Dedicated to the definitive superhero non-team.


Thursday, December 17, 2020

Featuring Ant-Man

Immediately after Marvel Feature #1-3 introduced the dynamic Defenders as a superhero team, Marvel Feature #4-10 re-introduced Hank Pym as the astonishing Ant-Man. Finding himself trapped at a shrunken height, without the gadgetry he previously used as Yellowjacket, this revamped version of Ant-Man wore a new costume and armed himself with a proportionally small sword. The seven-part story arc brought back old foes Egghead and Whirlwind, introduced new villains, and pitted the swashbuckling hero against natural threats reminiscent of the 1957 film The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Henry Pym's wife, Janet (a.k.a. Wasp), lost much of her edge during these new adventures of Ant-Man, appearing largely as a romantic interest and occasional sidekick. As founding members of the Avengers, however, both characters had years of adventuring experience by this point and might very well have shared equal billing on the title.

Pym's lab assistant, Bill Foster, made a cameo appearance in Marvel Feature #9, investigating the disappearance of the super-couple and foreshadowing his eventual transformation into Black Goliath.

Henry Pym resumed his Yellowjacket identity in Giant-Size Defenders #4. Wasp featured prominently during her guest appearances in Defenders #76-77.

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