Avengers #63
And In This Corner… Goliath!
The Black Panther, Hawkeye and Vision are on their way back to New York from Wakanda. As they approach Avengers Mansion, their craft begins to malfunction prompting an emergency landing. Hawkeye attempts to use one of his arrows as an anchor but the string on his bow breaks. Grabbing the arrow and using his phasing powers, the Vision is able to create the needed anchor so T’Challa can land the ship onto the roof of the mansion without causing an accident.
When they enter their headquarters, the Avengers are delighted to see that Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne are back from their honeymoon.[1] They are surprised to see that Hank is wearing his Yellowjacket costume. He explains that he decided to keep the identity since his growing formula has been having a negative impact on his help. Still able to shrink in size, Pym decided to continue using the Yellowjacket identity since the costume was designed to fly. He admits that the sudden decision comes at a bad time since Janet was working on a new Goliath costume to pair with his new and improved growth formula.
That’s when they are contacted by Nick Fury, who has called to tell them that the Black Widow — who has been on a secret mission for SHIELD — is in trouble somewhere in the Caribbean.[2] The Avengers agree to go looking for her, however the Black Panther pulls rank as acting-chairman for the week and orders Hawkeye to stay behind since he is too closely invested in the Black Widow’s fate. After Jarvis finishes fueling up their ship, the Avengers take off, leaving Hawkeye behind. Moments after the others are gone, the Black Widow contacts Hawkeye and tells him that she has been captured and is prisoner somewhere in New York. Although the transmission is cut off, Hawkeye can tell from the background noise that she is being kept at Coney Island. Deciding to give up on his archery, Hawkeye decides to put on the Goliath costume and use Pym’s formula to increase his size. Calling himself the new Goliath, Hawkeye heads off to find Natasha.
The Black Widow is being held prisoner by Egghead, the Mad Thinker, and the Puppet Master who are all working together on a scheme to take over the world.[3][4] As it turns out, Egghead was behind sending the Avengers to the Caribbean by imitating Nick Fury. That’s when the Mad Thinker picks up Goliath’s approach to Coney Island on his scanner. Thinking this is Hank Pym, Egghead intends to leave a trap waiting for him. After the three villains activate a size-changing android, they abandon their hideout, leaving the Black Widow behind as bait. The android grabs the Black Widow and engages in battle with Goliath when he arrives on the scene. The automation heads for the astro-ride, a ride that drops passengers from a fantastic height. Climbing up after the android, Goliath remembers that he can change his size and after freeing the Black Widow, returns to his normal size. Unprepared for this, the android loses its balance and falls to its destruction on the ground.
Although the immediate battle is over, the Black Widow warns him of the threat posed by Egghead and his allies. Goliath needs to get in touch with the Avengers as soon as possible because the whole world might be hanging in the balance.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Yellowjacket, Wasp, Hawkeye/Goliath, Black Panther, Vision), Black Widow, Egghead, Puppet Master, Mad Thinker, Edwin Jarvis
Continuity Notes
Janet and Hank got married in Avengers #60.
The Black Widow went on this mission for SHIELD in Avengers #57.
For more on this scheme see Sub-Mariner #14 and Captain Marvel #14.
Egghead mentions his long standing animosity with Hank Pym. A footnote reminds readers that this dates back to Tales of Astonish #61.
