GIANT-MAN #1 - #4

Note: AVENGERS #379 - 382 were published as "Double Features" with a GIANT-MAN limited series included as a "flipbook" within those issues. Here now is that GIANT-MAN saga...

"IT'S THEM AGAIN!!" | "THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING GIANT-MAN"
"ATTACK OF THE 50 FT JAN" | HANK THE GIANT KILLER"
Story by: George Pérez | Pencils by: Jeffrey Moore | Inks by : Tim Dzon
Colors by: Maryanne Lightle | Lettering by: Ellie deVille
Editor: Richard Ashford | Group Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 1) Ant-Man arrives in Arizona to battle a group of gigantic rampaging ants. One of them is an ant he knows, named Nash. When his control helmet proves useless against the ants, Ant-Man grows to become Giant-Man and is forced to kill Nash. Meanwhile, Hank Pym's ex-wife, Janet van Dyne, speaks with her therapist about what she's been doing since she and Hank both left the West Coast Avengers. However as she describes Hank crashing a party to celebrate her return to the fashion industry, Jan passes out. Meanwhile, at a laboratory in Nevada called Project B.I.G., Hank is informed by his lab partner, Bill Foster, that more renegade insects are on the loose in New Mexico. Giant-Man heads out to battle them. He calls off a squadron of Air Force jets and engages the ants hand-to-hand. Bill sees this on a video monitor and leaves the lab to go help his friend. After Bill leaves the lab, Jan's therapist, Doctor Rossin, calls for Hank to tell him about Jan's condition.

(Issue 2) As Bill prepares to depart Project B.I.G., he is ambushed. Meanwhile, Giant-Man fights the monster insects in New Mexico. Despite Pym's warnings, the Air Force jets remain in the area and one pilot is killed by a huge grasshopper. Giant-Man defeats all the insects and passes out. Elsewhere, Bill awakens, in his Goliath costume, miniaturized in a spider web. Nearby, a miniaturized Captain Atlas and Doctor Minerva, accompanied by some Shi'ar troops, search for him. But Goliath is rescued by Scott Lang -- Ant-Man -- and then a moment later, Atlas and Minvera escape. Goliath explains to Ant-Man that Project B.I.G. is a habitat created by Hank Pym and himself to study the effects of Pym Particles on enlarged insects. The duo exits the habitat, but Bill is unable to return himself to normal size. Meanwhile, Hank is incarcerated by the Air Force -- while in California, Jan's therapist tries again to reach Hank, to report that Jan has spontaneously started growing.

AVENGERS #381

"SACRED GROUND"
Writer: Bob Harras | Plot Assist: Terry Kavanagh
Breakdowns: Mike Deodato, Jr. | Finishes & Colors: Tom Palmer
Calligraphy: Bill Oakley | Editor: Ralph Macchio | Chief: Tom DeFalco

Note: AVENGERS #379 - 382 were published as "Double Features" with a GIANT-MAN limited series included as a "flipbook" within those issues. I will cover the GIANT-MAN serial in one post after issue 382.

The Plot: In her cabin, Bova worries over Quicksilver and Crystal, but Fydor calms her. Meanwhile, the two Avengers are brought before the High Evolutionary, who accuses them of trespassing on Wundagore. He explains that a beam of energy recently pierced his citadel, and brought with it a message from the Acolytes of Magneto, who ordered him away from the mountain. The Evolutionary believes Quicksilver is involved, but Quicksilver retorts that he visited the mountain only to help Bova. This gets the Evolutionary's attention, and he, Quicksilver, Crystal, and the New Men head for Bova's cabin. There, the Evolutionary deduces that Bova is being slowly poisoned. Just as he reveals this, an image of Exodus appears and reveals that he had Bova poisoned to draw the High Evolutionary out of his citadel. Then, as Exodus's projection vanishes, Fydor mutates into a monster and the cabin explodes.

Continuity Notes: The Acolyte who appears in the message to the High Evolutionary identifies herself as Scanner, but she looks nothing like the character's standard appearance in the X-books -- indeed, she's drawn as a totally nondescript female with no distinguishing features; nor is she even wearing an Acolyte uniform! Exodus, however, is drawn to look like himself when he appears.

Quicksilver says that his injuries (sustained in AVENGERS #369) occurred "months ago." Personally, I might've called it "weeks", but I don't think there's any timeline issue to explcitly prevent it from being months.

As noted a couple weeks back, Exodus is (I'm pretty sure) the third most recurring villain in Bob Harras's AVENGERS run, between the "Bloodties" event and this story -- though sadly, he appears only as a holographic or psychic projection here, despite the cover's depiction to the contrary. (And by the way, note that departed penciler Steve Epting is still around, providing covers for all three installments of this Wundagore trilogy!)