TALES TO ASTONISH #48 (1963)

A scientist invents the perfect weapon. Only even better.

Because his porcupine suit can shoot gas and fly and stuff.

Hank Pym is basically the same kind of guy as Reed Richards in terms of how he treats women. I wonder if Stan Lee treated his wife so chauvinistically? People usually write what they know. Or maybe he just really wanted to be a macho man, on some level, but also knew that this is a really f-ed up way to treat women.

Janet is still one dimensional.  And marriage obsessed.

Porcupine escapes.  Note that he’s fat.  I kind of like seeing a normal-looking dude.

And by the end, Hank is still an asshole. No character arc here.

I’m trying to accept that these stories are dated by the time they were created, but even by 1960s standards this is not great writing.  Nor is a porcupine suit with special quills all that interesting.  Still, it maintains Stan Lee’s obsession with characters based on animals and insects.  Which is fun.

Also, my first chronological entry for exceptional sound effects (see Sound FX tag below for more).

Slightly below average for its time, compared to the other Marvel books on the market in 1963.

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