"MICROSCOPIC ARMY"

Membership: Five unidentified assassins (see comments)

Purpose: Armed with full military gear, they were agents employed by the Yellow Claw. After their size was reduced to mere inches by the molecular converter, they were sent to steal top-secret files from a U.S. government agency.

Aliases: "An invisible army of tiny men" (as called by the Yellow Claw)

Affiliations: Fritz von Voltzmann (Karl von Horstbaden), Yellow Claw (Plan Chu)

Enemies: Jimmy Woo (Woo Yen Jet)

Base of Operations: Mobile

First Appearance: Yellow Claw#3/1 (February, 1957)

History:
(Yellow Claw#3/1 (fb) - BTS) - Professor Ford discovered a means to shrink people and objects with his molecular converter; he built two working models of this device--a larger version for multiple users, and a projector for individual use.

   Having learned of Ford's invention, the Yellow Claw had the scientist abducted so he could build a similar device for the Claw; with Professor Ford missing, the FBI confiscated both his devices.

   In a hidden laboratory, somewhere along the American west coast, Ford was held captive and forced to build a duplicate of the larger molecular converter for the Yellow Claw.

(Yellow Claw#3/1) - The Claw and von Voltzmann hired a team of five assassins to test the device--the men marched single file into the converter, and when they emerged from the other side, they were smaller than mice. With each smirking in triumph over the result, the Claw and von Voltzmann planned to send the miniaturized soldiers on a test mission--if the mission was successful, the Claw would launch an invasion of America that would bring the nation to its knees.

(Yellow Claw#3/1 - BTS) - Two days later, with von Voltzmann commanding them via radio, the group of tiny assassins were sent to the offices of a top-secret U.S. agency--their reduced size easily allowed them to bypass any obstacles and gain access into a guarded file room, where they stole some important papers.

(Yellow Claw#3/1) - When it was discovered that the files were missing, FBI agent Jimmy Woo went to the file room to investigate; Woo discovered something incredible--tiny footprints across a desktop! Suspecting that the miniature invaders were still there, Woo ordered for the room to be shut tight and heavily guarded until he returned.

   Later, in the offices of the FBI, Woo equipped himself with a rifle and climbing gear; he then stood before the confiscated molecular converter projector and called for it to be activated--when the projector's beam touched him, Jimmy Woo seemed to vanish as he was reduced to a miniature size.

   That night, the door to the guarded file room was opened the slightest fraction of an inch--just enough to admit the entrance of the tiny Jimmy Woo. Using a shrunken rope, Woo climbed to the desktop by lassoing a typewriter, where he was ambushed by the five intruders hiding within the machine. Woo set his rifle aside and engaged the assassins in hand-to-hand mortal combat.

   After his fighting skills proved to be superior to theirs, Woo retrieved his rifle and marched his five prisoners through the FBI's larger molecular converter, and they were all restored to their normal sizes--Woo had also recovered the secret papers that they stole. Suspecting that the Yellow Claw was behind this operation, Woo was certain the captured men would verify that under questioning.

   Meanwhile, in the Yellow Claw's hide-out, von Voltzmnn reported that he had lost radio contact with the shrunken assassins; fearing the captured men would reveal their location under interrogation, the Claw gave the order to clear out. As the Yellow Claw and his party took off in a fast jet, they left behind a once-important prisoner for the FBI to find: Professor Ford--the Claw figured the scientist was useless to him now that the FBI could duplicate his molecular converter; besides, the Yellow Claw had other plans in mind...

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby.

This miniaturized group was never actually referred to by any specific name, so I just identified them with the story's title.

Although the splash-page (see main image) depicted eight members of the "Microscopic Army," there were actually only five of them seen in the story.

This was only a 5-page story, and specific details were sparse, so I had to speculate on some of the details in the flashback/behind-the-scenes portions of History.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.








CLARIFICATIONS:
The "Microscopic Army" has no known connections to:

Professor Ford has no known connections to:

Professor Ford

Professor Ford (first name unrevealed) developed a method of shrinking people and objects with his molecular converter; he built two working models of this device--a larger version for multiple users, and a projector for individual use.

But Ford was abducted by the Yellow Claw, who forced the scientist to build a duplicate of the larger molecular converter--while Ford was missing, the FBI confiscated both his molecular converters.

After completing the Claw's converter, Ford used it to shrink a quintet of assassins; the miniaturized soldiers subsequently attempted to steal some files from a top-secret U.S. agency. But FBI agent Jimmy Woo used Ford's projector on himself so he could battle the tiny assassins on their own level. Woo then marched his prisoners through Ford's larger converter, which restored them all to their normal sizes.

The captured assassins were interrogated and revealed the location of the Yellow Claw's hideout; the Claw fled, but he left Professor Ford behind--he considered Ford to be useless to him since the FBI could now duplicate his machine.

(Comments: This image was the only confirmed appearance of Ford in this story--presumably he's also that figure in the background working on the Yellow Claw's molecular converter (see that sub-profile).
Possibly Professor Ford discovered what would later be known as the size-altering "Pym Particles"--but maybe he died shortly afterwards, which is why they're not called "Ford Particles".)

--Yellow Claw#3/1

Professor Ford's molecular converter projector

One of the two molecular converter devices created by Professor Ford, it was confiscated by the FBI after Ford was kidnapped by the Yellow Claw.

The projector emitted a beam of light which shrank anything it touched to tiny size.

When top-secret files were stolen, FBI agent Jimmy Woo investigated--the evidence indicated that the thieves had been miniaturized. Woo subsequently used the molecular converter projector to reduce himself to tiny size.

(Comment: Presumably, the molecular converter projector was intended to be used on only a single individual at a time.)

--Yellow Claw#3/1

Yellow Claw's molecular converter

Built for the Yellow Claw by the kidnapped Professor Ford, it was a duplicate of a working model Ford had built earlier--this earlier model was confiscated by the FBI after Ford was kidnapped (see fourth image in main profile).

When activated, the large rectangular metal cage glowed with a strange light--anything that passed within the illumination of the enclosed corridor was shrunken to tiny size by the time it reached the exit on the opposite side.

The Yellow Claw used this larger molecular converter to reduce a quintet of assassins to miniature size.

After the FBI discovered the location of his hideout, the Claw fled and abandoned his molecular converter.

(Comment: Presumably this larger version of the device was intended to be used to shrink multiple persons and/or small vehicles at the same time.)
--Yellow Claw#3/1

images: (without ads)
Yellow Claw#3/1, p1, pan1 (Main Image - "Microscopic Army"; Yellow Claw's hands (background))
Yellow Claw#3/1, p3, pan1 ("Microscopic Army" on desktop; Jimmy Woo (wearing hat) and government official (background))
Yellow Claw#3/1, p4, pan3 (on desktop, shrunken Jimmy Woo uses "giant" ink pen to battle "Microscopic Army")
Yellow Claw#3/1, p5, pan1 (restored to their normal sizes, Jimmy Woo marches captured "Microscopic Army" out of larger molecular converter)
Yellow Claw#3/1, p5, pan5 (Professor Ford; Yellow Claw and company flying off in jet (background))
Yellow Claw#3/1, p3, pan3 (Jimmy Woo prepares for battle; Woo's chief, unidentified technician, molecular converter projector (background))
Yellow Claw#3/1, p3, pan4 (molecular converter projector; Jimmy Woo (background))
Yellow Claw#3/1, p3, pan5 (Jimmy Woo struck by beam of molecular converter projector)
Yellow Claw#3/1, p2, pan1 (Yellow Claw, Fritz von Voltzmann, and (presumably) Professor Ford stand by as assassins prepare to enter molecular converter)
Yellow Claw#3/1, p2, pan2 (assassins walk into activated molecular converter)
Yellow Claw#3/1, p2, pan3 (shrunken assassins exit molecular converter at Yellow Claw's feet)

Appearances:
Yellow Claw#3/1 (February, 1957) - Jack Kirby (script, pencils, inks), Roz Kirby (inks), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 08/23/2020
Last updated: 08/23/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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