Who's The Best... Fantastic Four Substitute?

Martinex1: Over the years The Fantastic Four has not had as large a revolving door as other super-teams like the Avengers, but they have had their share of substitutes.   I have a particular fondness for the FF reserves as they are in a truly elite class.   The proxies are not the typical heroes or heroines either, as they tend to reside slightly outside the mainstream.  In your opinion, does one or the other rise above the rest?  Are any better than the originals?   So who is the best?  

Crystal the Elemental, Medusa the Inhuman,  Luke Cage; Power-Man,  Ms. Marvel the She-Thing, Ant-Man, She-Hulk or even much more recently Black Panther, Storm, or Spider-Man?   Who was the best?

Discuss: Captain America: Civil War - FULLY SPOILED!!

CIVIL WAR: FULLY SPOILED EDITION!!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Karen: That's right kids, it's time to discuss this blockbuster, no-holds-barred, say what you will! First up, me and my co-host Doug are going to get things rolling with our thoughts on the film, and then it's up to you to keep it going.

Karen: My overall impression of the the film is that I enjoyed it, but it does seem a bit over-stuffed. Somehow, despite all of the characters and places and plot threads, it still feels like Captain America's story is the core of the film, but there is an awful lot of other stuff going on around that.

Doug: I enjoyed it too, but I am having guilt feelings because I didn't walk out of the theater giddy as I was when I saw The Avengers, or Captain America: the First Avenger or Captain America: Winter Soldier. I think Civil War ultimately makes my top 5 MCU films, but I can't put my finger on exactly why I haven't had puppy love butterflies. It is a dense film with tons of characters, as you say, but I didn't ever feel that the film was hampered by that. If anything, it seemed to effectively serve the purpose of the plot.

Karen: I hear you. I wasn't as pumped up at the end of this one either, but I think that's natural - we've just seen our heroes torn apart. It's not a happy ending. Maybe it's a bit like that feeling from when we first saw The Empire Strikes Back - everything has fallen apart and how are our heroes going to recover? Well, we know they will somehow get back together to face Thanos for The Infinity War.

Doug: Agreed. I've also seen the Russos refer to this pic as their "Empire...", and there is that sense of uncertainty at the end of this. I'm thinking the first Infinity War movie (or whatever they are going to call it) is going to be a major butt-kicking. My guess is that it will be the darkest film of the MCU.

Karen: The conflict -whether or not to sign the Accords, to accept the authority of the world's governments, or to keep their autonomy - is clouded by the issue of Bucky and his guilt or innocence in the Vienna bombing (and later, his assassination of the Starks). I sort of wish they'd kept Bucky out of the whole thing and kept the discord about the whether or not to sign the accords, and maybe the idea that they were holding some superhumans against their will (like Wanda). But I suppose they needed to resolve the Winter Soldier storyline, and grafting that onto Civil War worked out.

Doug: It did work out, and I viewed the Vienna incident as the last straw that pushed everything over the edge. One element from the Accords and Bucky storylines being mashed together was the character trait of loyalty in Captain America - loyalty to freedom (or his interpretation of it) and to Bucky. However, and we've said this before, there is no sense of history between Cap and Bucky in the MCU as there is in the comics. This would have played out much better in the comics because of what we knew for decades. To try to make us care from one film to the next is a bit of a hefty request.

Karen: I think they've done a decent enough job of establishing Bucky as Cap's best buddy -but it kind of bothers me, as I think that's the role the Falcon should have!

Doug: There is sometimes a sense of "Captain America and the Falcon", isn't there? Oh, and loved Redwing -- when Sam first used the device I was thinking to myself, "Hmm, just like Redwing would do." And I was right!

Doug: I'd also argue that Wanda's role in the fall-out of the Crossbones battle (by the way - very cool, and loved Crossbones) might have played better in an X-Men picture. The doubt of the nature of her powers and her ability/lack of ability to control them seems to fit in better with anti-mutant hysteria. Of course, she's a Hydra construct now, right? In regard to the Accords, they sort of just drop, don't they? Sure, there's been some history through the past few MCU movies, but there's really no tension in this film as "Thunderbolt" Ross shows up and boom! Sokovia Accords.

Karen: It's interesting that they chose to bring Thunderbolt Ross back as the agent for the Accords. Yes, there wasn't much warning that they were coming, but considering what happened in Sokovia, and perhaps more likely, how badly  the politicians would want to control the kind of power the Avengers have, it's no surprise. 

Doug: Ross was perhaps a stand-in for Henry Peter Gyrich. Maybe his inclusion was part of an effort to legitimize that second Hulk film.

Karen: Regarding the two camps, the leaders in both cases aren't seeing things straight. Cap is blinded by his friendship for, and guilt over, Bucky. He's willing to do anything for him.  He also has a huge distrust of authority since coming out of the ice, after the incidents in Avengers and Winter Soldier. So it's not surprising that he doesn't think it's a great idea to allow the most powerful fighting force on Earth to be directed by a group of politicians. As he says in the film, "What if they want to send us somewhere we shouldn't go? Or they won't let us go somewhere we should?" However, he never tries to work with anyone. When Bucky is in trouble, he just goes off and does his thing.

Doug: The whole "Cap's survivor guilt" is overplayed. While the guilt over surviving the larger War is one thing, guilt and loss over Bucky seems a bit of a stretch. Again, we don't have the longer backstory of not only the War years but of Cap's early years after his revival from suspended animation as we do in the comics. This is one I have a tough time separating and enjoying as an aspect of the MCU. You mention Cap as a loner. I did enjoy the first scene of the film. It's obvious that Cap has trained these Avengers, not unlike he did in the Kooky Quartet era. Fun stuff! 

Karen: I always think of part of Cap's guilt over  Bucky in the MCU as being his feeling of guilt over what Bucky was turned into -a mindless assassin. If he had been able to save him, none of this -the years of working for Hydra, and all of the crimes and murders he committed -would have occurred. So Cap feels responsible for Bucky's actions, in his own way.

Karen: As for Stark, he is at one of his lowest points. He has split from Pepper, seemingly due to his need to be Iron Man. He's wracked with guilt over the death and damage he's caused by his arrogance. He's ready to hand the reins over to someone else. Downey plays Tony Stark as a man on the edge -he appears about to crack many times in the film, and when he discovers the Winter Soldier killed his parents, he really does, quite effectively.

Doug: For the first time in six films, I felt empathy toward Tony Stark. Prior to that, he was just sort of a rich jerk who I couldn't relate to. You know, I saw some criticism online of the computer generated Stark family scene. I loved it. I thought that really added to the characterization of Tony Stark, and to the greater MCU. While not directly mentioned, it did bring Hank Pym's comment in Ant-Man about Howard Stark into the light. I also found myself not caring for Bucky Barnes by the end of the film. Brainwashing or not, he's going to need some rehabilitation in order to bring me back.

Karen: Both Howard and Tony have huge egos and just always think they are right. The scene in the Raft prison, where Tony walks in and Hawkeye says derisively, "The Futurist! He knows what's best for you!" really nails it. In Tony's mind, everything he does, whether it's building Ultron or signing the Accords, is the best possible path. But Tony has miscalculated a lot over the years. 

Karen: Now Tony finally admits that maybe he isn't always right -but once he decides the Avengers should sign the Accords, he can't see the other side of it. Although he desperately wants Cap to side with him. And of course, by the end, he's taking matters into his own hands again, breaking the Accords to help Steve, at least briefly.

Karen: I thought most of the other characters got at least one good moment, if not several. I am more and more impressed with Black Widow -she truly deserves her own film. Her moves in the opening action sequence manage to be both graceful and brutal! It's amazing. And I appreciate the fine line she walks between Tony and Steve.

Doug: I'm really unsure what to make of the use of Giant-Man. On the one hand, "Heck yeah!!" But then it seemed as if he moved in slow motion the entire scene, which really made the character less than formidable. But there were some cool visuals, like grabbing and holding Rhodey by the legs, and breaking off and swinging the airplane wing. And speaking of cool visuals, how about the Vision phasing into Wanda's room near the beginning of the movie? That brought a big smile to my face. I liked the way the Vision was portrayed and thought he got some great screen time. Hawkeye seemed a bit short-changed -- and even when he had the chance to call himself "Hawkeye", he said "My name is Clint." Why run from it?

Karen: I figured you would love the Giant-Man sequence! Yes, he moved a bit slowly, but I think it heightens the sense of his size. I loved Paul Rudd laughing maniacally when he grew! And everyone freaking out about it! It was just perfect. There was the right mix of serious and light-hearted in this fight. 

Doug: Maybe my reservations about the movie lay in a line of dialogue during the big airport battle. When the Widow and Hawkeye engaged hand-to-hand, they fell to the ground and Natasha remarked, "We're still friends, right?" Well that seemed from then on like it was really stupid and unnecessary. And I had to wonder -- actually I hoped -- if everyone was pulling their punches.

Karen: I sort of assumed there would be a lot holding back -these people are friends or at least co-workers. I didn't believe they would be trying to kill one another. Well, except for Black Panther. He definitely was. What did you think of how he looked, and how Chadwick Boseman played him? I thought it was spot on. 

Karen: Of course, you know I love me some Vision, and I was immensely pleased with the direction they took with our android Avenger in this film. He's logical, he's measured -and he's also undeniably falling for Wanda. I just wonder though if it will be reciprocated?

Doug: Vision cooking was priceless. And speaking of Vizh, am I wrong that the only time we see his density increase is when Wanda manipulates his mass and makes him sink? We saw flight and phasing, but I don't recall the ol' "hard as a diamond" schtick.

Karen: I don't know about another example of his super-heavy form, but his hard as a diamond form was used when Giant-Man kicked a bus at Panther and Vision just stood there in front of it and it shredded around him. That was quick but awesome. Really, he's so powerful, he could handle most of Cap's team himself.

Doug: I guess that went right past me. That airport scene, once it lands on YouTube, will be one replayed for the ages. Sort of like the Thor/Hulk battle in The Avengers and the elevator scene in Winter Soldier.

Doug: So back to the Panther. He was just another in a long line of "gettin' it right" from these MCU creators. I mean, go back to Tuesday's characterization question... Can you think of an egregious "miss" in the MCU? Sure, they're for the most part playing these characters as their Ultimate universe selves. but we continue to come to them the first time "knowing" them. I really liked the Panther costume, and didn't mind that it was made of vibranium -- for all I know, that's true in today's comics. No clue. But the bullet-proof capability, coupled with his speed and agility (by the way, the motorcycle chase scene was a bit far-fetched, even for comics -- the Flash wasn't the one running, you know) make him a very special hero.

Karen: With Panther, I think we got the regal character we expected, whose rage was held simmering below the surface. I just hope we get to see some of his genius intellect next time around. I hope they don't drop that aspect of the character. Spidey was another delight.For once, he felt like a teenager. Was Spidey essential to the story? No, not at all. But I loved how he was portrayed, I liked how he and Stark played off each other, and I'm looking forward to the Spider-Man film with Marvel at the wheel.

Doug: I totally concur on all things Spider-Man, from the lack of necessity to the plot to Stark's rapport with Peter (and with May). I  made a comment on our spoiler-free post last week that this Aunt May is the age she really always should have been. Really, if Stan Lee and Steve Ditko had wanted a frail old woman in Peter's life as an ongoing (and ongoing...) plot device, then he should have been raised by his grandma or great-grandma. Like I said, two of my aunts are only around 12 years older than I, and two others are only slightly younger than my parents. If you reflect on May's depiction in even the earliest issues of Amazing Spider-Man, she has to be in her late 70s. For a 15-year old kid, that's not his aunt. Loved the new costume, the CGI eyes, and the banter. Absolutely smiled out loud (you know what I mean) when Spidey was criticized (by Falcon?) for talking too much during a fight. The display of Peter's strength and agility against much older adversaries was a superb showcase of what is to come. I really can't wait for the reboot to land; everyone knows I'm on record for not liking Andrew Garfield -- looking forward to this breath of fresh air.

Doug: Baron Zemo. Many have complained that he was a wasted villain, or not necessary to the plot. I think an underlying theme in the film was manipulation. And truth, too. The Avengers have been manipulated by Loki, Ultron, Crossbones, and Zemo. They keep being forced into situations where choices need to be made, and generally with consequences that fall outside what our heroes would normally morally choose. So Zemo was, in my opinion, an able catalyst. Granted, he took some chances and got lucky (movie lucky, comic book lucky) that Cap and Bucky followed him to Siberia. Iron Man following them -- calculated or lucky? It's an old trope -- having one's enemies destroy themselves. Zemo nearly pulled it off.

Karen: I just don't know why they bother calling him Zemo -he has nothing to do with the original villain. That does annoy me a little. But not enough to matter when it comes to my overall enjoyment of the film. I guess I was just hoping that 'Zemo' would have some greater connection to the Marvel universe. But you make a good point -why is it that these heroes are so readily manipulated? And what does that imply when we consider that Thanos is on the way? In comics, heroes are mostly reactive, while villains are the ones initiating action. It's much the same in the films, but the heroes seem to be easily worked into bad situations.

Doug: No hood, no Adhesive X, no Zemo as far as I'm concerned. But again, I thought as a plot point the character's presence was fine.

Karen: I also felt there were deeper machinations at work: what was it that Howard Stark had in his car that the Winter Solider took from him? It looked like five bags of some sort of blue-colored plasma. This was  apparently then given to the Russian soldiers to create more winter soldiers. Was this another version of the super soldier formula that SHIELD was working on? Will we ever learn more about that?

Doug: My assumption was that it was a replication of the Super-Soldier serum. Say, did you count the dead Soviets (man, that sounds like a name for a punk band) in the last scene? Did Zemo indeed slay them all? I was thinking that we might have had the opportunity for the Soviet Super-Soldiers in a future Winter Soldier standalone flick.

 Karen: I did count, and it looked to me like we started with five, and ended with five -dead. So I think all of them are dead -at least the ones we saw. But hey, who knows -maybe one will be revived as Deathlok? Oh wait -they already made a super-lame version on the Agents of SHIELD TV show.

Karen: And here's a silly thought: Was having Wanda in a green outfit at the beginning of the movie a tip of the hat to her first appearance in X-Men #4, where the Scarlet Witch was in a green costume on the cover? OK, probably not, but these are the things that rattle through my brain.

Doug: You scientists are so detail oriented. How'd you pick up on that? I got nuthin'. But then, that will give me something to look for if I see the film again. After this discussion, I think I'm even a little more amped for it than when we began. And I'm really anticipating everyone else's views in our comments section.

Karen: Me too, so let's get throw it over to everyone else! And hey, Humanbelly -Bob C. says he's going to revoke your Marvel Nerd card if you haven't seen Civil War by now, so for your sake, I sure hope you can report in!

If I Had a Buck... Civilized!

Martinex1: We are just days away from the Captain America: Civil War release and I have been avoiding as many trailers and spoilers as possible. But the fact is, I have been seeing previews for this grand kerkuffle in the Marvel Universe for decades, as the heroes have repeatedly relied on fisticuffs to solve their problems. Long before the comic book Civil War, the attitude was punch first and ask questions later. Disagreements over hidden faces, shady actions, misunderstood movements, and even a favorite food seemed to lead to an epic battle. 

So here we are in the mystical comic shop for our regular $1 Challenge shopping spree of If I Had a Buck... For those of you that have not joined us before, it is a simple game of choosing from the titles below, picking your favorites from this virtual spinner rack and commenting on those issues, the characters, the genre, Marvel in general, or anything that pops into your heads. We once again are pulling from the Quarter Bin as some of these comics came out in the (eeek!) 1990s and even the 2000s, and could not have been purchased for a single greenback. So you have four quarters for four comics with our friendly foes fighting ferociously. Who can ask for more?

There were plenty of Marvel cover battles to choose from, but I did my best to limit it to characters appearing in the film. (If the Hulk had been included, there would have been dozens more). If you can think of other examples, please share. Thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics site for the easy research and cover hunting.

So without further ado, jump right in, keep your hands to yourself and enjoy!

That's Just Dumb

Doug: Some things, in the hands of the ignorant, are dangerous. As this is the endless season of elections here in the States, we are inundated with poll after poll. But it's a poll I saw on Twitter a couple of days ago (and actually voted in) that has drawn my ire. Have a look for yourself:

Doug: Really? Now you all could guess that I voted for Goliath. Yup -- finished dead last. Check out the number of voters. Over 13K... and over 8100 of those nitwits chose Ant-Man as their favorite alias of Hank Pym? Clearly, these weren't Bronze Age Babies voting in this poll.

BAB Classic: Nice Job, Hank! Bride of Ultron Part 1

This post was originally published on 6 August 2010.

Avengers #161 (July 1977)
"Beware the Ant-Man!"
Jim Shooter-George Perez/Pablo Marcos

Doug: Today begins a 4-part series that I can only call "one of my all-time favorites"; to call it anything less would be a lie. It's been long known by anyone I've ever discussed comics with that the Avengers are my favorite team, and surely somewhere in that conversation it's come up that if John Buscema is my #1 Avengers artist, then George Perez is #1A. Toss in a script by Jim Shooter, a long-ago superstar with another favorite title of mine, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and the formula for a winner is all here.
Doug: I am going to mix into these reviews some thoughts from my essay on Hank Pym, scheduled to appear in Assembled, Volume 3. To begin, the splash page by George Perez showed Ant-Man lurking in a ventilation shaft while Cap, Iron Man, Vision, Wonder Man, and Wanda enter the room. Making himself known via the use of a magnifying glass, Ant-Man addressed the group. It doesn’t take any time at all for us to know that Hank is not right. Seeing him like this, I felt that the potential seemed great for a mental breakdown along the lines of that suffered through Avengers #59-60 – and that is indeed what came to pass.

Doug: Hank was enraged that the Avengers were not present for their “first official meeting” – no Hulk, no Thor, and Iron Man not in his old, clunky yellow armor. Referring to Wanda as “the chick in the swimsuit” and Cap as a “two-bit imposter”, Hank asked for answers and when receiving only stunned silence launched a one-man (and mega-ant) attack against his friends. As the Beast and the Black Panther entered the fray, Hank single-handedly dismantled the team in a great scene by Perez that evoked the equally great cover. During the fracas, Hank's speech was unlike anything we’d seen from him. In response to the Vision’s suggestion that Hank is somehow putting them on, Ant-Man snapped: “Back off, Red Puss! And you can drop the weird hollow voice bit! Special effects don’t impress me!” It’s only when the Wasp suddenly appears, startling Hank and attacking him with her stings, that he is subdued. After containing him and restoring him to his normal height, Jan related the recent backstory of their personal lives, as she said, “It’s been…building for a long time…and I’m afraid his mind…has finally snapped.”

Karen: It's pretty cool to see the oft-denigrated Ant-Man wiping the floor with the Avengers! Obviously, he had the advantage, seeing as how his pals were both stunned by his actions, and unwilling to actually hurt him. Even so, he shows that he can be more effective than I think most of us ever considered.

Doug: Jan took the team back to shortly after she and Hank were married. She mentioned the accident that led to Hank taking the Yellowjacket identity and that subsequent to that his lab work began to go awry. Hank had begun to respond with rage and violence, often destroying machinery and other resources. Jan said that in days past it was always she who went to Hank for strength and support, but during this period their roles reversed. Jan mentioned that she had suggested therapy but that Hank would never have agreed to it; she went instead and was told to try to bring Hank back to life as it had existed before he had become YJ. She stated that things had been going well, and that she was excited when he agreed (seen in Avengers #151) to join her back on the team. But, as they flew back to the lab mere days before this, Hank sped away from her. And then the attack in the guise of Ant-Man…

Karen: I know Jim Shooter wanted to turn a Marvel hero into a villain, and eventually did that with Hank. Was he already planning that here? He planted the seeds certainly, with Jan's story about how Hank was often violent and unhappy. I mean, we saw some dissatisfaction on his part over the years, but I never got the feeling prior to this that he was capable of such rage. It also seems like Jan does a bit of blaming herself for Hank's issues here, and that would be magnified later.

Doug: The Avengers decide that Hank needs to be subjected to the "subliminal recall-inducer". Lord, if that isn't straight out of the Batman TV show!! Anyway, they put him under this old-fashioned hair dryer doohickey and... nothing. So, Wanda decides that maybe more of his close friends might bring him back. Cap attempts to contact Thor, Quicksilver, and Hawkeye, but no dice. We do get to see Hawk and Two-Gun living the dream out on a dude ranch, and that's a fun interlude.

Karen: That device was first seen back in issue 99, when it was used on Hercules. So you can blame Roy Thomas if it seems hokey!

Doug: Back in New York, the Beast is asked to drive Jan to her house to pick up some things. Shooter uses this little vignette as an opportunity to expand Hank's character, and Jan's too. It's a really nice scene. But, when Jan enters the house, she's struck down by an intruder who in turn takes out the Beast. Hank manages to make it back to Avengers Mansion in time to announce the arrival of Ultron! Last seen in Fantastic Four #150 at the wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver, Ultron was reconstructed and apparently made meaner than ever. He begins to knock down Avengers in a cool, calculated manner. No one staggers him, until Wanda begins to mess with his computer mind. Even that is temporary. Iron Man is drained of energy, the Vision goes down early, Wonder Man (who Ultron had done homework on) is taken out, and then the less-powerful members fall; most are taken out by Ultron's encephalo ray, a deadly neuro-neutralizing beam.

Karen: Great stuff in this fight sequence. I don't know if Ultron had ever seemed so menacing before. We get more of Wonder Man's fears,and Wanda's assertiveness which seems to have carried over from the Englehart era.

Doug: I'm certain some among our faithful throngs of readers are just dying for the scheduled BAB rip-job on Pablo Marcos' inks. Well, from my perspective Mr. Marcos did a pretty bang-up job here. As was stated in our first Open Forum, perhaps an inker's main job is to enhance a bad penciller and to stay out of the way of a good penciller. I feel Marcos does the latter here. My complaints earlier about harsh faces, muddy panels, etc. just aren't found.

Karen: I have to agree with you Doug: I have no complaints about the inking here. Perez' art comes through and looks as slick and detailed as I would expect. It's a fantastic looking issue.

Doug: The story ends when Hank, overwhelmed at the events of his day, decides to lash out at Ultron. Ultron seems surprised, but then calmly holds a finger toward the small hero, sucking him into a chamber as a prisoner. In a brilliant bit of foreshadowing, Ultron gloats over the defeated Ant-Man, ending his comments with a single word -- "father". The scene fades to black as the robot exits the mansion, only to return to light as Jarvis enters the room -- to a fabulous last-panel by Perez.

Marvel Premiere 48: Let's Get Small -- the Conclusion

Marvel Premiere #48 (May 1979)
"The Price of a Heart"
David Michelinie-John Byrne/Bob Layton

Doug: Almost six years ago (!) I wrote a review of Marvel Premiere #47. I obtained that comic as a pack-in with the Marvel Legends Ant-Man figure. But I did not back in 1979 nor did I in the present ever have a copy of Marvel Premiere #48... until now! Last Tuesday I received my copy of the Marvel Pocketbooks The Astonishing Ant-Man: Origins, published by Panini Books. As Edo Bosnar has long sung the praises of these little tomes, I'll again echo his encouragement. They are so compact, yet contain the same number of reprints as would a regular size trade. And you cannot, cannot beat the price -- under $8.00 (free S&H) for this, which is less than a buck a book! The contents, you ask?

• Marvel Premiere #s 47-48
• Iron Man #s 131-133
• Avengers #s 195-196 and 223
• Marvel Team-Up #103

Doug: I'll get a couple of first impressions off my chest as we begin. David Michelinie tired me out real fast with his constant references to the pop culture of 1979. He mentioned the Dino diLaurentis King Kong film in this issue, but in part one he'd subjected me to Steve Martin (you know that's where I stole the title), Raquel Welch, James Whitmore, Bobby Riggs, and E.R.A. If that's what "holds up" means, then it didn't. It was just a bit much at times.  The art, on the other hand, was absolutely beautiful. Many of us have remarked through the years that as big fans of John Byrne's Bronze Age art, we're even bigger fans when he's inked by someone as polished as Terry Austin or in this case Bob Layton. It's a fantastic pairing, and one we should see more of (like on Hulk Annual #7).

Doug: So as we finished the last issue, our new Ant-Man Scott Lang was on a mission to enlist the aid of a Dr. Sondheim. She might have been the only physician on earth who could save Lang's daughter, Cassie. Cassie suffered from a heart ailment where the aorta had grown inward and created severe complications. Lang had gone to find Sondheim, but upon locating her was dismayed that she would not see him and was under the protection of armed toughs. Pressing the issue, Lang got himself slugged by some shadowy dude the size of the Hulk... but with a pink arm (?). So, having been a former burglar Lang decided he'd just trail Sondheim to wherever it was they took her. Her destination happened to be Cross Technological Enterprises, a company that made just about anything that could make its owner richer. And that owner just happened to be the body on the other end of that pink arm -- one Darren Cross, who really was as big as the Hulk!

Doug: Once inside CTE, Lang had stumbled across a closet that contained an Ant-Man suit. It seems Hank Pym had some association with CTE, so had apparently stashed a costume there. Lang stole it, took it back to his apartment and tried it on. The next thing we knew, he was superheroing. Accosting Dr. Sondheim in an operating room (after roughing up some of the goons standing guard), Lang was shocked to see Darren Cross rise from an operating table and state in no uncertain terms what was and was not going to happen. So as we pick it up in the conclusion, Cross and Ant-Man battle for a few panels before Cross knocks Ant-Man out of his senses. Using tweezers to pick up the tiny hero, Cross uses the growth gases on the front of the suit to return Ant-Man to his normal stature. Breaking the antennae on the helmet and ripping the gas canisters away, Ant-Man is tossed into a cell. Cross later comes by to visit his prisoner, and it's here we learn his origin.

Doug: Darren Cross was a successful businessman who had amassed a fortune. Driven, the tension in his life eventually caused his heart to malfunction. Seeing doctors, he was of course told to slow down, take a vacation, etc. Cross would hear none of it, and so sought a solution within his own company. He found it, in the form of an experimental device called the Nucleorganic Pacemaker. Immediately undergoing the implant, it was not long before Cross began to experience side effects. His strength and senses seemed heightened, but his complexion was turning a pink hue. Going into seclusion, Cross implored his doctors to cure him. They transplanted a heart... and another and another. Still no good, as the pacemaker was now basically eating the hearts. So Cross enlisted (involuntarily) Dr. Sondheim to help him with her knowledge of laser surgery. Ant-Man stopped Cross's monologue and asked how this would end -- if the pacemaker were to be removed, wouldn't that kill Cross immediately? Affirmative. But he'd never run out of replacement hearts, as Cross revealed a room filled with homeless men, kidnapped to be his endless supply of spare parts!

Doug: Cross left Ant-Man alone after telling all the dark secrets -- after all, that's what super-powered and over-confident knuckleheads do. Lang was nothing if not resourceful. He'd stashed a couple of spare antennae in his boot, just in case (Deus. Ex. Machina.). Getting the cybernetic helmet back up and running allowed him to call for troops. The ants came quickly, helping to also get the gas canisters back. Lang immediately went into attack mode, knowing that he had to a) stop Cross, and b) get Dr. Sondheim out so she could operate on Lang's daughter. The action over the next several pages is outstanding -- extremely well-delineated, choreographed, and paced. One of the treasured shots from Marvel Premiere #47 was a growing-and-punching Ant-Man -- Byrne and Layton repeat that here a couple of times, to great effect. As the fisticuffs continue to rise in intensity, Cross suddenly seizes up, then collapses. Dead. Ant-Man whirls toward Dr. Sondheim, incredulous. She says that it wasn't anything Ant-Man did (which was actually the answer Lang was looking for), but something she had done to Cross earlier. You see, she knew of Cross's "source" for the constant heart transplants. And so when Ant-Man had interrupted her surgery, she had just finished leaving Cross's old heart inside him, rather than giving him a new one. She told Ant-Man that she knew her oath, but she also knew the horrible truth about Cross. Do no harm, indeed.

Doug: But wait, there's more! The creators don't leave us hanging in regard to Cassie's surgery, which was good since this is a try-out book filled generally with one-shots. Dr. Sondheim was able to get Cassie's heart back in functional order. But as Lang was breaking his conversation with her, a voice from behind him made an address. It was none other than Yellowjacket -- the very inventor of the Ant-Man technology. Lang stuck both his hands out in front of him as if waiting for cuffs, assuming the Avenger had come to reclaim what was his and to take Lang back to prison for the burglary of CTE. But no -- Hank Pym had sought out Scott Lang only to give his blessing. Pym explained that he'd actually watched, through surveillance cameras, Lang steal the suit. Keeping an eye on Lang, YJ had followed him into CTE on the quest to find Dr. Sondheim. However, the more experienced hero had been knocked out while trying to move about in stealth mode and was not able to give Lang any back-up. Since Lang had won the day on his own, it only made sense to Pym to welcome Lang into the fraternity. And thus, as they say, was born a hero!

Doug: Shame on me perhaps, because the entire time I was watching Ant-Man this past July I made no connection to the Darren Cross in the film with the big pink guy here in Scott Lang's origin story. But I'm going to give myself a pass on it, since as I remarked at the top I had never seen today's issue until just a few days ago. So the meat-and-potatoes of the comic book version of Cross were largely unknown to me. But I was surprised at how much of this two-issue introduction formed the backbone of the Ant-Man film. That Pym saw Lang steal the suit, that Pym and Cross were connected, that Pym gave Lang his blessing -- all of that made the final cut. So really, if you think "comic accurate", the writers and creators of the film really honored the source material. It's refreshing to now know that. This was a really fun two-parter, and to those of you who got to read both sides of this tale back in the day, I'm envious. This would have hit the spinner racks only several months before I took my high school hiatus from collecting. My loss, as I'd have liked to have been able to spend some more time with our new hero, Scott Lang.

PS: The Ant-Man costume is a classic design, isn't it?