Appearing in "Doomprayer!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Soulfather (Mikas)
- ⏴ Mr. Kline ⏵
- Senator McJavit (Mentioned)
Other Characters:
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Iron Man Armor MK IV
- Guardsman Armor (First design)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Doomprayer!"
Mikas reveals that his master is Mr. Kline and that his true purpose is the destruction of Tony Stark. At Stark Industries, Kevin O'Brien is investigating Tony's disappearance. He dons the Guardsman Armor which Tony made for him in case of an emergency and enters a rocket craft to fly to Washington, D.C.. In Mikas' realm, Iron Man tries to get Marianne to assist him, but she doesn't seem to recognize him. As Mikas gloats, Mr. Kline's image appears to remind him that he is the real master. Mikas overpowers Iron Man and beats him to the ground. Iron Man calls out to Marianne for help and she begins to waver. When Mikas tries to assert his control over Marianne he turns her against him instead. As Marianne tries to help the fallen Iron Man, Mikas sends them to a palatial locale and they find themselves over a pit containing the immense snake Doomprayer. Iron Man unleashes all the power he has left to destroy both Mikas and Doomprayer, then collapses. While Marianne clutches Iron Man's body, the Guardsman arrives, brings Iron Man and Marianne aboard the rocket craft and remarks that the seeming-demon realm they were in was only a set; he turns the craft back toward New York.
Appearing in "The Black Knight Strikes!"
Tales to Astonish #52
Featured Characters:
- Giant-Man (Henry Pym)
- Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
- Black Knight (Professor Garrett) (First appearance)
- Garrett's Henchmen
- Three unnamed henchmen
Other Characters:
- NYPD
- Black Knight's Winged Horse (First appearance)
- Numerous unnamed New Yorkers (Main story and flashback)
- French Foreign Legion (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
- Storks (Mentioned)
- Winged Horses / Pegasi (Main story and flashback)
- Eagles (Mentioned)
- Cats (Only in flashback)
- Mice (Mentioned)
- Pigeons (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- New York (Main story and flashback)
- New York City (Main story and flashback)
- Manhattan
- Henry Pym's Laboratory
- Broadway (Mentioned)
- Liberty Island
- George Washington Bridge (Only in flashback)
- Manhattan
- New York City (Main story and flashback)
- New York (Main story and flashback)
- Europe (Main story and flashback)
- Alps (Main story and flashback)
- Balkan Kingdom (Main story and flashback)
- Alps (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
Items:
- Black Knight's Power Lance (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
- Giant-Man's Suit
- Wasp's Suit and Wings (Main story and flashback)
- Pym Particles
Synopsis for "The Black Knight Strikes!"
Tales to Astonish #52
Our story begins with Giant-Man busting up a sale of top secret information between scientist Professor Garrett and Communist spies. Giant-Man easily captures all involved, and later in court, bail is set at one hundred thousand dollars. Garrett's bail is paid by his Communist contacts, and he flees the country to a remote Balkan kingdom in the Alps. There he is inspired by a winged horse statue, buys a castle and begins genetically engineering a horse to have wings.
Weeks later, back in America, the Wasp arrives in Henry Pym's lab to tell him a fantastic story: While she was on her way to meet him, she saw a black knight on a flying horse fly through the city and attack an armored car. After using his lance to melt a hole in the side of the car and grabbing the money, he made a quick escape.
Using his ant communicator, Giant-Man finds that the Black Knight is going to attack a helicopter in mid-air next. Commissioning an aircraft to aid him, Giant-Man jumps onto the helicopter that is being attacked, and battles the Black Knight. Overcome with the many scientific gadgets the Black Knight has at his disposal, the Knight gloats revealing that he is Professor Garrett and boasts over his achievements in inventing a lance with many devices and a paralyzer pistol.
Caught up in a bolo, Giant-Man is forced to let go of the helicopter when the Knight blasts him with an itch ray. Falling, Giant-Man takes a shrinking capsule and is rescued by the Wasp, who lands Giant-Man on the back of the Knight's horse. Resuming his giant size, Giant-Man knocks the lance out of the Black Knight's hands. During the struggle, the Knight manages to knock Giant-Man off his horse, but Giant-Man saves himself by grabbing onto a nearby amusement part ride.
The Wasp pinches the Knight's horse, causing it to buck him off, and he and Giant-Man battle it out on a roller coaster, while the Wasp tries to get the Knight's horse under control. The horse bucks her off, and Giant-Man is forced to abandon his fight with the Black Knight to save her.
While Giant-Man is preoccupied with the Wasp's safety, the Black Knight tries to shoot him from behind with the paralyzer pistol. Sensing someone behind him, Giant-Man takes a shrinking capsule allowing him to shrink below the blast. Thinking he has gone mad, the Black Knight stumbles off the roller coaster, but is saved by his horse and makes his escape.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- The Bullpen Bulletins for a number of magazines this month lists the following information, "Two of 'em -- Daredevil and Iron Man -- will be combining into one bombshell title starting next month." This event never did occcur, another Hank Pym story occurs next month, but then Iron Man remains the only star in his title.