Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: November 6, 1963
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Dick Ayers
18 pages
This story is 18 pages. They’d been seeming to have trouble filling 13, but 18 will be the new norm. The 5-page difference is made up for by the lack of a science fiction backup, save the tale the Wasp tells. An era is soon coming to an end.
While I mostly think of him and appreciate him as an inker, I’d like to note that Dick Ayers is a pretty solid draftsman in this issue. I complained recently about his Strange Tales work with George Roussos. But, inking himself, he gives a very clean take on these characters.
We meet the new Black Knight, Professor Garrett. He’d been a spy busted by Giant-Man. He fled the country to his castle in the Balkans. (Yes, another super-villain with a castle; at least this one’s in a part of the world with lots of castles.) He used his science knowledge to genetically engineer a winged horse and build a lance that has all kinds of weapons attached.
In particular, his lance can melt metal. Since that’s the only power of the Melter, the Melter would feel pretty useless if the two ever teamed up.
There’s no hint that this Black Knight has any connection to the Arthurian character we just read about. Later writers will have to add those connections in.
The precise relationship between Hank and Jan hasn’t always been clear. Mostly, we see her flirting with him, bemoaning that he won’t flirt back, gushing over other men (perhaps to make him jealous), and Hank responding by telling her to focus on work. We did once see them dancing, with the narrator informing us they only had eyes for each other. In this issue, Wasp does refer to him as her “bashful boyfriend”. And Hank, about to make a seemingly suicidal leap, almost has some final words to convey to Jan. But decides: “She must know how I really feel about her.”
Giant-Man gets a costume alteration this issue. Thick suspender-stripes replace the light vertical stripes of the past two issues. This is the third version of the Giant-Man outfit in four issues. It will get altered again in #56. This particular iteration will never show up in Avengers.
This costume change is the first hint of the chronological headaches the Avengers comic will induce in the next few months. It’s very hard to figure out how to fit the solo adventures of the Avengers’ members in with the team’s adventures. After Avengers #6, we will pause to reflect on all the chronology complications in a single post.
For this post, I only want to note a couple things. The first is that I made the decision to put this before Avengers #3. I seem to stand alone in this decision. Everybody else I can find looking at these types of questions made the opposite decision.
I then want to note the key clues within this issue that will affect its placement. We’ll compile all such clues in a much later post.
- Giant-Man gets a costume alteration, the thick-black-suspenders look.
- Black Knight is introduced.
- There is a time jump of several months within the issue. Giant-Man (unfortunately) has his new costume both before and after the time jump.
Rating: ★★½, 49/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man vol. 1. Except for the feature image, the scans are taken from a reprint in Iron Man #43 (1971).
You can also find the story in Ant-Man/Giant-Man Epic Collection vol. 1: The Man in the Ant Hill. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Giant-Man/Ant-Man/Dr. Henry Pym
- Professor Garrett/Black Knight
- Wasp
Story notes:
- Giant-Man busts Garrett for selling scientific secrets to Red Chinese spies.
- Chinese pay Garrett’s bail ($100K) and help him flee country.
- Garret hides out in remote Balkan kingdom in Alps.
- Giant-Man has new costume in beginning of issue.
- Months pass between beginning of issue and later part.
- Garrett injects eagle blood into a stallion to create a flying horse.
- Cybernetic ant communicator — shows pictures of ant thoughts.
- Black Knight’s arsenal: blinding mirror visor; lance launches bolo balls; machine gun and acetylene torch; paralyzer pistol; itch-ray.
- Black Knight confused by Giant-Man’s powers.
- Black Knight escapes.
#140 story in reading order
Next: Tales to Astonish #52, Story B
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