Right from the cover, we are made aware that in this issue, we will have Giant-Man fights for his life against the Wasp! then on page one, a Big Surprise is revealed to us that “this issues big bad villain learns the secret of Giant-Man’s real identity!” But what do these two bits of promotional text promise us? Does the story live up to the hype?

Story

This is the story of a two-bit criminal named Second-Story Sammy and while failing at a burglary, runs into a stroke of luck. By chance, his failure and one by Hank Pym leads them to meet in a way that is advantageous to Sammy to steal Pym’s suit and become Giant-Man. It is easy to see where the story is going, and that is why the Wasp is in conflict with Giant-Man.

Hanks’s other problem, which I only slightly alluded to, is that he made a giant plant that continues to grow and threatens to destroy the whole city. It is being called about this as Dr. Pym that rouses the knocked-out hero and starts to bring things to order.

It is sad that the wasp ultimately plays a minor part in what could have been a great story for her, to take down and tackle Sammy while Hank deals with the other problem. But she ends up being used mainly as a delay for the antagonist and is more or less taken out of the fight by him. We are some time from strong female heroes in general, but when we see hints of possibilities go to waste, it is still hard.

Regarding Character, Development, Originality, and Continuity, I have opted not to give them their own sections in this review. In short, none of them had any significant positive growth. The story is a stand-alone bit that can fit anywhere, and just as it does not rely on what came before too much, it also does not leave any growth going out.

Artwork

The art of this issue has its ups and downs; in the end, it just doesn’t sit right with me. From our way, the heroes look to even the cityscape being invaded by the plant. I find it lacking. It has strong points, including the battle with the wasp among the gems mid-issues.