Ant-Man #4 - Review

Before I get into the story of this issue (and it's fun, so I will), I have to take a moment to remark on the amazingly ridiculous cover. Ant Man in glorious Miami Vice style, our anti-hero Lang in a nice white suit, and best of all Grizzly: he's a man in a bear suit within a double breasted sports jacket and slacks. I don't know what it is exactly, but Grizzly standing there just fills me with geeky joy.

As for the story here, we pick up with Cassie kidnapped and Lang hell bent on getting her back. But it's the details that make this story great. Bringing back Darren Cross (who appeared in Lang's first appearance ever in Marvel Premiere #47) is a brilliant stroke. Lang has been in plenty of titles over the years but as this is his first real headlining role, it's smart to bring his origins into the picture. It gives new readers a window into his past and is a nice treat for fans who have delved deeper into Ant-Man's past.

Darren Cross: 1979 & 2015 

The other part of this series that's been so fun (and continues in this book) is the way they play with the C and D list characters. Ant-Man (as Taskmaster put it in issue #3) is a B-list hero, tops. The fun of that is that we get a much smaller story. Rather than the world and universe threatening stories of books like Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy, the simple kidnapping here actually feels more dire. Add into that the fun of details like Super-Villain Anonymous and the Machinesmith allowing a birthday party of children to attack him dressed as Avengers, and you've got a perfect recipe for a book that is simply... fun. And that'll be worth my $3.99 any day.

What'd you think of Ant-Man #4? Great callback to an origin story or lazy repeating of the past? Sound off in the comments!