Hello! I'm Ant-Man! Perhaps you've heard of me! I've come to help you!

-- Ant-Man (Henry Pym)

Appearing in "The Creature From Kosmos!"Edit

Featured Characters:

• Ant-Man
• Wasp (First appearance)

Supporting Characters:

• Ant-Man's Ants

Villains:

• Kosmosians (First appearance)
  • Pilai (First appearance) (Death)

Other Characters:

• Maria Pym (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
• Vernon van Dyne (First appearance) (Death)
• United States Army
• Lee Kearns
• Joe (a dock worker)
  

Locations:

• New York City
• Hungary (Only in flashback)

Items:

• Ant-Man's Helmet
• Ant-Man's Catapult

Vehicles:

• 
  
  
  

Synopsis for "The Creature From Kosmos!"Edit

Returning from another mission, Ant-Man dwells on his loneliness and of his late wife: Maria Pym. Flashing back to the past we learn that on their honey-moon, Henry and Maria Pym visited Maria's native Hungary, in spite of Henry's fears that her history as a political prisoner would make her a target. Shortly upon arrival in Turkey, Maria is captured by Turkish officials and Henry is knocked out by the butt of one of their guns. Recovering at the American Embassy, Pym is informed that his wife has been murdered as a lesson to those who wish to leave the Iron Curtain. Angered, Pym attempts to track down his wife's killers but only lands himself in jail. He is freed by Embassy officials and sent home. There, Pym uses his late wife's old saying "Go to the ants thou sluggard!" as the inspiration for devising his size changing formula and becoming Ant-Man.

His reflection over, Ant-Man realizes that he cannot continue his crusade against crime alone and needs a partner to aid him in his work. He begins working on a new set of abilities for his future partner utilizing wasp biology, but is interrupted by the arrival of Professor Vernon van Dyne and his young daughter Janet.

Pym immediately realizes that Janet bares a strike resemblance to his late Maria, but dismisses any attraction due to her age and apparent ditzy personality. Meanwhile, Janet also dismisses any attraction to him, due to the stereotype that scientists were boring individuals. Vernon asks Pym to look at his Gamma Ray Beam device which would allow him to make contact with another galaxy. While Pym finds it interesting, he explains to van Dyne that his area of expertise is in biology not astronomy. Realizing Pym isn't interested in the project, van Dyne and his daughter leave.

Later that day, van Dyne attempts to use his Gamma ray beam and inadvertently transports a creature from the planet Kosmos. The creature explains that it is an escaped criminal. It uses its powers to kill Dr. van Dyne and then flees. Janet stumbles upon her father's body. In a panic she calls Henry Pym, who dismisses her once again as a bored ditzy girl and hangs up, but later learns his error when he finds out the truth from his ants.

Dawning his Ant-Man identity, he travels to the van Dyne house and finds that Professor van Dyne was killed by pure fear. He tells Janet to report her fathers death to F.B.I. agent Lee Kearns and tells her to go see Henry Pym right after. On his way back to his lab, Ant-Man learns from his ants that there was a large traces of an alien form of Formic acid which frightens his ants.

Janet van Dyne arrives at Dr. Pym's lab, where Henry reveals to her his identity as Ant-Man and asks her to become his sidekick, the Wasp. Agreeing, Janet is implanted with wasp wings and antenna that she can use while shrunken down by Ant-Man's shrinking gas. As Ant-Man and Wasp, the duo arrive on scene where the creature from Kosmos is on a rampage. Before going into battle, Janet announces that she's in love with Hank, which he immediately dismisses, due to her age and his fear of a second tragedy in his love life. Even with the aid of the military, and Ant-Man's army of ant's they are unable to stop the monsters rampage.

Realizing what he must do, Ant-Man and Wasp return to base where Ant-Man devices a compound to counteract Formic acid. He then puts the compound into shot gun shells and with the aid of his ants succeed in dispersing the creature by shooting it with a number of shells of the compound.

With the monster defeated, Ant-Man and Wasp return home where Ant-Man calls F.B.I. agent Kearns to tell him that the menace had ended. When Kearns asks to be Ant-Man's partner, Ant-Man declines telling the F.B.I. agent that he already has a partner. Janet thinks to herself that she'll certainly soon make him fall in love with her, and will stay with him so that he does.

Appearing in "Blueprint for Victory"Edit

Featured Characters:

• Cam Westover
• Bill Trayne

Supporitng Characters:

• Major Franks
  

Villains:

• Nazis
• Von Kretz

Locations:

• The Rhine, Germany
  
  
  

Synopsis for "Blueprint for Victory"Edit

A two page text piece concerning a World War II "Cloak and Dagger" operation in the Rhine.

Appearing in "Hunted"Edit

Featured Characters:

• An Un-Named "Carrier of the Plague"

Locations:

• New York (The Future (Year 2000))
  
  

Synopsis for "Hunted"Edit

In the year 2000, all of New York City is searching for a 'plague carrier' who is attempting to escape notice and flee the city. He is apprehended at a transportation center and the police remove the 'plague' from him which turns out to be a handgun he had stolen from a museum which officials had worried could back bring the plague of war.

NotesEdit

• First appearance of Janet van Dyne. She will become a founding member of the Avengers, Avengers Chairperson, wife of Henry Pym, and a mainstay of the Marvel Universe until her apparent "death" 46 years later in Secret Invasion #8.

• This is the first time that Ant-Man's adventures are placed in New York. In Tales to Astonish #42, they had first been placed in Center City. Since that city was never mentioned again and no mention has ever been made of Henry Pym moving his laboratory, it can safely be assumed to have been retconned.

• The Ant-Man and the Wasp story has been reprinted partially in Marvel Feature #8 and completely in Essential Ant-Man #1.

• As seen on page one of this issue, the first story is listed as X-192.

• Since guns were not outlawed by the year 2000 in Earth-616, the reality shown in Story #3 is obviously an alternate one.
  

TriviaEdit

• No trivia.

See AlsoEdit

• Write your own review of this comic!
• Discuss Tales to Astonish Vol 1 44 on the forums
• Cover gallery for the Tales to Astonish series
• Images from Tales to Astonish Vol 1 44

Recommended ReadingEdit

• The Wedding of Hank and Jan: Avengers #60

• Hank and Jan Receive New Powers: Marvel Team-Up #59 and #60.

Links and ReferencesEdit

• None.

 

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