Appearing in "The Incredible Shrinking Doom! / The Beginning:"
Featured Characters:
- Ant-Man (Hank Pym) (Main story and flashback) (as Giant-Man and Yellowjacket in flashback)
Supporting Characters:
- ⏴ Spider-Man (Peter Parker) ⏵
- Orkie (First appearance)
- Dr. Curt Connors (Mentioned)
Antagonists:
- M'Sieu Tête (First appearance) (gang leader)
- Goldie (First appearance)
- Shiner (First appearance)
- Silent Joe (First appearance)
- Michael Stockton (First appearance) (Unnamed)
Other Characters:
- Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) (Only in flashback)
- Hawkeye (Only in flashback)
- Martha Connors
- Billy Connors
Locations:
- New Jersey
- Southampton (First appearance)
- Eagleneck Point (First appearance)
Items:
Synopsis for "The Incredible Shrinking Doom! / The Beginning:"
Hank Pym and Peter Parker are working in Pym's lab when a gangster steps in and tells them to warn Dr. Curt Connors that he and his crew have kidnapped Connors' son and they want the new drug that Doctor Connors has been working on. Pym doesn't know Parkers' identity as Spider-Man but Hank's identity is public so they go off to stop the kidnappers and retrieve Connors' son. They can't tell Connors because any stress will turn him into the Lizard.
They confront the criminals but their leader produces the kidnapped boy and explains that he's been infected with a fatal virus and that Ant-Man and Parker (Peter doesn't put on his costume for this fight) will stop or he will not give the antidote to the boy.
The boy escapes and Ant-Man demands that he be allowed to go rescue him, but the kidnappers tell Ant-Man that they won't let him go unless he and Parker allow themselves to be injected with the drug, first. Allowing it, Ant-Man and his dog, Orkie, goes off to find the boy, but on the way he discovers that he cannot grow to his full height again once he's shrunk to just above ant-size. Parker, tied-up in the next room, escapes and changes into his Spider-Man garb and defeats the kidnappers, retrieving the drugs. The duo and the boy are cured but Ant-Man has discovered that he still cannot grow to full-size.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- Thomas credited with writing the "jazzy introduction", that supposedly being The Incredible Shrinking Doom! on story pages 2 and 3 that feature a brief summary of Henry Pym's career and life.
- Martha Connors refers to her son Billy Connors as Timmy. Ant-Man and Peter Parker instead refer to him as Bobby. He is never referred to as William or Billy.
- M'Sieu Tête displays a French accent in his dialogue.
- This issue debuts the series first letters page, The Astonishing Ant-Mail. Letters are published from David Lomazoff and J. Michael Reaves.
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