A Journey to the Center of the Ant

Yellowjacket and the Beast are returning to the hospital where the Wasp is recovering from injuries sustained in battle. Before they can enter, Yellowjacket suddenly collapses to the ground. When the Beast checks on him, he discovers that Yellowjacket is slowly growing in size and deduces that this must be because of the microbe in his body that limits the use of his size-changing powers.[1]

The Beast races upstairs to get Thor and a doctor to overlook it. When they get outside, Yellowjacket has grown a great deal in the time it took to get them. That’s when the Beast comes up with an idea. He takes off for his former employer, the Brand Corporation. Along the way, he thinks about how he was fired after asking for a week off to travel to Canada.[2] He took it poorly at the time, but Hank is glad that he no longer works for the shady company.

Sneaking onto the property, the Beast hopes security at the facility hasn’t changed since he last worked there. He manages to break into his lab even though he alerts security in the process. There, Hank finds the formula he was developing while working for the corporation. While making his escape, the Beast is winged in the shoulder by a shot fired by one of the guards. While the Beast heads back to the hospital, a woman who knows him comes calling for him at Avengers Mansion. The door is answered by Jarvis, who tells the young woman that the Avengers are away. Fearing that the Beast might give her the slip again, the woman decides to sit on the stoop and wait for him to come back.[3]

While above the city, the Vision and Scarlet Witch are returning home from their honeymoon. Spotting the giant Yellowjacket on the street, the pair realize there is trouble and quickly land their Quinjet on the street. There, Thor gets them up to date on what’s going on. The Scarlet Witch then uses her hex powers to try and stop her teammate’s uncontrolled growth. Unfortunately, all her power can do is slow down the process. That’s when the Beast arrives with his formula and suggests they use it to cure Yellowjacket. Thor suggests that they first try it on the Wasp, who is infected with the same microbes. At first, Janet’s doctor refuses until Thor slips away and changes into his mortal guise of Doctor Donald Blake and uses his professional reputation to convince the doctor to let them use the formula on her.[4]

As Don Blake and the Beast get to work on curing the Wasp, Iron Man and Moondragon continue to search Doctor Doom’s castle for clues as to what happened to Hawkeye.[5] That’s when the Time-Platform suddenly reappears with blood on its deck. Although this raises a great deal of concern for Hawkeye’s well-being, Iron Man smells a trap.

Back at the hospital, the Beast completes the necessary adjustments to his formula and has it administered to the Wasp. He then races outside where Yellowjacket is even larger than before. Needing to get the formula into his bloodstream as quickly as possible, the Vision offers to use his phasing powers to deliver it directly to his bloodstream.[6] Pouring the formula into his cape, the Vision enters Yellowjacket’s body. Inside, he fights through Pym’s antibodies and releases the formula directly into his heart. Moments after the Vision exits Yellowjacket’s body, Pym begins to return to his normal size and is back on his feet in minutes. Racing into the hospital Yellowjacket is delighted to see that Janet has finally awoken from her coma and is expected to fully recover.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Thor, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Moondragon, Beast), Edwin Jarvis, Patsy Walker, the Brand Corporation

Continuity Notes

1. Hank was exposed to this microbe in Marvel Feature #4.

2. Hank went up to Canada with his ex-girlfriend Vera Cantor to look for Calvin Rankin, aka Mimic. See Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #16 and Incredible Hulk #161.

3. This mystery woman is revealed to be Patsy Walker, whom the Beast first met back in Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #13. Patsy is looking for the Beast so he can follow through on his promise to make her a superhero.

4. A footnote here states that the only mortal who knows Thor’s double identity is Iron Man. The pair deduced each other’s alter-egos in Avengers #113. Tony Stark is not the only mortal who knows Don Blake’s secret, but I think the footnote was specifically talking about Avengers.

5. This story suggests that Moondragon and Iron Man are in Latveria. However, this is an error as pointed out in Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Marvel Team-Up #2. This is actually Doom’s castle in the Androndiac Mountains. The time machine in question is the one the Avengers used in Avengers #56 and Avengers Annual #2.

6. The Vision mentions how, recently, the situation was reversed with Pym (as Ant-Man) traveling into the Vision’s body to repair him in Avengers #93.

Topical References

• Dated references: Walter Concrite.

• However, a reference to Peter Pan should not be considered topical since the story is considered classic literature. Moreover, now that Marvel is owned by Disney and Peter Pan is intrinsically linked to Disney due to their animated film, it’s reference here would be an exercise in brand synergy and not a topical reference.

• Hank states that he hasn’t worked at the Brand Corporation for two years. This should be considered a topical reference as it denotes the passage of time between publications. Per the Sliding Timescale, it would have been roughly six months in-universe.

• Likewise, the Vision states that it was “years” when Ant-Man repaired his body. This is another case of measuring time by publication date. Per the Sliding Timescale, it’s actually been about a year and 3 months.