A desperate mission behind enemy lines brings four unlikely heroes together! Your Major Spoilers review of Giant-Man #1 awaits!

GIANT-MAN #1

Writer: Leah Williams
Artist: Marco Castiello
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Editor: Chris Robinson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 15, 2019

Previously in Giant-Man: At the behest of All-Mother Freyja, four men (Ant-Man/Scott Lang, Giant-Man/Raz Malhotra, Goliath/Tom Foster and Atlas/Erik Josten) must rise to monstrous heights and infiltrate the most savage territory of New Jotunheim: Florida!

LAND OF THE GIANTS

With the Asgardian invasion of the Earth in full swing, All-Mother Freya has seen her son, Loki, devoured whole by Laufey, the king of the giants. She begins this issue by contacting Scott Lang with a desperate plea: Help her to punish the murderer of her child. Scott, a good dad by nature, agrees to help, trekking into the frozen wilderness that has overtaken Florida to meet up with several other Giant-Man and infiltrate the Frost Giants stronghold. Their first hurdle comes in Goliath’s inexperience, having never topped out above 25 feet, but they quickly get him up to speed (so to speak) and disguise themselves with some blue paint and a few skins, setting out for Laufey’s stronghold. They are immediately detected, setting up a high-speed giant chase through and/or over the streets of Yeehaw Junction, FL, with Goliath straining to stay at height, Atlas dealing with being the only non-Ph D in the group, Scott trying to hold it all together and Raz actually making himself useful. The big problem comes when they reach Laufey’s fortress, only to realize they don’t know how to get in… and the giant hounds they’ve been fleeing have found them.

THIS PLAN IS DOOMED

I’m always a bit leery of a big line-wide crossover, simply because so many of them neglect everyone who isn’t a top-tier movie Avenger, so seeing Ant-Man teaming up with the other (you should excuse the expression) high-profile heroes is nice. The cover of this issue is absolutely gorgeous and in no way indicative of the interior art, but the interiors aren’t bad either. Castiello is able to convey the sense that this is still recognizably Florida, all the while adding in Frost Giant bazaars and walls of bone and skull, and the tweaks to Goliath’s costume are long overdue. Williams’ script feels suitably cinematic, bringing home the fact that this is a desperate, last-ditch effort that even Freya doesn’t know will work, focusing on the interplay and conflict between these established heroes (and Raz!) It’s a fun take on the ‘Ocean’s 11’ style heist movie (and yes, I’m aware that it predates ‘Ocean’s 11’) and it works really well, especially in conveying that all is probably lost.

BOTTOM LINE: I LOVE A GOOD INDY PLOY

All in all, Giant-Man #1 lives up to my expectations as the only ‘War of Realms’ crossover that I was really looking forward to, combining character moments and big action sequences well, setting up a mission for revenge whose endgame is unknown, and doing all of that with some pretty good art, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. It’s probably too much to hope that Goliath comes out of this as an actual Avenger, but hopefully he’ll get some development other than “angry young man.”

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GIANT-MAN #1

70%

70%

Awkward, But Kinda Fun

There's a lot of friction here (and a lot of repurposed Hank Pym aliases, as well), with some interesting art and clever story bits making for a fun read.

• Writing

  7
• Art

  6
• Coloring

  8
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  5