He was a founding Avenger and predates almost the entire Marvel Universe. Why didn’t Hank Pym ever make it big? And didja hear the one about how he got stuck being small? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Marvel Feature #4 awaits!
MARVEL FEATURE #4
Writer: Mike Friedrich/Roy Thomas
Penciler: Herb Trimpe
Inker: Herb Trimpe
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Roy Thomas
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: 20 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing:
Release Date: April 18, 1972
Previously in Marvel Feature: The first appearance of Doctor Henry Pym hit newsstands in September of 1961, mere weeks after the debut of the Fantastic Four. Of course, his appearance in Tales to Astonish #27 wasn’t a superhero story at all. Instead, it was one of the ubiquitous horror tales of the ’50s, where Doctor Pym invented a shrinking serum, but found himself trapped in an ant colony, only escaping death thanks to a friendly insect. By June of the next year, though, he was back with his trademark costume and helmet. Ten years and three identities later, Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket was semi-retired and off the radar of Marvel fans.
And then, he exploded back onto the scene… literally.
After a quick two-page refresher, we open with Hank and his college-student assistant nearly dying in an explosion caused by an improper mixture of reagents. Pym and his sidekick (some kid named Peter Parker) have been working on something involving drugs on Native American reservations with Dr. Curt Connors, which is how they got the attention of a local gang. The criminals, apparently escaped from a Bowery Boys movie, have a simple deal: Give them the illegal drugs. The end. Oh, and to make sure that the heroes accept, they’ve kidnapped Connors’ son, Billy, but the Ant-Man is on the case!
Ant-Man is impressed when young Parker steps into the conflict as well, though readers who know him as Spider-Man are likely unsurprised. For his part, Peter wants to get Billy home safely not just for the boy’s own sake, but to keep his dad from flipping out and once again turning into the murderous menace called The Lizard. (Of course, getting a chance to punch out Goldfinger’s henchman, Oddjob, was pretty tempting as well.) Their violent delights have violent ends, unfortunately, when the criminals take the upper hand, injecting the hero and his seemingly feckless college boy pal with a fatal disease. Worse still, Master Connors (called Bobby in this story for some reason) has also been injected and escaped, leaving Ant-Man to track him down before they all expire.
That’s right, friends. Apparently, being injected with a virulent strain of rabies messes with Pym Particles, locking Ant-Man in his shrunken state… permanently. With the help of his dog, Orkie (a gift from his wife The Wasp, trained to obey verbal commands), Ant-Man saves Billy/Bobby and steals a truck to return the delirious child to their kidnappers for an antidote. I knew the helmet could control ants, but this is the first time we’ve ever seen it control Spuds McKenzie.
Rather than return to a cadre of mobsters, though, he finds Peter Parker alone with the unconscious thugs, reporting that Spider-Man “somehow” knew about their kidnapping and tracked them down. After that amazing secret identity save, Peter takes Billy-Bob to the doctor in the stolen truck, even though he famously can’t drive, leaving Ant-Man alone to stew in the juices of shrunken indignity.
Those last three panels look truly bizarre, especially since they’re meant to be the dramatic stinger to the story of Ant-Man’s unusual new status quo. Coming right after the three-issue debut of the dynamic Defenders, Marvel Feature #4 tries to go back to the well for another banger, only to turn Ant-Man into Doll-Man and earning 2 out of 5 stars overall. His six-issue as a shrinky-dink was pretty much the end for Marvel Feature, as it only stuck out for two more issues after the end of Hank’s series. Of course, those were the issues that recycled the Marvel Team-Up formula with The Thing, leading to the debut of Marvel Two-In-One in 1974, so at least there’s a happy ending here.
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MARVEL FEATURE #4
Despite an interesting premise and a young Herb Trimpe, it's a big of a slog getting through this one, though the idea of doll-sized Ant-Man riding a dog into battle is entertaining.
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Writing5
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Art4
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Coloring4
