Issue(s): Solo Avengers #8 (Henry Pym)
Cover Date: Jul 88
Title: "Another word for revenge"
Credits:
Mike Barr - Writer
Larry Alexander - Penciler
Jose Marzan - Inker
Gregory Wright - Assistant Editor
Mark Gruenwald - Editor

Review/plot:
Anyone want to watch Henry Pym just being a smug prick? I've got panels full of it.

I guess it's nice to see him with some self-confidence, but as is usually the way in cases like this, it's just a thin veneer that is easily shattered when Pym learns that he's the target in an investigation involving robberies performed by a super-small person.

The shrinking villain turns out to be Dr. Nemesis, who has been leaving cheesoid Riddler-like clues, robbing companies whose initials spell out his name (New Centuries Labs, Entwiler, Morgan-Stern Electronics....).

Pym is aware that Nemesis accidentally shrunk himself using his experimental suit in his last outing (which Pym wasn't present for).

That seems to contradict the idea from that issue (Micronauts #42), which said that Nemesis' shrinking rays weren't part of the suit. And since Pym says the effects were temporary, i hope it doesn't mean that the Micronauts that got back to the Microverse because of those rays didn't suddenly re-materialize on Earth.

Pym and Dr. Nemesis fight, with Nemesis making the most of his shrinking and growing powers.

But Pym manages to shrink him down to size and knock him out.

The police show up and Pym's name is cleared.

By the way, i've been on the fence about tracking Pym's sentient ship Rover as a character, since the whole idea was that he wasn't going to create something with a sophisticated AI to avoid the creation of another Ultron. But the thing sure seems to have a distinct personality and deserves to be counted as a character.

The other possibility is that Pym just programed all those prerecorded lines into it because he misses being badgered by Jan. But that's too sad to believe, so i'm going with the former option.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP place this between West Coast Avengers #32-33 and after Pym's appearances in Avengers #292-293, but i'm pushing it back a little earlier to keep it sequential with the other Solo Avengers books (just to avoid breaking them up, not for any important reason).

References:

• Dr. Nemesis' previous appearances were in Micronauts #42 and Micronauts #43 (incorrectly listed as #40-41).

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A