12:01 PM
Brad
Plot Overview: Pym crashes through the front of the house as a giant and in a new costume. The gardener flees in terror at the sight and the Wasp arrives shortly afterwards. She gives Hank a shrinking pill and he becomes normal size again. Hank states that if he grows taller than 12 feet tall that he becomes too weak to stand.
Pym has turned his gas into pills and tests the growth one out with the help of Jane. The gardener tells the police of what he saw but they don't have time for his claims. They have reports of people being erased.
The Living Eraser is nearby and erases a hotdog vendor that saw him. The Living Eraser has 5 targets and has erased 3 already. He finds the next victim and easily erases him and then reveals that Hank Pym is his next target.
Hank and Jane are going over the new pills and Hank has made belts to carry their pills. Jane tries out her pills and becomes Wasp size. Suddenly the Living Eraser strikes and quickly erases Hank Pym.
Hank wakes up in Dimension Z and finds out the Living Eraser is from a race of people that have been observing the human race for several years. They saw the human race test the atomic bomb and need the technology for themselves. That's why they sent the Living Eraser to bring back nuclear scientists. Hank tries to escape but they capture him. The Wasp reveals herself and gives Hank a shrinking pill. Hank and the Wasp escape into the duct work and find the captured scientists.
Hank becomes Giant-Man and grows to 12 feet tall. He enjoys his new found strength and tosses the aliens around like they are nothing. Giant-Man reeks havoc until he finds a lone soldier and makes him take them to the Living Eraser. Giant-Man is caught in a glass cage and the Eraser reveals how his powers work with a little device on his hand. The Wasp silently moves into action and releases Giant-Man from the cage. Giant-Man grabs the Eraser and takes the device from him. Giant-Man returns everyone back to the Earth. Hank and Jane read the news article about their exploits as the issue comes to a close.
My Take: The addition of growth powers to Hank Pym are a good place to go for these stories. Getting small only has so many places to go. But as a giant, Pym can have more standard super hero battles and some more standard enemies. It's a welcome addition to me as I didn't think the Ant-Man stories were really working the way they were.
This issue was okay. I liked the gardener freaking out when Hank came crashing through his house at the beginning. I'm kind of tired of how they approach the Hank and Jane dynamic in this book. Jane acts like a love sick little puppy and Hank is either oblivious or put off by it. I would like to see some evolution in that regard soon.
The story was pretty standard fare. Weird alien abducts hero, hero escapes the alien world and returns home. This followed that formula pretty closely and then gave Hank a lot of chances to show off his Giant-Man powers. I kind of wondered why he gets stronger as Giant-Man but retains human level strength when he gets small. I know they did that for storyline purposes but it made me stop for a moment and think.
The art was pretty good in this issue. I really like this version of the Giant-Man costume. It's simple in concept but I think it's a really good costume. I also like the name Giant-Man a lot better than Ant-Man. It just sounds cooler and a little more like a super hero.
I give this ** out of *****.
Notes: This issue contains the first appearance of the Living Eraser. He's a very minor villain who is fondly remembered for being a ridiculous Silver Age villain. He goes on to have a handful of appearances and that's about it for him. This issue also marks a new costume for Hank Pym and the start of the Giant-Man identity. Pym has also learned how to grow to giant size in this issue.
Next Issue: Avengers #2
Posted in: Henry Pym,Living Eraser,Tales to Astonish,Wasp
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