The Avengers Were Almost Beaten By A Cosmic Rockstar
Rock music has long been used as a scapegoat to blame for teenage malfeasance, but a 1988 issue of West Coast Avengers provided readers with the epitome of that boogeyman by way of a villain called The Defiler - who also happened to be the lead singer of a hair metal band called Corruption of Innocence. And that's somehow only the beginning of the insanity to be found in West Coast Avengers #38.
Using his rock star persona as a guise, Defiler is actually some sort of inter-dimensional being, and he's harnessing the power of rock to lure kids into his home world. A billboard for his band acts as some sort of portal through which Defiler feeds on the "young and innocent," which apparently grants him super strength by sapping the kids of their energy with some sort of... alien goo? It's never really explained and it's probably best to not think too much about it.
Iron Man, Hawkeye, Hank Pym, Mockingbird, Tygra and Wonder Man attack the villain as he's putting on what seems to be a pretty rocking concert to draw more teens into his power-sapping goo world. As Pym and Iron Man try to rescue the transported teens, the remaining Avengers battle Defiler. Even Hawkeye is given something productive to do when he lands a boxing glove arrow to Defiler's head. But in the end, despite all the powers at the various team members' disposal, Defiler is taken down when he's tackled by a roadie. Just some dude named Michael. No super suit, no special powers. Just a guy in a spiked bracelet and leather vest.
What is maybe most notable about this ridiculous story, though, is the fact that Hank Pym - despite not operating as Ant-Man at the time - was kind of a standout in the whole ordeal. He never shrinks or grows himself, but the issue really leans into him using his tech to change the size of other objects throughout the mission.
Pym uses a giant baseball mitt to catch falling Defiler victims. He wields a giant chainsaw to cut through the inter-dimensional goo. He transforms a piece of thread into the kind of rope one would expect to see on the deck of the Titanic. He even utilizes "a bit of enlarging plastic wrap" to seal one of the dimensional portals. While rescuing the Defiler's victims, Pym pulls a tiny skateboard out of his pocket, enlargens it, and the whole crew essentially kick-flips from one dimension to another.
Written by D.G. Chichester and Margaret Clark - with Tom Morgan, Steve Buccellato, and Bill Oakley handling the art, colors, and letters - the story not only introduces the now largely-forgotten villain, but served as an impressive showcase of Pym's non-Ant-Man-related skills. Though it also raises a few interesting questions.
Does Hank just always walk around with this stuff on him? MCU fans will know that Michael Douglas' Pym kept a miniaturized tank on his person for desperate circumstances, but is he also walking around with, like, a Fingerboard in his pocket at all times? Just in case he needs to ollie a hundred teenage music fans from one dimension to another? Does he always have a tiny chainsaw at the ready? Is it fueled? Is Hank Pym essentially a walking, super-powered Polly Pocket set? The fans need to know and the makers of Ant-Man 3 may be able to mine some gold from West Coast Avengers #38.