I Think, Therefore I Grow

To say that Henry Pym's evolution in size-changing amounted to a work in progress is perhaps putting it mildly--much like his cybernetic technology, which was harnessed in helmet form when he took on the identity of Ant-Man.

Good thing that schematic identified the helmet's antennae.  Those protrusions could've been anything.

And Hank's headgear would become even more crucial to him, as he went on to experiment in increasing his size and began adventuring in another identity:

(Hank doesn't seem to have grasped the fact that it's the walls, as well as the rest of his demolished house, that ended up being crushed by him.)

Hank may conduct his research using the trial-and-error method--but despite the cries of alarm no doubt being shrieked from the rest of the homes on his block, what we're seeing is Hank taking the first steps toward dispensing with using special gas to change his size, in favor of a more handy capsule form. It would certainly have advantages over battling villains on windy days, where the size-changing fumes would be in danger of dispersing before they could be inhaled, but I'll still state the obvious: Wouldn't Hank and Jan have to wait a few minutes for their capsules to dissolve and the contents released in their bloodstream? Maybe Whirlwind or the Black Knight would be sporting about it and put their attack on hold until the capsules took effect.

Eventually, Hank redesigned his headpiece to allow him to pitch those capsules altogether. I rather liked the fact that the antennae of the headpiece also let him continue to communicate with the insect world as well as other sensory functions, though stories featuring Giant-Man would understandably tend to focus more on his large size--he's not called "Cybernetic Man," after all.

The Wasp, unfortunately, received no such upgrade, though Hank was able to use his new gear to extend his mental size-changing to her, as well.

It's not really clear when Jan was able to pitch her size-changing capsules. It stood to reason that Hank wasn't always going to be in range or otherwise available to change her size for her--and when they were separated, she'd have to be able to adjust her size, er, on the fly as the situation called for it. At some point off-panel, Hank presumably gave her the ability to mentally adjust her size, even without a headpiece of some sort. As for Hank, his role as an Avenger led him back to the lab to tinker on more powerful headgear for himself--and this time, the Wasp also took the opportunity to give him a more eye-catching costume. (It was certainly that, all right.)

But, what was the new power that the helmet attachment was supposed to have? Well, you've actually already seen it, to an extent--but now it applies to all organic forms.

Giant-Man never really made any use of this power--nor was he given the time, since he and the Wasp would soon go on hiatus from both the Avengers and his feature in Tales To Astonish. The size-changing difficulties he began experiencing as his time in that title wound down would follow him when he returned to the Avengers after a ten-issue absence--and he eventually reached a point where he would make another adjustment to his headpiece, this time focusing on the possibility of a more extended career as Ant-Man.

When Hank eventually abandoned the growth aspects of his powers and settled on the identity of Yellowjacket, it seemed a good compromise that would ensure his continued health while allowing him to have a higher profile than Ant-Man.

BONUS:

By sheer coincidence, a couple of size-changing cybernetic cosplayers!

It's My Party And I'll Scrimp If I Want To

Before you accept an invitation to a party thrown by a boss who has the temperament of wealthy newspaper magnate J. Jonah Jameson, be aware that he may be one of "those" hosts--the kind that follows you around with an ashtray, and maintains a carefully controlled environment in spite of the festive atmosphere. He also might not be too keen on having guests over in the first place.

It's also a good bet that such a host watches over the care of their possessions like a hawk.

Food and drink can also be a problem with your host, who might become a bit more *ahem* conservative with their offerings as the evening wears on.

Nevertheless, take comfort in the fact that, for such a, er, gracious host...

...there's fortunately such a thing as "host karma."

This World Enslaved!

We've reached Part 4 of the incredible story where Galactus had come to Earth seeking to reclaim the services of the Silver Surfer as his herald--and we left all the major players in a dramatic standoff, as Reed Richards...

Aw, heck, why don't we just let the sizzling splash page from this story's conclusion bring you up to speed on where Part 3 of this story left you hanging?

As we can see, this story has developed considerably since the Fantastic Four were confronted with the "air-walker," Gabriel, who pretended to herald the end of humanity but who instead was revealed to be the herald of Galactus (albeit an artificial construct). The day was saved by the timely arrival of the Silver Surfer--but with the appearance of Galactus, it turned out that the Surfer was the true focus of this bizarre encounter. Galactus, on the verge of gaining the Surfer's capitulation, now unexpectedly finds his ultimatum to his former herald trumped by the ultimatum of Reed Richards, who stands poised to strand the planet-eater on Earth unless his terms for Galactus are met.

(Does anyone else see a problem with stranding a world devourer on our planet?)

This Hatred Unending!

Attempting to connect the dots regarding the mutant Mystique's reasons for her hatred of Carol Danvers can feel a little like following a trail of bread crumbs that have long since been scattered by the breeze. The general understanding is that the storyline would have been introduced and addressed by writer Chris Claremont in the pages of Ms. Marvel--but when that book was cancelled in early 1979, the Mystique/Rogue/Danvers idea was left in limbo until the time when Claremont might decide to pick it up again at some point and perhaps work it into another story elsewhere, adapting it accordingly if need be.

That point arrived over two years later, in the now-classic Avengers Annual #10, when Rogue went after Carol to siphon her Ms. Marvel abilities in order to use them to help Mystique break the captured Brotherhood of Evil Mutants out of prison. By now, readers of X-Men were well familiar with Mystique; but in this story, we became aware of some sort of problem brewing between Mystique and Carol--though, due to Carol's memories being wiped by Rogue's attack, the feelings of hatred that Mystique had for Carol were only known to herself and her friend/confidante, Destiny. Given all that was happening in this annual, Claremont either was unable or chose not to provide more than a general sense of Mystique's deadly vehemence toward Carol; but following up on the annual in an X-Men story in 1982, Claremont would have Mystique confirm her obsession with ending Carol's life when the two encountered each other at the Pentagon during a raid by the X-Men where Mystique was subsequently captured.

According to that story, the situation between Carol and Mystique was set to be expanded on in the Marvel Fanfare title, a hand-off which never materialized. And from here, things get a little muddled where Rogue is concerned. Carol, for her part, is taken in a different direction as Binary; but for all intents and purposes, the adversarial connection between Carol and Mystique is left by the wayside. And with Rogue comfortably settled within the X-Men book, Claremont, in two-year increments, begins to slightly revise Rogue's motivations and history. First, there's the following curious segment from a 1984 story where Rogue becomes aware of Michael Rossi (a former associate and lover of Carol Danvers) in danger aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and races to rescue him, her memories in a state of flux and resulting in her identity shifting back and forth between herself and Carol. Once Rogue succeeds in retrieving Rossi (by now worked over pretty well by his captors), Rossi learns of Rogue's connection to Carol and demands to know the circumstances.

Rossi is repelled by Rogue's actions, angrily rebuffing her and stalking off. But as we can see, Claremont is inserting bits and pieces of a prior plot that seems to have little if anything to do with Mystique, or even with the mission to free the Brotherhood.

Two years later, the X-Men find themselves in San Francisco, and Rogue returns to a familiar site--and to memories which continue to haunt her. Her memories will be familiar to the reader, as well--up to a point.

The discrepancy between this retelling and how it's presented in the Avengers annual lies in Rogue's (forgive the expression) state of mind at this point, as well as the implication in this flashback that she's acting alone and of her own accord. Granted, it would make sense for Rogue to be experiencing extreme disorientation and confusion following her attack on Carol, as she professes here--yet she goes on to attack the Avengers with full command of her faculties, completely on her game and with her own personality fully asserting itself, with no indication of any conflict within her. And while she could have hurled Carol over the bridge for the reason she mentions, it doesn't quite mesh with the impression we have from the Avengers story that she was following the instructions of Mystique, who would later target Spider-Woman in part for saving Carol's life.

Finally, in a brief story written by Simon Furman for Marvel Super-Heroes six years later, we see something of Claremont's plot from Ms. Marvel which would have led to Carol having dealings with both the Brotherhood and the Hellfire Club as part of an investigation into Mystique's activities with an arms dealer. That plot would also feature Mystique becoming aware of a prediction by Destiny that Carol would bring harm to Rogue, which naturally then puts Carol in Mystique's crosshairs. Furman, apparently drawing on the panels from the 1986 X-Men story where Rogue returns to San Francisco, attempts to give us an idea of why Rogue goes after Carol and why Rogue considers the fight a personal one, while it seems the reason of ambushing Carol in order to gain her abilities for the prison break has been dispensed with.

It's anyone's guess how Rogue, who presumably doesn't have any powers here beyond her siphoning ability, is able to put up a fight against a powerhouse like Ms. Marvel. Regardless, Mystique arrives and witnesses how her own efforts to take out Carol have brought about the very event that Destiny warned of.

Which unfortunately brings us back to square one, as far as pinning down the reason for Mystique's incensed hatred of Carol Danvers, which the Furman story doesn't quite justify. At this point, it may not be possible to go any further with the issue, with so much water having gone under the bridge for all three of these characters and taking into account the changes that Claremont wanted to make following the wheels he'd set in motion in the pages of Ms. Marvel. Barring a new story on the matter, we'll probably have to consider it finis. There seems little point to Marvel resurrecting a 35-year-old plot, all for the sake of tying up a loose end that even its original writer seemed to lose interest in. Claremont would instead pivot to focus more on Rogue's new life in the X-Men, while maintaining her relationship and overall background with Mystique. It was a compromise that proved easy to live with.

(With a nod to SuperMegaMonkey's Comics Chronology as well as Michael Andersen of UncannyXmen.net, whose own research on this subject helped in navigating these rapids.)

The Avenger And The Attitude

You may find this hard to believe--but Thor, son of Odin, isn't the most humble of gods.

Or the most patient.

Ironically, the only time that Thor seems to have had a problem with humility was when his father thought that he didn't have an ounce of it, and banished him to Earth as a lame physician in order to better understand the concept. Aside from that, Thor's regal bearing and expectations of respect and obeisance from those who pit themselves against him has served him well in his dealings with the hostile forces that he must overcome in his struggles against injustice and oppression. And given his mettle in battle, those expectations are not without some foundation.

In this case, the Colonizers of the planet Rigel have set their sights on Earth, though mostly because one of their number, Tana Nile, is ready to undertake her first colonization attempt and has decided that our planet will suffice as a stepping stone to greater prominence for herself. (She probably settled the matter on which planet to choose with the equivalent of throwing darts at maps of star systems.) Upon inspection of her claim, the Rigellians granted her request and proceeded to use a "space lock" on our planet which would allow them to relocate it to wherever it will suit their needs. Thor, as you might expect, has a problem with such an aggressive move against our planet, and has intervened--taking control of a Colonizer ship bound for Rigel and planning to retaliate against the entire planet if the Rigellians don't break off their plans for Earth. And he fully expects them to comply. Obviously the man doesn't lack self-confidence.

We find Thor on approach to Rigel, and the Colonizers have sent out a reception committee to deal with him. The Rigellians, who have handled all attempts to resist their plans for colonization with all due force and the resources of their incredible technology, have their own problems right now investigating the threat of the Black Galaxy--a region of space in which their forces have disappeared without a trace, now showing signs of aggressively expanding outward. Thor's challenge will be treated as any other--methodically, and with the time-tested tools and procedures that mark the Rigellians as a formidable and relentless species. But the Grand Commissioner of Rigel knows that Thor's threat must be dealt with quickly, so that his attention may return to the Black Galaxy.

It's too bad the Colonizers didn't confer with Thor about that, because he has a different opinion as to who is certain to prevail in this encounter.

In a sign that the Rigellians are now finding Thor's approach and his trouncing of their forces a cause for concern, they soon resort to activating a construct called an Indestructible, its name giving you some idea as to its threat potential. Even so, battle is second-nature to Thor, and he isn't about to give ground this close to his goal.  (Plus, this thing didn't bow before entering, so that's really torn it with Thor.)

With the Indestructible's fall, the Rigellians aboard ship lose their resolve and accede to the imperious God of Thunder's demands to bring him to the "power planetoid" where the space lock device is located. But when the Colonizers planetside continue to attack, it's clear that Thor has had it with these aliens, and drives home the point that he's not to be trifled with.

Fortunately for the Colonizers, the Grand Commissioner appears to defuse the situation, knowing that Thor's power might be of some assistance with the danger from the Black Galaxy. And it seems the Grand Commissioner didn't get to be the Grand Commissioner without knowing a thing or two about appeasing the ego of a mighty opponent with an even greater challenge--that, and the fact that the threat of the Black Galaxy could also endanger the Earth.

Naturally, the Commissioner assures Thor that if he succeeds in his mission, the Earth will be released from the space lock. For all the trouble that Thor has gone through in bringing his fight with the Colonizers directly to Rigel, you'd think the Thunder God would insist on the lock being released as a condition of his help against the Black Galaxy. But in his current mood, I'm certainly not about to point out his tactical blunder to him, are you?

Galactus Unleashed!

OR: "Trapped On A World He Never Ate!"


The Fantastic Four's encounter with the "air-walker" known as Gabriel presented the team with a powerful threat, yet one they weren't quite sure how to handle, or even investigate. For if Gabriel were indeed the Biblical angel/messenger arriving on Earth to herald the end of the human race, what indeed was there to be done?

Yet while humanity was cowed by Gabriel's demonstrations of his power and became resigned to their fate, the FF fought on--for Gabriel was not only arrogant but also malicious, his actions and manner resembling a super-villain rather than what we would think an angel would represent, even as he still alluded to the notion that humanity would meet its fate at the hand of another.

Enter the Silver Surfer, who battled and overcame Gabriel and exposed the sham of this foe's pretense. Of course the real foe, of both the FF and the rest of humanity, would make the threat of Gabriel seem insignificant by comparison.

But, is there more to the arrival of Galactus than meets the eye?

(Sheesh--after that entrance, I don't think my eyes can take any more!)