The brave story of a man who had stuff spilled on him!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Twitter
Upcoming Episodes
- 4/7: SCI-Spy #5
- 4/14: Red Hood and the Outlaws #1
- 4/21: Athena #2
- 4/28: Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey #1
- 5/5: Zolastraya and the Bard #1
- 5/12: Superman: For the Animals #1
- 5/19: Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos #2
- 5/26: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie #1
About Me
Links
Blog Archive
Labels
- AP Comics (2)
- Ape Entertainment (1)
- AQLA (6)
- Arcana (1)
- Archie (4)
- AT4W (431)
- Avatar Press (1)
- Batman (28)
- Blackthorne Publishing (2)
- Blood Eagle (1)
- bloopers (3)
- Bluewater Productions (2)
- Bongo Comics (2)
- Boom (1)
- Brainstorm Comics (1)
- Brick Computer Science Institute (1)
- Card Games (14)
- Catfish Comics (1)
- CI5P (11)
- Clamp (1)
- commentary (19)
- contest (2)
- Continuity Comics (1)
- Conventions (41)
- Crossover (45)
- Dark Horse (12)
- DC (111)
- Dell (1)
- Draculina Publishing (1)
- Dreamwave (1)
- DVD (2)
- Dynamite (2)
- Edfund (1)
- Eternity Comics (1)
- Fantagraphics (1)
- Gold Key (3)
- Good News Everyone (2)
- Hamilton (2)
- Harvey Comics (2)
- HOPR (17)
- ID (1)
- IDW (20)
- Image (27)
- INKS Comics (1)
- Interview (34)
- Invincible Press (1)
- Kickassia (8)
- Lightbringer (1)
- Longbox of the Damned (64)
- LPEF (9)
- LPPO (9)
- Magnum (1)
- Malibu (2)
- Marvel (104)
- Maximum Press (3)
- Miller Time (11)
- MN Productions (1)
- Moment of Awesome (6)
- Monsterverse (1)
- Now (3)
- Panels (2)
- Parody Press (1)
- Platinum (1)
- podcast (39)
- Pointless Optimism (1)
- power morphicon (5)
- PSA Hell (13)
- Renegade Press (1)
- Review (1)
- Revolution of the Mask (8)
- Revolutionary Comics (2)
- rifftrax (12)
- Scholastic (1)
- Shameless Self-Promotion (3)
- Solson Publications (3)
- Special (1)
- Spider-Man (30)
- Stan Lee Media (1)
- Star Comics (5)
- Star Trek (16)
- Suburban Knights (10)
- Superhero Comics Motif (1)
- Superman (23)
- TAIS (12)
- Tandy Computers (5)
- Teen Titans (9)
- Titans (9)
- To Boldly Flee (12)
- Top 15 (3)
- Topps (3)
- Trailer (4)
- Twilight Twins Productions (1)
- Ultimate Creations (1)
- Ultimate Warrior (5)
- Unleashed (1)
- Valiant (4)
- Vertigo (6)
- Victory Comics (1)
- Viz Comics (1)
- vlog (32)
- webcomic (1)
- Whitman Publishing (1)
- Wildstorm (4)
- Wonder Woman (4)
- X-Men (1)
47 comments:
Funny Alien Ant Farm joke! Kind of a coincidence since Todd did a OHW episode on Smooth Criminal. I actually really like that song.
I know you haven't watched it because you haven't watched TV, but I'm surprised you didn't take the chance to use a clip from Arrow in the new Secret Origins Month opening. By the end of this season you'd have viable clips for Green Arrow, Black Canary, and The Flash (eventually). Just a thought.
Good episode nonetheless. I can't say I've ever been a fan of the concept of Ant Man, but I know I have to go in with an open mind since his movie is coming out soon anyway.
Fantastic job on Hank Pym's origin and I'm very glad you gave a brief mention on his first appearance in costume. Kinda wish you went into more detail with it but maybe another time.
What I really hope to see is a look into the origin of Janet Van Dyne aka Ant-Man's love interest/crime-fighting partner The Wasp. Although you'll have to find color scans of her first appearance in Tales to Astonish #44. I looked through a copy of Marvel First 1960s and the only mention of Wasp is a sci-fi story she tells to a bunch of GI's. -_- Way to drop the ball, Marvel.
Sounds like a pretty neat story and it’s surprising how what was intended as a one off can expand in so many ways (no pun intended).
It’s good to see you use; “I AM A MAN!” again too.
Question, he says it’s too dangerous, so pours the chemicals down the sink…Erm…What will happen when it winds up in the sewers or the sea or even his flower bed, when the formula gets mixed into the water?
Would we get larger ants? Are the ‘Giant Alligators in the Sewer’ Myths all his fault? Would a Shark be shocked to see that some Plankton is now larger than a Whale?
Nice Review, Linkara. ;3
Looking forward to seeing more from you. X3
Wait, he poured the growth serum down the sink... great, this going to become that episode of Thunderbirds with the giant alligators or that episode of The New Avengers with the giant rat!
This was fun. I never knew Hank Pym has such a fun origin, or that's how he met his ant sidekick.
What do you think of his breakdown-induced-hitting-of-his-wife Linkara?
He was going through a breakdown and Janet knew it and got married to him knowing it, so why does Hank get all the blame?
Great video Lewis!
A few comments about Hank Pym:
1) Hank has some rather serious psychological issues. He's been shown to have felt inadequate on a team that included Thor, Iron Man and Captain America, so he invented the Yellowjacket identity. As Yellowjacket, Hank began acting like a complete jerk, to the point where Hawkeye was getting annoyed. There's also the issue of Hank building Ultron I, who proceeded to zap its creator and plot to destroy mankind (after Ultron gave itself some cool upgrades).
Kurt Busiek's run on Avengers, and some issues of Avengers Academy explore Hank struggling with these problems.
2) Hank has actually had six superhero identities, not four!He's been Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, Hank Pym: Scientific Adventurer (in "West Coast Avengers"), and following Janet's death in "Secret Invasion", Hank adopted the identity of The Wasp. Right now he's back to Giant-Man, though he still shrinks to ant size (or smaller) when he needs to.
3) While he didn't do so at the time of the "Tales to Astonish" issues, in recent years Hank has marketed Pym Particles, albeit in a controlled way to avoid their abuse. A good example is "the Big House" and "the Ant Farm" two prisons where the inmates were shrunk to the size of action figures or ants, which appeared in Dan Slott's run on "She-Hulk". (She-Hulk's law firm was arguing that the state of New York was violating the super-villains' civil rights by shrinking them!)
Pym has also used Pym particles to invent tools and secret headquarters that the Avengers have used. (See "Secret Avengers" for the satellite HQ the size of a basketball that the Secret Avengers used. They would use a special teleporter that utilized Pym Particles to shrink or enlarge the passengers, depending on the direction they were traveling.)
4) Regarding Hank and Jan... yeah, that does kind of need to be addressed. Hank hit Jan only once, and that one time is one time too many. But he wasn't some sort of serial spouse abuser, like Mark Millar's parody in "Ultimates". Pym never abused his first wife, nor has he ever abused Tigra, and the one time he abused Jan, he was also in the middle of a crazy plan to build a robot to attack the Avengers so he could swoop in, defeat it and look good. Not one of Hank's better days, and the Avengers promptly kicked him out.
5) Did you know Hank Pym was replaced by a Skrull? :)
6) How have Hank and Greer not noticed that half of the student body at Avengers Academy have been kidnapped by Arcade? I expect Quicksilver to be blasé about this kind of thing, but Giant-Man and Tigra? I guess it's just another element of "Avengers Arena" that strains my suspension of disbelief. >:(
I personally actually enjoyed the Alien Ant Farm re-make
it was fun and fresh
never understood the hate for it
I guess people just hate new stuff for being new
Nice to know a bit more about Antman since I only know him from the cartoon Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Speaking of Antman, considering the next Avengers movie will have Ultron as its villain, any chance you'll do a video on his/its origins?
When I saw the cute Linkara puppet, my first thought was "You're a bloody Puppet!" . But on topic, this looks like a fun comic book.
Sadly an unpleasant review for people who have insectophobia, but I don't blame you for it.
And it probably wouldn't wreck the shipping industry. The major reductions in costs on shrunken goods would probably let far more money be spent on even more goods. It'd also make logistics far more simple.
And Jesse, I do not know at all the specifics of what you're referring to* but usually the person who attacks the other person is the one who is held responsible for their actions.
*Beyond that it sounds like yet another brain dead ruined personal life thought up by comic book writers who like ruining good stories so they can 'leave their mark'
The magnificient bastard meme is far too rarely usable. Of course only second to almighty bee-weapons.
Regardless Antman seems to be a very interesting character. I'm going to dig up his books. :D
A scientist that does Judo? Hahaha for some of the very same reasons Linkara I like comic books&manga.
Now I'm waiting for one that has a Astronomer that practice Karate, since there already has been Archaeologists & Chemists. lol
What's with the Alien Ant Hill hate all of a sudden? It was a fun song, it was meant as a homage to Micheal Jackson (heck the music video was chock full of references to his past work). Nothing more beyond that.
That said though, good review. Not much of a fan of Ant Man (I mostly know him from the Ultimates series where he's well..less then noble) but still an interesting hero nonetheless.
Nice job on Hank Pym's origin
You're right, that was kind of a fun origin story. It was kind of nice to see one that didn't involve space aliens, tragedies, or freak accidents to any noticeable degree. Unless we're going to call Hank's being dumb enough to test the serum on himself first a tragedy.
I'm also liking the new costume for the show. It looks good on you.
Oh my god. I can't believe you just quoted 'Look Around You'! Such an obscure reference from a very little known UK series. You just went from epic to divine entity in my books.
Oh my god. I can't believe you just quoted 'Look Around You'! Such an obscure reference from a very little known UK series. You just went from epic to divine entity in my books.
Sometimes I feel I'm the lone guy who feels the Alien Ant Farm Smooth Criminal cover is way better the original. And the idea of being the size of the ant is more scary for me then whole Long Box of the Damn....but I have a massive fear of bugs.
Do like the new opening for Secret Origin's month.
You know I'd pay good money to see Mythbusters playing Cards Against Humanity.
And thus Hank shrinks his pipes and crushes the Super Mario brothers on their way to the Mushroom Kingdom.
Something cool.
Apparently in a recent comic, they diagnosed Hank Pym with Bipolar disorder.
Personally, that makes a lot of sense and is a good move.
It's not that Alien Ant Farm's cover was bad, it's just that the original song was so good that you have it played by anyone (except Nickleback) it would sound awesome.
My personal favorite is this David Garret's classical rendition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQz_CSE5tGs
Larry Lieber: not a scientist.
Worker ants are female.
Bees make honey. Ants do not.
Jack "King" Kirby": not a scientist.
Insects have compound eyes, not the lens-and-retina type shown in the splash page.
Rue Ryuzaki said...
A scientist that does Judo? Hahaha for some of the very same reasons Linkara I like comic books&manga.
I'm confused how is martial arts practicing scientist funny? Are scientist who do Judo rare?
My mom out shot expert marksman back when she was a military brat, took Judo in university, still practices Karate, went to Japan for her black belt. And she's a scientist. Retired head of research at a pharmaceutical company. So martial arts practicing scientist aren't exactly comic book-y.
Hilarious episode. Yeah Pym has problems even from the get-go...a bit more is explained but we'll see why when we get to the Wasp origin next year I presume. Then again most of the Tales to Astonish books were rather infamous once Hank becomes a hero due to how bizarre the Ant-Man comics became...
And be careful about that "sex robot" bit; you do realize his other "great invention" was Ultron, right?I doubt Hank was that lonely.
I liked the new opening sequence right up until it reminded me that we still don't have a live action Wonder Woman movie. :\
The review was fun, though. It's hilarious to see superheroes get out of scrapes in the stupidest way possible, and watching Hank Pym judo-chop an ant is right up there with Thor using Radioactive Man to nuke China.
(Oh great, now the Jimmy Kimmel protesters are going to come after me, aren't they?)
Hal Jordan next week. WooHoo! :D
Missed opportunity for an Ultron reference. Seriously it is the most obvious joke in the world and you screw it up.
Two things.
1. Technically, many significant improvements and discoveries in science might drastically damage preexisting industries. If working teleportation was discovered tomorrow, it would provide numerous, significant benefits to mankind, but it, too, would damage the preexisting shipping industry. And the same principle goes for most other fields. Look what the ease availability of information on the internet has done to newspapers... But then, maybe I'm overthinking the joke. :P
2. Pym's little imagination retrospective on the applications of his invention actually remind me of a trope in comics I typically find a bit unfortunate. I believe TV Tropes terms it "Reed Richards is Useless". Pym himself cites several very practical and useful ways that his discovery might be applied to society's various problems, and how does the Marvel Universe at large implement this incredible gift to it, decades down the road?... It doesn't. The Marvel universe still uses the same darn outdated delivery methods and personnel transportation methods they always have, and the whole Pym particle thing is simply a way for various costumed heroes and villains to gimmick a way into becoming super big or small. To the practical public at large, the development may as well not exist. I know part of this is due to the writers wanting to keep the feel of the Marvel universe on a "familiar-feeling" level with it's readers, and sometimes they explain that the tech or discoveries have some unforeseen drawbacks, like being toxic to life, or being unacceptably expensive, but the trope's continued use really paints the Marvel universe as a rather Luddite, backwards, and foolish place. Of course, it IS the same populace that somehow thought placing a recognized lunatic and mass-murderer who dresses up as a goblin in charge of a large branch of the nation's defense... >.>
I very much approve of the new Secret Origins Month opening.
And yeah I'm sure it has to do with the fact I've lost track of how many times I've watched the Avengers movies but I do not care.
I know it's a bit off but curious which Hawkeye and Black Widow origin you'll use since her's to a point when she first appeared linked with his.
Well, before she re-invented herself.
Anyway yeah I know that's a ways off probably.
And yeah I did remember him as too much pudding man before I remembered he was Aunt Man.
Who did you hit with your punch? Was that Linksano?
@dragons_dusk
Great review, but I think it might have been a lot funnier if you did the rest of the review as the hand puppet.
Like, not even mention it, and see how long you could milk the gag for.
This makes me want to watch THEM. That or Empire of the Ants. :D I have a bit of a soft spot for the latter, since it was filmed near where I live.
So what exactly was Hank's thought process here?
"I have this formula that shrinks things! I must test it out on something living! But what? *Long pause as Hank's wheels spin futilely* Eureka! *Dumps formula on himself* I AM A GENIUS!"
Linkara, I want you to know that I was drinking lemonade while watching this, and during the "Yes, human, I understand you want to mate" line, I barely managed to keep from spitting it out all over my laptop screen. So I'm blaming you for my five minute coughing and laughing fit. :P
I AM A MAN! *Happy Snoopy Dance*
Aww, poor Linksano! *Cuddles*
On a more serious note, were the creators influenced at all by Richard Matheson's Incredible Shrinking Man?
I really like the new Secret Origins Month intro. The original was little bit too unbalanced with four heroes from DC and only one from Marvel.
That Linkara puppet is so cute, any chance something like that could make it into your store along with the plush cybermats?
This is a pretty good origin story, and yeah I can see the heroic potential.
Perhaps the reason that the sink wasn't affected is because he pored both solutions down the drain at the same time and they counteracted each other.
@felix
I cannot recommend Essential Ant Man highly enough.
I'm just realizing what a tragedy it is that Marvel has the rights to the StarTrek comics. If DC had the rights and decided to make a comic where the federation meets the Lantern Corps, then the federation could find out that hologram technology isn't too far from hard light constructs, and we could have Jean Luc Piccard, Green Lantern.
Or better yet, the federation lanterns are Grey Lanterns because they're not powered by any emotion nor primal forces of life or death, but antimatter.
When you quoted Pym, at the end, telling the other scientists that in the future he'd stick to "pratical inventions", I expected you to add "... like this artificial intelligence I've been developing in my spare time. I call it Ultron." :)
Any chance of doing the Wasp's origin? Yes, it's in a later issue of Ant-Man (before Avengers #1), so it may feel like a repetition, but it would be nice, I think, to show the original Avengers individually...
Yeah, the beginning would've made a lot more sense if he got the serum on himself by accident. This just makes him look a bit dumb. He should've at least kept a part of the growth serum on ground level just to be on the safe side.
But well, you could interpret that Hank was an early animal rights dude (though a not particularly bright one) that didn't want to test the serum on a rat or something.
Not really sure what the honey does there...
Actually, a lot of insects are rather fuzzy if you can zoom in close enough. Doesn't apply to mandibles though AFAIK.
Leaving the growth serum precariously balanced on an open window. Can't see how that might go wrong.
But alas, I can't be mad at a comic that involves beating ants with martial arts.
@-WD:
This crossover seriously needs to be made.
I really like that origin story, and in a way, I think it sort of fits that Hank Pym, despite moving through various costumed identities, nevertheless, has come to be known as much, if not more, by his real name. After all, his origin story is cool, but has more of a "non-costumed hero" vibe to it, like a Jules Verne character, or the protagonist of a 1950s sci-fi movie.
Mixed feelings about the new "secret origins" intro, because while the last one was rather heavy on the DC side (with both the number of heroes and the music leaning DC-ward,) this is the opposite. Both the music and the number of heroes are vastly more on the marvel side. If you wanted to say it was "their turn," I suppose that's true. Still, being more into classic DC myself (and the DCAU, especially,) it's sad to see the old one go.
It also doesn't help that after the bombastic march at the end of the "Captain America" movie, I found the main theme for "the Avengers" to be somewhat subdued and lackluster overall, with a very long buildup that comprises almost 2/3rds of the song, and not much payoff in the end. Still, the original JL theme wasn't very fast-paced or intense either, so again, if that's the kind of mood you wanted to go with, then fine. No arguments here.
Hank Pym actually had 5 different identitities: Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Yellowjacket, GoLiath and Wasp. Yes, while Wasp was dead (she's better) she took on the name of his dead ex-wife, kind of weird.
You know, I just noticed something that you may not have noticed.
We all know you're primarily a DC fan and not much of a Marvel guy, but this has manifested in a certain way. Outside of Secret Origins Month, the 616 versions of Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and Hank Pym have NEVER shown up in a comic on AT4W. The ultimate versions have, but not the regular ones (though I might have missed an apearance).
You've looked at a lot of JLA comics and their many members, yet the Avengers have only shown up once in a cameo in Lunatik (I tHink). Even funnier since you've reviewed many X-Men comics despite the fact you claim to not care about them.
I hope that in the future you review some comics with those characters, like Loeb's Hulk, Chuck Austen's Avengers or something, you've already looked at almost every major DC character, so give these guys a chance.
@ 00:42 – I hate to say it hon, I liked the old one better. It displayed more of the mystique of superheroes. Which is perfect for Secret Origins Month.
@ 04:08 – If you’re about to make a reference to Smooth Criminal… please don’t.
@ 04:12 - *shakes head*
@ 05:54 - *smiles with amusement*
@ 06:20 – Is this real? It sounds epic. Did you know that Bill Nye is a social salsa dancer? If I ever meet him I have to ask him out dancing.
@ 09:22 – Because of the comic book code of conduct which included statues on decency.
@ 09:45 – Well not with that attitude, Mr. Pym
@ 10:18 – Da faq?
@ 12:15 – But was it judo or was it really akito?
@ 13:10 – Actually, no thank you.
@ 13:16 – I have missed that gag. Thank you.
Short and sweet; good show, Lewis.
slightly off-topic here
there's a discussion going on on toonzone about how action cartoons are going extinct nowadays, and how one could fix it
allot of the stuff also applies to comics
http://www.toonzone.net/forums/toonzone-general-animation-discussion/310425-ideas-how-action-shows-can-gain-profits-merchandising-without-toyline.html#.UoOM13A9rTo
continuation to my previous post
http://www.toonzone.net/forums/toonzone-general-animation-discussion/310033-downard-trends-action-cartoons.html#.UoOAeXA9rTo
Wow, with Thor later on this month, you'll bet for Avengers in Secret Origins Month 2014. You're still Martian Manhunter and Aquaman away from doing the Justice League. Consider doing Namor and Aquaman back to back, it'd be a fun contrast.
Good episode. Loved the new intro for Secret Origins Month. It's only fitting that you use the Avengers theme from the movie, given that you are doing the first appearance of Hank Pym and building up to the first appearance of the Avengers.
Because it had to be said:
What is this? A comic for ants?
Post a Comment