Talesto Astonish #45
The Terrible Traps of Egghead!
Egghead was a brilliant scientist who turned to crime after he was fired from his job at a government atomic research facility. His first job was trying to eliminate Ant-Man for the local mob. However, the tiny hero easily outsmarted Egghead. Although he escaped, Egghead suffered a breakdown and, now broke, has been spending his days living in a rooming house muttering to himself.[1] One day, Egghead is snapped out of his stupor when two crooks named Ape and Twister came to the rooming house to lay low while on the run from Ant-Man and his new partner the Wasp.[2] Egghead tells them how he too was once defeated by Ant-Man and suggests that they work together to defeat their mutual foe.
After learning everything Ape and Twister know about the Wasp, Egghead begins formulating a plan as he considers the Wasp to be Ant-Man’s new Achilles heel. Setting up a lab in the cellar of an abandoned building, Egghead begins working on a device that will scramble the messages that Ant-Man’s helmet receives from ants. He then assumes the identity of Professor Carl Striker, a noted zoologist, and begins giving lectures on insects. Sure enough “Striker’s” lectures attract the attention of Henry Pym and Janet Van Dyne, who is secretly Ant-Man and the Wasp. Later, when Ape and Twister hear a radio report about the Lady Elizabeth Necklace going on display, they suggest stealing it. Egghead agrees as it will be the perfect bait to lure the Wasp into a trap.
The following day, Egghead sets up a lecture on wasps at a nearby zoo to act as a cover for their robbery. He then gives Ape and Twister a device that will allow them to disable the security system at the diamond cutter where the necklace is being kept on display. After Egghead’s two goons steal the necklace, Egghead goes to work using his new invention to scramble the messages carried across Ant-Man’s network of ants.
Sure enough, when Henry Pym gets an alert from his ant monitor, the message is scrambled. Suspecting trouble, he calls Janet Van Dyne and asks her to meet him at his lab. There he tells her what’s going on. As they change into Ant-Man and the Wasp they hear a radio report about the theft of the necklace and head to the scene of the crime to look for clues but find none. Meanwhile, Egghead gloats over his success so far but Ape and Twister want to fence the necklace. Egghead has to remind the pair that they need the necklace as bait. The trio then spend the rest of the evening setting up traps for Ant-Man and the Wasp at the zoo’s reptile house.
The next day, Egghead as “Professor Striker” puts on an exhibit on wasps which naturally draws out Janet Van Dyne. When she gets up close to a model of a wasp’s hive, she spots the stolen jewels hidden inside. At first, she thinks to call the police or Hank about it, but decides to act alone in order to prove to her partner that she is a grown woman he can fall in love with. She then changes into the Wasp and flies into the fake beehive, only to realize it was a trap. Trapped in a maze, she uses her antennae to contact Ant-Man so he can rescue her. When Ant-Man arrives, astride on an ant, he falls through a trap floor into one of the lizard pens. Luckily, someone had dropped a nail inside the enclosure and he uses it to slay the lizard. When he gets loose from the enclosure, Ant-Man faces a surprise that Egghead has prepared for him, an ant-eater.
By this time, the Wasp has freed herself, and the pair work together to defeat the ant-eater as well as Ape and Twister. Unfortunately, while Ant-Man and the Wasp are busy with is minion, Egghead manages to escape. With the battle over, Ant-Man scolds the Wasp for going off on her own, reminding her that they are a team. As the Wasp secretly longs for Ant-Man to return her love, Egghead vows to get revenge.
Recurring Characters
Ant-Man, Wasp, Egghead
Continuity Notes
Egghead was previously defeated by Ant-Man back in Tales to Astonish #38.
The Wasp became Ant-Man’s new partner at the end of last issue. Also, believe it or not, someone actually gave Ape and Twister real names when they were mentioned in the Egghead entry of the Avengers Assemble Handbook #1. They are Donald Jones and Mick Bird, respectively.
Topical References
Egghead’s home is actually referred to as a flophouse located in the Bowery. This should be considered topical since the term “flophouse” to term those living below the poverty line is considered a disparaging term. Also, the Bowery has gentrified since this story was published so even if Egghead was living in a flophouse it would be a trendy well-built flophouse.
The alarm system at Anton Myer’s Diamond-Cutters was disabled by cutting wires to the security system. Which was a feasible way of disabling an alarm in the 1960s. Modern-day alarm systems however have a series of redundancies that prevent them from being disabled by a simple wire cutting. Moreso now that alarm systems now utilize wireless technology.
