Did ya miss us?! Well Breaking the Panels is back from vacation to give you a fight that's larger than li--ce? That's right! We got us a duel of miniature proportions in Issue #8! But don't let their small stature fool you, because they prove the age old saying that "it's not the size that matters!" In Marvel's corner we have the brilliant ant charmer: Ant-Man! In DC's corner, we have the amazing mini-hero: The Atom! Let's find out how this small scrap will pan out!
MARVEL
Real Name: Scott Lang
Height: 6'0" (0.5" When Shrunk)
Weight: 190 lbs.
Powers: Ability to shrink to half an inch while retain the same strength as a full size person, Uses a helmet that allows him to communicate with ants and other insects within a mile, Gauntlets allow bio-electric blasts of adjustable force
Other Known Aliases: Myrmidon
Other Known Aliases: Myrmidon
First Appearance: Avengers #181
Scott Lang isn't the first person to become Ant-man, and he certainly wasn't the last. The first Ant-man was Hank Pym. Pym, as Ant-man, was a founding member of the Avengers. Initially, Hank Pym was a brilliant biochemist who had discovered sub-atomic particles by which he labeled "Pym Particles". This is what allows him to change his size. But Pym is not the contestant here. And the obvious reason being that Pym could just easily turn into Giant Man and the fight would be over in time for him to go smack his wife around.
Scott Lang came into the Ant-Man role by breaking into Pym's lab and stealing his suit. Of course, it was for a good cause. He stole it to save his daughter, Cassie Lang. So Pym let him keep it as long as he fought for a good cause. So as it was written, he was officially dubbed Ant-Man and even earned a spot on the Avengers.
Although he spent many years as Ant-Man, tragedy struck the Avengers Mansion by Scarlet Witch that claimed a few Avenger casualties, including Lang. So soon after there became another Ant-Man, Eric O'Grady, who is rightly titled the "Irredeemable Ant-Man: The World's Most Unlikable Hero"
Although... even before O'Grady... there was always Hank Pym...
If it helps... that came waaaaayyyyy after this...
And I believe that is why most fans felt better with Scott Lang as a regular Avenger and as Ant-Man. So, by popular demand... Scott Lang returned thanks to the magical world of comics! The Young Avengers, including his daughter who goes by Stature now, go back in time to save him. Unfortunately when they return, his daughter Cassie is killed by Dr. Doom. So now Lang stays on the FF as a reserve member in hopes to gain revenge on Doom.
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| Ladies and Genteman (Mostly Ladies), I present two seperate panels of Eric O'Grady... Irredeemable Ant-Man |
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| A bit disturbing after knowing Ant-Man & Wasp for so long... |
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| The Infamous Hank Pymp Slap... |
DC
Height: 6'0 (varies: 0.0000001" up to 6'0 when shrunk)
Weight: 180 lbs
Powers: Able to shrink to varying degrees (including sub atomic level), Able to alter molecular density to whatever degree he chooses up to his full 180 lb weight, Able to glide on air currents and breezes, Able to shift all of his mass into his fists for stronger punches
Other Known Aliases: The Mighty Mite
First Appearance: Showcase #34
Ray Palmer is the superhero known as The Atom. The Atom fought crime mostly in Ivy Town, Connecticut as a hero who could alter his size and still retain the strength of his full grown self. Ray was a physics grad student who happened to stumble upon a small fragment of a white dwarf star. He sees this as an opportunity to create a shrink ray, but after harnessing the power through a lens, everything he shrunk became unstable and blew up. It wasn't until getting stuck in a cave with some friends that he took the risk of using it on himself. To his surprise, he was able to shrink and NOT blow up, while also being able to return to his normal size. And so became the origin of The Atom.
Since becoming a superhero, Atom didn't have a high profile rogues gallery of villains to fight on his own other than Ivy Town frequents Chronos and Time Pool. But after several years, he was able to catch the attention of the JLA and assist them, eventually leading to his acceptance into the superhero group. He had also had a long standing partnership with Hawkman.
Ray used his powers more for stealth in battles and even helped out the CIA in overseas missions. He was also a member of the Suicide Squad and Teen Titans. He was also inducted into the Indigo Tribe, taking on a more primitive look. There was one power he used that has become increasingly obsolete over the past few years, however. For the longest time, Atom would shrink down into a phone and travel to wherever he calls.
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| I'm sure by now, Ray's thinking "Stupid Cell Phones..." |
His success with his earliest love, Jean Loring was great for several years, but ended in divorce due to her focus on her law career and Ray's focus on being the Atom. But during the days of Blackest Night, Ray turned into an emotional wreck due to Hawkman and Jean.
THE BATTLE
AS MOST LIKELY TO SEE IN A COMIC ISSUE
Let',s for comic's sake, say the fight goes a little something like this. Scott Lang is relaxing and gets a phone call from his house phone in the kitchen (because I know it would stretch reality to believe that someone still has a wired phone, but Scott does in his kitchen, ok?). He picks up the receiver and before he is able to say "Hello" his jaw receives an invisible punch from none other than, Ray Palmer, the Atom! Before Scott falls to the floor, he presses his Pym Particle activator and shrinks down to become Ant-Man, so now he is the same size as Atom. Now the real fight between them begins. Now the only of these two fighters that has extensive training in fighting is Atom with some Judo. Also Atom possesses the advantage of being able to shrink to subatomic size. Where Ant-Man holds his distinguished advantage is in his ability to control insects to fight with him.
Now the fighters are shrunk down to half an inch and prepared. Hand to hand combat naturally favors toward Atom as he shifts his weight into each punch he throws at Ant-Man. Ant-Man can hold his own in a fight, but not near to the experience of Atom. He adjusts his helmet to call ants to aid and from seemingly no where, they appear in hordes. Atom crushes as many as he can, but eventually gets overwhelmed. As the ants get Atom in their grasps, he shrinks smaller to escape. Ant-Man is way above the chaos as he is riding on the back of a flying ant.
Atom is unable to reach him as Ant-Man flies above his army of ants. And when Atom gets distracted by the seemingly endless wave of insects as they close in on him, Ant-Man swoops in to take his shots. He also uses his gauntlet stingers to shoot blasts of energy as Ray is trapped. Now, ants can carry up to 20 times their own body weight, and it's hard to imagine how hard it is to break free from an army of them with Ant-Man constantly jumping in and out to get some beat downs and blasts in. So Atom grows to the height of around six inched to squash some of the ants. At this point, the only advantage that Atom can get over Lang is that he can escape the ants and kill most of them. But what happens when Ant-Man calls in the air patrol?
Swarms of flying ants enter through the window and pick up Atom. Now Atom can still escape there grasps and adjust his size to glide down onto Ant-Man as he catches the right air current. Atom lands on Ant-Man's ant and the two engage in a fight in mid air among the flying ant. Atom wins the bout as he is far more skilled at combat. But as he is about to fling Ant-Man off, Ant-Man places a disc with Pym Particle gas on Atom's belt. This ensures that with the instability of the molecules in the Pym Particles that he can not change from half an inch. So Atom throws Ant-Man off of the flying ant, and Lang takes him down with him. The two land on the carpet and as they stand up to face each other, they see that they are in a clear circle with ants all around the perimeter. Scott smirks and just reaches up to the side of his helmet to adjust the frequency. He gives a nice little nod and wave as Atom is carried off by hundreds of ants. Don't worry though. Ant-Man told them not to eat him.
While Atom totally had the superior fighting skills, in the event that these two mighty minis would ever duel, the obvious choice would be Ant-Man due to his extra ability of being able to use ants and insects to gain advantage. While it was Scott Lang as Ant-Man, this outcome seems the most reasonable as to how he handles the situation as an individual. Sure, Ant-Man, whether it was Pym or Lang, was always more of a team than a loner. But given an isolated situation, which we have seen at times, if a fighter with the same ability challenges, Ant-Man holds his own. Atom is no push over by any means. Looking at the Ant-Man lineup, Hank Pym would have just easily beat Atom in seconds because he has a lot more capability with the Pym Particles allowing him to become Ant-Man... Giant Man... Yellowjacket... Goliath... Wasp... or whatever name of the week he comes up with whenever he's not stuck in a lab creating a robot that eventually ends up eradicating the human race. And Eric O'Grady... well. He would have won, too. The battle would have been similar, but the outcome would probably have meant Ray's death because unlike the first two Ant-Men... O'Grady is ruthless and without moral. Seriously... he shrunk down and punched a guy in the juggular and was flooded to the ground by the blood gushing out. So of the three, Scott Lang seemed the obvious choice and he is crowned our victor.
Tune in next time for Issue #9 where we will test the limits of each universe's fastest men!
Now the fighters are shrunk down to half an inch and prepared. Hand to hand combat naturally favors toward Atom as he shifts his weight into each punch he throws at Ant-Man. Ant-Man can hold his own in a fight, but not near to the experience of Atom. He adjusts his helmet to call ants to aid and from seemingly no where, they appear in hordes. Atom crushes as many as he can, but eventually gets overwhelmed. As the ants get Atom in their grasps, he shrinks smaller to escape. Ant-Man is way above the chaos as he is riding on the back of a flying ant.
Atom is unable to reach him as Ant-Man flies above his army of ants. And when Atom gets distracted by the seemingly endless wave of insects as they close in on him, Ant-Man swoops in to take his shots. He also uses his gauntlet stingers to shoot blasts of energy as Ray is trapped. Now, ants can carry up to 20 times their own body weight, and it's hard to imagine how hard it is to break free from an army of them with Ant-Man constantly jumping in and out to get some beat downs and blasts in. So Atom grows to the height of around six inched to squash some of the ants. At this point, the only advantage that Atom can get over Lang is that he can escape the ants and kill most of them. But what happens when Ant-Man calls in the air patrol?
Swarms of flying ants enter through the window and pick up Atom. Now Atom can still escape there grasps and adjust his size to glide down onto Ant-Man as he catches the right air current. Atom lands on Ant-Man's ant and the two engage in a fight in mid air among the flying ant. Atom wins the bout as he is far more skilled at combat. But as he is about to fling Ant-Man off, Ant-Man places a disc with Pym Particle gas on Atom's belt. This ensures that with the instability of the molecules in the Pym Particles that he can not change from half an inch. So Atom throws Ant-Man off of the flying ant, and Lang takes him down with him. The two land on the carpet and as they stand up to face each other, they see that they are in a clear circle with ants all around the perimeter. Scott smirks and just reaches up to the side of his helmet to adjust the frequency. He gives a nice little nod and wave as Atom is carried off by hundreds of ants. Don't worry though. Ant-Man told them not to eat him.
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THE WINNER: ANT-MAN
While Atom totally had the superior fighting skills, in the event that these two mighty minis would ever duel, the obvious choice would be Ant-Man due to his extra ability of being able to use ants and insects to gain advantage. While it was Scott Lang as Ant-Man, this outcome seems the most reasonable as to how he handles the situation as an individual. Sure, Ant-Man, whether it was Pym or Lang, was always more of a team than a loner. But given an isolated situation, which we have seen at times, if a fighter with the same ability challenges, Ant-Man holds his own. Atom is no push over by any means. Looking at the Ant-Man lineup, Hank Pym would have just easily beat Atom in seconds because he has a lot more capability with the Pym Particles allowing him to become Ant-Man... Giant Man... Yellowjacket... Goliath... Wasp... or whatever name of the week he comes up with whenever he's not stuck in a lab creating a robot that eventually ends up eradicating the human race. And Eric O'Grady... well. He would have won, too. The battle would have been similar, but the outcome would probably have meant Ray's death because unlike the first two Ant-Men... O'Grady is ruthless and without moral. Seriously... he shrunk down and punched a guy in the juggular and was flooded to the ground by the blood gushing out. So of the three, Scott Lang seemed the obvious choice and he is crowned our victor.
Tune in next time for Issue #9 where we will test the limits of each universe's fastest men!
THE TALLY SO FAR:
MARVEL: 5 DC: 3
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