The Original Ant-Man!: Hank Pym Appreciation

[Frontier]

So...

Infinity Wars is over, except for that Infinity Wars : Infinity in January.

I have to say I enjoyed the story for what it was, but I wonder now what was the point of spoilers:

involving Pymtron in Infinity Countdown, have Hank's soul be whacked from the merge, only to be "eaten" by Devondra. I mean, it literally served no purpose for the story going forward. It could have been completely omitted and it wouldn't have made any difference. And it wasn't even touched on in Infinity Wars itself.

end of spoilers

So really, what was the point? "This character isn't dead enough, let me kill him one more time, for good"?

Dang, they didn't resolve that at all?

(Sigh) .

[Mary Jay]

Dang, they didn't resolve that at all?

(Sigh) .

Not even a word.

I'm really disappointed.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

To maybe make his true return a really big surprise...or something...I don't believe that he's gone for good...yeah otherwise that whole storyline makes no sense...

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Tales to Astonish #50 Dec 1963
"The Human Top!"
The story begins with the origins of the Human Top: Growing up as a young man,
David Cannon found that he had the uncanny ability to spin really fast, almost like a top.
He would then use his powers to bully his peers and cheat in sporting events and cash in on betting money.
Soon this wasn't enough and Cannon became a criminal that the papers would call the Human Top,
and his crime sprees would continue over the sucseeding years.

In the present day, Henry Pym reads about the Top's most recent robbery and dismisses him as
a simple hood that is beneath the notice of Giant-Man. He then calls the Wasp in for duty.
The two check their spy-ant monitoring device for any leads on crime in the city.
They learn that the Human Top is plotting to rob Danly's Department store the next day at 10:00 am.

They decide to intervene, and Giant-Man begins his plan to capture the Top.

Meanwhile, the Top in his civilian guise is practising for an ice show, and is sent home early.
He scoffs at the pittance he gets working as an ice skater, and dons his newly design top-inspired,
Human Top costume and begins plotting how he will rob the Danly's payroll the next morning.

The next day, Henry Pym and Janet van Dyne take up jobs at Danly's Department store in order to spring a trap on the Top.
However, when the Top arrives and the two heroes take on their guises of Giant-Man
and the Wasp, the Top proves to be too fast for them and gets out of the store.
Even after attempting to throw the Top's balance off by having an army of ants chew through the pavement,
Giant-Man is incapable of capturing the villain due to his large size and his opponent's fast speed.

The Human Top then manages to lose Giant-Man by escaping through the subway.

The next day, David Cannon gloats over his victory against Giant-Man. Meanwhile, Giant-Man puts himself
through a barrage of physical and chemical tests to increase his speed so that he can better fight the Human Top.

While he feels confident that he can defeat his foe, he is unaware that the Wasp had really put his device on at
half-speed, making him not at all ready for the upcoming battle. Janet admits to not having the heart to tell him.

While Giant-Man continues to prepare for his next battle with the Human Top, the Top himself is stalking through the city with a bundle of dynamite.

Script by Stan Lee, art by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

If this didn't make me pump my fist as a Hank Pym fan, I don't know what would.

Hear! Hear!