Hi, David.
DB> What I hated most about 60's Marvel was that it seemed that the
DB> heroes were trading off their idenities with each other.  like
DB> Goliath become Yellow Jacket, Hawkeye becomes Goliath, Ant-Man
DB> becomes Giant-Man, Yellow Jacket becomes Ant-Man, and so-on.  I
DB> wouldn't mind it if a new character would have picked up the old
DB> idenity, rather than doing an apparel exchange.
     I wouldn't really call it "trading off" identities.  I mean,
Hawkeye did become Goliath 2... but Hank Pym didn't pick up a bow &
arrow and become Hawkeye 2.  With Pym, I see it as more of just the
evolution of his character.  I can see where, back in the early '60s,
the writers might've considered that having 2 shrinking characters
(Ant-Man & the Wasp) in a 5-member Avengers team was a little
redundant...  and so they made Ant-Man into Giant Man.  A little while
later, and a couple of costume changes, he becomes Goliath (when he's
stuck at 20 feet tall... or something like that), then does a complete
180 with regards to his power and becomes Yellowjacket.  I've enjoyed
Hank Pym in all his identities and am glad they held off giving the
discarded names to somebody else for a while.  After all, back in the
'70s, he went back to being Ant-Man on more than one occasion... and
now he's back to calling himself Giant Man again.  Perhaps one day,
we'll see him back as Yellowjacket again.  Who knows?...
     You say you hate '60s Marvel because it always seemed as though
their heroes were always trading off their identities with one
another.  Other than Hawkeye, who else gave up one identity to take on
another?  Offhand, I can't think of any others.
DB> I always like Yellow Jacket better than Goliath or Giant-Man, but
DB> I guess if Henry Pym originated as Giant-Man, it would be logical
DB> that Marvel would put him back into that outfit to get back to
DB> basics.
     Actually, he was Ant-Man originally.
     My first exposure to him was as Ant-Man (2nd time around) and
that is probably my favorite Pym-identity.  I always thought his Ant-
Man helmet was so cool and unique among super-heroes.  That being said
though, I liked Yellowjacket a lot too.  Still...  it's good to see
him back as Giant Man again (even though he was Giant-Man pre-
Onslaught too).  I guess I'm just glad they chose a previous name for
him rather than try to create a brand-new identity.
DB> My idea is to let Pym take one of the alter-egos and have two
DB> other new characters to assume the other two idenities in the same
DB> image as Pym.
DB> I guess I could always dream!
     You don't need to dream about it... it's been a reality now for
years now...  Scott Lang took over the Ant-Man identity for Pym
back in a 2-issue "Marvel Premiere" story.  He wore the original Ant-
Man costume... and he's still around.  Bill Foster, a former assistant
to Pym back in his early Goliath days (when he was stuck at 20 feet
tall) was Black Goliath for a while...  and then assumed the Giant Man
mantle (although, he's always had his own costume design).  I'm not
sure what he's up to these days.  And then there was the late,
lamented female Yellowjacket.  Killed before she had a chance to
really shine, IMO.  Either way...  you've got Pym as Giant-Man and
Lang as Ant-Man.  Give Foster the "Goliath" name (recently abandoned
by Atlas) and you've still got your wish.  See... dreams do come
true...
Talk to you later.
David
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