Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: Don Heck
Inker: Dick Ayers
Letterer: Sam Rosen
Plot Summary
Once again hard at work in their lab, Giant Man and Wasp receive an urgent call from Giant Man’s ant allies. However, when Giant Man attempts to decipher the message, he is unable due to the panicked nature of the communication. Believing this to be a sign of great peril, Giant Man immediately summons his fellow Avengers to an emergency meeting.
Upon their arrival, The Avengers are unamused by Giant Man’s assertions. Thor in particular receives the explanation poorly. When Giant Man explains that the disturbances might be caused by Mole Man, Thor quickly shoots the idea down since The Avengers know that Mole Man was destroyed by the Fantastic Four. When it becomes clear to Giant Man that his teammates will not aid him, he tells them off and decides to proceed on his own. The rest of The Avengers depart so as to avoid coming to blows with Giant Man.
Little do The Avengers know exactly how right Giant Man really is, for at that exact moment, Mole Man is working tirelessly to put his evil plan into motion, literally. Mole Man has constructed a device that is slowly speeding up the Earth’s rotation. Eventually this increased rotation will cause massive destruction, at which point Mole Man will stop the Earth all together, destroying everything on the surface and leaving if free for conquest.
Back at the lab, Giant Man prepares to investigate the source of the ant distress call, but Wasp refuses to join him. Hank attempts to physically block her way, but eventually relents and goes off alone. Shortly after reaching the ant hill in question, Giant Man, in his diminutive Ant-Man size, falls victim to a collapse of the ant hill. Ant-Man is only saved by the quick application of his size changing abilities. When Giant Man reaches the bottom he finds a massive fence made of light bars blocking his path. When he attempts to break through the barrier, Giant Man unknowingly sets off an alarm, causing Mole Man and his moloids to attack. Though he is the superior fighter, Giant Man is eventually surrounded and stunned from behind, allowing Mole Man to take him prisoner.
As Mole Man’s machine is allowed to continue unchecked, the rest of the world begins to notice its effects. Buildings and bridges begin to tremble as the Earth slowly but steadily turns faster and faster. As these effects become more widely known, The Avengers, minus Giant Man, assemble to discuss their options. Realizing that Giant Man was right, the team is now determined to locate their comrade and join in his efforts. Instead of blindly travelling beneath the surface however, Wasp decides to use Tony Stark’s image projector in an attempt to ascertain Giant Man’s whereabouts. When she stumbles on the same light fence that Giant Man found, Mole Man decides it is time to take the offensive to The Avengers.
Just as the Avengers are formulating a plan to journey below the surface, a train loaded with moloids attacks Avengers Mansion. With some effort The Avengers are able to drive the moloids back and force them into a retreat. With the immediate threat eliminated, The Avengers set to their task of modifying an automated fox hole digger invented by Tony Stark. While Iron Man, Thor and Wasp begin work, Captain America and Rick Jones go to a Stark warehouse to obtained the last required parts. As the pair approaches, they discover several mobsters taking advantage of the current crisis to perform a little robbery. With Rick’s help, Cap makes quick work of the criminals and the pair returns to the rest of the team, parts in hard.
While The Avengers are finishing their work, Mole Man has a surprise guest, Red Ghost. Red Ghost suggests that the two villains might combine their abilities in order to finally finish off The Avengers and rule the world. Just as the pair finish their conversation though, The Avengers arrive at the light fence. Making their way into Mole Man’s lair, The Avengers find themselves confronted by Red Ghost and his ray gun. The team is saved thanks to Iron Man quickly deflecting the blast and then disabling Red Ghost with his Sound Blaster. Meanwhile, Wasp is off searching for Giant Man, whom she finds imprisoned in a beam that prevents him from changing size. Once freed however, Giant Man begins to wreck havoc on the moloids.
The Avengers continue their relentless assault on Mole Man and Red Ghost, eventually driving them back to Mole Man’s control center. With his moloids routed and nowhere else left to go, Mole Man place is final card and threatens to destroy the Earth that instant. Even as Mole Man blusters away Ant-Man disables his machine from within, causing it to fail just as Mole Man is prepared to make good on his threat. With powerful attacks from Iron Man and Thor, Mole Man’s device and subterranean base are both destroyed and The Avengers return to the surface. The story ends with Red Ghost and Mole Man arguing about whom is to blame for the failure of their plan.
Avengers
Ant-Man
Captain America
Iron Man
Thor
Wasp
Villains
Mole Man
Red Ghost
Some Assembly Required 