Tales to Astonish Vol 1 54

Tales to Astonish #54
Previous Issue	Tales to Astonish #53
Next Issue	Tales to Astonish #55
Cover Date	April, 1964
Issue Details
Editor-in-Chief	Stan Lee

1. "No Place To Hide!"
Appearances · Synopsis
Writer(s)	Stan Lee
Penciler(s)	Don Heck
Letterer(s)	Art Simek
2. "The Treasure"
Appearances · Synopsis
Credits not yet listed
3. "There Were Five Frightened Men"
Appearances · Synopsis
Writer(s)	Stan Lee Larry Lieber
Penciler(s)	Larry Lieber
Inker(s)	Paul Reinman
Letterer(s)	Art Simek
4. "Conquest!"
Appearances · Synopsis
Writer(s)	Stan Lee Larry Lieber
Penciler(s)	Larry Lieber
Inker(s)	Sol Brodsky
Letterer(s)	Art Simek

 I feel like a character in an Ian Fleming novel. 

—Wasp

Appearing in "No Place To Hide!"

Featured Characters:

• ⏴ Giant-Man (Henry Pym) ⏵
• ⏴ Wasp ⏵

Antagonists:

• Toro (People's Defense Force) ⏵ (First appearance)

Other Characters:

• Chet Huntley (voice only)
• Ant-Man's Ants
• Giant Man Fan Club

Locations:

• United States of America
  • New York State
    • New York City
      • Henry Pym's Laboratory
  • Washington, D.C.
• Santo Rico

Items:

• Giant-Man's Suit
• Wasp's Suit
• Pym Particles

Synopsis for "No Place To Hide!"

Watching the Huntley-Brinkley report, Giant-Man learns that the nation of Santo Rico has just elected El Toro as their new president. The report noting that even though the nation of Santo Rico is a democratic nation, the communist backed El Toro won by a landslide.

Giant-Man is interrupted by the Wasp, who demands that they plan a vacation, to which Giant-Man declines because he's far too busy. Wasp provokes a brief tussle between the two, so that Giant-Man feels guilty, the next time she asks that they go on a vacation.

Later that day, the two heroes are bombarded by a surprise visit by their fan club. After hosting them for a brief period, they get a phone call from Washington D.C. asking them for assistance, and Giant-Man shoos his fan club out of his lab. They elude their insistent fans by shrinking down to ant size to leave the premises.

In Washington hours later, the military asks them to go to Santo Rico, to find proof that El Toro rigged the election. Accepting the job, the two heroes travel to Santo Rico in their civilian guises of Henry Pym and Janet van Dyne. Arriving there, Pym trusts Janet with the size-changing capsules. They soon gain the attention of nearby soldiers who find their activity suspicious and report it to El Toro. Toro, figuring them to be American spies, orders them captured.

When the soldiers come to arrest the two heroes, they grab Janet first, but not before she can hand Henry a growth capsule, which allows him to become Giant-Man. Giant-Man does not stop the soldiers from taking Janet away, because he is knocked over by El Toro.

Struggling to his feet, Giant-Man vows to rescue Janet, but finds himself an easy target when El Toro orders his death and he is stuck at giant size. Smashing through the city to get away from guards, Giant-Man escapes by hitching a ride on a train and laying low in the countryside until dark.

Returning to the city at night, Giant-Man has the local ants find Janet's location and comes to her rescue. Regaining the size capsules and freeing the Wasp, the two heroes shrink to ant-size and hitch a ride on Janet's guards as they go to El Toro to report her escape.

Arriving in El Toro's office, Giant-Man and Wasp let their presence be known, and El Toro attacks them. Giant-Man easily defeats El Toro and finds proof that the election was rigged by communist backers and reveals the truth to the people, who dispose of El Toro and plan to have a new election.

Returning to America, Giant-Man and the Wasp are congratulated for freeing Santo Rico from communist tyranny. After which, Giant-Man is resigned not to do any traveling for some time to come; however, the Wasp is still trying to decide where they should go for their next vacation.

Appearing in "The Treasure"

Featured Characters:

• Tommy
• Mr. MIller
  

Synopsis for "The Treasure"

A one page text piece. Story is concluded next issue.

Appearing in "There Were Five Frightened Men"

Featured Character:

• Victor Conrad

Other Characters:

• Mister Smythe

Locations:

• A "Remote European Province"

Synopsis for "There Were Five Frightened Men"

Notorious art thief and swindler Victor Conrad steals his last painting. To his eternal torment, when he takes a portrait entitled "Five Frightened Men", he finds the potrait absorbs people who take possesion of the potrait and puts their terrified image on the portrait!

Appearing in "Conquest!"

Featured Characters:

• Giant-Man (Henry Pym)
• Wasp

Other Characters:

• Tommy
• Shann
• Andromians (an alien race)
  

Locations:

• "A Planet Far Away"
• Andromia

Synopsis for "Conquest!"

Getting a phone call from Henry Pym to go out on a date, the Wasp has to decline, because she is stuck at home babysitting the son of her sick friend. Ending her phone call, young Tommy asks the Wasp to tell him a bed time story.

She tells him a story about Shann, the ruler of a distant planet. The people of Shann's planet are content, and Shann is worried that this will mean that they will take him for granted and not be awed by his presence. He soon comes up with a solution to become exalted by his people again: invade another planet.

He preps his people to go to war against the planet Andromina, and has his people build weapons of war and space ships to attack the people. They find the people of Andromina are peaceful farmer folk, and are easily defeated. Shann has his troops destroy their cities and farm lands in the name of conquest until the people of Andromina surrender.

Shortly after their conquest of the planet, Shann is praised as a hero, but soon comes to realize that his decimation of Andromina's means of being self sufficiency has forced him to provide to them, so that they do not starve. Soon the people of Shann's planet begin having to work to sustain the people of Andromina, as well. Eventually, the people of Shann's home world grow to hate him for lowering their quality of life.

Soon, Shann realizes his own vanity has cost him the respect of his people. Finishing her story, the Wasp asks if Tommy like the story, however the boy is more interested in knowing why the Wasp only has her wings when she's wasp-sized.

Notes

• This issue is reprinted in other comics and books, see references for more info.

• As seen on page one, Story One (Giant-Man Adventure) is story #X-610.

• This issue contains a Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation. On the same page is a cover reproduction advertisement for Fantastic Four #25, as well an advertisement for the new comic series Daredevil #1.

Trivia

• In this issue, Henry Pym and Janet van Dyne listen to the "Huntley-Brinkley Report", a top rated news program of the day.

See Also

• 7 image(s) from Tales to Astonish Vol 1 54
  • 2 reprint(s) of Tales to Astonish Vol 1 54.jpg
• 9 reprint(s) of Tales to Astonish Vol 1 54