The Voice Of Doom!

Tales To Astonish #42, April 1963
(by Lee, Lieber and Heck)

Not all super-villains are motivated by an insane desire to conquer the world, or by the need to seek revenge on the nearest hero to hand. Some, like today's villain, are spurred on by arrogance. Come meet The Voice!

His tale begins as he arrives in New York, armed with a dangerous soap-box, and proceeds to demonstrate his hypnotic voice.


And the origin of The Voice's powers? Our old friend radiation, transmitted into a struggling radio announcer's throat from a nearby atomic laboratory, giving him the power to convince anyone of anything. Some power, huh? Bet if you had such abilities, you'd use them to, say, have yourself declared Emperor of the World or something, right? Not our boy, though...


So, anyway, in a world populated by such titans as Thor, the Hulk, and Iron Man, the Voice decides to prove his mettle by picking a fight with the guy who makes himself very small and talks to insects.


With a go-getter attitude like that, it's no wonder this fellow, wouldn't be seen again for over twenty years. So, the good people of New York quickly form a lynch-mob, to hunt Ant-Man down. Unfortunately, he can make himself small, so they can't find him, but in the process of fleeing, Ant-Man loses his trusty cyber-helmet thing, which was the only reason that the Voice couldn't hypnotise him in the first place. D'oh.


You cad, sir! However can the Ant-Man get out of this calamity?

Answer: he can't. At least, not without help.


Not yet thwarted, the Voice decides to get himself some tv coverage, showing up at a news studio to make a broadcast to the world. Finally he's wising up, and can use his powers to conquer the world, right?

Wrong.


Yes, he's still determined to fix that pesky Ant-Man once and for all. Fortunately, this is America, and, unable to think of any other way to beat him, Hank Pym makes a quick stop at the Quik-Stop and picks gets himself a gun.


No sooner has the Voice retracted his statement, then he starts to lose his voice, and Ant-Man reveals that he's exposed him to a virus which causes laryngitis. Poor old Voice tries again to turn people against Ant-Man, but with his voice all croaky, no-one falls for it, and he's run out of town on a rail. And good riddance!