Avengers #28
Among Us Walks a Goliath!
The Avengers have just returned home from their battle from Attuma to receive yet another distress call. This time it is from a scientist named Henry Pym, who reveals that he was Giant-Man, one of the founders of the Avengers.[1] He has called because he has lost track of his lover, the Wasp, who had left his research ship to find the Avengers earlier and has not reported back.[2] Pym has had no choice but to reveal his secret identity to the Avengers in order to get help finding Janet.
As the Avengers make preparations to visit Henry Pym, Janet Van Dyne — aka the Wasp — finds herself a prisoner of a man who calls himself a Collector. He has trapped her in a glass vial that keeps Janet at Wasp size. He explains to her that he has made it his life’s mission to collecting the greatest prizes of all. Since he has enslaved the villain known as the Beetle, the Collector has decided that he needs a team of super-heroes in order to complete his collection and has chosen the Avengers.
Later, Hawkeye has brought Henry Pym to Avengers Mansion. There he is asked to prove that he is really Giant-Man by changing size. Pym is reluctant to do so, explaining that he hasn’t used his size-changing powers for some time as it was starting to affect his health.[3] That’s when they receive a call from the Collector, challenging the Avengers to rescue the Wasp from his clutches. Realizing that he has no choice in the matter, Pym agrees to prove that he is really Giant-Man. However, he warns them all that he can only grow to one size — 25 feet — and only for fifteen minutes. To do so for more or less than fifteen minutes could cause a great strain to his body. Before he changes, the Scarlet Witch gives him a new costume that she has designed. Once changed, Pym then grows to 25 feet in height and when Captain America quips that he is a regular Goliath, Henry decides to take on that name since Giant-Man has always sounded corny to him.
Fifteen minutes later, when it is safe for Goliath to resume normal size, the Avengers take their jet to the location the Collector has given them. Along the way, Hawkeye is disappointed that Goliath has returned to the team as he had aspirations of taking over the Avengers from Captain America. When they arrive at the location, they discover the Collector’s hideout is hidden within a mountain. When they enter the building, an alarm warns the Collector that his guests have arrived. Once inside, the wall close in on the Avengers is gassed and taken prisoner. Once he has the Avengers restrained, the Collector doesn’t recognize Pym in his new costume and is disappointed that Giant-Man isn’t present to complete his collector. That’s when Goliath proves him wrong by assuming his 25-foot stature.
As the Collector flees, Goliath frees the other Avengers. They follow after their foe, but Goliath finds this a challenge as the Collector’s castle was not built for someone his size. Along the way they are attacked by the Beetle, who Hawkeye remembers as the one who attacked him at Avengers Mansion earlier.[4] While Captain America, Hawkeye, and the Scarlet Witch deal with the Beetle, both Goliath and Quicksilver continue after the Collector. The Collector takes down Quicksilver with the sound of a gong that knocks him out. He then uses a crystal ball taken from a Tibetan monastery to incapacitate Goliath. However, Goliath swats the weapon out of the Collector’s hands. The Collector responds by throwing two magic beans on the ground, creating a pair of giants to materialize in a cloud of smoke.
While Goliath is busy with these two giants, the Beetle returns with Captain America as a prisoner. However, Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch soon arrive to help save the others. With the giants defeated, Goliath grabs the Collector and demands he reveal the location of the Wasp. That’s when the Collector pulls the vial containing the Wasp from his pocket and threatens to crush her if Goliath doesn’t put him down. When Goliath complies, Quicksilver manages to snatch the Wasp away at super-speed. With the battle lost, the Collector manages to snatch a teleportation device that allows him and the Beetle to escape.
With the battle over, the Wasp is freed from her confinement and she returns to normal height. When Goliath tries to shrink down he realizes that he has been at his 25-foot height for over 15 minutes. The shirking process is painful and he suddenly collapses into a coma at 10 feet tall. The Avengers now fear for Goliath’s survival and wonder how he will be able to live in the world if he is stuck at his current 10-foot height.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Goliath, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch), Collector, Beetle
Continuity Notes
Pym, as Ant-Man, was one of the founding members of the Avengers, as seen in Avengers #1. He later became Giant-Man in Tales to Astonish #49. He and the Wasp went on a leave of absence from the Avengers in Avengers #16.
After they were attacked by the Sub-Mariner in Tales to Astonish #78, Henry sent the Wasp to alert the Avengers in Avengers #26. She was captured by Attuma but hadn’t been seen when the Avengers stopped him last issue. As for the threat of the Sub-Mariner, that issue resolved itself in Tales to Astonish #80.
Giant-Man had retired from his costumed identity following his last chronological appearance in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37.
The Beetle attacked Hawkeye at Avengers Mansion in Avengers #26-27.
