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Quote1 Hello! I'm Ant-Man! Perhaps you've heard of me! I've come to help you! Quote2
Ant-Man (Henry Pym)

Appearing in "The Creature from Kosmos!"

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Synopsis for "The Creature from Kosmos!"

Henry Pym (Earth-616) from Tales to Astonish Vol 1 44 004

Pym swearing revenge.

Returning from another mission, Ant-Man dwells on his loneliness and the loss of his late wife: Maria Pym. Flashing back to the past we learn that on their honeymoon, Henry and Maria Pym visited Maria's native Hungary, in spite of Maria's fears that her history as a political prisoner would make her a target. Shortly upon arrival in Hungary, Maria is captured by armed men 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 uncle'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 bears a striking resemblance to his late wife, 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 are 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.

Pilai (Earth-616) from Tales to Astonish Vol 1 44 001

Arrival of Pilai

Later that day, Van Dyne attempts to use his gamma ray beam and inadvertently transports a creature from the planet Kosmos. The creature states 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.

Donning 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 father's 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 were large traces of an alien form of formic acid, which frightens his ants.

Janet Van Dyne (Earth-616) and Henry Pym (Earth-616) from Tales to Astonish Vol 1 44 005

Origin of the Wasp

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 ants they are unable to stop the monster's rampage.

Pilai (Earth-616) from Tales to Astonish Vol 1 44 005

Pilai fading away

Realizing what he must do, Ant-Man and Wasp return to base where Ant-Man devises a compound to counteract formic acid. He then puts the compound into shotgun shells and, with the aid of his ants, succeeds 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 has 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"

Reprint of the 3rd story from
Marines in Battle #6

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Synopsis for "Blueprint for Victory"

Reprint of the 3rd story from
Marines in Battle #6

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

Appearing in "Hunted"

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  • Unnamed "Carrier of the Plague"

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Synopsis for "Hunted"

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.

Notes

  • Sequence 1 The Creature from Kosmos! plot by Lee, script by Huntley.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Henry Pym notes in this issue that Ant-Man's Suit uses Unstable Molecules, and that he developed the clothing himself.
  • Early in this issue, Henry Pym worries about what would happen if he someday meets defeat and death. He wants someone to carry on his crimefighting campaign if he dies.
  • In order to avoid contemplating his past, Henry Pym worked obsessively at his laboratory. The issue notes that he took little nourishment or sleep while working.
  • 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 Vol 1 3 is obviously an alternate one.

Trivia

  • Ant-Man receives a message about "trouble" (probably a crime) at Temple Street, but chooses to ignore it. He believes that the police has already handled the situation.

See Also

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