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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 6, 2017 0:40:15 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #1"Vengeance of the Molecule Man!"Cover Date: January, 1974 Writer: Steve Gerber Artist: Gil Kane Feature Characters: The Thing & The Man Thing Villain/s: Molecule Man Construct Special Guests: Hulk, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four (All in Flashback) Official Plot: The Thing, still trying to get home, sees a magazine cover featuring the Man-Thing in a small town Bus Station. Upset by the similarity of his and Man-Thing's names, he decides to travel to Florida instead of New York. The Molecule Man, confined to his other-dimensional prison, tells his son (later, in another issue revealed to be an artificial construct he created) to avenge him by destroying the Fantastic Four, and then apparently dies. The construct then undergoes a process similar to that which gave Molecule Man his powers. He attempts to teleport to New York City, but instead appears in the Florida Everglades, face to face with the Man-Thing. The Thing arrives and is surprised to see the Molecule Man. He charges the villain, but the Molecule Man uses his wand to transform both the Thing and the Man-Thing back into their human forms. The two men are relieved to be human again, but realize that they must still stop the Molecule Man before he fulfills his vow to destroy the entire Fantastic Four. By the time they catch up to him, the Molecule Man has reached the nearby town of Citrusville and is wreaking havoc with the powers of his wand. He even turns an innocent pedestrian into a likeness of Mister Fantastic and kills him. The Molecule Man notices that Ben Grimm and Ted Sallis seem more compassionate and driven to stop him in their human form than in their more monstrous forms, so he transforms them back to the way they were before. It is his wish see the two destroy each other. The Thing punches his fist through the Man-Thing's body and withdraws a fistful of muck. He hurls the slime at the Molecule Man, striking his wand. The cosmic device flies from his hand and rolls through some cracks in the wreckage. As the wand is the reservoir for his power, the Molecule Man desperately tries to retrieve it. His power levels are quickly depleted his life essence drains away. After the construct dies, the Thing recovers the Molecule Man's wand, while the Man-Thing instinctively begins lumbering back to his swamp. The Thing hands the now-powerless device to a nearby child. Brodie's View:Okay, I was wrong about The Thing starting this first actual issue of MARVEL TWO IN ONE not still stranded in the desert, as he starts this issue still there, but having reached a bus stop with a newsstand of some sort. He happens to see a magazine with the Macabre Man Thing on the cover, which pisses him off, and officially kicks this story into being, as he decides to take a bus to the swamp to kick the Man Thing's ass for taking his "name." Meanwhile, in another dimension, what appears to be older FF villain, and future Jim Shooter spank superstar, The Molecule Man, appears to die from aging rapidly in a place where time works differently than ours. What is said to be his son (but I guess is later revealed to be an artificial construct ole' Owen created to carry on his mission of revenge) decides to take MM's wand, and uses machinery to replicate his abilities. He then tries to teleport to Earth to get the revenge his "father" never got on the FF, but since Ben Grimm has traveled to Florida, that's where he ends up arriving at. He temporarily ends up losing his wand, which starts rapidly aging him, but he is able to reverse the process once he gets it back. He then happens across The Thing, who has just found who he was looking for, but before the two creatures can fight, MM turns them back into their respective human forms, Ben Grimm and Ted Sallis. MM then takes off to nearby Citrusville to start getting his revenge, leaving the two now helpless heroes to try and stop him. Ben and Ted, after the first explains what's going on to the second (as Sallis has no memory of his life as The Man Thing, as he's kind of just a mindless mockery of a man in that form), take off to Citrusville to try to find Sallis' lab, thinking they might be able to stop MM's rampage, only to get caught up in it, as MM is using his powers to make the city go crazy. MM then transforms Ben and Ted back to their monstrous forms, and goads them to fight each other. However, before the fight can get to far, Ben chucks something at MM, knocking his wand out of his hand, which quickly ages the wannabe villain to the point of death. The whole ordeal over, The Man Thing just wanders back into the swamp, and after realizing that MM's wand is useless without the man himself using it, Ben hands it off to a little kid to play with, and takes off for home. Of course, this wouldn't be the last time we see the Molecule Man in any kind of form, as, like I said before, future Marvel Editor in Chief Jim Shooter had a huge hard on for the guy, and would bring him back into prominence in the 80's. However, all that being said, this was a pretty cool start for the MARVEL TWO IN ONE series, with a great writer in Steve Gerber (who was writing Manny's title at the time, hence, his being the first "Team Up" star), and a classic artist in Gil Kane. In the next issue, will find ole' Benji back in NYC finally, and dealing with yet another past villain, who has also been an ally at times, hence, the team up. Also, we start to see the beginnings of certain storylines that will go through quite a bit of the run of this book. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 6, 2017 23:44:05 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #2"Manhunters From the Stars!"Cover Date: March, 1974 Writer: Steve Gerber Artist: Gil Kane Feature Characters: The Thing & The Sub Mariner Villain/s: Dakkamites (Tuumar, Zeneg, and Mortoid) Special Guests: Wundarr, Namorita, The Human Torch, & Hydro Men (The Man Thing in Flashback) Official Plot: Wundarr plummets into the ocean off the coast by Hydrobase, witnessed only by Namorita. She brings him to the shore and resuscitates him. Namor approaches and believes Wundarr to be an intruder. Wundarr is frightened and flees. Namortia convinces her cousin that Wundarr needs their help, and the follow after him. In Earth’s orbit, two Dakkamites discuss the need to destroy Wundarr. The Thing and the Human Torch exit a movie theater. While Johnny flies home, Ben decides to go for a reflective walk. Soon, Wundarr appears nearby. Confused by the noises and sights of the city, he goes on a rampage. The Dakkamites initially believe that The Thing will do their job for them, but they eventually decide to intervene. To further complicate things, the Sub-Mariner and Namorita arrive, and Namor attacks the Thing to get him to stop fighting Wundarr. The Dakkamites take this moment send one of their robots in for the attack. However, the Thing and Sub-Mariner team-up to destroy the creature. When the Dakkamites try to take Wundarr (And Namorita, who is clutched by the unconscious Wundarr), the Thing and Sub-Mariner go to their rescue. Realizing that they cannot stop the two heroes, the Dakkamites abort their plan and flee. After the battle is over, the Sub-Mariner and Namorita leave Wundarr in the care of the Thing, who is absolutely flabbergasted as to what to do with the infantile Wundarr. Brodie's View:So, in this issue we start one of our first ongoing storylines in this book, with the arrival (well, to the book at least) of Wundarr (Not to be confused with THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN), who will later be known as Aquarian. I was kind of curious about the origin of this character, and I (and we) was/were lucky enough to be provided a nice little origin recap by writer, Steve Gerber, as his past definitely pertains to the main story (and villains) of this issue. Wundarr is basically Gerber's (as he was introduced in FEAR (which eventually becomes the MAN THING solo book), which was another book Gerber was writing at the time) version of Superman, but in Wundarr's story, his home planet doesn't end up being destroyed, and his parents end up being killed by the elders of that planet (who also are the main villains of this issue, in this, their only appearance). Wundarr ends up traveling to Earth ala young Kal El, but his ship crashes in the Man Thing's swamp, hence, he is never found by a group of human parents like the Kents. He grows into being a man in that ship, but his mind never evolves past being an infant's. The Man Thing happened across Wundarr's ship, and wound up opening it accidentally, which released Wundarr into a world that was completely alien to the childlike superhuman (who has very Superman like powers). After his encounter with The Man Thing is where this story opens, as he happens to come across Namor's cousin, the half human Namorita, before bounding off to New York City. Concerned, Namorita convinces Namor to help her assist the infant-like Wundarr, and prevent him from causing/being harm/ed. This is where our boy Benjy enters the story, as he and Johnny Storm have just finished watching a Kung Fu flick in a 42nd street Grindhouse theater (which is just hilarious to think about on its own), and the Torch leaves Ben to mope around the area (about some of the events of the last issue), before happening upon Wundarr, who is having a superhuman tantrum after being hit by a car. Ben winds up getting into it with Wundarr, not understanding that the alien isn't doing any of this maliciously, before being stopped by Namor. Before these two old frenemies can get into it, Wundarr is attacked by his planet's elders, who wish to capture their fellow alien, and probably do to him what they did to his parents. However, this ends up uniting The Thing and the two Atlantians, who end up defeating the Dakkamites' forces, sending them packing. Namor and Namorita, seeing that Wundarr is seemingly in good hands with Ben, wind up dipping out, leaving the superhuman in the rocky hands of the star of this book. This was a decent story, and definitely, as I stated earlier, set some seeds for an ongoing story throughout the book, as Wundarr would end up in the hands of the sinister Project Pegasus, forcing Ben and some other heroes to once fight for the life of Wundarr. Speaking of the alien, the next few issues will deal with Ben having to basically baby sit a superman, which will involve some legal issues. Luckily, next issue's guest star just happens to be a lawyer in his spare time. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 7, 2017 21:49:44 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #3"Inside Black Spectre!"Cover Date: May, 1974 Writer: Steve Gerber Artist: Sal Buscema Feature Characters: The Thing & Daredevil Villain/s: Black Spectre, Mandrill, & Nekra Special Guests: Wundarr, Black Widow, Foggy Nelson, Shanna: The She Devil, & Mister Fantastic Official Plot: Mister Fantastic runs a number of physiological test on Wundarr, determining that there is a limit to the amount of energy he can store. This is dramatically proven by an explosion. Nearby, Daredevil witness the explosion and learns it's source. Later he stops by and visits Foggy Nelson and Shanna O'Hara, who tells Daredevil about the Black Spectre's involvement in her fathers death. Daredevil -- as Matt Murdock -- attends a play with Candace Nelson,, during which two of the actors die, victims of Black Spectre. Daredevil is stopped from following the culprit by a surprise attack from the Black Widow. Daredevil requires the use of the Fantasti-Car to go after Black Spectre’s Airship, and the Thing comes along. Catching up to the Black Spectre's zeppelin, the Thing and Daredevil break in and attack. Inside they face Nekra, he army of enthralled females, and the Black Spectre himself. When Thing rips off the Spectre's mask, he suddenly loses all control over his body, and Daredevil is defeated as well. They are then loaded back up in the Fantasti-Car and dumped off the zeppelin. Regaining control of themselves, the two heroes prevent themselves from crashing, and Daredevil vows to stop his enemies. This story is continued in Daredevil #110... Brodie's View:In the last review, I was going to put a bit of criticism in there that there was really little reason for Sub Mariner and Namorita being in last issue, as they really didn't add much to the overall story that another hero really couldn't have done just as easy. However, I'm glad I held up on that criticism, as it is kind of a similar criticism I have of this issue, but in the opposite sense. This issue is essentially a DAREDEVIL story that just happens to weave in a MTIO sideplot (and the Thing's involvement altogether), as neither the beginning or the end of this story happens in this book, which makes this issue a bit confusing; like walking in mid way through a movie, and then leaving a half an hour before it ends. Not saying it's a BAD story, per say, but it's just a bummer that we don't get to see how it's resolved (or even how it began). The story basically concerns Daredevil and a entity called the Black Spectre, who has the ability to mentally control people (As we see that he has Black Widow, who was dating/sharing the book with DD at the time, under his control), which we see most dramatically as DD attends a controversial play with Foggy's sister (?) that ends with the actors killing each other/themselves. This ends up leading to DD chasing Black Spectre, but losing him, as he has an airship, which is kind of the only real reason Ben shows up in this at all, as DD tries to steal one of the Fantasticars to fly up there, which gives us our actual team up (which doesn't happen until like 2/3rds through the book). We do get a bit more of MTIO storylines than I'm making it seem like in the first paragraph, as we do see Wundarr being examined by Ben's FF teammate, Reed Richards. This ends up causing an explosion that brings DD into this issue in the first place, as it almost makes the blind superhero fall to his death. DD goes up to retrieve his Billy Club (which falls during the explosion), which allows Ben to explain the whole Wundarr deal to DD before he splits to continue his story. However, that all happens in the first few pages, and the "Team Up" happens in the last few, which gives the "meat" of this issue almost entirely to DD and this whole "Black Spectre" story. Once again, not a bad story, which is why I'm not going to blast it too badly in my ratings, but it would have been nice to at least explain how this whole deal is resolved, as it is pretty f**king confusing. However, that won't be an issue for the next story, which will end up being a Two Parter, and involve an alien race that will later show up in an X-MEN Annual (which will also guest star the FF), The Badoon. Oh yeah, and a certain shield slinging Avenger guest stars. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 8, 2017 23:32:21 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #4"Doomsday 3014!"Cover Date: July, 1974 Writer:Steve Gerber Artist: Sal Buscema Feature Characters: The Thing & Captain America Villain/s: The Badoon, The Zoms, The Monster of Badoon Special Guests: Wundarr, Tarin (1st appearance of), Sharon Carter, Namorita, Medusa, & Mister Fantastic Official Plot: The Thing takes Wundarr for a day out at the zoo. While unattended, Wundarr frees the animals, unaware of the danger they pose. A nearby Steve Rogers intervenes to help. Captain America and Sharon Carter go back with the Thing to the Baxter Building. While the heroes are relaxing, Tarin appears on the time-platform, which was inadvertently left on. She tells them of the Badoon invasion of her future world. Captain America, Sharon Carter, and the Thing decide to return with her to the 31st Century, where they immediately come into conflict with the Zoms. Able to hold off the Zom hordes, Thing, Captain America, Sharon and Tarin are soon over powered and knocked unconscious when the Monster of Badoon arrives and takes them by surprise. The defeated heroes are then carried off to be tried by the leader of the Badoon. This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View:With this issue we finally get to see this book truly starting to build its own internal stories, rather than just being a brief stopping point for other stories. However, first we temporarily resolve the whole Wundarr story (at least for now), as Narmorita shows up after the childlike superman ends up causing chaos at the zoo (after freeing the animals from their cages), and over to take the naive alien with her to be educated in the ways of Earth in 1974. Captain America and his girlfriend (and S.H.I.E.L.D agent) Sharon Carter happen upon the melee, and help Ben out by stopping opportunistic crooks from looting the zoo while The Thing was dealing with containing the loose jungle cats. After the situation has been settled, the three head back to FF headquarters for a little RnR, and end up having that with fellow FF members, Mister Fantastic and Medusa (From the Inhumans, who was a FF member at the time). However, before that happens, and as the three heroes arrive at Reed's lab, Ben accidentally flips a switch on Dr. Doom's time machine (which the FF had come into possession of, and what Reed was working on when Ben, Cap, and Sharon arrived). This causes a woman from the year 3014 (a future where the alien race, The Badoon, who we last talked about during our UNCANNY X-MEN reviews, had taken over Earth and killed off most of the human population) to show up, and after telling the heroes her tale of woe, Ben, Cap, and Sharon agree to go back (to the Future ) with her, to help save the future. However, soon after they arrive in that future, they are attacked by the forces of the Badoon; in the form of zombified humans called Zoms, and a genetically created monster called "The Monster of Badoon (natch)." The combined threat of these forces end up taking all of our heroes out of commission, save for the future woman (Tarin) herself, who vows that the lizard-like Badoon will pay for not taking her out as well. In the next issue, we will see the resolving of this story, which will lead to the involvement of yet another group of heroes that have been adapted by MARVEL/DISNEY....well, the original version of that group. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 9, 2017 23:58:52 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #5"Seven Against the Empire!"Cover Date: September, 1974 Writer:Steve Gerber Artist: Sal Buscema Feature Characters: The Thing & The Guardians of the Galaxy (Major Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Yondu, & Martinex) Villain/s: The Badoon (Brotherhood of the Badoon, Drang, Ebor, Badoon Elite Guard), The Zoms, & The Monster of Badoon Special Guests: Captain America, Sharon Carter, Tarin, Zakkor, Qarl (and the rest of the human resistance) Official Plot: The Thing, Captain America, and Sharon Carter are captives of the Badoon. Brother Royal has their minds probed to learn the how these beings came to be on Earth. The Thing regains consciousness, and the heroes fight their way to freedom. MJoining up with the human resistance, Tarin tries to convince Zakkor, the leader of the resistance, to contact the Guardians of the Galaxy. When the Guardians of the Galaxy receive the call from the human resistance, they are convinced to go and help when Vance Astro sees footage of Captain America fighting the Badoon. Arriving on Earth, the Guardians of the Galaxy help turn the battle in favor of the human resistance. With the help of Thing, Captain America, Sharon Carter, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Monster of the Badoon is defeated and Brother Royal is ousted control of the planet Earth. With the Badoon occupation of Earth finally crushed, Vance Astro tells Captain America of his origins, and how was from their own era, however a space mission in the 1980's left him in suspended animation during a trip to Alpha Centauri, and that when he finally arrived at his destination it was already the 30th Century. Afterwords, Captain America, Thing, and Sharon use Dr. Doom's time machine to return to their own era, secure in the fact that they were able to free the people of the distant 30th Century, from the tyranny of the Badoon. Brodie's View:We get the second part of our whole "Heroes in the 30th Century, Fighting the Badoon" storyline, in which there is a whole lot of set up, and then a quick ass battle/resolving of this whole thing. The story starts with our captured heroes (The Thing, Captain America (who gets his mind probed, allowing us a recap of last issue), and Sharon Carter) being interrogated by the Badoon, until The Thing, who was playing possum, starts kicking ass, allowing the three to escape captivity. Meanwhile, Tarin (the woman who traveled to 1974 from the 30th Century to start this whole deal off in the first place) goes to the human resistance, and informs them of what happened, which, after they get her story confirmed, gives them the balls to finally call our official guest stars of this issue; The Guardians of the Galaxy (the original team). Meanwhile, The Thing, Cap, and Sharon fight their way through the Badoon's "perfect city," until they are met and assisted by The Guardians. They are then joined by the resistance, and they all kick the Badoon's ass (Very quickly, although, I'll get back to that in a second), before sending the three heroes back to the past with all things, at least for now, being "All Good in the Hood." The sad thing is, this could have been a FAR better story than it turned out being. It certainly wasn't due to bad writing by Steve Gerber (bad PACING maybe, but not bad writing), or shitty art by the always reliable Sal Buscema. No, it was kind of due to this story only being restricted to being a Two Part story, especially after half of the first part being taken up by the whole Wundarr thing, and getting Cap and Sharon to the FF's Headquarters in the first place. One would think that will all the set up to the final battle done by Gerber in the first 2/3rds of this issue, that this whole deal would have somehow stretched into the next issue for its resolving, but you'd be very wrong, as it seemed like Gerber was unfolding this epic story, and then went, "Shit! I have to wrap this whole thing up," and just resolved this whole thing like an older DC comic would have. "The heroes just kick the villains asses easily, and everybody has a happy ending in 2-3 pages." It's really too bad, too, as I think even a half of an issue for wrapping this whole storyline up would have made it the classic Gerber put the initial work into making it. The next issue, however, will leave the time travel stuff aside, and instead focus on the magic side of things. Of course, this is all set up for next issue's Guest Star, who is kind of used to the whole "Magic Thing." GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 11, 2017 0:45:50 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #6"Death-Song of Destiny!"Cover Date: November, 1974 Writer: Steve Gerber Artist: George Tuska Feature Characters: The Thing & Doctor Strange Villain/s: A Giant Rat "Mickey" Special Guests: Clea, Wong, Celestia, & Destiny (1st appearance of the last two), & The Yancy Street Gang Official Plot: As Dr. Strange waits in a subway station, he witnesses an accident which results in a young harmonica player falling on the tracks. Instead of letting him save her, she insists that he rescue her harmonica. When she is hit by a subway train, she explodes into a shower of sparks. These sparks bath all who are present. Taking the girls harmonica, Dr. Strange realizes that it is mystical in origin and he and Clea rush out to figure out what purpose it has. Later, the Thing gets a call from Mrs. Coogan, whose grandson was another witness to the accident. Duffy Coogan is wracked with feaer after the accident. Thing agrees to go and see her son. Meanwhile, Dr. Strange discovers that the girl was really destiny, and that everyone who was exposed to the sparks is in danger. Dr. Strange then rushes out to prevent the danger posed to all. Visiting the home of Renee and Sheldon Goldenberg, Dr. Strange saves Sheldon from becoming a faceless person. Going to the next person brings Strange into contact with Duffy Coogan and the Thing. The energy from Destiny manifests in a sewer rat which grows into giant proportions -- The personification of Duffy's fear of poverty. The Thing then teams up with Dr. Strange and they both defeat the rat, restoring it to normal. Telling the Thing of his mission, Ben agrees to help Dr. Strange out and they both travel back to Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, where they are told by Clea that Valkyrie had come to take the harmonica. This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View:From the disappointment of last issue, we move into this issue, which is probably the best issue since the first one. This issue is Steve Gerber at his very best, writing-wise, as he makes comment about people's lives via a magical threat that forces them to confront their greatest fears. This starts in a subway, as Dr. Strange and his gal pal, Clea, come across a girl playing a harmonica that seems to touch the lives off all of the other people in the subway waiting station. However, a duo of thugs try to take the harmonica from the girl, and accidentally ends up knocking her onto the tracks, where she is seemingly killed. I say seemingly, as upon being hit, she explodes into light sparkle things, which end up affecting everyone on the subway station that isn't Strange or Clea (however, Strange is able to get the harmonica back, as he believes it to be a magical instrument). Upon investigation back at his Sanctum Sanctorum, where he learns that the subway people were put under a spell that would basically make their greatest fears manifest, and Strange takes off (leaving Clea to guard the harmonica) to try and help them before it's too late. As Strange goes to help a young couple that were affected, the two thugs, who were also affected, are the reason our lovable orange rocked star of this book gets involved, as they go to the mother of one of the two thugs (who knew Ben back when he lived in that neighborhood), who calls The Thing to try and help her son and his friend. Strange winds up saving the man from "Losing His Identity," literally, as his face vanishes, and then ventures off to help the young thugs. This brings the two heroes together, and just in time, as the main thug's fears of never leaving the slums manifests itself as a giant rat, that Ben tries to confront physically (in vain), while Strange smacks the thug around until he "man's up," and faces his fear. Once this happens, Ben is able to Clobber the rat, returning it to its normal size. However, we get a swerve at the end of the book, as the two heroes, after returning to the Sanctum Sanctorum, learn that the harmonica is no longer there. It has been taken, by next issue's Guest Star, and Strange's teammate in the Defenders, Valkyrie. Of course, this means another Two Parter, but, I'm thinking, one that will end a lot better than the last one did. However, as I said before, this was a damn good start, and, as I also said, Gerber's best writing since the first issue (and perhaps the best writing of his run on this book period). GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 11, 2017 22:35:54 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #7"Name That Doom!"Cover Date: January, 1975 Writer: Steve Gerber Artist: Sal Buscema Feature Characters: The Thing & Valkyrie Villain/s: Enchantress & Executioner Special Guests: Dr. Strange, Aragorn, Alvin Denton (Death) Official Plot: In Central Park, the Valkyrie abducts Alvin Denton. The Thing and Dr. Strange use the crystal of Agamotto to locate the Valkyrie, as they were told last issue that she had stolen a magic harmonica from Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. In the process, they discover that it may not have been the Valkyrie at all. The Thing flies off to Cobbler’s Roost, Vermont, to question the real Valkyrie. However, the Executioner and the Enchantress stand in his way. The Enchantress reversing Valkyrie's powers and changing her back into Barbara Norris and blowing into the Harmonica to destroy the universe. Only the Thing and Alvin Denton stand in Amora's way. Denton sacrifices his life in order to allow Thing to use the harmonica to restore all the damage done by the two rogue Asgardians. Valkyrie grieves the loss of the man she just rediscovered was her father. This story is continued in Defenders #20... Brodie's View:So, we come to the second half of Steve Gerber's 2nd Two Parter in a row, (but a far better one) and we reveal that this entire story kind of feeds into his DEFENDERS run, and more specifically, giving both more of a back story and pathos to one of that team's newest members, and this issue's Guest Star, Valkyrie. When we start this issue, it seems that she has crossed over to the Dark Side, as she has both stolen the magical harmonica and the last character affected by the "Destiny" spell cast at the beginning of last issue, the bum, Alvin Denton, who, we reveal, is really the father of the woman Valkyrie's essence has inhabited, Barbara Norris. However, what appears to be Valkyrie is revealed to be The Enchantress, who was the one who bonded the two in the first place. Working with her long time minion, The Executioner, Enchantress wishes to use the harmonica to destroy the universe, only to recreate an order that they would rule. To make things worse, just as Alvin Denton reunites with his daughter, made even worse by The Enchantress temporarily transforms Valkyrie back to Barbara, Enchantress blows into the harmonica, and makes reality go ka-blooey. Luckily, The Thing has just arrived as well, and after Valkyrie transforms back into being the hero, to try and stop this whole deal, the two heroes end up fighting the two villains over the possession of the harmonica. However, it's Denton himself who ends up getting the harmonica, and makes things even worse, throwing everything into chaos (as his greatest fear is life itself going to shit). The Thing, however, finally gets the harmonica, and manages to return everything to normal (after the heroes have KO'ed the two bad guys), but at a terrible price, as Barbara's father had died of a heart attack before the human part of her ever got to know him. This ends the story with a great deal of emotion, and, as it continues in THE DEFENDERS, Gerber obviously gets to handle the aftermath of this whole thing, however, I will definitely gibe this story more of a pass than the Daredevil story, as this is a great complete story on its own right, despite the cross over. Speaking of "Things" and Steve Gerber, next issue will be Gerber's last full on issue (as he will half and half it with a future X-MEN writer a couple of issues from now, and be gone after that), and it will be a Christmas story, involving, Benjy, of course, and a certain flaming motor cycle riding demon. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 13, 2017 1:03:34 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #8"Silent Night.....Deadly Night!"Cover Date: March, 1975 Writer: Steve Gerber Artist: Sal Buscema Feature Characters: The Thing & Ghost Rider Villain/s: Miracle Man Special Guests: The Fantastic Four, Medusa, Namorita, Wundarr, Wyatt Wingfoot, Alicia Masters, & Franklin Richards Official Plot: Ghost Rider, biking across the Arizona Desert on Christmas Eve, nearly collides with three men who seem to be the Three Wise Men of Biblical fame, and goes on to find a near-perfect recreation of the first Christmas. In New York, Mister Fantastic is observing a strange new star. He determines the location to which the star is pointing--the Konohoti Indian Reservation in Arizona. To prevent Reed from missing his family’s Christmas party, the Thing insists on investigating. Meanwhile, Ghost Rider gets closer to the recreation of Biblical Bethlehem, and finds the "Joseph" and "Mary" of the act. It turns out that all present in the town are members of the Kwazee Native tribe. Ghost Rider is then attacked by the Miracle Man, who hurtles him out of the town in a tornado. When the Thing arrives, Ghost Rider agrees accept his help and the two sneak back into the city disguised as two of the three wise men. There they confront the Miracle Man, who reveals to Ben that he conjured up this reenactment as part of a plot for revenge against both the tribe and the Fantastic Four for his previous defeat at their hands. After a battle against Ghost Rider and Thing, the Miracle Man is knocked out. Suddenly the ancient Native Americans that gave Miracle Man his new powers appear and take him away, reversing all the damage he had done. Afterwards, Ghost Rider departs feeling a little better after the whole experience. Brodie's View:Let me first start off by saying, no, The Thing and Ghost Rider do NOT fight a deranged Santa in this issue. Actually, that would have been a pretty cool story, but this story is far goofier (which, isn't a BAD thing, but it's how it is), as it deals with the two heroes fighting lame-o former FF villain, The Miracle Man, who has decided to basically transform a Native American village (and its villagers) into a mock up of Bethlehem, and its major players during the birth of....well, you know. There's really not much more to it than that, as after a little bit of a tussle, Ben and G.R end up kicking the Miracle Man's lame ass, and returning the village to its previous form. Really, this story was almost kind of just a toss off Christmas story for the sake of having a toss off Christmas story, which, as I said, isn't a BAD thing, as you can tell that the writer (Steve Gerber, in his last full issue, as he would split the writing duties with...a familiar face, writer-wise, next issue, and then is gone the following one) was just having fun with this one, as The Miracle Man really isn't treated as a serious threat at all. We do also get a bit of X-Mas fun at the beginning of this issue, FF-style, as Marvel's first family celebrates with a lot of both their (and MTIO's) extended family, including: Medusa, Namorita, and The Thing's adopted superhuman, Wundarr, who seems to have a good time. Of course, Reed Richards is late to the party, as he's too busy doing science stuff to take part in the early part of the party, but after a bunch of chiding by Ben, he finally drops the science stuff, and comes down to spend the holidays with his family and friends. Plus, we get a bit of personal pathos by Ghost Rider, who is dealing with the fall out in his own book, and probably needed a goofy one off story like this to ease things off a bit for him. But once again, not much to the main story of this one, but it's fun for what it is. Now, onto next issue; the teaser at this end of this issue promises Iron Fist, but it's clear that something must have happened somewhere between when this issue went to press and the next one was put together, as Danny Rand is NOT the guest star for next issue. No, the guest star of next issue will be someone quite a bit more.....Godly. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 14, 2017 0:22:26 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #9"When a God Goes Mad!"Cover Date: May, 1975 Writer: Steve Gerber (Plot) Chris Claremont (Script) Artist: Herb Trimpe Feature Characters: The Thing & Thor Villain/s: The Puppet Master & Radion Special Guests: The Fantastic Four, Namorita, & Wundarr Official Plot: The Thing attends a puppet show about the Fantastic Four along with Wundarr, Namorita, and Annie Christopher. At the end of the show, he notices that the puppeteer strongly resembles the Puppet Master, but dismisses his suspicions as the villain is believed dead. While leaving in the Fantasti-Car, he nearly collides with an absent-minded Thor bent on visiting Jane Foster at the hospital. The Puppet-Master witnesses the speeding Asgardian, and plots to use the added radioactive power of his ally Radion to make Thor destroy the Fantastic Four. With Thor under their control, they send him to attack the Fantastic Four, Thor travels to the Baxter Building and beats Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, and the Human Torch into unconsciousness. Momentarily snapping out of the Puppet Masters control, Thor changes into Don Blake so that he can administer first aid, this transformation severs the link to the Puppet Master. Thing arrives to find Don Blake helping the others, Thing's suspicions that the Puppet Master was behind the attack are a little more validated, however Blake tells Thing that Thor had done it. After he is finished treating the Fantastic Four members, he decides to look into if the Puppet Master is involved and risks changing into Thor once more. However, the Puppet Master has Radion bombard the Thor puppet at full power, putting the thunder god under their thrall again. Puppet Master turns Thor against the Thing, and both he and Radion go to watch the battle in person. However, when Wondarr arrives and begins absorbing Radion's energy, Radion flees the scene. Without Radion's power to sustain the puppet, Thor regains control of himself, and Wundarr knocks the Puppet Master unconscious. Thor apologizes for his actions while under the Puppet Master's control and departs. Brodie's View:So, hey, no Iron Fist like last issue promised, and it does appear Steve Gerber is kind of no longer in the building, writing wise, as he only supplies the plot for this issue, and is gone completely by the next. However, the person who steps in to write the dialogue for this issue, and the entirety of the next, is no stranger to these reviews, and that's the one and only Chris Claremont. That's one piece of good news for this issue, and the other is that this was a pretty darn good issue that sees a higher level of both Guest Star (The Mighty Thor) and Villain (The Puppet Master) involved. Long story short; The Puppet Master, who was thought dead after the events of MARVEL TEAM UP # 6, is revealed to have been in hiding (and has partnered up with the radiation using Radion, who is able to boost his abilities), and ends up using a puppet of Thor (and thus, gaining control over the real thing) to get his revenge on the Fantastic Four. The results are basically Thor bursting in to the Baxter Building and messing up Reed, Sue, and Johnny, and then later fighting Ben, who comes in to the party too late for the first attack. In other words, we get to see The Thing fighting Thor in this issue ( ), which is more even that it probably would have been otherwise, due to Thor trying to fight off the Puppet Master's influence at the same time. The person who ends up saving the day here ends up being Wundarr, who happens to stumble into things just as the two villains are making their presence fully known. However, little do they know that Wundarr is able to absorb radiation (the way the guy he was based on sucks up solar energy), making Radion pretty much powerless, which then does the same to Puppet Master. However, before either Ben or Thor can do anything to the creepy guy, Wundarr ends up basically socking him across the street (lol....Thank God for Puppet Master's sake that he's in a 70's comic, because by all rights, a punch like that from a guy with Superman's abilities and a child's mind would have either instantly broken PM's neck, or knocked his head clean off), ending this whole deal. All in all, minor quibbles aside, this was a really fun issue that had some pretty great writing/art (I know I've knocked Herb Trimpe's stuff before, but his emulating Jack Kirby's style in this issue was pretty kick ass, especially the way he drew The Puppet Master as having an almost Joker-like permanent grin on his face), and, yeah, The Thing vs. Thor. Nuff Said. In the next issue, we'll see Chris Claremont do what he does best; writing female heroes (and a future AVENGER to boot). GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 15, 2017 0:27:40 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #10"Is This the Day the World Ends?"Cover Date: July, 1975 Writer: Chris Claremont Artist: Bob Brown Feature Characters: The Thing & Black Widow Villain/s: Sword of Justice, Agamemnon Special Guests: Alicia Masters Official Plot: The Black Widow flees from agents of the terrorist group the Sword of Judgement, who she has been investigating. When she crashes into the Thing who is out on a walk with Alicia Masters the terrorists take the Black Widow and the Thing and put them aboard their helicopter. They are taken to the Sword of Judgement's base which is located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. There they are taken to the Sword's leader, Agamemnon, who tells them of his plan to detonate a giant nuclear bomb that would cause radioactive tidal waves to wipe out both North America and Europe. Agamemnon then has the two locked up in a cell rigged to keep even the Thing in. However, the two heroes manage to escape and race against time fighting off the members of the Sword of Judgement in a bid to stop them from detonating their bomb. After a final battle between Black Widow and Agamemnon, Agamemnon is defeated and the bomb deactivated. Black Widow calls in SHIELD to collect the terrorists, and she and Thing decide to celebrate their victory as they wait for SHIELD to arrive. Brodie's View:So, for our tenth issue, we have a fun little one off Guest Starring The Black Widow, and written by someone who will go on to write quite a few strong female characters in the years following this one, and that's, of course, Chris Claremont. In this issue, Ben and Natasha are kidnapped by an old boyfriend of the Widow, Agamemnon (no relation to the character that would later pop up in Peter David's HULK run), who is now the head of a multi-national terrorist organization who is planning to detonate a monster nuclear bomb in the Atlantic Ocean, causing a massive radioactive tidal wave that would wipe out most of the civilized world. Of course, Ben and 'Tasha" end up kicking ass and saving the day, with the former using his massive strength to basically pull the bomb back up, and the latter, well, just kicking ass the way one would expect both The Black Widow and a Claremont written female character to do. This was a pretty kick ass little one off, as I said before, it really didn't tie to anything, at least as far as MTIO was concerned (It might have played into Widow's past history a bit, but I'm not sure of that, so, I'm not going to comment on it). One can tell that Claremont really relishes writing a character like the Widow, and he writes her for all she's worth, kicking ass and being the super spy she is. However, he does do right by Ben as well, as he has a moment of realization (that Claremont would also give him later in the X-MEN/FF crossover from 1987) that being The Thing wound up being more important than being Ben Grimm could have ever been, as he was able to save the world using his monstrous strength. One almost pines for a regular Claremont written book with Ben and the Widow teaming up on a regular basis, but, alas, it's not meant to be. In the next issue, we get a classic writer and an up and coming writer (but another familiar face from these reviews) teaming up to present The Thing teaming up with....a rather unusual Guest Star. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 16, 2017 0:40:14 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #11"The Thing Goes South"Cover Date: September, 1975 Writer: Roy Thomas (Plot)/Bill Mantlo (Script) Artist: Bob Brown Feature Characters: The Thing & The Golem Villain/s: Kaballa Special Guests: Alicia Masters, Professor Yeates, Wayne Logan, Saudia Yamal, Jason Adamson, & Rebecca Adamson Official Plot: Rushing to catch a train at Grand Central Station for a planned vacation to Disneyworld in Florida, the Thing is forced to use his strength to stop the train so that he and Alicia can't miss it. Meanwhile, at San Pedro University, Jason and Rebecca Adamson try to convince Wayne Logan that the Golem statue, once owned by Jason's uncle can come to life. Spied upon by the Golem's long time enemy Kaballa, Kaballa takes the opportunity to take control of the Golem and send it on a rampage through St. Petersberg. Hearing of the rampage over the radio, Thing and Alicia jump off the train so that Thing can stop the rampaging Golem. During the fight, Jason, Rebecca and Wayne arrive on the scene to provide their knowledge to the Thing. Problems are compounded by the arrival of Kaballa and his demons. However the Golem attacks Kaballa, forcing him to flee. With the threat passed, the Golem returns to it's inert state, leaving all present to wonder when the Golem will rise again. Brodie's View:So, we go from two of the best issues of this run so far, to, well, the worst. Sorry, it's nothing against the writers (Both Roy Thomas and future HULK writer, Bill Mantlo, are actually good writers) or artists (Bob Brown is...an alright artist), but I really didn't give two shits about this issue's Guest Star, The Golem, and, sorry, but this issue didn't really change that. I get that the Golem was based off of Jewish folklore, and it is kind of interesting that the villain of the piece, the magical fiend that wishes to control The Golem, was named Kaballa (a statement perhaps), but this issue was the first that was just out and out boring of this run so far, and, had it not been for The Thing's involvement, I probably would have stopped reading about half way through. It was THAT boring. So, yeah, other than seeing The Thing fight another creature made of stone (and magic, so, Ben isn't able to do much until Kaballa shows up, giving Benjy someone to Clobber), this issue is VERY skippable. The next issue will (hopefully) get us back on track, as Ben's Guest Star will be a certain armored Avenger, and with his short lived metal nose, no less. GRADE: C
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 17, 2017 0:09:05 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #12"The Stalker in the Sands!"Cover Date: November, 1975 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Characters: The Thing & Iron Man Villain/s: Prester John Special Guests: Human Torch & Wyatt Wingfoot (Both in Flashback) Official Plot: While testing out a new experimental jet for Tony Stark, Thing accidentally crashes the ship, unearthing an ancient cavern. When Stark goes after him as Iron Man, and finds Thing had revived Prester John, Prester then uses the Stone of Power to take control of both Iron Man and the Thing as part of his plot to take over the world. With the two under his thrall, he tells them that after his encounter with the Human Torch and Wyatt Wingfoot he wandered the desert where he was found by the Bedouins who worshiped him as a behind from the heavens, and they gave him the Stone of Power. This caused Prester to believe he was a god that created the universe. The stone would eventually suck him into the Earth and put him in a state of suspended animation. Iron Man and Thing manage to shake loose of Prester John's control and attack him. During the fight, the two heroes manage to destroy the Stone of Power, freeing Prester from it's influences. With Prester John free, he thanks the two heroes for his help and agrees to join them for a meal. Brodie's View:With this issue we get our first repeat Team Up, as Iron Man (during the brief period where his helmet had a nose on it) makes his second appearance in this run (although, this is his first appearance in the actual MTIO book). Shellhead's involvement comes due to Ben agreeing to fly an experimental jet for Tony Stark, which ends up crashing deep into the Earth. Stark "suits up," and heads down into that giant cavern to find that Ben has been felled by a time displace knight known as Prester John, who has come into possession of an all powerful stone that has driven him kind of crazy. The two heroes end up fighting Prester, and eventually figure out that the stone is the problem. Iron Man knocks the stone from Prester John's hand, and The Thing tosses it into orbit, returning the knight to normal. The three then seemingly go out for Big Mac's. This was a fun little issue that kind of returned us to form after last issue's Meh-ness. It is kind of crazy to see Shellhead with his nose, as it just looks so wrong when compared to his "Classic Look." The Thing and Iron Man make for a pretty fun team, as there isn't a need for the typical "Heroes meet and start to fight before figuring out who the REAL bad guy is" trope, which, isn't a bad thing necessarily a bad thing, but it can become tiring in a Team Up book such as this. That being said, it's very likely we might get a bit of that trope next issue, as Ben teams up with a hero (for hire) that he isn't as familiar with as Iron Man. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 18, 2017 0:37:01 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #13"I Created Braggadoom!"Cover Date: January, 1976 Writer: Roger Slifer Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Characters: The Thing & Power Man (Luke Cage) Villain/s: Braggadoom Special Guests: Arnold Krank Official Plot: Arnold Krank has come to visit Luke Cage to hire his services, he explains that he worked for Krashner's Bio-Systems, INC, where he worked in bioengineering. During his tenure he created a creature that would eventually be dubbed as Bragadoom. The creature would eventually grow out of control. When Krank tells Luke Cage that he had already acquired the help of the Thing but came to get the help of Luke Cage, Luke rushes to the stadium where the Thing is already battleing Bragadoom. The two heroes fight the monster across the city, as the battle prolongs the monster continues to grow in size and strength. Trying to crash into the giant monster with a Pogo plane, the two heroes continued their assault on the monster. The fight ends when the monster expends all it's energy and reduces to it's original size. After the fight, Ben and Luke part company, and Krank takes the miniaturized Bragadoom home where he begins to raise it as if it were his own son. Brodie's View:This is actually a pretty fun team up, mostly due to Luke Cage being written at his Mid 70's Blaxploitation best, and the interactions between him and Ben. The threat is a pretty one note, forgettable one; a creature named Bragadoom (And no, it's not a magical Irish Island that WALKS LIKE A MAN(!!!), although, the second half of that phrase is used by the creature) that is the result of a science experiment gone wrong. In fact, the issue begins with the battle already in progress (at least on The Thing's side of things), and the scientist that inadvertently created Bragadoom coming to Luke Cage to try and "hire" him to help the Thing stop the creature (and where we get our backstory), as that was Cage's gig at that time. The two heroes try to fight the creature (and each other at times, as Ben doesn't respect Luke as a hero for being a "Hero For Hire." Obviously, this would change over time, as Cage would get the respect due him from the other heroes), making little progress, until the monster expends all the energy it amassed (by eating reporters and other scientists), shrinking back to a baby-like size, and left in the care of the scientist (neither are seen ever again). Once again, nothing really heavy here. Just a fun little one off story that I actually liked way more than I thought I would upon first seeing the cover. Luke and Ben made a pretty fun team in an almost "Tango and Cash" kind of way. In fact, I would almost call this issue "Tango and Cash Fight a Huge Ass Monster With a Ridiculous 70's Ass Name," as that's what it is. In the next issue, we see Ben return to the realm of supernatural stories, as he teams with a certain Son of a certain Devil-ish character. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 19, 2017 0:02:23 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #14"Ghost Town!"Cover Date: March, 1976 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Herb Trimpe Feature Characters: The Thing & The Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom) Villain/s: Ravenstorm & Kthara Special Guests: Reed Richards & Alicia Masters Official Plot: When one of Reed's devices picks up a strange disturbance in the town of Lawless, Arizona, he sends Ben out to investigate. There he runs into Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, who has also been drawn to this location. The two are then confronted by what appears to be the undead spirit of Jedadiah Ravenstorm, who a century ago was a merciless criminal of the west. During their battle against Ravenstorm, Thing is briefly possessed by their foe, which hints Daimon to who their opponent really is: His old foe Kthara. Using his powers to separate Kthara from the body of Ravenstorm, she is attacked by the spirits that live in Lawless and she is torn apart. With their foe defeated, Daimon bids farewell to the Thing who flies back to New York. When Reed returns and asks Ben what the disturbance was, Ben tells Reed that there was nothing wrong and maybe he should check his machines to see if they're working okay. Brodie's View:Ben and Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, encounter a demonic cowboy (that ends up being the front for a more powerful demon) in an abandoned western town, in this okay issue. I say okay, as there were probably a lot more interesting things one could have done with a team up between TSOS and The Thing, and not saying writer Bill Mantlo does a bad job with it, as he doesn't, but it's just kind of a lame threat for the two heroes to face. I will say, once again, that Herb Trimpe does a good job with the art here, as he seems to, at least in my opinion, draw a better Thing than he does the Hulk. It's crazy that for how interesting these supernatural 70's characters (like Hellstrom, Ghost Rider, ect.) are, it seems like a lot of the writers from this era had no clue on what to do with them, other than have them fight just different variations of the same threats. However, it is kind of fun seeing Ben walk around a ghost town, although, it was much cooler in our first review with The Hulk, as, well, much better threats were involved. I know from the above paragraph, it seems like I'm just shitting all over this issue, but it wasn't bad. I mean, it was definitely better than the Golem issue; I will say that. I just wish Mantlo would have did more with it than he did, which was just a pretty forgettable story. Ah well, here's hoping next issue's equally supernatural-esque team up fares better, as this will feature Ben teaming with a character that started out as a Spidey villain before becoming kind of an Anti Hero, although, even as a villain he was a sympathetic one, as it was science gone wrong that turned him into a LIVING VAMPIRE(!!!) . GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 20, 2017 0:26:25 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #15"Return of the Living Eraser!"Cover Date: May, 1976 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Arvell Jones Feature Characters: The Thing & Morbius (The Living Vampire) Villain/s: The Living Eraser & Dimension Z Soldiers Special Guests: The Supremacy & Alicia Masters Official Plot: When Morbius attacks Alicia in her apartment, Ben comes to her rescue which leads to a fight in the streets. Their battle is interrupted by the arrival of the Living Eraser who has come to once more attack the Earth in hopes of winning over his people in Dimension Z following his ousting of the Supremacy. Thing and Morbius attack the Living Eraser, but finds themselves transported to Dimension Z and learn of the Living Eraser's plot to take over Dimension Z. After another battle in Dimension Z, the Living Eraser transports himself back to Earth. Agreeing to bring in the Living Eraser, Thing and Morbius return to Earth and battle the Living Eraser once more. Overtaking the attacker, they manage to pull the the Living Eraser's transportation devices, allowing for the Supremacy to take the Living Eraser into his custody. Having to be forced to stop from feeding on the Living Eraser, a disgusted and tormented Morbius uses the Eraser's dimensional transportation device to "erase" himself to another unknown dimension. Brodie's View:The Thing! Morbius (The Living Vampire !!!)! The Living Eraser!!! Sounds like it would make for a shitty issue, right? Actually, not, as this story, throwing a supernatural-esque (but science based) character like Morbuis (and, well, The Thing) into a sci-fi type situation, actually worked a lot better than last issue's Team Up with Son of Satan. The art certainly didn't hurt, as done by unknown quantity, Arvell Jones, is actually pretty solid, and helps make this issue more than it should have been, especially with The Living Eraser (!!!) as a villain. Long story short, Morbius attacks Ben's long time girlfirend, Alicia Masters, hungering for her blood. This, of course, beings Ben into the fray, allowing for a nice little fight between a character like Morbius and a super powerful character like The The Thing. During this, they encounter Eraser, who erases them from their reality, landing them in the Eraser's dimension, where they are prisoners along with the former royal family of Dimension Z, which had been overthrown by the Eraser's plot to become master of that dimension. Morbius is able to keep his bloodlust in check long enough to use his scientific knowledge to free them, and help the family to take back their dimension (but falling for the Princess of that world in the process), and the two monster "heroes" come back to Earth and defeat the Eraser, but Morbius takes off when the Princess offers him to stay in Dimension Z, as he's ashamed of his vampiric "curse." This forces The Thing to kind of feel sympathy for him in the end, as he can kind of relate, well, the shame of being a monster thing. Very solid issue by both writer Mantlo, and as I said before, artist Jones, who brings a great look to this story. The next issue will involve with a character I don't really care for, but kind of necessary considering where Ben goes to in this one. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 21, 2017 0:18:49 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #16"Into the Savage Land!"Cover Date: June, 1976 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Ron WIlson Feature Characters: The Thing & Ka-Zar Villain: Volcanus Special Guests: Zabu, The Fantastic Four, S.H.I.E.L.D, & Savage Land Dinosaurs. Official Plot: When Reed Richards picks up strange volcanic activity in the Savage Land, he sends the Thing to investigate on a solo mission. There he meets up with Ka-Zar and Zabu who agree to help the Thing having seen strangers in the Savage Land. After battling a T-Rex, Thing, Ka-Zar and Zabu find an army of men under the command of Volcanus who hopes to use the volcanic energy of the Savage Land for his own ends. After a brief battle, the two heroes are incapacitated by Volcanus and his men and put in an iron cage suspended over a volcano. Breaking free, the Thing and Ka-Zar battles Volcanus one more time, making short work of his men and in the final confrontation with Volcanus, Volcanus falls into the lava in the volcano. Brodie's View:So, I've made no bones in earlier reviews about my dislike of Ka-Zar. Despite a decent little run by Mark Waid in the mid 90's, the character has always been pretty lame to me. I get why he's there; as he's kind of linked to the whole "Savage Land" thing, which is a cool location in the Marvel Universe, despite having to deal with his Tarzan wannabe (And yes, I get that someone at Marvel created him due to the company's inability to get the license for the real Tarzan. Don't care. He's lame) ass. I will say beyond that, it's a decent issue, and it actually sets up a Two Part story for the next couple reviews I'll be doing, which will be the first Actual Crossover for MTIO (it'll all become clear next review). The Thing goes to the Savage Land, meets up with (Ugh) Ka-Zar and his Sabre-tooth Tiger, Zabu, and the three of them battle ( ) VOLCANUS (and his little army of asses to get kicked). Anyways, at the end of this issue, Volcanus justly falls to his death into the volcano he was planning to force to erupt. Za-Zar goes back to Jane....I mean, Shanna: The She Devil, and The Thing will go to check to see if Volcanus somehow survived, and encounters someone....well, a little less lame. Oh, and did I happen to mention the Crossover?!? GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 22, 2017 1:27:47 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #17"This City-Afire!"Cover Date: July, 1976 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Feature Characters: The Thing & Spider-Man Villain: The Basilisk Special Guests: Mary Jane Watson, Ka-Zar (and Sabu) Official Plot: Arriving back to the present following an adventure through time Spider-Man cannot clearly recall whatever he experienced in the future, as Dr. Doom's time machine disappears, Spider-Man decides to return home to try and get his life back in order. Meanwhile, in the Savage Land, the Thing continues to travel through a cavern after parting company with Ka-Zar and Zabu. There he runs into the cause of the seismic activity in the Savage Land: Basilisk. The two battle each other. While in New York, Peter Parker tries to get caught up on his homework when he gets a call from Mary Jane, checking up to see if he's safe, because of a volcano sprouting in the middle of the harbor outside New York. When Peter realizes that this is real, he changes to Spider-Man to see what he can do. Arriving at the top of the volcano, he is confronted by Basilisk who is carrying a defeated and unconscious Thing over his head. This story is continued in Marvel Team-Up #47. Brodie's View:So, we come into this, the first Actual Crossover of the series, and the first chapter of that Two Part story, coming off of a multi part story in what will cover the second half of this story, MARVEL TEAM UP. Spider-Man is coming back from a bit of time hopping in his own book, and after his attempt at catching up on things on the Peter Parker end of things, gets alerted of a volcano sprouting up in New York Harbor. Meanwhile, on the Thing side of things, Ben is coming off of an OK Team Up with (ugh) Ka-Zar, as they wound up handling the always memorable VOLCANUS(!!!), who ended up falling into a volcano at the end of last issue. Anyways, Ben leaves stand in Tarzan behind, and goes to investigates further into the cavern. It is there that his confronted by the seemingly reborn MTU reoccurring villain, The Basilisk, who is trying to take over where Volcanus failed, and cause the Earth's volcanoes to erupt. Supercharged by his environment, he actually ends up taking out the star of this particular book, and when our two stories intersect, Spider-Man goes to investigate, and finds The Basilisk with an unconscious Thing at his mercy. Obviously, this sets off a big showdown, and a continuation with the rest appearing in MARVEL TEAM UP, which will be in the next review (with the creative team being the actual MTIO team of Mantlo and Wilson). To be fair to Marvel, they do a good job in this Two Parter, with the first actually being a bit better, but it ends well. Then we will return to this book in two days, with kind of an interesting team up, as....well, I'll get to it in that review. For now, let's enjoy Spider-Man and The Thing fighting a villain that will never be presented as strongly as he's presented in this Two Parter, the Basilisk. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 23, 2017 1:11:38 GMT -5
Marvel Team Up #47"I Have to Fight the Basilisk!"Cover Date: July, 1976 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Characters: Spider-Man & The Thing Villain: The Basilisk Special Guests: J. Jonah Jameson & Robbie Robertson Official Plot: Continued from Marvel Two-In-One #17... Basilisk has raised a volcano in the middle of New York harbor, and has defeated the Thing. With only Spider-Man to face him, Basilisk throws the unconscious Thing at Spider-Man. Explaining to Spider-Man that he survived their last encounter when he was absorbed by the Omega Stone and saved by the Moloids, Basilisk blasts Spider-Man away. Spider-Man then revives the Thing and the two team up to try and stop Basilisk. As J. Jonah Jameson loses his temper because Peter Parker is unavailable, the two heroes battle Basilisk across town. After a lengthy battle across New York City, the Thing and Spider-Man knock Basilisk into the volcano he erected, causing an explosion that destroys the volcano. Brodie's View:No, I haven't decided to jump Team Up books suddenly, although, a future series of MARVEL TEAM UP reviews in the future isn't out of the question . This is the continuation of this Two Part Crossover that started in the last issue of MTIO, in which we saw Spider-Man investigate a volcano that has suddenly sprung up in New York harbor, only to find The Thing at the mercy of THE BASILISK!!! Anyways, the whole lead up in this issue is Spidey and Ben taking turns fighting the Basilisk, until they finally realize that Teaming Up (Nah Hah!!!) is the key to beating him back into villain Jobberhood. We get some fun banter between the two heroes, and The Thing gets a "Clobberin' Time!" in. It's pretty light and fun, with the added bonus of being set up, in some ways, almost as careful as their Crossover with DC (Superman/Spider-Man) would be constructed in the way of putting both characters and books over as much as they can, in both parts. But, yeah, Spidey and The Thing end up thumping Basilisk, ending with, of course, the villain being knocked into a volcano. The next time this character shows up, he gets instantly killed by the masked Vigilante, Scourge (in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR, bringing things full circle). Although, he served his purpose, if for nothing more than being built up as a potential reoccurring villain for MTU, at least for long enough to get this little nifty Crossover with MTIO out of him. In the next issue, we get back on track, with another (hopefully) interesting Team Up between Ben and a supernaturally based character. Yay? GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 24, 2017 2:31:44 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #18"Dark, Dark Demon-Night!"Cover Date: August, 1976 Writer: Bill Mantlo/Scott Edelman Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Characters: The Thing & Scarecrow/Straw Man Villain: Kalumai Special Guests: Alicia Masters Official Plot: While attending art exhibition with Alicia Masters, the Thing is told of the supposed supernatural powers behind the Straw Man painting by the owners Dave and Jess Duncan. After the exhibition begins to wind down, one of the straggling party goers is transformed by Kalumai into a fire demon. Hearing the ruckus, Thing bursts in and fights off the monster when he is aided suddenly by the arrival of the Straw Man who pops out of his painting. The Straw Man helps Thing defeat the monster, Things knocks the monster out, causing it to change back to normal. When Kalumai appears in the painting, the Scarecrow jumps into the painting seemingly destroying the painting and closing the portal. In the aftermath, everyone present wonder what happened to Jess' brother Dave. Brodie's View:So, we're back from our Crossover with the epitome of a One Off Issue, as instead of Spider-Man, we're dealing with a character that until recently, I thought was some early version of the Spidey villain, The Scarecrow. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's the reason the name of this character was later changed to The Straw Man. Anyways, he was Marvel's attempt at creating another potential supernatural "super hero" in the tradition of Ghost Rider, Werewolf By Night, and the character who made a recent appearance in this book, The Son of Satan, whose Ben's team up with must have made an impression, as he references it in this one. Once again, Ben is playing on the slippery slope of supernatural chicanery, which sucks for him, as he's usually pretty powerless against it. Our "Guest Star," who really only appears in full at the end, shows up (out of a painting) to help Ben take out our supernatural villain, Kalumai, who possesses one of the party goers (As Ben and Alicia were at some fancy pants art show when this happens). Unfortunately, the Scarecrow, or the Straw Man, never really caught on, and from here, it kind of looked like Marvel was trying to make their version of DC's Creeper here. I guess the fans could tell a rip off, and the Straw Man is relegated to one of those 70's curiosities, like the Golem. Our next issue will feature a much cooler 70's "supernatural" characters, who also is a future Avenger. GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on May 25, 2017 1:11:43 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One #19"Claws of the Cougar!"Cover Date: September, 1976 Writer: Bill Mantlo/Tony Isabella Artist: Sal Buscema Feature Characters: The Thing & Tigra Villain: The Cougar Special Guests: None Official Plot: Tigra has come to the Baxter Building in the middle of the night, rousing the Thing from his sleep. After explaining her origins, she tells the Thing that she has come to get aid in obtaining the Null-Bands from the robot imposter of Tomazooma, which was obtained by Conklin Industries, a front for the criminal Cougar. As she finishes telling him this, they are attacked and knocked out by agents hired by Conklin Industries. They awaken in the lab of the Cougar. The Cougar tries to use the Null-Bands to drain the Thing of his energy, but when his wife Sheila Conklin turns off the power, Thing and Tigra break free and counter-attack, forcing the Cougar to transform into his cat-man form. When the Cougar attempts to use a Positive-Charge Annihilator to destroy them, Shiela shoots him in the back, disgusted by the whole episode. Brodie's View:We have a much better One Off in this issue, with The Thing teaming up with the Werecat, Tigra. The two of them go on a mission to find the Null Bands before a rogue member of the Werecat group that transformed her into the Werecat Tigra is now, The Cougar, who is posing as a human scientist. They battle him until the fight is ended most unexpectedly, especially given the relationships involved, but one way or another, the Cougar never lives to trouble either hero (or any other hero) again. We do get some fun interaction between the two characters, as well as a lot of "cat puns" by the always wise cracking Thing, especially when kicking the ass of the Cougar. I will that artist Sal Buscema also does a great job with the art in this one. Just a fun little Team Up issue. The next three will reviews will start in an Annual for another (but closely related) book before moving on to this book's first Annual, and then finish in our next actual issue. I will say that there is a lot of time travel involved . GRADE: B+
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