Episode #44 Yellowjacket
Review:
It was obvious that both the "deaths" from this episode weren't real - though in Hank's case, I thought there was some more drama present. Obviously I liked all the cameos of other heroes at the funeral - the Fantastic Four, Spider-man and... the Vision, causing some continuity problems but since he was only seen in a couple of short scenes I didn't really think too much of it; probably just an animation error. Considering the title of the episode, it was obvious for any fan of the comic books or for anyone who does a little research, that Hank wasn't dead. In Thor's case, it was even more obvious he didn't die (I think he's the character who's been presumed dead more times than any other on this show), and it wasn't handled that well either.
I liked that Jan was the only one who thought Hank was still alive. Though I would have liked a little more interaction between the two. But I guess there's still time for that until the show ends, with him now back on the team. I did like how Hank only returned to "normal" when he saw Jan was in danger. I didn't find Hank's idea for a new prison (the so-called Micro Prison) that impressive, and as this episode proved it was an even more dangerous place than the already existent prisons in their universe. Though this might have been a hint that Hank isn't thinking right anymore - he didn't think of any of the consequences this new method would have. If it was intentional, it was a nice touch. I thought the Serpent Society were a good choice for the villains of this episode - sure they're not the most interesting villains and they have been used a little too much on the show lately, but they were Hank's patients when they were held in the Big House and failing to rehabilitate them was one of the reasons he wanted to quit the team back in season one. They have some history with Hank, which added some kind of drama to the episode. Or at least it tried to.
Probably the main reason I was disappointed by this episode is because I was looking forward so much to see Hank again on the show (regardless of his identity). The episode was a little too rushed; it would have been nice to have some more build-up to him having an identity crisis and take on the name of Yellowjacket. That would have made his return have a bigger impact. Overall though, it's still a pretty good episode, but not really as great as I expected it to be. I sure hope the next few episodes will be better, to make up for this less than stellar story.
Original Airdate - September 9th, 2012
Wasp and Iron Man try to persuade Hank Pym to rejoin the Avengers, but he is obsessed with his experiments and driven by guilt over Ultron. Meanwhile, Yellowjacket, a new vigilante, emerges and has his sights on eliminating the Serpent Society.
Written by Man of Action and James Felder
Directed by Boyd Kirkland
Review by RoyalRubble
Media by Marvel Animation Age
Hank Pym finally returns in this episode, and dons a new superhero identity, as Yellowjacket. The episode was pretty good, but at times it felt too rushed and there were a couple of things that didn't really make sense. Overall though, it's still an enjoyable episode. It's basically a sequel to "To Steal an Ant-Man", which offered us the first hints that Hank was slowly going insane and a short scene that foreshadowed his next costumed identity - unfortunately with Iron Fist and Luke Cage returning only for a quick cameo. I would have liked to see the new Ant-Man, Scott Lang somewhere in this episode, or at least mentioned. It's like even Hank forgot about all that, and I don't know if any of the others actually know about him. You'd figure that with so many heroes coming to Hank's funeral, the guy who "inherited" his superhero identity would show up as well.
