Featuring: Wasp
Release: May 5, 1964
Cover: August 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Lettering: S. Rosen
7 pages
The Magician escaped prison, so Wasp has to take his picture off her weird trophy wall of super-villains she has defeated. Considering the rate at which these villains seem to get out of prison, she must have to update that wall a lot.
Do we recognize all the villains on the wall? I see: Egghead, Black Knight, Magician, Human Top, the Creature from Kosmos, Porcupine. There are two pictures we can’t see. The wall is missing Cyclops, Trago, Living Eraser, El Toro, and Colossus. It’s possible we just can’t see the entire wall and those photos are off to the side. It’s also possible she was unable to get a picture of some of them. The Living Eraser lives in another dimension, so getting a photo may be hard.
Concerned for her safety, Hank phones Wasp to suggest she go to the lab. The lab is publicly known to be the headquarters of Giant-Man. I would argue that is the least safe place. What about his house in New Jersey? He apparently somehow has a secret identity.
Wasp refuses, as there is a new line of Wasp-themed fashion debuting at Benson’s department store.
This fashion line is actually a significant plot point. Please remember it, as we’ll be referring to it again in about 200 posts.
However, as is often the case when there is something that seems specifically designed to entice a superhero to a specific location…
It’s a trap!
Indeed, Admiral Ackbar. The Magician has cleverly lured Wasp to Benson’s to exact his revenge. He was humiliated when he was defeated by the team of Giant-Man and Wasp. Getting defeated by just the Wasp will be even more humiliating.
His final defeat comes when he gets his cape trapped in an escalator. This is my greatest fear and the reason I never go the mall in my Batman costume.
All that remains is to tie up the magician. The Wasp uses a remote-controlled toy robot for the task. At some point, I would argue it’s easier just to grow to normal size and do the job yourself.
This issue is the biggest step forward for female superheroines yet. Recall the first 6 issues of Wasp’s backup feature were just wrappers around unrelated science fiction stories in which she provided some narration. Finally, last issue, she started getting solo adventures. It was an underwhelming first solo outing. She fought an ordinary burglar, was utterly stymied by him, and finally only won by pretending to be the Invisible Girl, so he’d surrender. Not Wasp’s finest hour.
This issue attempts to make up for it. Hank tells her to hide, but she refuses to cower just because the Magician is on the loose, and she ends up defeating an actual super-villain. Then, when Hank talks about her like she’s helpless, she winks at the audience, indicating she is not, referring to herself sarcastically as “weak little me”. It is the best treatment the character has seen yet. The Fantastic Four stories have made efforts to treat Invisible Girl as a more formidable force as well, so the writing of female superheroes is improving. Slowly, but it’s improving.
Unfortunately, this is both Wasp’s first good solo outing and her last solo outing. Another character will be coming along to take over the title’s backup feature…
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 55/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
I’m going to go so far as to claim this is the best Wasp story yet. That’s a better rating than I’ve given any Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Wasp story since Hank first became Ant-Man in issue 35.
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man vol. 2.
You can find the story in Ant-Man/Giant-Man Epic Collection vol. 1: The Man in the Ant Hill. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Wasp/Jan Van Dyne
- Henry Pym
- Magician
Story notes:
- Reference to “Most Dangerous Game”.
- The Magician escapes from prison, so Wasp takes his picture down from her trophy wall.
- Wasp-inspired fashions at Benson’s department store.
- Henry Pym driving to lab, presumably from New Jersey home.
- Hank sends Jan a warning note delivered by flying ants.
- Wasp uses stingers.
#213 story in reading order
Next: X-Men #6
Previous: Tales to Astonish #58
