After a
brief intro in which a kid drops a telegram, leading to some people spotting
Ant-Man in the street and going all fanboy over him, the telegram is delivered
to one Professor Elias Weems, who learns his grandson Tommy is coming for a
visit. Then Weems is fired from his job because the company now has a mandatory
firing age of sixty-five which is cheaper than a retirement age. Weems grows
bitter and decides to seek revenge. He builds a machine that can cause things
to age. He tests it on a sapling and it grows into a tree, growing larger until
it dies. He goes to the zoo and tests the device on a baby elephant aging it into
its geriatric years and then reversing the process, which is witnessed (but not
understood) by many people including Hank Pym. He then tests it on a teen girl
who progresses to middle age and back….
Convinced
his device works, Weems sends a letter to the police announcing himself as the
Time Master and unless the city surrenders to his rule, he will begin aging
people. Ants convey the news to Ant-Man who investigates. He asks around and
discovers there is apparently only one scientist in town who is angry and
that’s Elias Weems. Ant-Man pays him a visit and the mad scientist shoots him
with the device, causing Hank to age rapidly; Weems picks him up and drops him
in a flowerpot. Weems departs to wreak some havoc so Hank uses his enlarging
gas and escapes. He heads downtown where he spots Weems on a rooftop shooting
random passersby with his device, aging them. But one of the victims turns out
to be his grandson Tommy and Weems is so startled that he drops the device.
Having shrunk again, Ant-Man masses the ants to catch the device safely and he
uses it to restore everyone to their normal ages. Weems is arrested and hauled
before a judge but Ant-Man testifies in his favor as does his former boss who
has repented of the old policy and gives Weems his job back. Ant-Man then tells
us we’ve all learned to appreciate our youth.
“Lady Luck”
Writer:
Unknown. Art: Unknown.
Synopsis: A
man bristles at the idea that anything in life can be attributed to “luck”
until he meets a literal Lady Luck who saves his life!
“Frankie’s
Fast Ball!”
Writer:
Larry Lieber. Plot: Stan Lee. Pencils: Larry Leiber. Inks: Sol Brodsky. Colors:
? Letters: Artie Simek.
Synopsis: A
child exposed to radiation grows up to become a super-genius and super-athlete;
he dreams of being a baseball star with an unstoppable fast ball—until he
realizes the pitch would kill anyone who tried to catch it!
“My Fatal
Mistake!”
Writer:
Stan Lee. Art: Steve Ditko. Colors: ? Letters: Artie Simek.
Synopsis: A
janitor assigned to care for a huge computer comes to resent the machine so
that he sabotages it, discovering too late that he is trapped in its air-tight
room that only the computer can open!