The Name Is… Yellowjacket!

A gang of crooks are caught in the middle of a fur robbery by New York’s newest super-hero, Yellowjacket! When the police arrive to pick up the crooks, Yellowjacket takes off without making a statement, telling the officers that he is a man of action. Yelowjacket’s war on crime has become a media sensation and, surprisingly, newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson comes to like the hero. However, this probably has more to do with the fact that Jameson had an interest in the fur company that was saved from robbery. Returning to his office, Jameson is annoyed to see Spider-Man hanging from a flagpole reading the paper. As usual, these two mortal enemies begin bickering with one another.

At Avengers Mansion, Hawkeye is testing out a now boomerang arrow with the Black Panther. That’s when the Wasp arrives and asks her teammates if they have seen her boyfriend, Hank Pym, aka Goliath. The last anyone heard, Hank had said he was going to work on a private experiment. Hawkeye assures her that Pym is probably fine, reminding her that he can take care of himself. The Vision suggests that they conduct their scheduled meeting without Hank so they can get about their days. However, each of the Avengers has their minds focused on other things. For the Wasp, she has been concerned over Hank working so hard in his lab. While the Black Panther thinks about how, as the ruler of Wakanda, he has recently been at the United Nations telling the world that Wakanda will only share its advanced technology with nations that seek peace. The Vision is focused on how, despite being a member of the Avengers, people still fear him because he is an android. Lastly, Hawkeye worries about the Black Widow who has left him to go on another mission for SHIELD.

While the Avengers are busy, their butler Jarvis is ambushed by Yellowjacket who has managed to break into the mansion. He then interrupts the Avengers meeting to petition them into allowing him to join the team, assuring them that Hank Pym will not show up. When they ask why, Yellowjacket claims to have killed Goliath. Hearing this is such a shot to the Wasp, she passes out. Yellowjacket explains that he ambushed Goliath at his lab where he then exposed Pym to shrinking gas and left him at the mercy of a spider. The other Avengers are horrified to hear this and, naturally, refuse to allow a man who killed one of their own onto the team. The Avengers attack, but Yellowjacket is able to hold his own with his stinger-blasts and ability to command wasps. He then grabs the Wasp hostage and flees, telling them that they won’t see her again unless they agree to allow Yellowjacket on the team.

Yellowjacket takes Janet to his hideout where he keeps her hostage. The Wasp asks him how Yellowjacket intends to get away with murder. Her kidnapped points out that he made sure that nobody would be able to find his body and without corpus delicti nobody will ever be able to convict him of murder. He then grabs Janet and then forces her to kiss him. Although she resists this at first but something about the way he kisses her stop.

Later, the Avengers are surprised when the Wasp’s tracking device is suddenly reactivated. They follow the signal to city hall where the Wasp and Yellowjacket have just finished seeing a Justice of the Peace. The Black Panther tries to attack Yellowjacket, but the Wasp pleads with him to stop. When the others question why she no longer wants her captor to be harmed, Janet shocks them all by revealing that she and Yellowjacket are going to get married.[1]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Goliath/Yellowjacket, Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Vision), J. Jonah Jameson, Spider-Man, Edwin Jarvis

Continuity Notes

1. Yellowjacket is revealed to be Hank Pym. As explained next issue, an accident in the lab caused Hank to suffer a change in personality. It is later revealed in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (vol. 2) #5 reveals that the Avengers figured this out on their own and were only playing along for the sake of Hank’s well being.

Topical References

• The police are depicted using a call box to call in Yellowjacket’s bust. This is topical since police officers now carry two-way radios making call-boxes obsolete.