Ant-Man/Atom

[Hoy Murphy]

Word is that Mr. Silver age will be hosting a Trivia panel at C2E2 this weekend and because of the movie this summer, some of the questions will feature my favorite Marvel super-hero, Ant-Man. By coincidence, I just finished reading DC's Atom archives. Here are some similar covers featuring the two characters.

Some of these are a stretch, but close enough. And good luck at the trivia panel, Craig!

--your pal, Hoy

[Hoy Murphy]

[Ron M.]

Did Jan even have a sting that far back? I've ordered the Epic Ant-Man but it'll take awhile before I get it.

Hank may have gone crazy a few times but at least he never thought he was an ant. (Although Jan did think she was a wasp that one time.)

[Richard Willis]

I don't think it did, but this story should have received a Mopee. Not only can't the "Flea-Master" tell a human from a flea, not only does Ray Palmer forget he's a human being, but actual flea circuses are extremely rare and involve a lot of cruelty. In most flea circuses the things supposedly moved by the fleas were moved by the scam artist in charge of the flea circus.  

To make matters worse, even though Ray is so small we don't get Gil Kane's up-the-nose shot of the flea-master!

[Mr. Silver Age]

That story in The Atom #18, did win a Mopee Award because it was so truly deserving. That half page, showing the Atom's scientific and logical thinking about why he must be a flea and the shot of two fleas with a rope tied to their flea-butts, is enough all on its own.

In fact, The Atom won FIVE Mopees in the 14 years of awards, for his flea career, for being ironed flat, for having a cheese fight, for using a toy flying saucer to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, and for using Batman's dead body as a zombie-fighting machine.

Ant-Man won only two, for the Porcupine's terrible bathtub death trap and for the evil Disintegrator villain who was one of the most elaborate hoaxes this side of Lois Lane. No doubt, as Hoy has nicely pointed out in his own way, Hank was unjustly snubbed on many occasions, and there surely were many more Mopees in his future if it hadn't been for CBG's unfortunate demise.

-- MSA

[Hoy Murphy]

Cheese? Did somebody say cheese?

[Luke Blanchard]

That's gloriously insane.

[Captain Comics]

Wigs and cheese as gimmicky weapons. Ah, the Silver Age.

[Mr. Silver Age]

The Mopee citation for that award managed to work in *every cheese pun ever made* in tribute.

That story truly was a feta in the Atom's cap. Although let's face it, when we're talking SA Atom stories, they're all gouda.

-- MSA

[Ron M.]

Contenders for Mopees from Ant-Man would include his catching the Protector by pretending to have to rush to the hospital because his appendix burst, and Comrade X's secret. I have a coverless copy of the issue but the centerspread is missing so I didn't find out the surprise ending until I got the Essential Ant-Man at the library.

Gouda? Are we talking about Iron Man now? Didn't Gouda and Edam win a Mopee?

[Mr. Silver Age]

Nice memory! Gouda and Edam (from TOS #68) won a Mopee in 2008. It was a tribute to Stan's ability to create alien names anywhere he might find himself, even in the dairy aisle at the supermarket.

- MSA

[Ron M.]

Considering the fact they looked like Hulks, we're lucky Stan never thought to call them (or the Hulk) the Big Green Cheese. I believe they had a base on the moon, which is supposed to be made of green cheese. The Official Guide to the Marvel Universe called their planet Froma, no doubt based on the French word fromage. The jokes are starting to get pretty cheesy here.

[Hoy Murphy]