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Tales to Astonish
Ant-Man #37
Originally printed as Tales to Astonish #37.
Ant-Man is on the trail of the thief called the Protector!
Ant-Man is on the trail of the thief called the Protector!
14 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1962
1 person is currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,563 books2,348 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 29, 2025
I AM THE PROTECTOR! PAY ME 'PROTECTION' MONEY OR I WILL USE MY DISINTEGRATING RAY TO TURN YOUR JEWELS INTO WORTHLESS DUST! (?) Really...why not just steal and fence them? Check out the Protector on the cover - a cross between Pickle Rick and a beatnik commando! Love these stories - really need a good laugh after all the political foolishness on the news every evening!
May 24, 2020
Ant Man responds to a police call from a local jewelry store. The injured store owner explains that he’s being extorted for weekly “protection” payments by a super-strong man with a disintegrator gun. When he couldn’t pay, the Protector zapped a display case of jewelry and assaulted the owner. Can even Ant Man defeat a crook with the power of disintegration?
I had fun reading this story in spite of some pretty silly moments. Ant Man is taken out of action by things as mundane as a water pistol and a vacuum cleaner! I really do enjoy the idea of the ant network that keeps Pym apprised of crimes and other information, and the fact that the last few issues are sort of mysteries is also fun. It sets this feature apart from the others in the book and also other Marvel heroes at the time. But it does seem that Lee & Lieber have a pattern to their mysteries which, if it continues, won’t make them very surprising!
Kirby’s artwork is pretty good this issue. There are a couple of really stand-out panels, but he doesn’t really have an opportunity to shine here. There isn’t a lot of big action or fantastic locales for him to really dig into.
There are two other stories that are typical of the Twilight Zone scenarios that were popular at this time. The most notable thing about them is artwork by Don Heck and Steve Ditko. Again, nothing really amazing, but it’s nice to see early Marvel work by these guys!
Decent, fun Ant Man story.
I had fun reading this story in spite of some pretty silly moments. Ant Man is taken out of action by things as mundane as a water pistol and a vacuum cleaner! I really do enjoy the idea of the ant network that keeps Pym apprised of crimes and other information, and the fact that the last few issues are sort of mysteries is also fun. It sets this feature apart from the others in the book and also other Marvel heroes at the time. But it does seem that Lee & Lieber have a pattern to their mysteries which, if it continues, won’t make them very surprising!
Kirby’s artwork is pretty good this issue. There are a couple of really stand-out panels, but he doesn’t really have an opportunity to shine here. There isn’t a lot of big action or fantastic locales for him to really dig into.
There are two other stories that are typical of the Twilight Zone scenarios that were popular at this time. The most notable thing about them is artwork by Don Heck and Steve Ditko. Again, nothing really amazing, but it’s nice to see early Marvel work by these guys!
Decent, fun Ant Man story.
December 12, 2025
Pretty average story overall. There are no significant developments for Ant-Man, no real additions to his power set, and nothing that meaningfully expands Henry Pym as a character. He stops a thief calling himself The Protector, a low-level criminal who extorts local jewelry stores in exchange for his so-called protection. The fights are unremarkable, and the ending doesn’t hold up. It would have worked far better with a neutral, newly introduced character, because the “logic” Ant-Man attributes to The Protector simply doesn’t make sense. Of course the criminal wouldn’t know each shop’s exact profits, so naturally he’d try to squeeze money out of everyone. And it’s common knowledge that extortion doesn’t depend on whether a business is thriving; protection money is collected regardless.
Then there’s the absurd convenience of the scientist opening a jewelry store overnight. Where did he get the funds for all that merchandise? And it’s hard to believe there was enough time or space for the thief to steal and replace the jewels as shown. The panels themselves suggest the swap happened right under the shopkeeper’s eyes, which makes the whole setup implausible.
The artwork, at least, is solid. You can tell the artists are getting more confident in depicting both Ant-Man and the ants, though background details often get neglected. The coloring deserves praise as well, giving each character a distinctive visual presence.
Then there’s the absurd convenience of the scientist opening a jewelry store overnight. Where did he get the funds for all that merchandise? And it’s hard to believe there was enough time or space for the thief to steal and replace the jewels as shown. The panels themselves suggest the swap happened right under the shopkeeper’s eyes, which makes the whole setup implausible.
The artwork, at least, is solid. You can tell the artists are getting more confident in depicting both Ant-Man and the ants, though background details often get neglected. The coloring deserves praise as well, giving each character a distinctive visual presence.
August 9, 2019
TALES TO ASTONISH 27, 35-52 (Ant-Man's First Arc)
Stan Lee made the fantastic decision when taking over this magazine to make it entirely dedicated to stories featuring Ant-Man from that point onward. This was really the right move, seeing as that was the only story in this magazine that was unique let alone deeper in its thematic content.
ANT-MAN has a great dynamic, where you can achieve suspense with something as simple as his size comparable to his enemies. The tactics one might use to kill an ordinary insect, like flypaper, are equally lethal against someone of Ant-Man's size. It's also a nice visual metaphor, as he is forced to understand and appreciate the perspective of someone much smaller than himself. He no longer can view the world as inferior or insignificant to himself; its an interesting dynamic, as his villains always are a reversal of this notion by using this very thinking of superiority as justification for their crimes.
The biggest flaw with the stories up to this point is the dialogue… unsurprising of comic books in this era, but surprising for the man writing it. Ant-Man has no-one to really interact with, so it feels really unnatural for him to be talking to himself all the time. It also makes all his dialogue really expository, leaving no room for character accessorization. It is something Lee quickly realized though, prompting him to introduce the Wasp in issue 44; It provides an interesting character dynamic, a bickering husband and wife, because it makes them feel much more real and consequently make us career about the danger they’re in even more.
The other big flaw is that all the villains are one-off villains of the week; if the villains are always defeated, it leaves the reader feeling as if these stories are inconsequential to the protagonists and thus eliminating any sense they’re ever in real danger. But more importantly, it misses a valuable opportunity for character development; if there is a re-occurring antagonist, it mirrors the re-occurring protagonist. The villain and the hero grow and change together, each progressing alongside each other. By having no re-occurring villains, it makes the hero unchallenged and makes us fear the villains even less.
Despite these flaws, the issues are worth reading for the character interaction between the Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is really what carries these stories.
Stan Lee made the fantastic decision when taking over this magazine to make it entirely dedicated to stories featuring Ant-Man from that point onward. This was really the right move, seeing as that was the only story in this magazine that was unique let alone deeper in its thematic content.
ANT-MAN has a great dynamic, where you can achieve suspense with something as simple as his size comparable to his enemies. The tactics one might use to kill an ordinary insect, like flypaper, are equally lethal against someone of Ant-Man's size. It's also a nice visual metaphor, as he is forced to understand and appreciate the perspective of someone much smaller than himself. He no longer can view the world as inferior or insignificant to himself; its an interesting dynamic, as his villains always are a reversal of this notion by using this very thinking of superiority as justification for their crimes.
The biggest flaw with the stories up to this point is the dialogue… unsurprising of comic books in this era, but surprising for the man writing it. Ant-Man has no-one to really interact with, so it feels really unnatural for him to be talking to himself all the time. It also makes all his dialogue really expository, leaving no room for character accessorization. It is something Lee quickly realized though, prompting him to introduce the Wasp in issue 44; It provides an interesting character dynamic, a bickering husband and wife, because it makes them feel much more real and consequently make us career about the danger they’re in even more.
The other big flaw is that all the villains are one-off villains of the week; if the villains are always defeated, it leaves the reader feeling as if these stories are inconsequential to the protagonists and thus eliminating any sense they’re ever in real danger. But more importantly, it misses a valuable opportunity for character development; if there is a re-occurring antagonist, it mirrors the re-occurring protagonist. The villain and the hero grow and change together, each progressing alongside each other. By having no re-occurring villains, it makes the hero unchallenged and makes us fear the villains even less.
Despite these flaws, the issues are worth reading for the character interaction between the Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is really what carries these stories.
October 2, 2017
Well, it's been a while, but here I am where I was a year ago when I first subscribed to Marvel Unlimited. I'm picking up the original Ant-Man now that I have explored some other parts of the multiverse.
Here we have Ant-Man facing off with the Protector. The Protector "protects" jelery stores to the tune of $300 per week. If they don't pay, he pulverizes their merchandise. Ant-Man figures out who the Protector is and lays a trap for him. He's so clever. Love his use of a fan and a ripped vacuum cleaner bag to foil his opponent.
The story was that of the Magician, who has come to a meeting of sorcerers from across many centuries. He exchanges clothes with one to help him leave. The payoff is that the magician gets a wonderful act.
There was a good comic of a man whose dreams came true until he became greedy. Then a fear crept in that he would die. He hid out on a mountain so nothing would happen to him. Just minutes before midnight an avalanche occurred. Awwww . . .
And the final comic was that of a crew of criminals who escape and then terrorize the galaxy by robbing them. They are contacted by a planet of folks who cannot lie. They tell them that another planet was about to attack them. If the raiders would attack the other planet, they could rob them and all would work out. The raiders thought was swell. They planned to rob the weakling planet afterward. Of course, they didn't account for the fact that they were giants and the other planet was even larger giants.
Here we have Ant-Man facing off with the Protector. The Protector "protects" jelery stores to the tune of $300 per week. If they don't pay, he pulverizes their merchandise. Ant-Man figures out who the Protector is and lays a trap for him. He's so clever. Love his use of a fan and a ripped vacuum cleaner bag to foil his opponent.
The story was that of the Magician, who has come to a meeting of sorcerers from across many centuries. He exchanges clothes with one to help him leave. The payoff is that the magician gets a wonderful act.
There was a good comic of a man whose dreams came true until he became greedy. Then a fear crept in that he would die. He hid out on a mountain so nothing would happen to him. Just minutes before midnight an avalanche occurred. Awwww . . .
And the final comic was that of a crew of criminals who escape and then terrorize the galaxy by robbing them. They are contacted by a planet of folks who cannot lie. They tell them that another planet was about to attack them. If the raiders would attack the other planet, they could rob them and all would work out. The raiders thought was swell. They planned to rob the weakling planet afterward. Of course, they didn't account for the fact that they were giants and the other planet was even larger giants.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews