Tales to Astonish! Hank Pym Appreciation 2019

[Frontier]

It seems that Christos Gage will take over from Zub co-writing the Ultron Agenda arc from Iron Man:

https://www.newsarama.com/46831-tony...co-writer.html

Zub confirmed it on his twitter, saying another big project from Marvel has come his way.

Now I like Zub a lot, but this news somehow brings me great joy! Gage used to write a terrific Hank, and I'm looking forward to see what will come up with Pymtron in that arc! (Still don't think there's any Hank left in there, but hopefully he won't be writing the other characters crapping on him... )

Thoughts?

If it means more of a proper resolution for Hank, I'm all for it .

[Sutekh]

With the plethora of Ant-Men, Giant-Men, Goliaths and / or Wasps around, I kind of want Hank, when he returns (and I'm assuming it's a 'when,' not an 'if'), to go somewhere new, perhaps exploring the potential of Pym particles to affect density to walk through walls, or convey strength and mass all out of proportion to his size (the same effect that he uses to maintain his full size strength and mass at ant-sized, but used to generate the strength, mass and toughness he enjoys at 60 ft. tall when he's normal sized). Fending off an alien invasion with an army of ants enlarged to the size of school buses. A swarm of parallel-processing adamantium micro-bot wasps that 'sting' his foes with sedatives or electrical shocks. Fun super-science-y stuff like that, not just growing, shrinking and insect control.

Just completely blow people's minds, every now and then, and have him fiddle with his Pym Particles via some sort of computer interface on his phone or belt or wrist or something, and summon more mass the way he does when he grows to sixty feet in height, but instead of creating more of his own singular body, creating more normal sized bodies, all controlled by his mind, like a Pym particle version of Madrox, or, more uniquely, changing his size, but not his mass, by dividing into a thousand wasp-sized Hank Pyms linked in a hive-mind, swarming a foe with a tiny disrupter/blaster-firing army...

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

https://www.cbr.com/avengers-doctor-...who-influence/

This needs to make a comeback.

[Kyer]

https://www.cbr.com/avengers-doctor-...who-influence/

This needs to make a comeback.

It does! I love (pre-Moffat) Doctor Who and thoroughly enjoyed Hank's references to same.

[Kyer]

I'll take any of Sutekh's ideas. Hank doesn't need a super suit getup and the Pym Particles are his invention/discovery. Writers should bring him back and get creative with it.

[chamber-music]

I liked regular super Scientist Pym when he would pull a shrunken chainsaw or rocket launcher out his pocket. Pym was a human Swiss army knife. The keychain Tank in the first Ant-Man film felt like a homage to that.

[Michael Watkins]

With the plethora of Ant-Men, Giant-Men, Goliaths and / or Wasps around, I kind of want Hank, when he returns (and I'm assuming it's a 'when,' not an 'if'), to go somewhere new, perhaps exploring the potential of Pym particles to affect density to walk through walls, or convey strength and mass all out of proportion to his size

like this, you mean?

[Mary Jay]

I liked regular super Scientist Pym when he would pull a shrunken chainsaw or rocket launcher out his pocket. Pym was a human Swiss army knife. The keychain Tank in the first Ant-Man film felt like a homage to that.

It sure felt like it! I remember thinking when I first watched the movie that this was taken right out of a WCA page, like that time Hank pulled a Quinjet out of his pocket

I liked the concept of his toolbot also. Every and any tool you'd need right at your fingertips.

Although I loved the Dr. Pym from WCA, I personally would prefer if Hank came back to a costumed identity. But I would be happy just to have him back, period.

[K7P5V]

It sure felt like it! I remember thinking when I first watched the movie that this was taken right out of a WCA page, like that time Hank pulled a Quinjet out of his pocket

I liked the concept of his toolbot also. Every and any tool you'd need right at your fingertips.

Personally, I was always partial to Rover during Hank's days with the WCA.

Although I loved the Dr. Pym from WCA, I personally would prefer if Hank came back to a costumed identity. But I would be happy just to have him back, period.

To the utmost, I agree. Although understandably, it would be far more important that Hank return fully healed both physically & mentally before engaging in any costumed activities.

[Kyer]

I wonder if we could petition for DC and Marvel to do a 'damaged goods in their own universe' trade off between Pym and Wally West? Kind of tired of my two favorite characters being dissed by the current Editorial sets who seem to loathe their very existence.

-sigh-

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Tales to Astonish #59 Sep 1964
"Enter: The Hulk!" Hulk's first appearance in this title
While in training, the Avengers hear news of the Hulk's recent battle against Spider-Man.
Elsewhere in the city, David Cannon AKA the Human Top reads about Giant-Man's recent battle against the Colossus
and recounts his last defeat at the hands of Giant-Man. Since then, he has been practicing a new ability:
the ability to generate a stream of powerful air pressure in a blast, strong enough to punch through a brick wall.
He plots a way to get revenge on his foe.

Later, after the training session with the Avengers is adjourned, Giant-Man and Wasp take to the street.
After roughing up some cat-callers who were whistling at the Wasp,
Giant-Man is spotted by Cannon, who follows them as the Top spinning too fast to be seen.
The Top overhears the two heroes planning to go to New Mexico, to search for the Hulk.

Giant-Man and Wasp arrive at the New Mexico missile testing base and ask General Ross for assistance in capturing the Hulk.

Ross attempts to assign Bruce Banner to help the two heroes, but Banner declines and leaves, in a foul mood.
While driving in the desert, Banner gets excited enough to trigger his transformation into the Hulk.
The Hulk, deciding to go after Giant-Man, trashes Banner's jeep and jumps into the sky.

Landing in a nearby town, the Hulk goes on a rampage and is spotted by the Top in his civilian guise
who begins planning how to use the Hulk to destroy Giant-Man.
Meanwhile, in the desert, Betty Ross, Giant-Man and the Wasp find the wreckage of Banner's jeep,
and they believe that he was attacked by the Hulk none of them knowing that Hulk and Banner are the same.
Giant-Man vows to stop the Hulk and get Bruce back.

Elsewhere in the desert, the Top tries to stop the Hulk long enough to offer a partnership,
but misses his chance when the Hulk bounces away too soon. Giant-Man spots the Hulk
and shrinks down to ant-size to get ahead of him via a miniature rocket he built.
Landing in a nearby town, Giant-Man resumes his giant size
and uses a billboard as a megaphone to warn the townspeople of the Hulk's pending arrival.

Outside the city, the Top confronts the Hulk and informs him that Giant-Man is waiting for him in town.
The Hulk bounds off to battle the hero, while the Top initiates the second part of his plan.
He locates General Ross and his military convoy, and informs them that the Hulk is in a nearby deserted town.
He convinces them to use a miniature nuclear weapon, hoping that it will also destroy Giant-Man.

While Giant-Man and the Hulk battle in the abandoned town,
the Wasp learns of the General's plan to fire the missile, but is too late to stop it.
Failing to disarm the missile, she contacts Giant-Man via their cybernetic link, and Giant-Man convinces the Hulk to stop the missile.

The Hulk grabs the missile in midair, foiling the Top's plan. The Top, fearing that the missile could go off anywhere,
makes a run for it, but soon becomes its victim when the Hulk unknowingly throws it in the Top's direction.
The explosion causes the Hulk to revert back into Bruce Banner, who reunites with Betty Ross.

Returning to New York, Giant-Man jokingly states that he has nothing to report when attending the next Avengers meeting.

Script by Stan Lee, art by Dick Ayers and Paul Reinman.

[Kyer]

So, was the Top not recognized because he has an 'average face'.... or because he was actually a low-status villain?

[Dermie]

So, was the Top not recognized because he has an 'average face'.... or because he was actually a low-status villain?

Quite possibly the latter. In one of Human Top's previous appearances Jan and Hank both made comments about how handsome he was--which sounded like a bit more than an "average" face.

[Michael Watkins]

Quite possibly the latter. In one of Human Top's previous appearances Jan and Hank both made comments about how handsome he was--which sounded like a bit more than an "average" face.

it's strange either way since he was a skater prior to becoming a criminal. given his mutant ability, i would think that he'd have garnered some recognition in that role (even though he appeared to be wearing a partial head covering).

[Michael Watkins]

i laughed way too hard at him agreeing to pay for the fruit. in another reality, Whirlwind straightened himself out and became a hero after that incident.