"Pym Needs A Fly-Swatter", in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes II #4, by Joe Casey (writer), Will Rosado (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Wil Quintana (colorist), Comicraft (letterer)
This was the second of two mini-series Joe Casey did expanding on a particular part of early Avengers' history. The first focused on the very beginning of the team, and involved Scott Kolins on art. This one starts up almost immediately after the Vision initially tries to kill the team, then turns on Ultron and is allowed to join. Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor aren't on the roster, so the leader role falls to Hank Pym, with Vision, Wasp, Hawkeye, and Black Panther rounding out the roster. I figure nowadays it'd be T'Challa, or maybe the Wasp. Hawkeye as third choice. Not that he would be my third choice, but I figure if we're talking someone writing the book for Marvel. There's no reason to put any more responsibility on Pym's shoulders than you absolutely have to.
Not having read the issues these events took place in originally, I'm guessing Casey wanted to expand on various security agencies' reactions to the Avengers allowing an artificial being that just tried to kill them on the team. Plus, there's the Vision's early attempts to try and fit in to humanity, T'Challa assuming his identity as Luke Charles, schoolteacher, and Hank's first total nervous breakdown and the emergence of the Yellowjacket persona. Hawkeye and Black Widow are nearing the end of the road as a couple, but I mostly just enjoy Hawkeye being cocky and abrasive. He notices a SHIELD van running surveillance on him and the Vision (mostly Viz) and he walks over and knocks on the side of it to ask for a copy of the tape.
Casey takes that opportunity to present Jan trying to marry a Hank Pym who doesn't even realize he's Pym as her hoping it'll snap him out of this, rather than her figuring however she can get Hank to the altar is OK. I don't know how sound of an idea it is even with that motivation behind it, but it's a little better than what I've heard we got originally.
Rosado's artwork feels a bit like John Buscema's in the musculature of the characters, that might be Tom Palmer's inking. There are times it doesn't feel as fluid as I'd prefer in the fight scenes, but in this issue, Hank has a nightmare that's a combination of his war against those Adaptoids and his own fears of inadequacy. The Adaptoids are swarming over him, and there's one being crunched between his teeth as he tries to fight them off with a wild eye. That's suitably creepy.
2 comments:
Poor old Hanl. He annoys the heck out of me for being a bit of a tool...but he's so often pathetic that I can't help feeling a bit sorry for him.
The whole mess with Jan marrying him, knowing full well that he was literally oit of his mind is just...ick.
Yeah, I really wish writers would quit trying to put Hank and Jan together again. There's just too much mess between them on both sides. Especially since Hank (when he was alive) was caught in an endless cycle of finding a good state of mind under one writer, only to have the next one focus on tearing him down again. He's a character that, in-universe, should just retire from superheroics. It doesn't do anything good for him.
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