Writer: Stan Lee
Scripter: Larry D. Lieber
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker: Dick Ayers
Letterer: Artie Simek
“Prisoner of the Reds”
October 2, 1962
American scientists are defecting to the Soviet Union and no one seems to know why. Don Blake decides to set himself up to be taken by coming up with a story that he has a new biological weapon. He travels to Washington and offers his services with the excuse that he never got to serve in Korea because of his handicap.
The interesting thing about this whole setup is that first, we continue the doting Jane does with Don while daydreaming about Thor. But even more interesting is that he flies to Washington by plane to meet with his connection there. Once he gets the approval to proceed, he flies back to New York as Thor. Why? Why not just fly there and back as Thor or take the plane round trip?
Don Blake quickly learns how the scientists are persuaded to defect. They are gassed with a hypnotic spray and then abducted after leaving a note saying the defect. From there, they are transported behind the Iron Curtain. There, he finds the other scientists who have resisted working for the Reds up until this point.
Which brings out another question – Why not simply use the hypnotic gas on them to make them work?
Once the scientists are separated, it’s an opportunity for Don to become Thor. He is quickly forced to surrender when the Reds threaten to kill the other scientists. They bind him in electrical restraints they claim even he cannot break. He changes back to Don after sixty seconds away from his hammer passes.
From there, it’s a pretty standard breakout story as he frees the scientists and brings the castle prison down around the Reds. Not a bad little insert in this anthology, more of the time than a story that stands the test of it.
Writer: Stan Lee
Scripter: Larry D. Lieber
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker: Dick Ayers
Letterer: Artie Simek
The Vengeance of the Scarlet Beetle”
October 2, 1962
OK, this one is just making me laugh. To open, Hank picks up a disturbance in what could best be described as the “insect force”. He quickly travels to the sources of the problem, deep in the sewers of NYC. A red beetle, bombarded with radiation has become super intelligent and can communicate via telepathy with other insects. It riles up the bugs into revolt against humanity.
I know that radiation was considered a great danger in comics in the 60s. From the Fantastic Four to the Hulk to Spider-Man, we have seen how various forms of radiation have had an impact on people, but now we have an insect enhanced by radiation – and he says it proudly as he addresses his minions. And in a way, mankind’s downfall by these insects, should it happen, will be because of their folly in pursuing nuclear research.
Unfortunately, even though he means well, Hank thinks a frontal attack on the beetle will yield success. But he is quickly brought down by insect guards who capture him. In a nice twist, the Ant-Man is placed in a hole without his gas canisters or helmet. He is on his own as he tries to climb out.
Meanwhile, the insects begin their attack on humanity. Some affect infrastructure, others steal weaponry, while others sicken key officials by simply biting them. And once the populace realizes that the culprits are insects, they quickly suspect Ant-Man, still trapped in the hole.
The ants though find the still active helmet and bring it to Ant-Man, who quickly escapes. He then uses honey ants to trap the other insects guarding the Beetle. He repels an attack by grasshoppers by spraying them with water from a tap. He then, in an ironic move, uses DDT to repel the rest of the insects, leaving him to deal with the Beetle.
But the Beetle has Ant-Man’s gasses and uses the enlarging one to bring himself to human size. He chases the hero into a toy store, where Ant-Man brings him down by releasing the gas from the shrinking canister. Brought back down to size, Ant-Man captures the Beetle and brings him back to his lab where he removes the radiation, making him a normal insect once again.
The resolution shows our police wondering what happened to the insects as they have seemingly disappeared. It also begs the question from them, was the Ant-Man afraid to deal with the situation? An interesting take considering they were wondering if Ant-Man was behind it all earlier in the story. I wonder if they will pick up on that plot point in the next story. Time will tell.
Overall, this is the better of the two stories for this October 1962 release. It is fun and there is something more clever about how Ant-Man deals with the situation. It’s almost like Stan Lee had a better handle on how he wanted to portray Ant-Man compared to Thor.
