This story kicks off with Hank Pym (Ant-Man/Giant-Man) working in his lab alongside Janet Van Dyne (The Wasp) when a cybernetic alarm goes off. He realizes that the ants must have triggered it because something serious is happening. This prompts him to call the Avengers together to investigate and handle the unknown emergency. However, the heroes collectively reject (and even mock) him for sounding the alarm based on “the cry of the ants,” leading Hank to investigate the problem alone.

From there, our hero discovers that the culprit is none other than Mole Man, who has a villainous plan to speed up the Earth’s rotation, either wiping out or conquering the surface population. Unfortunately, Giant-Man is quickly captured by Mole Man and his Subterraneans.

Eventually, the surface world—and the Avengers—realize that something is wrong. They start to realize that Giant-Man may have been onto something. This leads them to investigate where he went, which prompts an attack by Mole Man’s Subterraneans. But enough of the synopsis! Now, on to the review:

Story

The story, to me, is problematic. The Avengers have been together for a while now and should have built trust in each other. Yet… they don’t trust Ant-Man and his ants, even though he’s used them before. The team’s rejection of Hank’s warning feels forced and weighs down the rest of the plot. It’s a tough hurdle to get past.

Then we have the late addition of The Red Ghost. Honestly, I’m not sure he adds much value here. Sure, he changes the dynamics of the conflict with the Avengers, but I don’t think his presence was necessary for this particular story.

Characters & Development

The aforementioned rejection of Hank and his ants’ signal is, if anything, a step back for the team, and even more so for The Wasp. They fail to stand together as a unit, and this seems like a plot device solely designed to delay the action and split up the team. In my view, this creative choice doesn’t do the story any favors

Originality and Continuity

This issue does tie in well with past events, referencing previous conflicts with the Fantastic Four for both antagonists. It also explains Mole Man’s return. The premise of a superweapon spinning the Earth faster isn’t something I recall seeing before in other stories, so it does offer a bit of originality, which helps brighten some of the criticism mentioned above.

Artwork

The artwork in this issue is dynamic and works well with the flow of the story. While it can be hard to look past some of the negatives, I still enjoyed the action, the combat, and the artistic touches brought to life on these pages.