The Death-Trap of Doctor Doom!

The Avengers have just publicly announced their formation to the world and the media is abuzz. At the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four look forward to having new allies to work with, even though the Thing is not to happy about the Hulk being a member.[1] Hearing the news, Spider-Man can’t believe this new group formed so soon after his failed attempt to join the Fantastic Four and wonders if the Avengers are hiring.[2] Also watching this news story is Doctor Doom who is furious that more superheroes are appearing and grouping together and vows to destroy the Avengers before they become a problem.[3]

Some days later, Major Bowman has arrived at Avengers Mansion and is allowed in by their butler, Jarvis.[4] He meets with the Avengers to discuss the threat posed by Doctor Doom. After Ant-Man recounts his own encounter with Doom, the Major goes over how Doom also attempted to force the government into bowing to him with an airship that has recently been impounded. At that same moment, the airship suddenly comes to life at the impound yard it has been kept and begins flying away. When word reaches Major Bowman, he asks the Avengers for help. The group agrees to assist and are even loaned a new experimental military helicopter to go after the rogue airship.

They catch up with the ship near Long Island Sound where their ship and Thor are pulled toward it with a tractor beam. The Hulk rushes ahead by leaping through the bulkhead and goes running off to find Doom on his own. The other Avengers follow after him except for the Wasp, who is asked to stay back with Major Bowman. Once the others are gone, the pilot suddenly gasses the Wasp while her guard is down. Soon, each of the Avengers find themselves caught in various traps. The Hulk finds himself trapped in a room covered in non-stick surfaces and pushed around by rapid air jets. Elsewhere, Thor is swarmed by spheres of unknown energy. Iron Man thinks he has found Doctor Doom, but this turns out to be a disguised robot that begins draining the power from his armor.[6]

Meanwhile, Ant-Man finds the real Major Bowman who had been captured by the impostor that lured them into this trap. Suddenly, the door seals trapping Ant-Man inside. Doctor Doom then appears on monitor screens in each of the trap rooms and reveals that he laid this trap and plans on destroying the Avengers. What Doom doesn’t anticipate is that Ant-Man had been working on some new powers. Removing his cybernetic helmet and taking a growth capsule, he changes into Giant-Man.[7] Breaking free from the room, Giant-Man, and Major Bowman find the other members of the Avengers and frees them from the various traps. After Thor recharges Iron Man’s armor with a bolt of lighting they then continue their hunt for Doctor Doom.

When they appear to have found him, the Hulk rushes their foe and shocks them all by ripping his head off. However, it turns out that this is just one of Doom’s Doombots. With the airship set to self-destruct, the Avengers discover that there is only one escape pod. As everyone bickers over if Major Bowman or the Wasp should use it the Hulk grows impatient and tosses Bowman in the escape pod and points out that they can all escape under their own power. With Ant-Man and the Wasp riding on Thor’s shoulder, the three regular size Avengers leap out of the airship moments before it explodes and crashes into the water.

With the battle over, Giant-Man reveals that he was able to find everyone so quickly thanks to the Wasp. When she was captured by Doctor Doom she was able to transmit plans for the airship to Giant-Man via their cybernetic uplink. Thor then wonders if they ever faced the real Doctor Doom. Watching from his monitor, Doom muses that they will never truly know

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man/Giant-Man, Wasp, the Hulk), Doctor Doom, Edwin Jarvis, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Spider-Man

Continuity Notes

1. The Thing points out how the military had previously asked the FF to hunt down the Hulk. That happened in Fantastic Four #12

2. Spider-Man attempted to join the Fantastic Four in Amazing Spider-Man #1 but was turned down. Spider-Man won’t get a shot at joining the Avengers until Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3. He flubs the audition. He later tries again in Avengers #236-237 and again in issues #315-318. He wasn’t a good fit in neither of those episodes but still accepted reserve status in Avengers #329. Spider-Man won’t become a proper full-time Avenger until New Avengers #1-5.

3. Doom mentions all the heroes he has fought prior to this point. They include:

   • The Fantastic Four, his most common foes of whom he has fought with many times since his first appearance in Fantastic Four #5.

   • He mentions his clash with Ant-Man which took place when the diminutive hero assisted the Fantastic Four to liberate a sub-atomic world from his rule in Fantastic Four #16.

   • Lastly, he mentions his recent conflict with Spider-Man, which took place in Amazing Spider-Man #5.

4. Mention is made of the Hulk’s recent government pardon. That happened in Incredible Hulk #6 after the Hulk helped defeat the Metal Master.

5. Doom threatened the world with his massive airship in Fantastic Four #17.

6. Iron Man mentions how his chest plate keeps him alive. At the time of this story, Stark needs the chest plate to keep shrapnel from reaching his heart. See Tales of Suspense #39.

7. This story happens shortly after Ant-Man invented his growth capsules in Tales to Astonish #49.