Tales to Astonish #48
The Porcupine!
As Ant-Man and the Wasp fly past an army ordnance plant, Ant-Man marvels how the finest minds in the country are working on new weapons to keep their country safe. The Wasp, however, is interested in how many attractive men are working there. They are unaware that a man in that plant is going to become one of their greatest foes. This man is Alex Gentry and he has just found inspiration for his latest invention from the porcupine. He has designed a suite of “porcupine” armor that could turn soldiers into a one-man regiment. The suit is fitted with a gas mask because it is covered with “quills” that can spray a variety of gasses and liquids from stun-pellets to napalm. However, Gentry has grown jealous of others becoming rich off his inventions and vows to take what he believes he is owed. He gets inspiration when he reads a front-page story about an allegedly burglar-proof bank vault created by Hank Pym. Alex decides to rob that bank.
The following day, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne are present to the unveiling of the new bank vault. Noticing that Janet looks flush, Hank worries that she might be getting sick. The festivities are interrupted by the Porcupine who fills the bank with tear gas. Hank drags Janet into a nearby office, he shatters the window so they can get some fresh air. Meanwhile, the Porcupine uses an acetylene flame to burn through the vault. After taking all the cash, the Porcupine then escapes thanks to his suit’s built-in jetpack. Recovering from the gas attack, Hank and Janet change into Ant-Man and the Wasp. However, when they arrive at the vault they realize they were too late to stop the thief. By this time, the Wasp’s illness has gotten worse and she begins feeling faint. Hank takes her home and makes her stay in bed until she gets better. Once she finally goes to sleep, Hank begins monitoring the news for any word on the Porcupine.
Meanwhile, the Porcupine robs another bank unaware that he is being monitored by Pym’s network of ants. They trace the Porcupine back to his job at the army ordinance center. With Janet still asleep, Hank goes out as Ant-Man on his own to confront the Porcupine. However, the Porcupine is waiting for him and quickly captures Ant-Man. The Porcupine removes Ant-Man’s helmet and then drops him in a bathtub to sink or swim. At that moment, the Wasp wakes up and discovers that Hank is gone. Checking with the ant network, she learns that Ant-Man has been captured. The Wasp then gathers a team of ants to help save Ant-Man from his watery prison. They then begin working on a trap for when the Porcupine returns. When he does, the Wasp distracts him with her stinger while Ant-Man and his ants leap on bags of liquid cement. The glue is sprayed all over the Porcupine, plugging all of his quills and rendering him powerless. Despite this, the Porcupine manages to escape via his jetpack, vowing to one day get his revenge.
Ant-Man is grateful for the rescue and tells the Wasp that he has something for her when they get home. Janet expects an expensive gift but is disappointed when Hank is just going to give her medicine for her illness.
Recurring Characters
Ant-Man, Wasp, Porcupine
Topical References
Henry Pym checks Janet’s pulse to tell if she is sick or not. This has since been replaced with more accurate ways of gauging if someone is sick.
At the end of the story, Hank tries giving Aureomycin to Janet. Aureomycin is the commercial name for a drug called Chlortetracycline. I have no idea why Pym is giving this to Janet to treat what appears to be a cold or the flu since it’s primarily used in veterinary medicine and has very little use in human medicine. It’s like giving Ivermectin to cure Coivd-19. By today’s standards, Hank would be giving her antibiotics to fight off the viral infection.
