AVENGERS #215 (1981)
by Jim Shooter & Alan Weiss
The Molecule Man mini-retrospective comes to its end, for once with a GOOD story: Jim Shooter basically ignores almost everything that happened to Molecule Man after his first appearance and reinvents the character.
The two-parter will focus somewhat on Tigra, who just joined the team in issue 211 and who will resign at the end of the storyline.
According to Jim Shooter the short-lived membership was a deliberate choice to showcase that not every superhero can keep up with the Avengers, but Tigra will later have a far more successful membership in the West Coast Avengers.
Also, being a superhero cat-person is no protection against being harassed in public.
I’ve often seen that Jim Shooter is the target of utterly bizarre accusations. Case in point: when people claim that Tigra was “asking for it by the way she’s dressed” (a depressingly familiar statement) and she’s unquestionably calling bulls##t on that…
…in the following scene Tigra admits that she’s “sort of conspicuous like this” and decides to get new clothes to get some privacy.
Why am I bringing this up? Because I’ve seen multiple reviews mention that “in this story Tigra admits that she really did ask for it”, which is not AT ALL what happens!!!
Yeah… I really don’t get how you could possibly read this as Shooter saying that Tigra is asking for it when he’s blatantly saying the exact opposite.
What is it about Jim Shooter that makes people jump to the worst possible conclusions about him!?
Don’t you just love the fact that in New York City you can just bump into the Silver Surfer in the subway?
I have no clue WTF he was doing in the subway.
Soon Silver Surfer senses sensational strength, startlingly stemming from a slump.
(applauses alliteratively appreciated)
Molecule Man’s wand, discarded there at the end of Micronauts #23, finally looks like it did in its first appearance. The attempt to possess Silver Surfer’s body fails completely…
…but the wand DOES manage to completely recreate Molecule Man’s body.
Notice this completely skips the headache of Molecule Man dying in Marvel Two-In-One #1 to be replaced by his son, and treats it as if it has always been the real Molecule Man to possess people.
That was a good call: nothing about his son ever made any sense whatsoever.
Also it’s kind of hilarious that Silver Surfer is utterly nonplussed about Molecule Man.
Silver Surfer narrates his origin story, but all Molecule Man hears is the idea of a bad guy with a ridiculous helmet eating the planet.
Molecule Man is back to his original costume, which is great.
But he’s going to wear that dumb hat throughout the story, which… feels just wrong.
It does help sell the idea that, for all his terrifying power, deep down Molecule Man is just a ridiculous dork… but it makes him look a little to ridiculous, not helped by how cartoonish he looks compared to the other characters.
And make no mistake, this Molecule Man is still terrifyingly powerful.
Silver Surfer does manage to send his surfboard to the Baxter Building, but he runs into Marvel Rule #4: “The Fantastic Four must never be home when they are needed”.
So Iron Man picks it up.
When Captain America is called, for some bizarre reason Marvel writer Ann Nocenti has a cameo as a secretary who thinks Steve Rogers just committed suicide. (WTF?!?!?)
Also Thor nearly gets stuck in the bathroom.
Be honest, would YOU resist the urge to immediately jump on the surfboard?
The Avengers rescue Silver Surfer, and there’s a nice moment about Captain America feeling a little uncomfortable working with him.
Silver Surfer is not exactly a team player: other than the Fantastic Four, he rarely teams up with anyone. Even the members of the Defenders don’t always work with him, and he’s sort of a founder!
Tigra is feeling really out of place in all this, not helped by Silver Surfer being kind of a dick.
In fact when they reach Molecule Man’s hideout… which is protected by a barrier of hardened air molecules (which is probably his most commonly used trick)… she doesn’t even try.
Even concentrating ALL their power in a single spot, they barely manage to make a small entrance.
Molecule Man immediately spots her as soon as she enters the lair, and HEY! This is a Comics Code book, dude!
Tigra is obviously way, WAY below Molecule Man’s league… but only when it comes to superpowers, because she has him wrapped around her finger pretty soon.
Meanwhile the rest of the Avengers is having a heated battle, even though Molecule Man is paying no attention to them.
Captain America also gets beyond his distrust for Silver Surfer. Wow, that character development sure was quick!
Eventually, the team does manage to reach Molecule Man… possibly because he’s too distracted by Tigra.
It’s time for THE most well-known moment of the storyline: Molecule Man effortlessly disintegrates Cap’s shield, Thor’s hammer, Iron Man’s armor and the Surfer’s board in a single panel!!!
If I’m not mistaken, this is THE first time any of these are destroyed (except the armor).
Molecule Man is also genre-savvy enough to comment on what would’ve been their reaction.
I’m not entirely sure the board is made of molecules, but I guess solidified Power Cosmic is close enough.
Captain America snatches Molecule Man’s wand, only to discover it’s completely useless.
Getting rid of the wand was a GREAT idea: it never made any sense whatsoever, since it wasn’t even part of Molecule Man’s origin!!!
The only explanation we are given for why the wand held the power in the first place is that Molecule Man somehow willed all of his power to be within the wand. (WHY WOULD ANYONE DO SOMETHING THAT DUMB!?!?!)
And so we end on the cliffhanger of Molecule Man killing the Avengers, sparing Tigra only because he forced her to say she likes him.
AVENGERS #216 (1981)
by Jim Shooter & Alan Weiss
Well if you’re an Avenger it’s only fair eventually you have to avenge SOMEONE.
Okay, so Molecule Man has killed the Avengers. What is he going to do with Tigra?
Ewww. I think I need a shower.
Molecule Man is utterly indifferent at having murdered someone. And in case you had any doubts: after several issues where he could do anything he wanted, he’s back to having trouble with complex and organic molecules.
In his preparations for eating the Earth, Molecule Man creates MASSIVE damage. And consider this is nothing compared to what he’ll eventually do during Secret Wars.
The Fantastic Four finally decide to show up, but even they are unable to get past the indestructible barrier.
Back in the Molecule Man lair, it turns out that *shocker* he didn’t actually kill anyone!
Silver Surfer used his power to sneak everyone beneath the giant metallic boot.
This is a very important moment: Captain America learns the secret identity of Iron Man and Thor (the latter reverting to Don Blake after losing the hammer).
Iron Man and Thor already knew each other’s identity, but Cap learning about it is HUGE.
They may be powerless, but good luck keeping these guys out of the fight.
Tigra is still unaware they are alive, and she gets some much-needed character development.
She blames herself for not even trying to get the jump on Molecule Man; despite his immense power, he’s still human while she’s superhumanly fast.
Still, it does humanize her: she just saw someone take down Thor and Silver Surfer without breaking a sweat!!!
I mean… Molecule Man is quite literally a giant baby.
Don’t feel too bad for Tigra not trying to take Molecule Man by surprise in the previous scenes: obviously it wouldn’t have worked.
While she thinks she has the opportunity to murder him, however, she can’t bring herself to do it.
This baffles Molecule Man and it’s going to be important soon.
She eventually learns the others are still alive. She even tries to admit that she only tried to save her own life, but Captain America doesn’t let her finish and completely misunderstands what she was about to say.
How can you stay mad at Tigra? Look at how excited she is to be part of the team!!!
The plan hinges on a device jury-rigged by Tony Stark.
Aaaand it’s completely useless.
Tigra just snaps at him, two issues worth of frustration now coming to the surface.
Molecule Man is able to keep everyone at bay with the usual ease, not even bothering with Don Blake.
I usually don’t like Don Blake… I found him a non-character that didn’t bring anything to the Thor mythos. But DAMN if this isn’t a great moment for him!!!
Molecule Man retires to his throne room, and taking care of him requires ALL of Silver Surfer’s remaining strength.
It’s Captain America, however, to knock him down.
Molecule Man has been defeated, but there’s a problem: what do you DO with a guy like that!?
However it’s Tigra that actually gets through to Molecule Man, trying to convince him that he doesn’t HAVE to be a supervillain.
AND IT WORKS!!!
Before surrendering to the authorities, however, Molecule Man recreates Cap’s shield Thor’s hammer and the Surfer’s board… but hilariously not the Iron Man armor!
And that’s it for Molecule Man: this is his last appearance before Secret Wars.
As for Tigra, as mentioned she decides to quit the team…
…and it’s actually kind of heartwarming.
And that’s the end of the Molecule Man mini-retrospective!
Historical significance: 10/10
So many reasons. Captain America discovering Iron Man’s identity, and to a lesser extent Thor’s. The complete redefinition of Molecule Man as a character, which as explained in his first appearance has HUGE ramifications.
It’s also far from the last time Iron Man and Captain America will have a disagreement about using lethal force against a particularly nasty villain.
Oddly enough, considering she’s the focus here, this has little impact on Tigra herself.
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
This version of Molecule Man is even more Silver Age-y than his single Silver Age story.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
Not a perfect story by any stretch of the term, but a damn entertaining one. Reinterpreting Molecule Man from a rather generic would-be conqueror to an insecure goofy dork was perfect: there’s really no other villain to cover his spot. And he basically stops being a real villain after this one, slipping back into his old ways just for a couple of stories way after Secret Wars.
Tigra’s character development is interesting: she blames herself for most of what happens, and she’s even right for some of that, but despite having the perfect chance to hide everything she takes the high road and admits she’s not quite ready to be a prime player.
Having said that… both the story and the artwork get too cartoony a few times, and while it’s commendable to have Tigra admit her own flaws, it does make it harder to see her as a legitimate hero. I’ll take this over how Steve Englehart wrote her in West Coast Avengers, though.