit
Occupation: Former thief, last seen at reform school.
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: Unnamed parents (deceased), Danny (younger brother)
Base of Operation: When last seen, Lacklock Camp reform school
Group Affiliation(s): An unnamed criminal gang, one-time Teen Titans ally
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
First Appearance: Teen Titans Vol. 1 #5 (September-October 1966)
Creators: Bob Haney and Nick Cardy

"Bet you forgot ants can bite, too!" - The Ant

HISTORY

The son of a circus strongman and a famous acrobat, Eddie Whit proved early in his life that he mastered the skills of both his parents. While still a teen, Eddie was orphaned after his parents were killed in a car accident. Eddie became the guardian of his younger brother Danny, who worshipped Eddie more than anyone else. Due to the difficulties of earning money at their age, both Eddie and Danny got themselves into trouble for some time. While Eddie was sent to the alternative reform school called Lacklock Camp, Danny was sent to an orphanage. During this time, Danny associated with a law-breaking teen gang called the Sharks.

After Eddie was released from Lacklock, he started taking care of Danny again. At the same time, a costumed criminal called the Ant began a crime rampage that got the media's attention. The Ant displayed extraordinary abilities of strength and ability, just like Eddie. This grabbed the attention of a Dr. Paul Turner, manager of Lacklock, who suspected that Eddie might be the Ant, and contacted the Teen Titans to investigate if that was the case. Lacklock was a very successful liberal reform school, with no cells, locks, or fences, where the students were allowed to participate in sound activities, keeping them from crime. Eddie was the first Lacklock student ever that (if he indeed was the Ant) had returned to criminal activities, and Turner was worried that the bad publicity would make the authorities force him to abandon his "soft" methods. The Titans agreed that this was a situation they all wanted to avoid.

The Teen Titans encountered the Ant, attempting to bring him in. But the Ant avoided their clutches and escaped surprisingly easily, outshining Robin himself with his acrobatics and giving even Wonder Girl a match.

The Titans sought out Eddie Whit at his and Danny's apartment. Though Danny would not believe that Eddie was the criminal Ant, the Teen Titans soon found evidence of that being the case. Eddie appeared but escaped the Teen Wonders once again, his speed taking even Kid Flash with surprise. Danny accompanied the Titans as they tracked Eddie to his employer, Mister Krask of Zenith Caterers Company. Spying on Eddie, they learned that Eddie was indeed the Ant, which left Danny heart-broken, before they all realized that Eddie was also manipulated by his employer. Eddie did not want to pull any more crime capers for Krask, but for some reason, Krask was able to force him to continue.

The next time the Ant appeared, he stole a considerable amount of money at a charity picnic. Helping Eddie flee, Danny approached him and furiously asked him why he did this dirty work. Eddie revealed that Krask had shown him pictures of Danny being associated with the criminal Sharks gang, and that the pictures were to be given to the police if Eddie did not assist Krask. A puzzled Danny said that while he had met the gang, he had never joined them or done anything illegal, so the police would mean no trouble for him.

The Ant has not been seen since. Neither have Eddie Whit or his brother Danny.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

The Ant had tremendous strength, speed, and agility, was an extraordinary acrobat and could leap several meters without effort.

Although it was never said that the Ant was anything more than human, his skills supposedly stemming from the genes and training of his parents, the Ant's extraordinary abilities suggests that there was something more to it. Although his strength was nowhere near Wonder Girl's, it was enough to keep her off-balance. Same with the speed, which, while not in Kid Flash's class, was able to take him by surprise. The Ant's acrobatics outshined even that of Robin the Boy Wonder, and he could seemingly leap longer and higher than any non-superpowered human being. All this suggests that the Ant had some meta-human powers, though perhaps he not realized that himself.

In addition, the Ant used some specially-developed suction cups, that allowed him to climb walls.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Ant in chronological order click here