Avengers #227
Testing…1…2…3!
The Avengers have welcomed the new Captain Marvel, aka Monica Rambeau, onto the team as an Avenger-in-Training.[1] The team decides to test out the range of her abilities and has her turn into her energy form and circle the globe through a ring of orbital satellites. They are blown away when she manages to make this trip in a matter of seconds.[2] Everyone is pleased with the new recruit except for Hawkeye, who doesn’t like the idea of inviting all these untested members onto the group. With business done for the day, the Wasp leaves for other business.
As Hawkeye storms off in a huff, Iron Man levels with Captain America about his recent poor judgement in trying to date the Wasp as Tony Stark without first revealing to her that he was also Iron Man.[3] Meanwhile, Thor is thinking about how his duties as an Avenger keep interrupting his attempts to establish a new life for his mortal guise of Donald Blake in Chicago and begins contemplating his future on the team.[4] At that same moment, She-Hulk is struggling to find something to do in between Avengers missions now that she has relocated from Los Angeles to New York. Captain Marvel is given a tour of Avengers Mansion by Jarvis, the team butler. As he takes her down to the records room, he mentions how she shares the name of a long time Avengers ally, the late Kree Captain Mar-Vell. Intrigued to learn more, Monica pulls up Mar-Vell’s file to learn more about the hero.[5]
Meanwhile, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Girl are out on a jog in Central Park when Sue notices they are running late for their meeting with the Wasp. Thanks to Reed’s stretching powers they make it to the restaurant on time. The couple want to express their concerns about Janet taking on too much all at once since becoming chairwoman to the Avengers so soon after her divorce from Hank Pym. Janet assures them she can handle it just fine and excuses herself to go to the washroom. In reality, Janet is about to cry and takes the time away to regain her composure.[6]
At Dusk, a psychiatrist named Doctor Paul Edmonds arrives at Ryker’s Island. He has been hired by Tony Stark to evaluate Hank Pym’s sanity while he awaits trail for the theft of the government’s supply of Adamantium.[7] His arrival coincides with Plant-Man and the Wizard — the last two super-villains at the prison — are being transported to other facilities.[8] Hank Pym is open to talking about his past to the doctor…..
Hank begins his life story back when he was an undergrad where he majored in biochemistry and minored in cybernetics. He was always focused on his work until one day his school friends convinced him to attend a party where he met the first love of his life, Maria Trovaya. The two fell madly in love and were quickly married. However, tragedy struck when the newly weds went on their honeymoon in Maria’s native Hungary. Due to her parents political ties, Maria was kidnapped and murdered. This caused Hank to suffer the first of many mental break down and landed him in trouble with the Hungarian authorities. He only got out of jail thanks to the work of the State Department.[9] Recalling the death of his first wife, Hank realizes that he still grieves for her loss after so many years.
Continuing his story, he talks about how he eventually developed the formula that allowed him to shrink objects down in size, and later used this discovery to become the super-hero called Ant-Man, although he admits that he did not plan for things to turn out that way.[10] Not long after this, Hank met Janet Van Dyne through her father. When Vernon Van Dyne was murdered, Hank used his scientific expertise to turn Janet into the Wasp and avenge her father’s death. The two became partners from that moment onwards.[11] It wasn’t long after this that Ant-Man and the Wasp help found the Avengers alongside Thor, Iron Man and the Hulk.[12] During those early days, Janet often spoke of how attractive Thor was around Hank and uncertain if she was just trying to make him jealous, Pym became focused on increasing his powers and pulling his own weight. This is what led to Hank creating his growth formula and reinventing himself as Giant-Man.[13]
Reflecting back on this, Hank recounts that despite the increase in strength, Giant-Man was clumsy and inept in battle. Ultimately, the strain of growing proved too taxing on his body and Hank and Janet resigned from active duty on the Avengers.[14] However, it wasn’t long before Janet convinced Hank to return to the team, rejoining the group as Goliath.[15] Although he was the most experience on an ever changing team, he inadvertedly created one of the team’s greatest foes, the killer robot known as Ultron.[16] It was also around this time that his relationship with Janet was becoming troubled, particularly since Jan had inherited her family fortune at the time.[17] Hank really wanted to marry Janet at the time but didn’t know what to do. It took an accident in his lab, causing him to temporarily develop a split personality and becoming Yellowjacket. When his mind finally cleared he and Janet were finally married.[18]
Still, even as Yellowjacket, Hank was looking for a way out and he eventually got the chance to retire,[19] although he would return to his role as Ant-Man on occasion.[20] The times that Hank retired from heroics and buried himself in his scientific research led to failure after failure. Eventually he was brainwashed by Ultron into helping him, but the Avengers helped stop the evil robot.[21] Returning to the team as Yellowjacket, Hank remained a member until their government liaison, Henry Gyrich, cut down the team to seven members. Janet remained on the Avengers without him.[22] Hank lost himself in his research but made none of the breakthroughs he was hoping for.
Trying to prove his own self-worth, Hank returned to the Avengers when they re-organized again. However, this attitude led to him to unnecessarily prolonging the team’s battle with the Elfqueen. Facing court-martial and desperate to redeem himself, Hank built a robot to crash the hearing so he could win everyone’s sympathy. This backfired spectacularly and Hank found himself expelled from the Avengers in disgrace.[23] When talking about his involvement in the theft of government Adamantium, he insists that he was framed by Egghead and how he intends to prove his innocents and win back his reputation. When Doctor Edmonds asks if this also involves winning back his wife, Hank admits that he is past that and accepts that Janet has moved on. This concludes their session and when Edmonds returns to his office he reports his findings back to Tony Stark. He concludes that Pym has suffered a lot over the last decade but he seems to be of sound mind presently and that there might be some credibility to his claims that Egghead framed him. However, Stark mentions how Egghead seemingly died recently, leaving Edmonds to wonder if this might be a delusion.[23]
Little do the two men know is that Egghead is listening in on their conversation and plotting to deliver his final blow against Hank Pym during his upcoming trail.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel), Plantman, Wizard, Egghead, Edwin Jarvis, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Henry Pym, SHIELD, Maria Trovaya (flashback)
Continuity Notes
Captain Marvel’s origins and her recruitment into the Avengers were detailed in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16.
Captain America compares Captain Marvel’s speed to that of Quicksilver. Quicky joined the Avengers #16 but has not been an active member since issue #104. A footnote here refers to Quicksilver as a mutant, which truns out to be untrue. As explained in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4, Quicksilver was experimented upon by the High Evolutionary as a child. In order to cover up his work, he made it so that all future genetic testing would have Pietro register as a mutant.
After the Wasp divorced her husband, Yellowjacket following the events of issue #213, Tony Stark had a brief affair with Janet in Avengers #224. When he finally revealed his double-identity to her, Janet ended their romance as she did not want to get involved with an old friend of her ex-husband.
At the time of this story, Don Blake just recently relocated to Chicago. See Thor #319.
The first Captain Marvel appeared on the scene back in Marvel Super-Heroes #12, his name derived from humans mispronouncing his name, Mar-Vell. At the time of this story, Mar-Vell had just recently died of cancer, as seen in Marvel Graphic Novel #1.
The Wasp became chairperson to the Avengers in issue #217. Here she mentions how she tried to recruit Sue into the Avengers, that happened in issue #221. Sue declined to join leading to She-Hulk being offered the spot instead.
Hank was framed for this theft by Egghead. See Avengers #217.
Little does anyone know that these are actually plant-based replicas of the two villains created by Plant-Man himself to cover their escape from prison. The truth is not learned until Avengers #231-232 and 234-235.
Hank’s marriage to Maria was first detailed in Tales of Suspense #44. Some of the details in this retelling have changed from the original story, see topical references below for more details. This story presents the events as though Maria was instantly murdered. However, it’s later revealed that she was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter named Nadia. Nadia will resurface in Free Comic Book Day: Civil War II #1 and her origins revealed in All-New All-Different Avengers #14.
Hank developed his shrinking formula in Tales to Astonish #27, but did not become Ant-Man until issue #35 of that series. In his recollection we see a scene of Ant-Man battling Egghead for the first time, this happened in Tales to Astonish #38.
Janet became the wasp in Tales to Astonish #44, that story and this recollection depict Hank and Janet meeting for the first time at that moment. A later retelling of their origins in Avengers Origins: Ant-Man & The Wasp #1, reveals that they actually knew each other much earlier. My index chooses to accept that telling. See here for more details. Here Hank states that Janet was “barely 20” when they first met. See below.
Avengers #1, as if I needed to tell you.
Hank made his debut as Giant-Man back in Tales to Astonish #49.
Giant-Man and the Wasp retired from the Avengers in Avengers #16.
Hank returned to the Avengers as Goliath in Avengers #28.
Although Ultron first appeared in Avengers #54, Hank’s hand in creating the machine wasn’t revealed until issue #58.
Janet inherited her family fortune when she turned 23 as detailed in Avengers #43.
Hank’s second breakdown, his becoming Yellowjacket, and subsequent marriage to the Wasp were chronicled in Avengers #59-60. Nobody saw this as a huge red flag.
Hank mentions his and Janet’s honeymoon which they were away from the team in issues #61-62, so it must have been pretty short. Hank decided to retire as Yellowjacket after he as briefly de-evolved by the Kree in Avengers #90-91.
He did return shortly after as Ant-Man in Avengers #93 to help repair the Vision. He would appear as Ant-Man in Avengers #93, 99-100, Iron Man #44, Incredible Hulk #154-155, Marvel Feature #4-10 and Captain Marvel #35 & 37 before returning to his Yellowjacket identity in Giant-Size Defenders #4.
Ultron’s manipulation of Pym took place in Avengers #161-162.
Hank second tenure on the Avengers as Yellowjacket lasted from issue #137 until Gyrich cut down the team in issue #181.
Hanks most recent tenure and ejection from the Avengers was chronicled from issue #211-213.
Egghead was seemingly killed when Cobalt Man exploded himself in Defenders #43. However, as we’ve seen, Egghead is very much alive and taking advantage of his apparent demise. How he survived is explained next issue.
Topical References
Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Girl meet with the Wasp at the Tavern-On-The-Green, an iconic restaurant located in Central Park. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world business and could change name or be shut down entirely, which happened once between 2009 and 2014 when the city of New York declined to renew the lease with the establishment.
Hank Pym is depicted reading an issue of People Magazine. This should be considered topical as this is a real world publication.
Doctor Edmonds is depicted recording Hank Pym’s session on a tape recorder. This should be considered a topical reference as that is an obsolete technology.
The details of Hank’s marriage to Maria have been updated from the original telling from Tales to Astonish #44. Many of the details on display here should be considered topical references. See below for more.
Changes to Maria Trovaya’s Backstory
This story updates Maria’s backstory from its original telling in Tales to Astonish #44. In the original tale, her parents were referred to as political prisoners of the communist Hungarian regime. The retelling here updates this background. In this telling, it states that Maria’s parents fought in a revolution decades earlier. Given this story was published in 1982, this is likely reference to the Hungarian revolution of 1956 against the Russian influence on Hungary’s politics.
These facts and the depiction of Hungary as a communist nation should all be considered topical references.
A retelling of Maria’s death in Avengers Origins: Ant-Man & The Wasp #1 generalizes these topical references. It is now accepted that Maria’s family had political enemies but there are no references connecting her murder to any historical event. That same story also depicts Maria getting shot right in front of Hank, however, Pym revisited that moment in a dream and one could assume that the discrepancy is due to the fact that it was a nightmare and not the actual events.
How is Janet Van Dyne?
In his recollection, Hank states that Janet was barely twenty when the “first met” (meaning Tales to Astonish #44) So how old is she really? Avengers #43 states that Janet is 23 years old, the age that she needed to be to inherit the family fortune. Avengers #43 was published in August 1967 and her appearance in Tales to Astonish #44 was in June 1963. Making her first appearance and her turning 23 happening about a year apart.
We can assume that Hank is generalizing as he is remembering events that happened about six years earlier, per the Sliding Timescale. I don’t know about you, but at 40 my memories of events — particularly how I was when something happened -— are beginning to blur together as I get older. That’s kind of a normal thing. The expectation that Hank would have a 100% accurate recollection of people’s ages at a given time in the past is a high expectation to have when people in real life don’t remember things that well. Cut the dude some slack.
Anyway, if Janet was 23 in Avengers #43, that would make her 22 during her first appearance and about 27 at the time of this story. If you accept that, per Avengers Origins: Ant-Man & The Wasp #1, that Hank met Janet around the time he first discovered Pym Particles in Tales to Astonish #27 (like I do), saying she was barely 20 at the time they first met actually fits since Hank’s discovery predates the start of the Modern Age.
Plotting Hank’s Timeline and Age
This story paints a general timeline of Hank’s life from his early days in University to the present day. Specific years are not stated and while most of the events can be plotted along Marvel’s Sliding Timescale based on publication dates of various stories, some of the new facts detailed here are not so easy to pin down. However, based on the facts presented here and in other stories we can establish a timeline.
Age of Ultron #10.AI provides the missing pieces of Hank’s early life that were not told in this issue. It charts Hank’s birth all the way up to his discovery of Pym Particles. However, that story omits his marriage to Maria. Still that story and this one we can fill the gaps. However, it’s not without problems. Some of the math works out, others not so much.
What Doesn’t Work: Based on a key date in this story, it appears that we can determine how old Hank was at the time of Age of Ultron. When talking about the death of his grandmother we see her tombstone which reads that she was born in 1929 and she died in 1988 when Hank was seven years old. Those dates are relative to the date of publication and thus topical, but from there we can extrapolate Hank’s age. Age of Ultron #10.AI was published in 2013 So from the perspective of these dates we can determine how old Hank is. 2013 - 1988 = 25 years. If Hank was 7 in “1988” then he’d be 32 in the “2013” of Age of Ultron. However, per the Sliding Timescale, the Modern Age had existed for about 13 years at that point, which would make Hank 19 at the start of the Modern Age, far too young for any of the other facts to fit. I would like to think that maybe the writers didn’t really put much thought into Hank’s chronology in that story. The Age of Ultron flashbacks play things fast and loose and don’t go into too heavy detail. So I think we can ignore the dates on the tombstone as a valid clue. They’re topical and not accurate in the grander narrative.
What Does Work: What Age of Ultron gets right in the story was when they jump ahead 15 years from age 7 to when he was in university. 7 + 15 makes him 22. This fits with the narrative of Avengers #227, which states that Hank got a doctorate while his classmates were still undergrads. An undergrad program takes about 4 years on average. Assuming that Hank went into university right out of high school that would make him about 22 or 23 when he got his doctorate. I’m going to lean older, and say 23. So at the end of the day, we can assume that Hank’s age progression in that story is accurate, but the dates on his grandmother’s tombstone was not correct.
According to Hank Pym’s chronology, Hank’s first marriage (as presented in Avengers #227 and Tales to Astonish #44) take place between page 7 and 8 of Age of Ultron #10.AI. Page 8 of that story deals with Hank quitting a project being funded by Roxxon and started working on Pym Particles. I am presuming that this happened in the same year that he developed said particles, placing it as happening around Tales to Astonish #27, which happened the same year as Fantastic Four #1.
Later in Avengers #221, Dr. Edmonds states that Hank has suffered four nervous breakdowns in the last decade. Presuming that this measurement of time is not topical, it would mean that Hank’s first wife died 10 years prior to this story, and four years prior to the start of the Modern Age. This would put her death as happening four years prior to the discovery of Pym Particles.
This is where things get blurry, because we don’t know how long Hank and Maria’s relationship lasted before they got married. I think we could work on averages. According to my random Googling, the average is between 2 to 5 years, and planning a marriage can take a little over one year to plan. Let’s also assume that the honeymoon happened immediately after the wedding, why not? If Hank was 23 when he met Maria, and they dated for two years, that would make him 25 when he proposed and 26 when he married her. That would make him 29 when he developed Pym Particles. If we went 5 years, that would make Hank 28-29 when he got married and 32 when he first developed his Pym Particles.
If we assume Hank was 32, this fits his comment about Janet being “barely half” his age when she was 20. In that half of 32 is 16. However you increase her age by 10.2% that makes her 20, or 62.5% of 32, which is barely above half if you look at it that way.
So unless there is something imperially stated otherwise and that it works with everything else I’m going to say it’s safe to assume that Hank was 32 when he met Janet, he’s 39 in Avengers #227, and 46 in Age of Ultron #10.AI.
