Love’s Lonely Embrace

Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady) has conned his way into a job with Damage Control under the alias Slaying Mantis (aka Dennis Sullivan).[1] What at first seemed like a cushy job in post-superhuman battle search-and-rescue is turning out to be much more difficult in practice. Case in point: He, Visioneer (Abigail his current girlfriend),[2] and Monstro (Frank Johnson) have to subdue the android Dragon Man. While Eric and Abigail struggle with the synthetic beast, Monstro is eventually able to knock it out since it was running on fumes after the superheroes it battled.

With the danger now passed, Damage Control can now move in for their relief and reconstruction efforts. When SHIELD comes to pick up the downed monster, Ant-Man keeps his distance. This is something Visioneer has noticed and asks him about. Eric lies, saying that he has an ex-girlfriend who works in prisoner transport that he’d prefer to avoid. Abigail buys this and changes the subject to their upcoming date on Thursday. She and “Derrek” have grown so close that she has a surprise after their date.

That night, when Eric returns to his apartment he finds the Black Fox waiting for him. The villain has come for one thing and one thing alone. O’Grady doesn’t want to until he is convinced. The gag here is that the Black Fox wants to play video games with him (<sarcasm>ha, ha so funny</sarcasm>).

Meanwhile, aboard the SHIELD helicarrier, Iron Man (Tony Stark, the current Director of SHIELD),[3] has called Mitch Carson into his office. He asks Carson how the search for the stolen Ant-Man armor is coming along. Mitch explains that the trail has gone cold and they don’t have any new leads on the case. Tony tells Mitch to find it as soon as possible before it is used in a crime. When he leaves Stark’s office, he is approached by Veronica King who got to know O’Grady before he went AWOL and wants to know if there has been any news about his whereabouts. Mitch tells her the same thing he told Iron Man and asks why she is interested. Veronica starts to explain her situation, but decides against it.[4]

The next day, Eric is arriving at Damage Control for the day when he is almost bowled over by Monstro who is storming out of the building. “Derrek” asks what the big deal is and Monstro explains that he is quitting. He levels with “Sullivan” by saying that the Dragon Man incident has him spooked because he is an unregistered superhuman with a checkered past.[5] He fears that if he is discovered he will get arrested, something he wants to avoid no matter what. Eric actually knows how to help Monstro out with this problem. They go down to the pawnshop where Eric purchased a fake identity before he joined up with Damage Control. The owner is not happy to see O’Grady again after he robbed him the other night and points a gun in his face.[6] He backs down when Monstro bends the barrel of the gun with his bare hands and gives the two men what they came for. As they leave the crooked pawnshop, O’Grady promises that this ID will work since his own worked when he signed up with Damage Control. When Monstro then asks about the stolen jewels, Eric says that everyone has their secrets.

When it comes to a SHIELD check to see if the superhuman members of Damage Control are all registered, the fake ID’s work. However, there is the matter of everyone needing to be in costume for their SHIELD ID photos. “Derrick” lies and says that he forgot his “Slaying Mantis” suit at home, not wanting to get a picture taken in his Ant-Man duds. After slipping the agent a bribe, he agrees to take a photo of O’Grady with an improvised Hydra mask for his identification.

Later, when Eric and Abigail go on their date, he isn’t concerned about the issues with his actual costume not matching his SHIELD ID. Visioneer is concerned that “Derreck” might get into trouble, especially after the superhero civil war. “Sullivan” isn’t worried and actually enjoyed getting his photo taken wearing an old Hydra mask as a way of sticking it to SHIELD. That’s when Abigail notices that they are running late and need to get to the play. When they arrive, Eric is so bored he falls asleep on her shoulder.

Later that evening, they take the cab back to Abigail’s house where she says goodbye to a woman named Jean who was watching her house while she was out. This has to do with the surprise that she has in store for Eric. She tells him to be quiet and leads him upstairs. She then opens one of the bedroom doors and reveals that she has a son, who is asleep in bed. This revelation deeply upsets Eric, who can’t believe that she would lie through omission about having a kid (seriously dude?). His outburst is loud enough to wake Abigail’s son. She can’t understand why he is reacting so viscerally about this. He tells her it is over and storms out of the house.

Eric then changes into Ant-Man to blow off some steam and finds Monstro on the roof of his apartment. He had come by to drop off a note and didn’t expect to see him in person, but decides to explain why he came anyway. He explains that the reason why he is trying to lay low is because he accidentally killed his wife and daughter when he got his powers. He says it was an accident and he is trying to atone for it by being part of Damage Control. After the incident with the pawnshop owner, Monstro has concerns about “Derreck” being a good guy or not. O’Grady has to consider it for a moment before assuring him that he is.

When Eric goes back down to his apartment, the Black Fox is in there again wanting to play video games. However, when the Fox goes to get Eric out of his room he finds O’Grady sobbing over a photo of him and Abigail.

Recurring Characters

Ant-Man, Black Fox, Damage Control (Lenny Balinger, Monstro, Visioneer), Dragon Man, SHIELD (Iron Man, Mitch Carson, Veronica King)

Continuity Notes

1. O’Grady has been on the run from SHIELD since issue #1. He joined up with Damage Control under an assumed alias last issue.

2. Abigiail’s last name is not given in this story. The Damage Control profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 reveals that it is Dunton.

3. At the time of this story, Tony Stark had just recently been made Director of SHIELD, as seen in New Avengers #25. This is a position he will hold until Secret Invasion #8. Here, his concern is over the Ant-Man suit being used in crime. This is because this story comes on the heels of Civil War #1-7, which saw the passage of the Super Human Registration Act, a law that required superhumans to register with the government. This divided the superhero community in half. This law will remain on the books until Siege #4.

4. Veronica goes into part of her association with Eric O’Grady. They both worked together at SHIELD and she dated his best friend Chris McCarthy until his death in Irredeemable Ant-Man #3. Eric used this to hook up with her in issue #4. Their one night stand was unfortunate in that Veronica soon discovered she was pregnant, just as she was discovering that Eric was no longer interested in her after getting what he wanted (what a piece of shit).

5. Monstro’s criminal past stems from the fact that he couldn’t control his powers when he first got them in an accident. This led to the accidental killing of his wife and daughter, something the authorities believed was intentional. He has been on the run from the law ever since. This was only hinted at in Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #15, but we get the full story later on in this issue.

6. O’Grady purchased a fake ID from this pawn broker when he was fencing jewels stolen by the Black Fox that he pilfered. He later helped the Black Fox rob the same fence shortly thereafter to recoup his losses. This all happened last issue.

Topical References

• The Black Fox specifically comes to Eric’s apartment so they can play the Nintendo Wii. This console was released in 2006 and was relatively new around the time of publication. It stood out from other consoles of the era for its extensive use of motion controls and a focus on interactivity with its games. That said, this console was discontinued in 2014 and its depiction here should be considered topical.

Errors

• When Abigail shows O’Grady her son, she calls him Eric. Something she shouldn’t know since she is unaware that he is working for Damage Control under an assumed alias. In the letter pages for issue #11, writer Robert Kirkman states that she said his name while coughing, making the “D” in his assumed name silent. As far as No-Prize worthy explanations go, that’s pretty weak, but it is what it is. I’d rather assume that since Abigail is about as amoral as Eric (she broke into his apartment last issue, remember?) she could have figured out his true identity and is keeping his secret so he could continue working and dating together. You could assume that her calling him Eric here was a slip of the tongue and since O’Grady is kind of an idiot and also freaking out over her having a kid that he likely overlooked it. That’s a lot more plausible and more entertaining than a cough if you ask me.