title: Airsoft

text: The airsoft guns used for training differ from civilian models. Guns manufactured for professional training are made to replicate the weight, feel and the sound of its real steel counterpart. In general, professional training airsoft guns are GBB models and enhanced with a weighted blowback mechanism to increase the force of the kick. Some are AEGs and are built with a blowback mechanism. They are also outfitted with muzzle protectors that amplify the sound to a decibel level comparable to that of a real firearm. The average FPS for professional training airsoft guns is higher than civilian models. Economically, airsoft is cheaper than simulation training. Benjamin Kratz, Fort Jackson's battalion executive officer, said that one blank M16 round can cost as much as 32 airsoft rounds. Airsoft can also be used in military simulations such as in malls or prisons to add to the immersion. There are different event producers like MiR Tactical holding these events.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. "CSKA" is an abbreviation for "Central Sports Club of the Army" ().


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Officially established on 5 May 1948, CSKA's roots date back to an army officers' club founded in 1923. The club has won a record 31 Bulgarian titles and 21 Bulgarian Cups. Internationally, CSKA are the only Bulgarian club to have reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, which they have done twice, and they have also reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: CSKA's home colors are red and white and its home ground is the Bulgarian Army Stadium. The club's biggest rivals are Levski Sofia and matches between the two sides are known as "The Eternal Derby of Bulgaria".


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In November 1923, football clubs "Athletic Sofia" and "Slava Sofia" merged to form AS-23, short for "Officers' Sports Club Athletic Slava 1923", under the patronage of the Ministry of War, which provided the equipment.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In 1931, AS-23 won their first Bulgarian championship and The Tsar's Cup, followed by another Tsar's Cup in 1941. The club's stadium (completed in 1938) was named "Athletic Park" and was situated where the Bulgarian Army Stadium now resides.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: On 9 November 1944, with the support of Mihail Mihaylov, an accountant at the Ministry of War and a patron of Shipka Sofia, a unifying agreement was signed, merging "AS-23", "Shipka", and "Spartak (Poduene)" to form Chavdar Sofia. Gen. Vladimir Stoychev from AS-23, who at the time was fighting on the front in World War II, was appointed (by telegram) as the new club's chairman. Lawyer Ivan Bashev, a future Bulgarian foreign minister, was appointed club secretary and the person in charge of football.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: With the help of Mihail Mihaylov again, in February 1948, Chavdar became the departmental club of the Central House of the Troops ("Centralnia Dom na Voiskata") and took on the name of CDV. Looking for ways to stop the club's decline, CDV's administrators sought to merge it with another club. In May 1948, an agreement was reached between CDV and Septemvri Sofia (which had already earned a place in the play-offs) for uniting the clubs under the name "Septemvri pri CDV" (Septemvri at CDV). The contract was signed on 5 May 1948, which is officially considered the club's date of foundation.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The club's played its first official match on 19 May 1948 against Slavia Sofia at Yunak Stadium, a 1–1 draw. Septemvri pri CDV eliminated Aprilov (Gabrovo) and Spartak Varna en route to the final, where it faced Levski Sofia, losing 1–2 in the first leg. The decisive second match occurred on 9 September 1948. Septemvri pri CDV's lineup consisted of: Stefan Gerenski, Borislav Futekov, Manol Manolov, Dimitar Cvetkov, Nikola Aleksiev, Nako Chakmakov (captain), Dimitar Milanov, Stoyne Minev, Stefan Bozhkov, Nikola Bozhilov and Kiril Bogdanov. The score was 3–3 on aggregate, as Septemvri pri CDV led 2–1 near the end of regulation time, when a last-minute goal by Nako Chakmakov gave the club its first ever title.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In 1950, the word ""Narodna"" ("Peoples" in English) was added to the name of the Central House of the Troops, changing it to Central House of the People's Troops ("Centralen Dom na Narodnata Voiska" in English), or C.D.N.V., effectively changing the club's name. The following two years, C.D.N.V. won two consecutive titles. In 1951, the club clinched their first double. In 1953, the club was again renamed by the authorities, this time to Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon ("Team of the Sofia Garrison"), and most of the key players were illegally transferred out. The title was lost.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The following year, the club was renamed CDNA ("Central House of the People's Army"), and the years between 1954 and 1962 marked one of the most successful periods for "the Reds", who won nine consecutive titles (an unprecedented achievement in Bulgarian football at the time and a record the club held for 60 years) and, in 1956, took part in the second installment of the newly created European Cup competition, reaching the quarter-finals.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In 1962, CDNA was merged with DSO Cherveno Zname to form CSKA Cherveno Zname ("CSKA Red Flag"). The Central House of the People's Troops ceased its affiliation with the club, which was taken over by the Ministry of People's Defense. CSKA finished third after Spartak Plovdiv and Botev Plovdiv in the 1962–63 season. The following season, CSKA had its worst performance in the Bulgarian championship to date, finishing 11th in the final table, only three points from relegation. This led to the sacking of legendary coach Krum Milev after 16 years at the helm.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: CSKA did not recapture the title until 1966. However, during the 1966–67 season, CSKA recorded its first major international achievement, reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup for the first time, where they faced Italian giants Inter. After two hard-fought 1–1 draws, a third decisive match was played, which CSKA lost 0–1.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The next two seasons were unmemorable for the "Army Men", finishing in fifth and second place respectively. In 1968, CSKA underwent another merger, joining with Septemvri Sofia and taking on the name of CSKA Septemvriysko Zname ("CSKA September Flag"). The club clinched the title in 1969 with the help of recent acquisition Petar Zhekov, who would go on to become the top Bulgarian goalscorer of all time, a record Zhekov held for 52 years until he was surpassed by Martin Kamburov in 2021.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The 1970s are widely considered the period when CSKA made its name on the European stage. The club began the decade modestly, claiming second place domestically and reaching the round of 16 in 1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they fell to English side Chelsea 0–2 on aggregate. However, from 1971 to 1973, CSKA won three consecutive titles and delivered one of the biggest surprises in European football when it eliminated reigning European champion Ajax – considered the finest team of all time – 2–1 on aggregate in the 1973–74 European Cup.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: They then faced German champions Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. After losing 1–4 in the first leg in Munich, CSKA bowed out of the competition following a 2–1 win at home. Between 1975 and 1979, the club won two more domestic titles.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The 1980–81 season was again a memorable one for CSKA Sofia, winning the Bulgarian title once more and twice beating European champion Nottingham Forest, both times with 1–0 scorelines, before being stopped by the future European champions Liverpool with a 6–1 defeat on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The next season, CSKA reached their second-straight European Cup semi-final, eliminating Spanish champions Real Sociedad, Glentoran and Liverpool after losing 0–1 in England and winning 2–0 at home with two goals by Stoycho Mladenov. In the semi-final, the "Reds" again faced Bayern Munich. The first leg was held in Sofia and started with a full dominance over Bayern, as by the 16th minute, CSKA were leading 3–0 in front of 85,000 jubilant spectators who saw the European final in their dreams. But the final score was 4–3 for CSKA. In Munich, the club suffered a 4–0 defeat, ending what is still the deepest run by a Bulgarian side in the European Cup or UEFA Champions League.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In the domestic league, CSKA did not let go of the title until the 1984–85 season, where they finished second behind arch-rivals Levski, but still managed to reach the Bulgarian Cup final.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: On 18 June 1985, the final for the Bulgarian Cup was held at the Vasil Levski National Stadium between CSKA and Levski Sofia. The match was marked by many questionable referee decisions and saw several brutal fights, including an assault on a referee by some of Levski's players. CSKA won the match 2–1, even though they had missed a penalty when the score was 2–0. By decree of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, both teams were disbanded and re-founded under new management. CSKA was renamed Sredets while Levski was renamed "Vitosha". Several players were banned from participating in official matches for varying periods of time, including Hristo Stoichkov and Kostadin Yanchev from CSKA. One year later, the committee's decision was reversed and the players were reinstated.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: As Sredets, the club finished in fourth place in the 1985–86 season. In 1987, the club was renamed CFKA Sredets ("Central Football Club of the Army Sredets"), and the following three years were marked by a formidable performance, even as Septemvri Sofia ended their 20-year partnership with CFKA in 1988 and became an independent club again. Coached by Dimitar Penev, CFKA won the title in 1987 and 1989 and reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals against Barcelona in 1989. In reaching this stage in the tournament, CFKA had eliminated Roda JC after penalty kicks following a 2–1 win at home and a 1–2 loss away. Barcelona, coached by former Dutch international Johan Cruyff, won both matches (4–2 in Barcelona and 2–1 in Sofia) and CFKA were eliminated, but Cruyff did notice the talent of Hristo Stoichkov and decided to bring him to Barcelona the following year, effectively launching Stoichkov's international career.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The decade, immediately following the fall of communism, brought turbulent changes to Bulgarian football, and the club was not spared. The CSKA name was restored starting with the 1989–90 season and they won the title again. In March 1991, former footballer and administrator Valentin Mihov was chosen as president of CSKA. The club bought some of the most talented Bulgarian players, including Yordan Letchkov, Ivaylo Andonov and Stoycho Stoilov, among others. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense concluded their affiliation with the club. Despite the uncertainty and the numerous problems that followed, CSKA won the title again in 1992. They were later eliminated in the first round of the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League by Austria Wien after losing 1–3 in Vienna and winning 3–2 in Sofia.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In the meantime, Valentin Mihov was appointed president of the Bulgarian Football Union and Petar Kalpakchiev was chosen as his replacement. However, Kalpakchiev wrangled with the club's administration over their decisions to replace several coaches, one of which was Gjoko Hadžievski, considered to be leading the club in the right direction, and eventually he was fired.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The owner of the Multigroup conglomerate, Iliya Pavlov, took over as president, but ultimately his sponsorship proved insufficient to overcome the club's ineffective management. Five coaches were changed in just one season, with Tsvetan Yonchev being coach for just one day. In Europe, CSKA nevertheless defeated Juventus 3–2 in the first round of the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, but the result was annulled by UEFA because of the delayed player-indexing of forward Petar Mihtarski, and Juventus were awarded a 3–0 victory by default. In the second leg in Turin, CSKA succumbed to a 5–1 defeat.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In the summer of 1995, CSKA made a strong selection and eventually the club included half of the youth national football team of Bulgaria. Plamen Markov was appointed head coach, but after a disappointing first half of the season, he was replaced by Georgi Vasilev, who had previously won three Bulgarian titles (one with Etar Veliko Tarnovo and two with Levski Sofia). Vasilev managed to win a double with CSKA for the 1996–97 season, entering the second qualifying round of the Champions League against Steaua București. After a dramatic 3–3 in Bucharest, CSKA fell 0–2 at home.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Vasilev was unexpectedly released from the club at the beginning of the second half of the 1997–98 season after a 3–0 win over Spartak Pleven. Coach Petar Zehtinski took his place. That year, the club saw the return of Hristo Stoichkov, Emil Kostadinov and Trifon Ivanov, but the three of them challenged each other for the captain's band. Stoichkov played in only four matches and left CSKA right before the derby with Levski to play for a club in Saudi Arabia. After the end of the season, Ivanov also left the club. CSKA finished in third place.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In the summer of 1998, Dimitar Penev took the lead as head coach for the second time. CSKA reached the second round of the UEFA Cup and won the Bulgarian Cup, but disappointed in the domestic league, finishing in fifth place in 1999. That season, the young talents of Martin Petrov, Stilian Petrov, Dimitar Berbatov and Vladimir Manchev started to play a bigger role in the team. There were problems with player-indexing due to some unpaid obligations to Neftochimik. In the domestic championship, CSKA had only 16 players registered for the 1999–2000 season and some un-indexed players took part in official UEFA games. Consequently, at the shareholders meeting at the end of 1999, the club ownership was transferred to businessman Vasil Bozhkov.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: After the first two fixtures in the spring of 2000, which the club lost, Dimitar Penev was relieved as coach and in his place was appointed Georgi Dimitrov – Jacky, who was later replaced by Spas Dzhevizov. After a 1–1 draw with Pirin at Bulgarian Army Stadium, Dzhevizov handed in his resignation and Aleksandar Stankov took his place. Even though at times CSKA had fallen as far as nine points behind league leaders Levski, the club shortened the difference to only two points before the decisive match for the title at Georgi Asparuhov Stadium. CSKA dominated Levski for most of the match, as Dimitar Berbatov made several serious misses, but a last-minute goal from Georgi Ivanov secured the title for Levski.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In the summer of 2000, the Italian Enrico Catuzzi was retained as head coach, who managed to revive the team. However, even though the "Army Men" played attractive matches under his leadership, Catuzzi resigned during the winter break, citing family problems. Aleksandar Stankov was appointed as coach again, but was replaced by Catuzzi again after two losses from Litex for the cup and the championship. "The Reds" finished second, seven points behind Levski.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: To start the 2001–02 season, CSKA's head coach was Asparuh Nikodimov, who would be fired during the winter break, as CSKA was situated two points behind Levski. He was replaced by another Italian, Luigi Simoni. Simoni failed to make CSKA champions as the club finished third and lost the Bulgarian Cup final to Levski. Simoni left at the end of the season.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In the summer of 2002, former CSKA striker Stoycho Mladenov was appointed as head coach. With him, the team set a record of 13 consecutive wins in 13 matches and won the title for the first time since 1997. However, Mladenov was fired the following season after losing to Galatasaray in the qualifying rounds of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and after giving a less than impressive performance in the first round of the UEFA Cup, where the club lost on penalty kicks to Torpedo Moscow. Immediately after, two of the new arrivals, Léo Lima and Rodrigo Sousa, purchased for a total of 3 million dollars the year before, left the club on the grounds they had not received two monthly salaries. FIFA decided they had the right to leave and that CSKA had to pay them and release the players to their former club, Vasco da Gama. Alexander Stankov was temporarily appointed as head coach until the winter break, when Ferario Spasov officially took over. At the end of 2004, Spasov was replaced by Serbian coach Miodrag Ješić, despite the club's first place in the league. With Ješić at the helm, CSKA won their record 30th domestic title in 2005.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: For the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, after eliminating Tirana in the second qualifying round, CSKA were paired against reigning European champions Liverpool. The club lost 1–3 in the first match in Sofia, but surprisingly won the second leg 1–0 away at Anfield.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In the UEFA Cup, "the Reds" eliminated Bayer Leverkusen (with Dimitar Berbatov in the team) with two 1–0 wins and reached the group stage, where they finished fifth with three points from four matches and were eliminated. During the winter break of the 2005–06 season, the club was in first place, seven points ahead of Levski. However, during the spring, CSKA lost the seven-point advantage and ultimately finished second, three points behind Levski. Club president Vasil Bozhkov blamed head coach Miodrag Ješić for the failure to capture the title and fired him, while some supporters blamed Bozhkov instead.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Former CSKA head coach Plamen Markov was appointed in Ješić's place. Bozhkov then announced that he would restrict the finances of the club and that during the upcoming season CSKA will not be aiming at the title. In December 2006, Bozhkov sold the club to Indian steel tycoon and owner of Kremikovtzi AD, Pramod Mittal, brother of ArcelorMittal's Lakshmi Mittal. Former Bulgarian politician Aleksandar Tomov became president of the club and assured the supporters that CSKA would, in fact, be aiming at both the championship and the cup. After two draws in the beginning of the spring half of 2006–07, CSKA found themselves six points behind Levski. As a result, Plamen Markov was replaced by Stoycho Mladenov. CSKA finished second.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: During the beginning of the 2007–08 season, CSKA purchased players for more than €2 million. The team was unluckily eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the first round by French side Toulouse after a 96th-minute goal from André-Pierre Gignac in the second leg. CSKA was also eliminated from the Bulgarian Cup in the Round of 16 by Lokomotiv Plovdiv. The match was engulfed in a scandal because of three CSKA players who at the time were on loan at Lokomotiv (Stoyko Sakaliev, Aleksandar Branekov and Ivan Ivanov). The players had clauses in their contracts restricting them from playing matches against CSKA, but Lokomotiv's management used the players anyway.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: At the end of the season, the "Army Men" secured the title well in advance, finishing 16 points ahead of second-placed Levski and without losing a single match. On 5 May 2008, the club marked its 60th birthday with big celebrations organized by the management. An alley of fame was built, comprising the names of the most successful current and former players of CSKA. On 24 May 2008, an exhibition match was played between the current squad and a mixed team of Bulgarian and foreign football stars. The mixed team was coached by former German international Lothar Matthäus, who was a special guest for the anniversary celebrations. The match ended 6–6.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In June 2008, only days after CSKA won its 31st title, UEFA notified the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) that the club would not receive a license for participating in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League because of unpaid obligations. The BFU then speculated this could also result in CSKA not being able to take part in the domestic championship, effectively turning it into an amateur club. Attempts to arrange a settlement with UEFA proved unsuccessful and CSKA lost its right to compete in the Champions League in favor of runners-up Levski Sofia. The person widely blamed for the crisis was club president Aleksandar Tomov, who resigned shortly after and was arrested and charged with embezzling millions of levs from CSKA and Kremikovtzi AD.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The problems with the license exposed the club's weak financial situation and led to chaos and panic, prompting many of the key players to flee, including head coach Stoycho Mladenov himself, who left saying he was not happy with the fire sale of so many important players. The future of CSKA looked grim, its status as a professional club hanging in the balance. In the midst of the crisis, Dimitar Penev was given the head coach's job for the third time and burdened with the task of saving the club. With almost all senior players gone, Penev had no choice but to rely on members of the CSKA youth squad.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Ultimately, CSKA managed to fulfill all licensing requirements set by the BFU and was allowed to compete in A Group. Despite all the difficulties, and to the surprise of the whole football community, Penev's young squad claimed the Bulgarian Supercup in August 2008, overcoming Litex 1–0.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, the club managed to strengthen their ranks by signing Bulgarian internationals Zdravko Lazarov and Vladimir Manchev. On 24 December 2008, club owner Pramod Mittal announced he had signed a preliminary contract with a local investor to sell the club. The deal was finalized on 6 March 2009, and the ownership of the club was transferred to Titan Sport EAD, a subsidiary of Bulgarian waste management company Titan AS. Meanwhile, coach Dimitar Penev was replaced by his nephew, Lyuboslav Penev, who set aggressive goals for the club. After having led the league for most of the season, CSKA finished the championship in second place, one point behind arch-rivals Levski.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In 2009, CSKA earned a place in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League's group stage after defeating Dynamo Moscow in the qualifying round and drew Roma, Basel and Fulham in the group stage. The first match was against Fulham in Sofia, where CSKA took the lead thanks to a beautiful goal by newly signed from Chernomoretz Burgas Brazilian Michel Platini. However, a simple goalkeeper mistake at the end of the match allowed Fulham to score, ending the game in a 1–1 draw. Despite the strong start, CSKA did not manage to earn any more points in the group stage and exited the competition after finishing fourth in its group. In November 2009, coach Luboslav Penev threatened to resign following a squabble with the club's management after they had reversed his decision to reprimand several players for disciplinary reasons, but decided to carry on with the job. Their disagreements eventually boiled over in January 2010 and the board relieved Penev of the position. Reports in the press pointed to former CSKA coach Miodrag Ješić as a possible replacement, but even though Ješić expressed a desire to come back to CSKA, his current contract with Libyan club Alittihad Tripoli ruled him out. On 17 January, the club retained Romanian specialist Ioan Andone as coach. Andone brought two Romanian players with him and set out to overhaul the team. However, over the next six matches, CSKA won only two matches, drew arch-rivals Levski 0–0 and lost second place to Lokomotiv Sofia. On 30 March, after two months on the job, Andone resigned, citing family reasons. Former CSKA defender Adalbert Zafirov was put in his place. At the same time, the club turned to Dimitar Penev again, naming him supervisor of the coaching staff. Despite the tumultuous second half of the season, CSKA managed to finish at second place in the table, behind champions Litex, and prepared to enter the third qualifying round of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In the summer of 2010, the club hired Pavel Dochev as head coach, but after a string of unsatisfactory results, including a 0–1 loss to Levski Sofia and a 1–2 loss to Chernomorets Burgas, he was fired. His place was taken by the relatively unknown Macedonian manager Gjore Jovanovski, who kept his job for just three months before being replaced by his assistant Milen Radukanov. Under Radukanov, CSKA won the 2011 Bulgarian Cup and the Bulgarian SuperCup, beating league champions Litex Lovech 3–1.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: CSKA started 2011–12 with eight-straight league victories, but after a 1–2 defeat against Slavia Sofia and a 0–0 draw against Cherno More Varna, Radukanov was unexpectedly fired by chairman Dimitar Borisov. Dimitar Penev was appointed as a temporary manager with Adalbert Zafirov as his assistant. In the spring, Stoycho Mladenov was again hired as head coach, and he led the club to a second-place league finish, a single point behind champions Ludogorets Razgrad after losing on the final day of the season.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: CSKA began the season by being surprisingly eliminated from international football by Slovenian side Mura 05. While the first leg in Slovenia ended in a 0–0 draw, a 1–1 tie at home eliminated the "Reds" from the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League in the second qualifying round. The start of the domestic championship was unimpressive as well –- a 0–1 loss to Litex, in which the club had no right to use its new signings due to administrative restrictions. However, in the middle of the autumn half of the season, CSKA achieved some significant wins, defeating Levski 1–0 in the Eternal Derby and eliminating Ludogorets Razgrad in the round of 32 of the Bulgarian Cup.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In late December 2012, head coach Stoycho Mladenov was abruptly fired by the club owners for "disciplinary" reasons, and Miodrag Ješić was appointed in his place. During the winter transfer window, CSKA made several signings, such as Bulgarian internationals Martin Kamburov and Spas Delev, in addition to South-American players Marcinho and Ignacio Varela. After managing the team for only two matches in the spring, Ješić was sacked and replaced by fan favourite Milen Radukanov, with whom the club managed to finish the season with the bronze medals.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In June 2013, former FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Hristo Stoichkov was released from Litex Lovech to replace Radukanov on the bench, but the poor financial condition of the club forced him to leave shortly after his arrival without even having signed a contract. Most of the key players left CSKA while speculations about the club's bankruptcy circled in the media. After the serious financial problems led to CSKA's withdrawal from the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, igniting multiple fan protests, the club was ultimately declared for sale. On 10 July 2013, it was officially purchased by the Red Champions Group, a union of businessmen and club legends. The leader of the group was Aleksandar Tomov, former club president widely blamed for CSKA's financial crisis in 2008. Stoycho Mladenov was hired back as manager by the new owners.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The club made several major signings for the new season, bringing in former team captains Valentin Iliev, Emil Gargorov and Todor Yanchev. Algeria's national goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi and ex-Premier League stars Mamady Sidibé and Martin Petrov were also brought on board. On 19 October 2013, the reborn CSKA crushed city rivals Levski 3–0 and were given the nickname "The Phoenixes". By the end of the season, CSKA smashed Levski three more times and finished in second place, behind Ludogorets Razgrad.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: On 21 March 2014, as part of the plan to reduce debt and make the club's finances more transparent, CSKA became the first club from Eastern Europe to be publicly traded by listing itself on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Before the start of the new season, a few key players were no longer part of the club. Goalkeeper Raïs M'Bolhi was transferred to Major League Soccer (MLS) side Philadelphia Union after an impressive performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup; young talent Ivaylo Chochev joined Palermo; club legends Martin Petrov and Todor Yanchev retired; and the team's leading scorer, Emil Gargorov, left due to conflict with the managing board. CSKA were surprisingly eliminated by the Moldovan side Zimbru Chișinău in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League's second qualifying round, but performed well in the domestic league during the first half of the season, beating rivals Levski twice more and being on the top of the table ahead of Ludogorets before the winter break. However, after the season resumed, CSKA lost three-straight matches without scoring a goal, prompting the resignation of head coach Stoycho Mladenov. Former team captain and youth team's coach Galin Ivanov was appointed as the new head coach, but after five more goalless matches, he was replaced by European football legend Lyuboslav Penev, a move widely praised by fans.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: On 2 April, CSKA club president Aleksandar Tomov transferred his controlling block of shares to Milko Georgiev and Borislav Lazarov, with club supporters intending to find a new owner and major sponsors capable of paying off the club's numerous debts. On 24 April, it was officially announced the club's new controlling owner would be the corporation Finance Marketing Company Ltd. CSKA finished the season in fifth position, but due to the unfunded debts, the BFU refused to issue the club a license for A Group for the upcoming season, instead sending the club to the South-Western V group, the third tier of Bulgarian football.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: On 24 June 2015, businessman Grisha Ganchev announced he would be the new owner of CSKA. Club legend Plamen Markov and famous former footballer Hristo Yanev were appointed as sports director and head coach respectively. Yanev claimed he wants to form a squad consisting entirely of Bulgarian players.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: On 25 May 2016, CSKA Sofia won the 2015–16 Bulgarian Cup, becoming the first third-division club to record such an achievement. In the final, CSKA defeated Montana 1–0 to lift the cup for the 20th time in club history.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: On 27 May 2016, the legal firm that represented PFC Chavdar Etropole, "PFC Chavdar EAD", was renamed to "PFC CSKA-1948 AD". On 6 June 2016, the legal firm which representedb Litex Lovech, "PFC Litex-Lovech AD", was renamed to "PFC CSKA-Sofia EAD", in order for the club to use PFC Litex Lovech's professional license to apply for the reformed First League, with "PFC CSKA-1948 AD" being written in as its owner. The shift was made because the old legal firm, "PFC CSKA AD", was not issued a professional license, and later went bankrupted and ceased operations as of 9 September 2016. Litex Lovech later began playing in the Third League, taking the place of Botev Lukovit.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Following a series of unfavourable results in the championship, Hristo Yanev resigned as head coach. The following week, the son of former Romanian football legend Anghel Iordănescu, Edward Iordănescu, was appointed as head coach. However, on 27 November, following a 1–1 home draw against Vereya, he resigned as head coach.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In September 2017, the club officially announced a sponsorship with Mtel, the largest telecommunications company in Bulgaria. A sponsorship contract was also signed with Bulgarian online gambling company WinBet.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: On 11 October 2018, the company holding CSKA-Sofia acquired CSKA Sofia EAD, which owned the CSKA Sofia brand, and become its official successor.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The beginning of the decade marked CSKA Sofia's return to the European stage. The club earned a place in the group stage of a European tournament for the first time in ten years after eliminating FC Basel in the playoffs of the 2020-21 Europa League.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Stoycho Mladenov was appointed as head coach for the fifth time in club history in the Summer of 2021, replacing Lyuboslav Penev. After defeating FK Liepāja, NK Osijek, and Viktoria Plzeň in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa Conference League, the club reached the group stage.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In April 2022, after it became apparent that the club would not win the title, Mladenov abruptly resigned and was replaced by Alan Pardew, the club's technical director, who became the first Englishman ever to manage CSKA.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Alan Pardew would resign from his position on June 1st of the same year, after a racist incident where CSKA fans threw bananas at black players during a game against Botev Plovdiv.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The main element in the current club crest is the red five-pointed star – symbol of glory and power. Red was the colour of the uniform of the Roman legions, associated with love, freedom and aggression. The six oak leaves above the star symbolise strength, endurance and traditions. CSKA's name and year of foundation (1948) can be seen below the star, between two Bulgarian flags. The circle form of the crest symbolises infinity and eternity.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: After CSKA won its 30th national title in 2005, three golden stars were added to the logo. In 2017, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the club, CSKA introduced an updated chest.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: CSKA has carried a plethora of names throughout its history. In chronological order, they are as follows:


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First League, however only five non-EU/EEA nationals can be used during a match day. Those non-EU/EEA nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing in Bulgaria for 5 years.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The team's home stadium, the Bulgarian Army Stadium, was completed in 1967 and stands on the same spot as its predecessor, Athletic Park. It is situated in the Borisova gradina park, named after Bulgarian tsar Boris III, in Sofia's city centre. The stadium has four sectors with a total of 22,995 places (18,495 seats), of which 2,100 are covered. The pitch length is 105 metres and the width is 68 metres.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The sports complex also include a basketball court and gymnastics facilities, as well as the CSKA Sofia Museum of Glory. The press conference room has 80 seats.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: According to many surveys, CSKA Sofia is one of the two most popular clubs in Bulgaria with approximately 190,000 organized supporters in 799 fan clubs around the world, including supporters from United States,North Macedonia, Spain, Austria, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Sweden, Greece, Germany and almost every country in which there is a large number of Bulgarians. The official fan club was formed in 1990, which to date is the oldest one in the capital of Bulgaria.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: Sector G, the main stand for the ultras of CSKA Sofia, is located at the north side of the stadium. Inside the sector, the most influential supporters group is the newly founded ultras group "Ofanziva", which was formed after the unification of several smaller fan clubs. Another strong group is "Animals".


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: CSKA is also the favourite football club of the current head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Patriarch Neophyte.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: After the merger between Chavdar Sofia and Septemvri Sofia, it was accepted the club's home colour would be red. White became the club's away colour.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: In previous years, black was also used, mainly for away or third kits. Other colours of the CSKA kits that can be seen are grey, yellow, orange and green, but only in rarely occasions and only in the colour scheme of the third kits. In the 2009–10 season, and for the first time in club history, CSKA used gold for their away kits.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: After the 2011–12 season in which CSKA used equipment of the Italian company Kappa, from June 2012 the club has new kit supplier, Italian company Legea. The team used the new equipment for the first time in the pre-season friendly against Moscow side Torpedo Moscow, ended 1–2. The kits were sample and they were with a different outfit and a different spot where the team badge was placed. The official presentation of the new kits was before the friendly match against Macedonian side Drita on 14 July 2012 (2–0), played at the Bulgarian Army Stadium.


title: PFC CSKA Sofia

text: The official anthem of CSKA Sofia is the song "Sartsa cherveni" ("Red hearts") by the famous Bulgarian singer Yordanka Hristova. The song is written in 1999 by composer Evgeni Dimitrov and lyricist Ivaylo Valchev, authors of many of the hits of Slavi Trifonov and Ku-Ku Band.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The Rules of Attraction is a 2002 black comedy-drama film written and directed by Roger Avary and based on Bret Easton Ellis' 1987 novel of the same name. It was distributed by Lionsgate Films. Its story follows three Camden College students who become entangled in a love triangle with a drug dealer, a virgin, and a bisexual classmate. It stars James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, Kate Bosworth, Kip Pardue, and Joel Michaely.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The film was produced by Kingsgate Films, Roger Avary, and Filmproduktion and was released on October 11, 2002. It grossed $2.5 million in its opening weekend and $11.8 million worldwide, against a budget of $4 million. It received mixed reviews from critics.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: Set in the fictional Camden College in New Hampshire, the film opens at the "End of the World" party, where students Lauren Hynde, Paul Denton, and Sean Bateman give apathetic interior monologues on their lives and briefly exchange glances with one another. Lauren, previously a virgin, takes a film student upstairs to have sex and passes out; she wakes to find herself being ostensibly raped by a townie while the film student records it, and reflects on how she had planned to lose her virginity to Victor, her now ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, Paul, who is bisexual, tries to have sex with a jock, only to be bashed when the jock, deeply in the closet, rejects his advances. A bruised and beaten Sean is shown drinking a whole bottle of Jack Daniel's, tearing up a series of purple letters, before approaching and having sex with a blonde girl at the party.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The plot then moves backwards several months to the beginning of the school year, and explores the love triangle between Lauren, Paul, and Sean. Misinterpreting Sean's willingness to spend time with him, Paul makes several advances, to which Sean is oblivious. Paul fantasizes about having sex with Sean while masturbating. Concurrently, Lauren also finds herself attracted to Sean despite saving her virginity for her traveling boyfriend, Victor. Sean reciprocates her feelings, and assumes the anonymous, purple love letters he has started receiving are from Lauren. Sean masturbates to reading these letters and fantasizes about Lauren.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: While Paul is visiting his friend "Dick", Sean has sex with Lauren's roommate Lara at the "Dressed to Get Screwed" party. Sean regrets it immediately, and realizes that he is in love with Lauren. It is then revealed that another, unnamed cafeteria girl is the author of Sean's love letters; after seeing him leave the party with Lara, she sends him a suicide note before cutting her wrists in the dorm bathtub. Lauren, finding Sean with Lara, runs to the girls' bathroom in tears, only to find the unnamed girl's body, leaving Lauren extremely distressed. Sean, still believing Lauren wrote the purple letters, misinterprets the unnamed girl's suicide note and assumes Lauren never wants to be with him. Lauren decides to lose her virginity to her Art History professor Lance Lawson. But being married and worried about losing his tenure, he simply allows her to perform fellatio on him instead.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: After numerous failed attempts at suicide, Sean fakes his death and, unaware that Lauren recently found a corpse, unintentionally upsets her further when she finds him pretending to be dead. After stealing drugs from dealer Rupert, Sean tries to speak to Lauren again, asking only to know her. Lauren tells Sean he will never know her, and abandons him. She approaches Victor, who has finally returned to Camden College, only to find that Victor is having sex with Lara and does not remember who Lauren is, leaving her completely distraught.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: Paul, upon finding a drunk Sean, tries to talk to him, parroting Sean's own words by saying he merely wants to know him. Sean coldly rejects him, using Lauren's words to say that Paul will never know him. Paul throws a snowball at Sean, then angrily runs off in tears. Sean checks his campus mailbox in vain, only to find that the love notes have stopped. He is then cornered by Rupert and his Jamaican partner, Guest, and brutally beaten.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The three protagonists then attend the "End of the World" party and the plot returns to the introduction. After seeing Lauren heading upstairs with the film student, Sean finally accepts he cannot be with her, and tears up the purple letters he believes to be from her. It is then revealed that, rather than having sex with the blonde girl as he does in the intro, Sean has an epiphany, reconsiders and he instead leaves his drink and exits. Paul and Lauren meet on the house porch and reflect on the recent events, as well as on Sean, whom they watch depart on his motorcycle. Sean begins narrating his final thoughts only for them to end prematurely as the film cuts to the end credits, which are run backwards.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The film was one of the first studio motion pictures to be edited using Final Cut Pro. Using a beta version of FCP 3, it demonstrated to the film industry that successful 3:2 pulldown matchback to 24fps could be achieved with an off-the-shelf product. Roger Avary, the film's director, became a spokesperson for FCP, appearing in print ads worldwide.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: Avary stated that his goal was to create "an arthouse film for teenagers". Budget constraints meant Avary had to finance the filming of Victor's European trip himself. He followed actor Kip Pardue around various countries with a handheld camera, filming him 24/7 with the actor remaining in character from the moment he stepped on the plane departing the US.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: Much of the source music and score is by the duo of Andy Milburn and Tom Hadju, collectively known as Tomandandy. Additional songs that are in the film are from the era in which the book takes place, including The Cure, Love and Rockets, Public Image Ltd., Blondie, The Go-Go's, Yazoo, and Erasure. The film also includes songs by The Rapture, Milla Jovovich, Der Wolf, and Serge Gainsbourg.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The Mono SR simplified noise reduction format for cinema was developed by tomandandy for the film in 2001–2002. It is an open source audio format that maintains the simplicity of monaural sound when motion picture delivery requirements include Dolby Digital noise reduction.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: Multiple versions of the film exist, as cuts were made so it could receive less restrictive ratings in the U.S. and other areas.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: Lions Gate Films originally received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, but director Avary made cuts to the film in order to achieve an R rating, for "strong sexual content, drug use, language, and violent images".


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The Australian version of the film is uncut, retaining 22 seconds that were removed in the R-rated US version.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The French 2-disc Special Edition entitled "Les Lois de L'Attraction" is the longest known version available. It contains a small number of scenes not shown in the US and UK DVDs and also includes more footage of the suicide scene (including the girl actually cutting into her wrists, instead of just seeing her reaction). It also includes more content in commentary tracks than the other DVDs available.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The uncut version was shown at UK cinemas. However, the BBFC, under its power as censor under the Video Recordings Act 1984, shortened the suicide scene, even at the highest (18+) rating.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The home release of the film was supposed to include a commentary from Bret Easton Ellis. The author recalled on his podcast how he had been up late doing drugs the night before the recording session and had forgotten about it. He attended the session anyway, but gave a rambling commentary that was unusable.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: "The Rules of Attraction" received mixed reviews. It has an approval rating of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 142 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "A tiresome movie about unsympathetic college kids engaging in self-destructive behaviors". On Metacritic, it has a score of 50 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". According to Stephen Holden of "The New York Times", "if "The Rules of Attraction,"...is a much more faithful novel-to-screen adaptation than "American Psycho", its reverence for its source proves to be its biggest problem. Where Mary Harron re-invented "American Psycho" as an elegant comic horror film, Roger Avary, who wrote and directed "The Rules of Attraction," dives headlong into the depravity roiling in the student body of the fictional Camden College. Where Ms. Harron shrewdly created a surreal, high-styled ambiance for Mr. Ellis's monstrous humanoids to rattle around in, Mr. Avary wants to convince us that his movie's dissipated symbols of late capitalist excess really exist. The harder the movie tries to shock, the shriller it rings." Richard Corliss characterized the film as a "frenetically chic look at a daisy chain of collegiate craving...Sex, drugs and rack 'n' ruin; pretty people doing nasty things to one another...honestly, what more could you want in a movie?".


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: Bret Easton Ellis has said, "My favorite movie out of the four was "The Rules of Attraction". I thought it was the only one that captured the sensibility of the novel in a cinematic way. I know I'm sounding like a film critic on that, but I'm talking about that in an emotional way—as the writer of the novel. I watched that movie and thought they got it in a way that Mary Harron [director of "American Psycho"] didn't and "Less than Zero" didn't."


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The film grossed $11,819,244 worldwide on a budget of $4 million, thus making the film a minor box office success.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: At the 14th GLAAD Media Awards, the film was nominated for Best Film—Wide Release by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, losing to "The Hours".


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: Though the film has inspired mixed critical reaction, it has become something of a cult classic, which was covered by The A.V. Club for their "New Cult Canon" feature. In 2012, "Entertainment Weekly" cited the film as one of the "50 Best Movies You've Never Seen". In an April 2009 interview, author Ellis stated that the film adaptation of "The Rules of Attraction" came closest of all the movies based on his books to capturing his sensibility and recreating the world he created in his novels.


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: The DVD was released on February 18, 2003, by Lions Gate Entertainment. The DVD includes trailers and an audio commentary by Carrot Top, despite having nothing to do with the making of the film. He often comments on the attractiveness of each actress, begs Eric Stoltz for work every time he is on screen, and even occasionally sings along with the songs in the film, all the while making a number of self-deprecating jokes. Bret Easton Ellis later admitted on his podcast that Carrot Top was called in to replace his own commentary, which had been made under the influence of cocaine and tequila and merely observed the action onscreen. The DVD also features other commentaries from the cast and crew, including adult film performer Ron Jeremy speaking on one of the commentaries (one of the characters in the film mentions Jeremy's name in passing).


title: The Rules of Attraction (film)

text: In May 2014, Bravo announced that it would produce a TV series inspired by the book and film written by Avary for Lionsgate Television with Greg Shapiro serving as an executive producer.


title: Technology readiness level

text: Technology readiness levels (TRLs) are a method for estimating the maturity of technologies during the acquisition phase of a program. TRLs enable consistent and uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology. TRL is determined during a technology readiness assessment (TRA) that examines program concepts, technology requirements, and demonstrated technology capabilities. TRLs are based on a scale from 1 to 9 with 9 being the most mature technology.


title: Technology readiness level

text: TRL was developed at NASA during the 1970s. The US Department of Defense has used the scale for procurement since the early 2000s. By 2008 the scale was also in use at the European Space Agency (ESA).


title: Technology readiness level

text: The European Commission advised EU-funded research and innovation projects to adopt the scale in 2010. TRLs were consequently used in 2014 in the EU Horizon 2020 program. In 2013, the TRL scale was further canonized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) with the publication of the ISO 16290:2013 standard.


title: Technology readiness level

text: A comprehensive approach and discussion of TRLs has been published by the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO). Extensive criticism of the adoption of TRL scale by the European Union was published in The Innovation Journal, stating that the "concreteness and sophistication of the TRL scale gradually diminished as its usage spread outside its original context (space programs)".


title: Technology readiness level

text: A "Technology Readiness Level Calculator" was developed by the United States Air Force. This tool is a standard set of questions implemented in Microsoft Excel that produces a graphical display of the TRLs achieved. This tool is intended to provide a snapshot of technology maturity at a given point in time.


title: Technology readiness level

text: The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) Decision Point (DP) Tool originally named the "Technology Program Management Model" was developed by the United States Army. and later adopted by the DAU. The DP/TPMM is a TRL-gated high-fidelity activity model that provides a flexible management tool to assist Technology Managers in planning, managing, and assessing their technologies for successful technology transition. The model provides a core set of activities including systems engineering and program management tasks that are tailored to the technology development and management goals. This approach is comprehensive, yet it consolidates the complex activities that are relevant to the development and transition of a specific technology program into one integrated model.


title: Technology readiness level

text: The primary purpose of using technology readiness levels is to help management in making decisions concerning the development and transitioning of technology. It should be viewed as one of several tools that are needed to manage the progress of research and development activity within an organization.


title: Technology readiness level

text: TRL models tend to disregard negative and obsolescence factors. There have been suggestions made for incorporating such factors into assessments.


title: Technology readiness level

text: For complex technologies that incorporate various development stages, a more detailed scheme called the Technology Readiness Pathway Matrix has been developed going from basic units to applications in society. This tool aims to show that a readiness level of a technology is based on a less linear process but on a more complex pathway through its application in society.


title: Technology readiness level

text: Technology readiness levels were conceived at NASA in 1974 and formally defined in 1989. The original definition included seven levels, but in the 1990s NASA adopted the nine-level scale that subsequently gained widespread acceptance.


title: Technology readiness level

text: The TRL methodology was originated by Stan Sadin at NASA Headquarters in 1974. Ray Chase was then the JPL Propulsion Division representative on the Jupiter Orbiter design team. At the suggestion of Stan Sadin, Chase used this methodology to assess the technology readiness of the proposed JPL Jupiter Orbiter spacecraft design. Later Chase spent a year at NASA Headquarters helping Sadin institutionalize the TRL methodology. Chase joined ANSER in 1978, where he used the TRL methodology to evaluate the technology readiness of proposed Air Force development programs. He published several articles during the 1980s and 90s on reusable launch vehicles utilizing the TRL methodology. These documented an expanded version of the methodology that included design tools, test facilities, and manufacturing readiness on the Air Force Have Not program. The Have Not program manager, Greg Jenkins, and Ray Chase published the expanded version of the TRL methodology, which included design and manufacturing. Leon McKinney and Chase used the expanded version to assess the technology readiness of the ANSER team's Highly Reusable Space Transportation (HRST) concept. ANSER also created an adapted version of the TRL methodology for proposed Homeland Security Agency programs.


title: Technology readiness level

text: In 1995, John C. Mankins, NASA, wrote a paper that discussed NASA's use of TRL, extended the scale, and proposed expanded descriptions for each TRL. In 1999, the United States General Accounting Office produced an influential report that examined the differences in technology transition between the DOD and private industry. It concluded that the DOD takes greater risks and attempts to transition emerging technologies at lesser degrees of maturity than does private industry. The GAO concluded that use of immature technology increased overall program risk. The GAO recommended that the DOD make wider use of technology readiness levels as a means of assessing technology maturity prior to transition. In 2001, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology issued a memorandum that endorsed use of TRLs in new major programs. Guidance for assessing technology maturity was incorporated into the "Defense Acquisition Guidebook". Subsequently, the DOD developed detailed guidance for using TRLs in the 2003 DOD Technology Readiness Assessment Deskbook.


title: Technology readiness level

text: Because of their relevance to Habitation, 'Habitation Readiness Levels (HRL)' were formed by a group of NASA engineers (Jan Connolly, Kathy Daues, Robert Howard, and Larry Toups). They have been created to address habitability requirements and design aspects in correlation with already established and widely used standards by different agencies, including NASA TRLs.


title: Technology readiness level

text: The European Space Agency adopted the TRL scale in the mid-2000s. Its handbook closely follows the NASA definition of TRLs. The universal usage of TRL in EU policy was proposed in the final report of the first High Level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies, and it was implemented in the subsequent EU framework program, called H2020, running from 2013 to 2020. This means not only space and weapons programs, but everything from nanotechnology to informatics and communication technology.


title: Hank Pym

text: Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appeared in "Tales to Astonish" #27 (January 1962). The character, a scientist that debuted in a standalone science-fiction anthology story, returned several issues later as the original iteration of the superhero Ant-Man with the power to shrink to the size of an insect. Alongside his crime-fighting partner-wife, Janet van Dyne, he goes on to assume other superhero identities, including the size-changing Giant-Man and Goliath; the insect-themed Yellowjacket; and briefly the Wasp. He is a founding member of the Avengers superhero team as well as the creator of the robotic villain, Ultron.


title: Hank Pym

text: Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, Hank Pym has since been featured in several Marvel-endorsed products such as animated films, video games, and television series. Michael Douglas plays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films "Ant-Man" (2015), "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018) and "" (2019), and is set to reprise the role in the film "" (2023). Additionally, Douglas voiced alternate timeline versions in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?" (2021).


title: Hank Pym

text: Hank Pym debuted in a seven-page solo cover story titled "The Man in the Ant Hill" (about a character who tests shrinking technology on himself) in the science fiction/fantasy anthology "Tales to Astonish" #27 (cover date January 1962). The creative team was editor-plotter Stan Lee, writer Larry Lieber, penciller Jack Kirby, and inker Dick Ayers, with Lee stating in 2008: "I did one comic book called 'The Man in the Ant Hill' about a guy who shrunk down and there were ants or bees chasing him. That sold so well that I thought making him into a superhero might be fun."


title: Hank Pym

text: As a result, Pym was revived eight issues later as the costumed superhero Ant-Man who starred in the 13-page, the three-chapter story "Return of the Ant-Man/An Army of Ants/The Ant-Man's Revenge" in "Tales to Astonish" #35 (September 1962). The character's adventures became an ongoing feature in the title. Issue #44 (June 1963) featured the debut of his socialite girlfriend and laboratory assistant Janet van Dyne. Janet adopted the costumed identity of the Wasp and co-starred in Pym's subsequent appearances in "Tales to Astonish". Wasp also on occasion acted as a framing-sequence host for backup stories in the title. In September 1963, Lee and Kirby created the superhero title "The Avengers", and Ant-Man and Wasp were established in issue #1 as founding members of the team.


title: Hank Pym

text: Decades later, Lee theorized as to why "Ant-Man never became one of our top sellers or had his own book," saying,


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym began what would be a constant shifting of superhero identities in "Tales to Astonish", becoming the Giant-Man in issue #49 (November 1963). Pym and van Dyne continued to costar in the title until issue #69 (July 1965), while simultaneously appearing in "The Avengers" until issue #15 (April 1965), after which the couple temporarily left the team.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym rejoined the Avengers and adopted the new identity Goliath in "Avengers" #28 (May 1966). Gradually falling to mental strain, he adopted the fourth superhero identity Yellowjacket in issue #59 (December 1968). Pym reappeared as Ant-Man in "Avengers" #93 (November 1971) and for issues #4–10 starred in the lead story of the first volume of "Marvel Feature" (July 1972July 1973). During this run, he appeared in a redesigned costume with a nail as a weapon. After appearing occasionally as Yellowjacket in the 1980s and battling mental and emotional issues, Pym would temporarily abandon his costumed persona. Pym joined the West Coast Avengers as a scientist and inventor in "West Coast Avengers" vol. 2, #21 (June 1987). The character returned to the Avengers as Giant-Man in "The Avengers" vol. 3, #1 (February 1998). When the team disbanded after a series of tragedies, Pym, using the Yellowjacket persona again, took a leave of absence beginning with vol. 3, #85 (September 2004).


title: Hank Pym

text: Following the death of van Dyne, a grieving Pym took on yet another superhero identity as a new iteration of Wasp, in tribute to the woman he had married and divorced by this time, in the one-shot publication "Secret Invasion: Requiem" (January 2009). Giant-Man appeared as a supporting character in "Avengers Academy" from issue #1 (August 2010) through its final issue #39 (January 2013). Pym returned as the Wasp in the mini-series "Ant-Man & The Wasp" (January 2011) and also appeared as a regular character in the 2010-2013 "Secret Avengers" series from issue #22 (April 2012) through its final issue #37 (March 2013).


title: Hank Pym

text: After "Secret Avengers", Pym joined the "Avengers A.I." after beating his creation Ultron. Then he appeared in many comic books like "Daredevil" (Vol. 3 and 4) and the graphic novel "Rage of Ultron".


title: Hank Pym

text: Biochemist Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym discovers an unusual set of subatomic particles he labels "Pym particles". Entrapping these within two separate serums, he creates a size-altering formula and a reversal formula, testing them on himself. Reduced to the size of an insect, he becomes trapped in an anthill before he eventually escapes and uses the reversal formula to restore himself to his normal size. Deciding the serums are too dangerous to exist, he destroys them. Shortly afterwards, he reconsiders his decision and recreates his serums. Pym's experience in the anthill inspires him to study ants, and he constructs a cybernetic helmet that allows him to communicate with and control them. Pym designs a costume made of unstable molecules to prevent bites or scratches from the ants and reinvents himself as the superhero Ant-Man.


title: Hank Pym

text: After several adventures, Pym is contacted by Dr. Vernon van Dyne asking for aid in contacting alien life. Pym refuses but is attracted to Vernon's socialite daughter Janet van Dyne. Vernon is subsequently killed by an alien criminal who teleports himself to Earth, and Janet soon asks for Pym's help in avenging Vernon's death. Pym reveals his secret identity to Janet and uses Pym particles to graft wasp wings beneath her shoulders, which appear when Janet shrinks. Janet assumes the alias of the Wasp, and together they find and defeat Vernon's killer. The pair become founding members of the superhero team known as the Avengers.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym eventually adopts his first alternate identity as the 12-foot-tall Giant-Man. (In comics three decades later, a flashback presents Pym as adopting the Giant-Man identity at that time out of feelings of inadequacy when compared to powerful teammates Iron Man and Thor.) Pym and the Wasp develop a romantic relationship. Shortly afterward, Pym and van Dyne take a leave of absence from the Avengers.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym adopts a new superhero identity, "Goliath", upon his return to the Avengers. A mishap traps the character in giant form for several issues and affects his self-esteem. After regaining control of his size-shifting ability, Pym creates the robot Ultron that accidentally achieves sentience and becomes one of the Avengers's greatest foes. During a botched experiment, Pym accidentally inhales chemicals that induce changes in his mind, manifesting as a personality crisis. Suffering from the chemicals' effects, he reappears at Avengers Mansion in the cocky new persona of Yellowjacket and claims to have disposed of Pym. Only the Wasp realizes that Yellowjacket is Pym. She takes advantage of his offer of marriage. Pym eventually recovers from the chemicals during a battle with the Circus of Crime at the wedding.


title: Hank Pym

text: After several adventures with the Avengers, including another encounter with Ultron, the pair take another leave of absence. The heroes re-encounter Hank Pym at the beginning of the Kree-Skrull War, and once again as the Ant-Man persona and has a series of solo adventures.


title: Hank Pym

text: After aiding fellow superhero team known as the Defenders as Yellowjacket, Pym returns to the Avengers. He is eventually captured by an upgraded Ultron that brainwashes his creator, causing the character to regress to his original Ant-Man costume and personality — arriving at Avengers Mansion, thinking it to be the very first meeting of the team. Seeing several unfamiliar members, Pym attacks the team until stopped by the Wasp. After Ultron's brainwashing is reversed, Pym rejoins the Avengers as Yellowjacket. Pym is forced to briefly leave the team when the roster is restructured by government liaison Henry Peter Gyrich.


title: Hank Pym

text: Also at this time, he noticed Scott Lang's theft of the Ant-Man suit. After Darren Cross's defeat and aware of Lang's use of the stolen goods, Pym let Lang keep the equipment, albeit only to uphold the law.


title: Hank Pym

text: Returning 14 issues later, Hank Pym participates in several missions until, after demonstrating hostile behavior toward Janet van Dyne, he attacks a foe from behind once the opponent had ceased fighting. Captain America suspends Yellowjacket from Avengers duty pending the verdict of a court-martial.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym suffers a mental breakdown and concocts a plan to salvage his credibility. He plans to build a robot and program it to launch an attack on the Avengers; Pym will then counter the false flag attack at a critical moment using his knowledge of the robot's weaknesses, thereby presenting himself as the other Avengers' savior. The Wasp discovers the plan and begs Pym to stop, whereupon he strikes her.


title: Hank Pym

text: Left penniless, Pym is manipulated by an old foe, the presumed-dead Egghead, who tricks Pym into stealing the national reserve of the metal adamantium. Pym is confronted by the Avengers and blamed for the theft, as Egghead erases all evidence of his own involvement. Pym, in turn, blames Egghead, a criminal still believed dead by the other Avengers. This is taken by Pym's former teammates as further proof of his madness, and he is incarcerated. During Pym's imprisonment, Janet has a brief relationship with Tony Stark. Egghead later attempts to kill Pym but is himself accidentally killed by Hawkeye. With the perpetrator of the original theft now exposed, Pym is cleared of all charges. After bidding farewell to Janet and his teammates, Pym leaves to devote himself full-time to research.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym reappears as a member of the West Coast Avengers, first in an advisory role, then as a full member. He answers to "Doctor Pym" in the field, using none of the names or costumes associated with his previous superhero identities. He begins a short relationship with teammate Tigra. After being taunted by old foe Whirlwind, Pym contemplates suicide, but is stopped by Firebird. Pym and Janet eventually resume a romantic relationship.


title: Hank Pym

text: The character returns to the Avengers, joining the East Coast team as Giant-Man. The pair, together with many of the other Avengers, apparently sacrifice themselves to stop the villain Onslaught, but actually exist in a pocket universe for a year before returning to the mainstream Marvel Universe.


title: Hank Pym

text: Hank Pym returns and aids the team as Giant-Man, and makes a significant contribution by defeating criminal mastermind Imus Champion and his flawed creation Ultron, simultaneously overcoming his old issues of guilt over Ultron's crimes.


title: Hank Pym

text: During the Destiny War between Kang the Conqueror and Immortus, two versions of Hank Pym are drawn in: Giant-Man of the present and Yellowjacket immediately prior to his marriage to Janet van Dyne. Yellowjacket briefly betrays the team to Immortus and the powerful Time-Keepers try to create a timeline where he will not turn back into Pym, but he rejects this decision in time to help his allies. Observing the final battle, Libra—who brought the team together by using the Destiny Force to tap into his subconscious awareness of the cosmic balance—reflects that both Pyms were necessary so that Yellowjacket's betrayal could bring the team into the right position to attack the Time-Keepers, while Pym's presence as Giant-Man both provided a stable support and irritated Yellowjacket to provoke his own actions.


title: Hank Pym

text: Back in the present, an encounter with Kulan Gath results in Pym being split into his two personas of Pym and Yellowjacket, after a spell cast by Gath temporarily transforms Pym into a swashbuckler-style Yellowjacket, followed by the Yellowjacket persona manifesting a physical presence from the extradimensional bio-mass Pym uses to grow. Yellowjacket's stability deteriorates in a confrontation with Diablo. The two personalities are restored when the Wasp helps the two halves realize they need each other. Pym is eventually able to resolve his problems and adopts his Yellowjacket persona again.


title: Hank Pym

text: After the events of the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline, Pym takes a leave of absence, and in the one-shot "Avengers: Finale", he and Janet leave for England to rekindle their relationship.


title: Hank Pym

text: As Yellowjacket, Pym is a central character in the "Civil War" storyline, joining those heroes that support the Superhuman Registration Act. At the conclusion of the Civil War, Pym is named "Man of the Year" by "Time" magazine for his role in freeing several captive anti-registration heroes. Pym becomes one of the administrators at Camp Hammond, a U.S. military base in Stamford, Connecticut, for the training of registered superheroes in the government program The Initiative. Pym and Janet's relationship fails, and Pym again begins a romantic relationship with teammate Tigra.


title: Hank Pym

text: Following the publication of "Civil War", Marvel's "Secret Invasion" storyline uses flashbacks to present the then-current version of the character as an impostor who replaced the real Pym at some point in the books' fictional history prior to the events of "Civil War". This impostor is an extraterrestrial of the shape-shifting Skrull race participating in a covert invasion of Earth; Pym's experiences throughout the "Civil War" series and related series are retold in brief from the perspective of the impostor and its allies. The impostor is exposed and defeated by the hero Crusader. After the final battle between Earth's heroes and the Skrulls, Pym is found with other "replaced" heroes in a Skrull vessel. When Janet is seemingly killed in battle, Pym takes on a new superhero persona, the Wasp, in tribute to her. He rejoins the Avengers and eventually leads the team.


title: Hank Pym

text: The cosmic entity Eternity reveals to Pym that he is Earth's "Scientist Supreme", the scientific counterpart to Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. The Norse trickster-god Loki later claims to have been posing as Eternity in order to manipulate Pym.


title: Hank Pym

text: Hank Pym creates Avengers Academy, a program to help train young people with newly acquired superpowers. Pym returns to his Giant-Man identity in "Avengers Academy" #7. Pym later joins the superhero team known as the Secret Avengers. When a future version of Pym's sentient robot Ultron conquers the world of the present in the "Age of Ultron" storyline, a time-travel plan involving Wolverine and the Invisible Woman succeeds in having the past Pym make a change in his creation of Ultron, which destroys the robot with a computer virus.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym and Monica Chang, A.I. Division Chief of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., assemble a new team called the Avengers A.I., consisting of Pym, Victor Mancha (his "grandson" by way of Ultron), the Vision, and a Doombot. The team is later joined by Alexis, who is eventually revealed to be one of six sentient A.I.s to be spawned from the Ultron virus along with Dimitrios. Months later, Pym, again using the Yellowjacket identity, is shown as a member of the Illuminati.


title: Hank Pym

text: Later, an accident merges Pym and Ultron during Ultron's latest attack. After the hybrid human/machine eventually abandons Earth, a funeral service is held in Pym's honor, and Scott Lang receives one of Hank's labs.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym/Ultron resurfaces after helping the crew of a spaceship under attack. Ultron is now Pym's armor rather than being merged with him. Back on Earth, he rejoins the Avengers, but his teammates and others discover Ultron has gained control and is impersonating Pym. The Avengers end up defeating him by plunging him into the sun, but both Hank and Ultron survive and continue to do battle with one another internally.


title: Hank Pym

text: Hank is later presented as having fathered a daughter Nadia through his ex-wife Maria Trovaya, and Nadia becomes the latest Wasp. It is also revealed by Janet to Nadia that Hank has bipolar disorder. It had been discussed in "Avengers A.I." that Hank was aware of his disorder and was monitoring it himself to predict when and how often his mood swings may occur.


title: Hank Pym

text: During the "Secret Empire" storyline, the Ultron Pym had set up a base in an unidentified forest in Alaska. Upon being alerted by the approach of Sam Wilson's task force by a robot version of Edwin Jarvis, Ultron Pym decides to give his "family" a warm welcome. When Tony Stark A.I.'s team and the Hydra Supreme Steve Rogers alongside Hydra's Avengers confront each other, they are captured by Ultron Pym, who forces both teams to sit at a dinner table. The Ultron Pym argues that he is doing this because the Avengers have become less of a family over the years as so many of them jump to obey Captain America or Iron Man despite past experience confirming that this should be a bad idea. The Tony Stark A.I. counters that the only reason the team failed as a family was because of Hank Pym's attack on Wasp. Outraged, Ultron Pym nearly attacks the other heroes, but Scott Lang is able to talk him down by arguing that Hank Pym remains his own inspiration. Ultron Pym allows the Tony Stark A.I.'s team to leave with the Cosmic Cube fragment, arguing that he will leave Hydra Supreme's plans with Hydra alone as it appears to be the best chance for world peace.


title: Hank Pym

text: After discovering that the Infinity Stones were reformed back into the Universe, Ultron Pym decided to collect them all. He sends the aliens he had infected with his virus to take the Space Stone from Wolverine while he himself went to claim the Soul Stone. The aliens eventually failed at their task, but Ultron Pym was able to steal the Soul Gem from Magus after ruthlessly killing him. However, unbeknownst to Ultron Pym, once he claimed the Soul Stone, the fragment of Hank Pym's soul entered the Soul World where he was greeted by Gamora's soul fragment, who revealed to him that he was going to be trapped there forever. Soon afterwards, the fragment of Hank's soul encounters and battles a Soul World monster known as Devondra who trapped Hank in the silk it generates. This silk creates a deluding dream which made Hank believe that he had escaped the Soul World and reunited himself with the Avengers. Devondra then devours Hank's soul fragment under the watch of Gamora's soul fragment.


title: Hank Pym

text: As Ultron Pym is using Saiph as his base of operations and plans to unleash the Ultron Virus on a cosmic scale, Silver Surfer goes to look for Galactus. Even though Galactus is no longer a world-eater, Silver Surfer informs him of what is happening and asks for his help to stop Ultron Pym's plot. However, Ultron Pym had already launched rockets filled with the Ultron Virus in order to infect the entire galaxy while saving Earth as his last target. Galactus initially refuses to consume Saiph due to the consequences of destroying it until he agrees with Silver Surfer. This results in Saiph and the rockets transporting the Ultron Virus being destroyed. The Ultron Pym got wounded in the escape and Adam Warlock claims the Soul Gem.


title: Hank Pym

text: During "The Ultron Agenda" arc, Ultron/Hank Pym returned to Earth with plans to merge robots with humans like how Hank Pym became merged with Ultron so that he can make the ultimate lifeform. In addition, he started to call this form "Ultron Pym." After testing it on some people and some experiments on Wonder Man and Vision, Ultron Pym planned to make a fusion of Jocasta and Wasp. Iron Man and Machine Man interfered with the resulting battle causing Iron Man to be molecularly bonded to the Ultronbuster armor. The combined efforts of Stark Unlimited enabled them to create an atomic separator that separated Tony Stark from the Ultronbuster armor and Wonder Man from Vision. Ultron Pym prepared to take revenge on Iron Man. This led to Iron Man revealing what he discovered about the human and robot fusion. The person who merged with it has died and that the robot can only simulate their personality. In other words, Hank Pym was long dead when he accidentally merged with Ultron. Learning about this and not wanting to risk proving Iron Man's point by having the atomic separator used on him, Ultron surrendered to Iron Man knowing that Hank is dead.


title: Hank Pym

text: Hank Pym is a scientific genius with PhDs in biochemistry and nanotechnology and expertise in the fields of quantum physics, robotics/cybernetics, artificial intelligence, and entomology. Pym discovered the subatomic "Pym particles" that enable mass to be shunted or gained from an alternate dimension, thereby changing the size of himself or other beings or objects. Pym is the creator of the robot Ultron, whom he created as an experiment after examining Dragon Man, showing his knack for AI and cybernetics.


title: Hank Pym

text: After constant experimentation with size-changing via ingested capsules and particle-filled gas, Pym is eventually able to change size at will, and mentally generate Pym particles to change the sizes of other living beings or inanimate objects. Pym retains his normal strength when "ant" size, and possesses greatly increased strength and stamina when in "giant" form, courtesy of the increased mass. Pym's costume is synthetic stretch fabric composed of unstable molecules and automatically adapts to his shifting sizes.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym also uses a cybernetic helmet he created for achieving rudimentary communication with ants and other higher order insects. As Yellowjacket, then later as Wasp, Pym wears artificial wings and has bio-blasters called "stingers" built into his gloves. He took up the Wasp mantle in memory of Janet, who was believed to be dead at the time.


title: Hank Pym

text: Pym also carries a variety of weaponry, provisions, and scientific instruments, which are shrunken to the size of microchips and stored in the pockets of his uniform. An experienced superhero, Pym is a skilled hand-to-hand fighter. In his first appearance, he claimed to be a master of judo, is skilled in wrestling and karate and has since been seen in combat with opponents of both his own size and radically larger than himself (as a result of his size-changing abilities).


title: Hank Pym

text: During his stay with the West Coast Avengers, Pym constructed a one-man vehicle with artificial intelligence named Rover. Rover is able to communicate with Pym and is capable of flight and discharging energy and acid.


title: Hank Pym

text: There are a number of characters in the Marvel universe that have also used the "Pym particles" to effect size changing. These include Janet van Dyne, Clint Barton, Bill Foster, Scott Lang, Erik Josten, Rita DeMara, Cassandra "Cassie" Lang, Eric O'Grady, Tom Foster, Shang-Chi, Raz Malhotra and Nadia Pym. Although they do not use their powers for altering their size, both Wonder Man and Vision derive their powers from Pym particles.


title: Hank Pym

text: In the world of "Marvel 1602", natural philosopher Henri le Pym is forced by Baron von Octavius to devise a serum that would cure him of a fatal disease. Pym is married to Janette.


title: Hank Pym

text: In an alternate future in the miniseries "The Last Avengers Story" #1-2 (November 1995), Ultron wishes for a decisive victory over the Avengers. After eliminating the team, he has Hank Pym gather a new group. After recruiting other heroes and mercenaries, Pym leads them to victory though fatalities are heavy on both sides.


title: Hank Pym

text: Hank Pym is featured in several of the "Marvel Zombies" miniseries, appearing as one of the cannibalistic zombies in "Marvel Zombies" #1-5 (February–June 2006), "Marvel Zombies 2" #1-5 (December 2007April 2008) and "Marvel Zombies Return" #4 (October 2009). Although he experiences a brief return to morality in "Marvel Zombies 2", throughout most of the series he is presented as being comfortable with his transformation, noting to a captured Black Panther that he thinks he might still eat people even if he was cured of the infection, and setting out to consume a new universe even after learning that the hunger can be beaten. He is opposed in his expansion efforts by the zombie Spider-Man, who finally manages to defeat his own forces with nanites configured to 'eat' zombie flesh.


title: Hank Pym

text: The MC2 imprint title "A-Next", set in a futuristic alternate universe, features Henry Pym and Janet Pym's twin children (Hope Pym and Henry Pym Jr.), who have turned into the supervillains Red Queen and Big Man respectively.


title: Hank Pym

text: In the post-apocalyptic "Old Man Logan" storyline that takes place on Earth-807128, Hank Pym (as Giant-Man) is one of the numerous superheroes killed by the Red Skull's army of villains. Decades after his demise, a Connecticut settlement called Pym Falls is built around his massive skeleton. In addition, his Ant-Man helmet is shown in the possession of a young boy named Dwight, who uses it to command an army of ants to enforce the payment of tolls across a bridge.


title: Hank Pym

text: It the pages of "Old Man Logan that takes place on Earth-21923, it was shown that during the fight in Connecticut that Giant-Man had became enraged when the Wasp was killed by Hobgoblin. This led him to crush Vulture with his hands and step on Crossbones. As he charged the villains, Avalanche used his abilities to shake the ground. Moloids emerged and attack Giant-Man, causing him to fall to the ground.


title: Hank Pym

text: The Ultimate Marvel imprint version of Henry "Hank" Pym is portrayed as a brilliant but mentally fragile scientist. He takes Prozac to battle his mental instability and depressive episodes. He gains his Giant-Man abilities after transfusing the blood of his mutant wife Janet Pym. The character is expelled from the Ultimates after his abusive behavior ends his marriage and his Giant-Man serum is used by S.H.I.E.L.D. to make an entire Giant-Men team. Now a pariah, he briefly joins with both pseudo heroes and then anti-American villains in his Ant-Man persona. The character eventually rejoins the Ultimates in his Yellowjacket identity. During the events of "Ultimatum" storyline, he sacrifices himself against the Multiple Man's suicide bomber duplicates to save the remaining Ultimates' lives.


title: Hank Pym

text: After his death, the character's various formulas/devices are still in usage: the Giant-Man formula further replicated by S.H.I.E.L.D. to have multiple Giant-Women agents while his technology is eventually acquired by HYDRA.


title: Hank Pym

text: Giant-Man was later revived alongside his fellow Ultimates when the Superflow that separated the different universes was destroyed by Maker and High Evolutionary.


title: Hank Pym

text: After Earth-1610 was restored, Giant-Man was seen with the Ultimates when they help Spider-Man fight Green Goblin.


title: Hank Pym

text: Henry Pym appears in issue 13 of "" as a scientist working for Janet's father with no superhero identity, and was the one who gave his wife superpowers. He is visited by Spider-Man and Storm when Janet van Dyne (Giant-Girl in this continuity) falls under insect mind-control. He tells them how to free her (severing the antennae on her mask), gives her a new costume, and uses an insect telepathy helmet (identical to his Earth-616 Ant-Man helmet) to create an illusion of several giant-sized people, scaring the insects away. He returns in issue 20, becoming Ant-Man. He not only joins the team but begins a relationship with Janet.


title: Hank Pym

text: In the 2021 "Heroes Reborn" reality, Hank Pym is a scientist and a devoted Christian who is a former friend and sidekick of Hyperion. When he got consumed by his cybernetic experiments, Hank figuratively and literally was transformed into Ultron which forced Hyperion to banish him to the Negative Zone. Ultron was among the inmates who escaped from the Negative Zone. Hyperion defeated Ultron by dismantling him.


title: Hank Pym

text: Hank Pym appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by Michael Douglas, with Dax Griffin and John Michael Morris serving as Douglas' younger body doubles in flashback sequences. This version originally operated as Ant-Man and an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. decades earlier until his wife Janet van Dyne / Wasp seemingly died during one of their missions and he discovered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attempts to recreate his Pym Particle formula and resigned. In the present, he recruits Scott Lang to become the new Ant-Man, help Pym's daughter Hope van Dyne become the new Wasp, rescue Janet from the Quantum Realm, and become a victim of the Blip. Pym is introduced in the live-action film "Ant-Man" (2015), and makes subsequent appearances in the live-action films "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018) and "" (2019). Additionally, Douglas voices alternate timeline versions of Pym in the Disney+ animated series, "What If...?", with one version becoming Yellowjacket, and will reprise his role in the live-action film "".


title: Hank Pym

text: IGN listed Hank Pym as the 67th-greatest comic book hero, and 16th in their list of "The Top 50 Avengers".


title: Hank Pym

text: Comic Book Resources placed him as one of the superheroes Marvel wants you to forget and ranked him as the 6th-best superhero doctor both in Marvel and DC history.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Maya Kasandra Soetoro-Ng (; ; born August 15, 1970) is an Indonesian-American academic, who is a faculty specialist at the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, based in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is also a consultant for the Obama Foundation, working to develop the Asia-Pacific Leaders Program. Formerly a high school history teacher, Soetoro-Ng is the maternal half-sister of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng was born in Saint Carolus Hospital, a Catholic hospital, in Jakarta, Indonesia, the daughter of American cultural anthropologist Ann Dunham, an American of Swiss, German, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English descent and Indonesian businessman Lolo Soetoro. Her elder half-brother is the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama. She has said she was named after American poet Maya Angelou.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng and Obama spent several years together in Indonesia and in Hawaii before her mother decided to return to Indonesia with her. After her parents divorced in 1980, her father remarried. From this marriage, Soetoro-Ng has another half-brother, Yusuf Aji Soetoro (b. 1981) and a half-sister, Rahayu Nurmaida Soetoro (b. 1984).


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: While living in Indonesia, Soetoro-Ng was home-schooled by her mother. From 1981 to 1984, Soetoro-Ng attended Jakarta International School. Like Obama, Soetoro-Ng returned to Hawaii and attended the private Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, graduating in 1988.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng received her B.A. degree from Barnard College of Columbia University. She then received an M.A. in secondary language studies and an M.A. in Secondary Education from New York University. In 2006, she received a Ph.D. in international comparative education from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng has often spoken warmly about her relationship with her older half-brother, which she says has remained strong even though they have often lived far apart. As adults, they have often celebrated Christmas in Hawaii, and savor the time they spend with their families together.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng is currently a faculty specialist for the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, which is based in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as well as a consultant for the Obama Foundation's Leaders Program: Asia-Pacific. Dr. Soetoro-Ng teaches courses on: Peace Education; the History of Peace Movements; and Leadership for Social Change. She also oversees externships for undergraduates who are majoring or minoring in Peace Studies and coordinates the institute's community and global service learning programs.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng was an assistant professor at the Institute for Teacher Education at the University of Hawai'i College of Education and continues to do some consulting work, promoting international exchange and understanding, in partnership with the East West Center. She authored a children's book, "Ladder to the Moon", that was inspired by her mother and her daughter, Suhaila; it was published in 2011. She is working on a book about peace education and a young adult novel entitled Yellowood.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng was a high school history teacher at and the Education Laboratory School, both in Honolulu, Hawaii. She previously taught and developed curriculum at The Learning Project, an alternative public middle school in New York City, from 1996 to 2000.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: In 2009, Soetoro-Ng helped bring her mother's dissertation to publication in the form of the book "Surviving against the Odds: Village Industry in Indonesia". She wrote a foreword to the book and participated in its launch at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: In 2019, Soetoro-Ng, along with Todd Shuster and Jennifer Gates cofounded The Peace Studio: a non-profit organization whose mission is to support, train and unite the next generation of artists, journalists and storytellers to inspire people everywhere to become active peacebuilders.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng's doctoral research at the University of Hawaii at Manoa focused on Multicultural and International Education. She examined the use of narrative to develop more complex understandings of identity in multicultural classrooms. She promoted the learning of Social Studies—history and current events—from multiple perspectives. She has developed and implemented peace education curricula in public high schools and for K-12 teachers in Colleges of Education. With partner Kerrie Urosevich, she founded the nonprofit Ceeds of Peace (ceedsofpeace.org), which connects families, community leaders and educators in a 360 degree approach to raise and educate peacebuilding leaders.<ref name="Ceedsofpeace.org/about-us"></ref> With environmental law professor Maxine Burkett, she co-founded the nonprofit, Institute for Climate and Peace (www.climateandpeace.org) which works for climate justice at the intersection of climate change and positive peacebuilding.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: In May 2007, Soetoro-Ng announced that she would assist Obama in his campaign for presidency, and took two months off to campaign for him. She participated in the 2008 Democratic National Convention, where she spoke briefly about growing up with her brother and brought an Asian-American presence to the stage.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng also spoke briefly about the Obama administration's accomplishments at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 4, 2012, sharing the podium with First Lady Michelle Obama's older brother, former Oregon State University men's basketball team head coach, Craig Robinson.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: In 2003, Maya Soetoro married Konrad Ng (Simplified Chinese: 吴加儒), a Chinese Canadian from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Ng, who is of Malaysian Chinese descent, is now also a US citizen. He was the director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii's Academy of Creative Media. He is now the executive director of the Doris Duke Shangri La Center for Islamic Arts and Culture in Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii. They have two daughters, Suhaila and Savita.


title: Maya Soetoro-Ng

text: Soetoro-Ng has described herself as "philosophically Buddhist". She speaks Indonesian, Spanish, and English.


title: Gansu

text: Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.


title: Gansu

text: The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and borders Mongolia (Govi-Altai Province), Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. Part of Gansu's territory is located in the Gobi Desert. The Qilian mountains are located in the south of the Province.


title: Gansu

text: Gansu has a population of 26 million, ranking 22nd in China. Its population is mostly Han, along with Hui, Dongxiang and Tibetan minorities. The most common language is Mandarin. Gansu is among the poorest administrative divisions in China, ranking 31st, last place, in GDP per capita as of 2019.


title: Gansu

text: The State of Qin originated in what is now southeastern Gansu and went on to form the first known Empire in what is now China. The Northern Silk Road ran through the Hexi Corridor, which passes through Gansu, resulting in it being an important strategic outpost and communications link for the Chinese empire.


title: Gansu

text: The city of Jiayuguan, the second most populated city in Gansu, is known for its section of the Great Wall and the Jiayuguan Pass fortress complex.


title: Gansu

text: Gansu is a compound of the names of Gānzhou (now the main urban district and seat of Zhangye) and Sùzhou (an old name and the modern seat of Jiuquan), formerly the two most important Chinese settlements in the Hexi Corridor.


title: Gansu

text: Gansu is abbreviated as "" () or "" (), and was also known as Longxi () or Longyou () prior to early Western Han dynasty, in reference to the Long Mountain (the modern day Liupan Mountain's southern section) between eastern Gansu and western Shaanxi.


title: Gansu

text: Gansu's name is a compound name first used during the Song dynasty. It is a combination of the names of two prefecture () in the Sui and Tang dynasty: Gan (around Zhangye) and Su (around Jiuquan). Its eastern part forms part of one of the cradles of ancient Chinese civilisation.


title: Gansu

text: In prehistoric times, Gansu was host to Neolithic cultures. The Dadiwan culture, from where archaeologically significant artifacts have been excavated, flourished in the eastern end of Gansu from about 6000BC to about 3000BC. The Majiayao culture and part of the Qijia culture took root in Gansu from 3100 BC to 2700 BC and 2400 BC to 1900 BC respectively.


title: Gansu

text: The Yuezhi originally lived in the very western part of Gansu until they were forced to emigrate by the Xiongnu around 177 BCE.


title: Gansu

text: The State of Qin, known in China as the founding state of the Chinese empire, grew out from the southeastern part of Gansu, specifically the Tianshui area. The Qin name is believed to have originated, in part, from the area. Qin tombs and artifacts have been excavated from Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200-year-old map of Guixian County.


title: Gansu

text: In imperial times, Gansu was an important strategic outpost and communications link for the Chinese empire, as the Hexi Corridor runs along the "neck" of the province. The Han dynasty extended the Great Wall across this corridor, building the strategic Yumenguan (Jade Gate Pass, near Dunhuang) and Yangguan fort towns along it. Remains of the wall and the towns can be found there. The Ming dynasty built the Jiayuguan outpost in Gansu. To the west of Yumenguan and the Qilian Mountains, at the northwestern end of the province, the Yuezhi, Wusun, and other nomadic tribes dwelt (Shiji 123), occasionally figuring in regional imperial Chinese geopolitics.


title: Gansu

text: By the Qingshui treaty, concluded in 823 between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty, China lost much of western Gansu province for a significant period.


title: Gansu

text: After the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate, a Buddhist Yugur (Uyghur) state called the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom was established by migrating Uyghurs from the Khaganate in part of Gansu that lasted from 848 to 1036AD.