Small Wonders

Into the Marvel Microverse!

Captain America was the first Marvel hero to encounter a sub-atomic world. golden Age SF writer ray Cummings recycled his 1919 tale “the girl In the golden Atom” as “the Princess In the Atom”, a two-parter in 1943’s Captain America Comics #25 and #26. this micro-kingdom was Mita, located in a single atom of a rock on Bird’s Nest Island, Maine…

Blasted by a shrinking ray, the ever resourceful Doctor Doom ended up conquering a miniature realm in 1963’s Fantastic Four #16. “We’re in some sort of micro-world,” says Sue Storm. “A world which might fit on the head of a pin!” Ant-Man was the “special surprise guest star”… as the cover blurted to the world.

1967’s Fantastic Four #5 introduced the sinister Psycho-Man. “I come from the cluster worlds of sub-atomica – worlds in which micro-galaxies exist!” he declares, revealing the existence of an entire pocket universe within the atoms of the main Marvel reality.

Bruce Banner’s rampaging alter-ego entered the sorcerous, “sub-atomic sphere” of K’ai in The Incredible Hulk #140 in 1971, falling in love with green-skinned princess Jarella, the creation of Harlan ellison.

In 1979 Marvel launched The

Micronauts, inspired by the Mego toy line, a pantheon of plastic that repackaged Japan’s Microman range. Our heroes fought a cosmic war in a reality now known as the Microverse. Marvel later lost the rights to the Micronauts – Paramount are prepping a movie version for 2020 – so the MCU has rechristened the Microverse the Quantum realm…