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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Dec 19, 2017 1:20:27 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 82"The Fatal Effects of Virus X!"Cover Date: December, 1981 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & Captain America Villain(s): A.I.M & M.O.D.O.K Guest Star/s: Mr. Fantastic & Giant Man II Official Plot: The Thing has been infected by Virus X, a biological weapon created by MODOK and AIM. Completely dazed by his exposure, the Thing hobbles his way out of AIM's abandoned hideout and into the streets of the Bowery. As he tries to stumble home, Ben gets the attention of three street hoods who decide to try and jump him. Along the way, they bump into freelance artist Steve Rogers. Recognizing the Thing and suspecting that there is something wrong with him, Steve slips into a nearby alley so he can change into Captain America. When the thugs jump the Thing, he is too disorientated to fight back, but soon Captain America is upon their foes and manages to fight them off without breaking a sweat. By the time he is done, the Thing has collapsed on the sidewalk, prompting Cap to rush him back to the Baxter Building for Mister Fantastic to examine. To assist him, Reed calls on Giant-Man from Project PEGASUS to help out with examining the Thing. When Ben wakes up he is less than happy to find himself being probed by a machine and fights his way loose. As Mister Fantastic tries to talk sense into Ben, suddenly his body begins to mutate even more. Realizing that he is becoming more and more hideous, Ben begins to crack up and loses his temper. Both Cap and Reed step in and get Ben to calm down. Reed is sure that if he can obtain a sample of Virus X he can develop a cure, but after hearing promises of a cure for so many years the Thing is not quick to believe it and walks out. Before Ben can take off in his sky-cycle, Giant-Man catches up with him and convinces Ben to allow him to come along -- since Foster can relate to Ben since he learned that he was dying of cancer. Meanwhile, Captain America has set out to find a lead on AIM And is traversing the city for answers. Crashing in on the hideout of some criminals, Captain America fights them into submission and demands to know where AIM is hiding out. Miles away at a secret hideout buried below Antarctica MODOK is punishing his minions for failing him on his previous mission by exposing them to Virus X. One of his subordinates informs him that they have received word that Captain America is seeking their location in order to find a cure for Virus X. Believing that Captain America will be able to locate them, MODOK orders his men to prepare a proper reception for him. At that same moment, Ben has taken Giant-Man to the launching site where the Fantastic Four took their maiden voyage into space and got their powers. There he recalls how he and the others were bombarded with Cosmic Rays which caused his mutation into the Thing. He expresses his disappointments in Reed for not being able to find a cure and fears that he will have to deal with the mutative properties of Virus X until the day he dies. Foster tries to convince Ben to stick in there, able to relate to the sense of futility since he was diagnosed with cancer. Ben has heard the speech before, assuring Bill that he isn't going to give up and commit suicide, but wonders if this constantly mutating form is a reflection of who he really is. Suddenly their pep talk is interrupted by a call from the Sky-Cycle, Captain America has located AIM's hideout, and hopefully the cure. Soon enough, Captain America, the Thing, and Giant-Man are smashing their way into an AIM facility. Fighting past the guards they are able to locate a teleportation platform that sends them to the secret facility in Antarctica. There they find themselves surrounded by AIM soldiers, MODOK, and a synthoid that has mimicked the Thing's powers. The Thing pounds the ground, sending the soldiers sprawling and a fight breaks out. As the fight rages on, Giant-Man decides that the brawl isn't helping Ben and leaves the scene to try and find the cure. As the fight carries on, Giant-Man locates the lab and forces one of the AIM scientists to turn over the antidote. Examining the application device, Foster is surprised to discover that it could also cure him of his cancer, but the AIM lackey tells him that the antidote can only be administered once. As the battle begins to wind down, the Thing lands a powerful punch that sends the synthoid crashing outside of the AIM base, causing it to begin to flood. With Foster joining them, the three heroes manage to teleport away, just barely managing to recover the antidote when MODOK briefly shoots it out of their hands. With the Thing fading fast, Giant-Man decides that curing him is more important than his own health and utilizes the antidote which quickly cures Ben and restores him to his normal Thing form. As Ben wakes up he notices that Bill has slipped away. While he and Cap wonder where he went, Giant-Man walks away convincing himself that it was better to cure the Thing than a second rate loser such as himself. Brodie's View
Things (and THINGS) get worse in the second part of this multi-part story that we think is mainly going to be centered around Ben and his exposure to Virus X, but as that part of it gets resolved by the end of this issue, we realize that the main story is about Bill Foster (aka the second Giant Man), and his slow potential death from cancer. Of course, we fully realize that at the end of this story, as Bill takes a cure that he could just as easily use on himself, and instead uses it to cure Ben, who's quickly degenerating due to Virus X. This, of course, makes him a bigger hero than merely just being a part of the three man strike force (Bill, Ben, and our Guest Star this issue, Captain America, who just happens into this whole deal, but due to his history with AIM and MODOK, is quick to know how to find the baddies, and certainly is an asset to have when taking them down) whooping ass on AIM agents/MODOK, in order to get the cure for the deadly Virus. However, this all happens in the second half of the story. In the first half, we see Ben getting worse and worse from Virus X, even to the point of his appearance itself worsening, looking more like his original FF form gone horribly wrong. Of course, this sends Ben into a self pity fueled rage (as most things do, truthfully), which the heroes are, after a small struggle, able to bring him down from. This, of course, parallels Bill Foster's self pity over his impending death, but the hero in the (Giant) Man allows Foster to put all that aside in order to save the life of a friend (this is made even worse by the knowledge that the cure they get from AIM could just as easily cure Bill's cancer, but he has to choose). I guess in an issue of WHAT IF, they show what would have happened had Bill made the selfish choice, but here, he most certainly doesn't. Of course, this is going to leave Ben with a lot of guilt over Bill putting Ben's safety over his own, which will make him more driven than ever to try and find a cure for his friend's cancer over the next few issues. In the very next one, this journey will lead Ben to Canada, which, of course, will end up involving the main Canadian Marvel characters that aren't Wolverine. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Dec 20, 2017 2:00:47 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 83"Where Stalks the Sasquatch!"Cover Date: January, 1982 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & Sasquatch Villain(s): Ranark the Raveger Guest Star/s: Giant Man II, Shaman, & The Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Girl/Woman, & The Human Torch) Official Plot: After curing the Thing of the deadly Virus X, Giant-Man has collapsed as the cancer coursing through his body is getting worse. Carrying Foster back to the Baxter Building, Ben turns him over to Mister Fantastic in the hopes that Reed can find a cure for his friend. Reed tells Ben that he will try all he can do, but Ben feels guilty about being cured of Virus X, knowing that Bill could have used to antidote to cure himself of his cancer. Outside of Reed's lab, Ben is mocked by the Human Torch who tells Ben he needs to cheer up. In no mood for the Torch's juvenile behavior, he rips out a chunk of the wall and throws it at him. But the chunk of wall is deflected by Sue who scolds them for fighting in the house. The tongue lashing is interrupted when Reed emerges from his lab and tells them that the prognosis is bad, the cancer in Giant-Man's system has been consuming his internal organs and his body is showing outward signs of decay. Reed tells them that Bill is doomed unless they can get the aid of radiologist Dr. Walter Langkowski, who teaches at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The Thing agrees to try and get Langkowski's assistance and assures Bill that he will do whatever he can to save him before taking off in the Pogo Plan and setting a course for Canada. However, when the Thing arrives at McGill University, the dean tells him that Langkowski is on a vacation in western Alberta. Meanwhile, in the Canadian Rocky's, Langkowski is enjoying the outdoors which is such a huge change from his urban life in Montreal. He has come to the Rocky's at the behest of his former teammate the Shaman, and Walter is glad to see his old friend since the Canadian government had ordered Alpha Flight to disband. Shaman is meditating over a fire and suddenly comes out of his meditative state. He warns Walter that there is some great danger in the region which will cause much chaos and destruction. When Langkowski makes light of this portent, Michael warns Walter not to jest about the dangers ordained by his magics. The pair then begin following the trail of what has drawn Shaman to this region and they uncover a long-buried cavern. Deep inside they find strange inscriptions on the wall. After sending Walter back to camp to get equipment, Shaman -- by a stroke of luck -- activates a secret doorway. On the other side, he finds massive carvings of an indigenous people and realizes that he has found the long-lost scared tomb of the ancient shamans. While outside, Walter reaches their camp when he suddenly spots the Pogo Plane touching down. Recognizing it as belonging to the Fantastic Four, Walter decides to greet whoever is flying the ship as Sasquatch. Stripping off most of his clothing, Walter then concentrates enough to trigger his transformation into the Sasquatch. By this time the Thing has emerged from the Pogo Plane to begin searching for Langkowski. When he bumps into the Sasquatch, the two quickly become at odds about who gets to ask the questions about the other's intent. Meanwhile, the Shaman has come across a strangely carved urn. His curiosity gets the better of him and he removes the lid, accidentally freeing Ranark the Ravager. Back outside, the Thing doesn't like how the Sasquatch is approaching him and decides to defend himself in case it is an attack. The two come to blows, and as the brawl carries on the Sasquatch earns the Thing's ire when he suggests that there is joy in being an orange monster. While the Sasquatch has superior strength, the Thing has much more experience and the battle rages on. While back in the cave, Shaman unleashes some totems to attack Ranark, who easily destroys them. Then in order to learn how the world has changed in the centuries that he has been trapped in the urn, Ranark probes Shaman's mind. Seeing what the world has become, Ranark is horrified and has decided that he is going to cleanse what he sees as a travesty. While outside, the Thing and Sasquatch continue to fight when suddenly their battle is interrupted when the mountain containing the sacred tomb explodes. Ranark emerges from the rubble, and after dismissing the two combatants announces that he intends to ravage the entire planet before taking off into the sky. Upon witnessing this, Sasquatch suggests that they put aside their differences in order to deal with the threat of this god gone mad. Brodie's ViewThe next part in the whole "Bill Foster's Cancer" storyline sees the second Giant Man (who collapsed after the events of last issue) being analyzed by Ben's fellow FF'er, Reed Richards, who is unable to really do more than somewhat stabilize Bill's rapidly degenerating condition. Ben, of course, is feeling maximum guilt over Bill's sacrifice last issue, choosing to cure our orange rocked hero from the effects of the deadly Virus X, at the cost of curing himself of the cancer that has been slowly killing over the past year or so. However, rather than letting Ben sit and stew in his self pity (or wrecking things in misplaced anger), Reed smartly sends Ben to Canada to find one of the few people that might be able to help with Foster's condition, Dr. Walter Langkowski, who is also our Guest Star for this issue, Alpha Flight-er, Sasquatch. Speaking of that team, it's important to note that this story takes place during the period of time between UNCANNY X-MEN #140 (where the Canadian Government disbanded Alpha Flight) and ALPHA FLIGHT #1 (where they kickstarted the group again, officially), and as we'll see, this story is part of keeping that team in the public eye until their book can start (it does about a year later). Anyways, we find Water out camping in the Canadian wilderness with his AF teammate, Shaman, who is being drawn towards some mystical force nearby. As Shaman goes to investigate, Walter ends up going to meet up with Ben, who lands nearby. The mistake Walter makes is meeting him as Sasquatch, as this ends up leading to a throwdown between our two large, orange heroes (where Sasquatch actually proves to be the stronger of the two, but Ben's experience kind of evens things out). Meanwhile, Shaman ends up uncovering a mystical artifact that is the magical prison for a former shaman that has gone insane with power, Ranark the Ravenger, who upon the discovering the modern world, decides to purify and destroy it ( ). This, of course, will not only end up forcing our two orange giants to work together against a God powered foe, but as we'll see in our next issue, will actually end up bringing the rest of Sasquatch and Shaman's teammates into the fray. Will the combined power of The Thing and Alpha Flight be enough to stop an insane magical God? Guess you'll have to tune in tomorrow and find out. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Dec 21, 2017 0:46:09 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 84"Cry for Beloved Canada!"Cover Date: Feburary, 1982 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & Alpha Flight Villain(s): Ranark the Raveger Guest Star/s: Giant Man II, Alicia Masters, The Royal Canadian Air Force, & The Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic & The Invisible Girl/Woman) Official Plot: The ancient shaman known as Ranark has been accidentally unleashed by Shaman of Alpha Flight and having seen the state of the world since his centuries-long imprisonment, he is not impressed. Ranark arrives in Northeast Saskatchewan where he comes upon a couple who have gone out camping. Stopping in inspect the camper's gear he finds their advanced technology an affront to nature and begins trashing their campsite. When the man's wife tries to flee, Ranark strikes her down prompting her husband to come at the mystic is an ax. Unimpressed by this display, Ranark uses his mystical powers to make the man scream for hours after Ranark has left. Meanwhile, in the Ottawa home of Alpha Flight's leader Vindicator, the Thing, Walter Langkowski, and the Shaman explain what happened when they were in the Alberta Rockies. After explaining that Shaman accidentally freed Ranark and how the Thing had come seeking Walter's aid to find a cure for the cancer ravaging Giant-Man's body. Langkowski expresses a desire to help Ben with his friend, but he has to deal with the threat of Ranark. The Thing understands and offers his aid to help Alpha Flight stop this new menace. Vindicator then goes to his files to send out summons to other members of the team. With Snowbird out on maneuvers, this leaves only the twin mutants known as Northstar and Aurora available to be called. As the call is being put in, Ranark is flying over Canada, attracting the attention of the Royal Canadian Air Force, who mobilize fighter jets to intercept the mystic. Their missiles prove ineffective against their foe, and Ranark easily destroys the fighter planes, sending the pilots parachuting to safety. At that moment in Laval, Quebec, Northstar is uninterested in answering Alpha Flight's summons but his twin sister insists that they need to help their comrades. However, Jean-Paul is uninterested in helping Alpha Flight as he is still bitter about the Canadian government disbanding the team. Aurora will hear no more of her brother's lack of care and decides to go and aid Alpha Flight alone. At that moment Ranark arrives in the city of Winnipeg and disgusted by the sight he sees decides to raise the city to the ground and restore the nature that was once prevalent in the region during his time walking the Earth. Just as he begins to make vines sprout from the ground, Ranark is staggered by a blast fired from Vindicator as he, Shaman, Sasquatch and the Thing arrive on the scene. In response, Ranark causes an earthquake that threatens to topple a building. While the Sasquatch braces the building so it can be evacuated, the arriving Aurora is able to save a small child that falls out of the window. With the Thing helping to brace the building, Aurora uses her enhanced speed to help clear out the last of the people inside the building before it collapses. Meanwhile at the New York headquarters of the Fantastic Four, Bill Foster is feeling weaker and weaker as the cancer continues to eat through his body. Trying to get up, Bill is too weak and he almost falls to the floor but is caught by Mister Fantastic who carries him back to bed. Noticing that Bill has removed his costume, Reed asks Foster not to despair, telling him that Ben should be back with Walter Langkowski soon. While back in Winnipeg, the Thing and Sasquatch free themselves from the rubble of the collapsed building. Not far away Ranark flies over the West Mainland highway and gloats at the futility of the people trying to flee the city. He begins attacking the gridlocked cars when Shaman comes to their aid. When he is knocked aside, Shaman is saved by the arrival of Sasquatch and the Thing who begin piling on their foe. As Ranark summons a powerful storm, Jean-Paul watches the battle from his television and decides to head into battle after he sees a clip of his sister fighting against Ranark. Alpha Flight and the Thing continue to fight a losing battle due to the fact that Ranark has a magical counter for all of their attacks. However, the tide of battle turns when Northstar arrives on the scene. When he clasps his sisters hand their mutant powers trigger a blinding light that weakens their foe. With Ranark on the ropes, Ben and Sasquatch knock him down long enough for Shaman to shrink Ranark down and trap his essence in a mystical cocoon so that he can be contained away from the eyes of man. With the battle over and Bill's life hanging in the balance, the Thing rushes Walter back to New York. After examining the Foster, Walter exits the lab and tells Ben the bad news -- the cancer has advanced too far and there is nothing that he can do... Brodie's ViewIt's Ranark the Ravenger, a former shaman turned mad God, vs. the combined powers of The Thing and Alpha Flight in this one, but there are quite a few underlying things that happen in this issue. For Ben, this whole deal is a task that has to be completed before he can properly enlist the help of Walter Langkowski (who is also the Alpha Flight-er known as Sasquatch) in trying to cure his friend, Bill Foster (AKA Giant Man II), who is quickly slipping away from the cancer he's had for a while. We see a brief cutaway scene showing Bill's current condition during a break from the main action. For Alpha Flight, this is their chance to really get to prove themselves as a superhero team, which they hope will convince the Canadian government to return their funding (they pulled it after their last adventure in the pages of the X-MEN, which they had made most of their early appearances as a team in. They eventually get their funding back, BTW), but there's even conflict within the team, as we see the split between brother and sister duo, Northstar (who doesn't want to get involved, but eventually does) and Aurora (who wants to be a team player). Of course, this is all setting up character things that writer/artist John Byrne will follow up in the actual ALPHA FLIGHT book, but it's nice to see it teased here. Eventually, the combined powers of Alpha Flight and the ever lovin' blue eyed Thing end up knocking Ranark unconscious, and Shaman is quickly able to re-contain the crazy former Shaman in another mystical prison. Ranark would eventually return, but not in the way most would expect. However, going back to the main story, and in the typical story of Ben Grimm's life, after all the struggle with getting Walter Langkowski to be willing (and able) to help out with Bill Foster, it is revealed at the end that there is really nothing Walter can do to help Foster, the cancer is too far gone ( ). However, we still have one more part to this story, so, we'll see if Ben is able to cure his friend the way the opposite had happened a few issues ago. We'll also go from our Guest Star/s being someone who is about to get their own book, to a Guest Star who is about to lose theirs. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Dec 22, 2017 0:57:22 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 85"The Final Fate of Giant Man!"Cover Date: March, 1982 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & Spider-Woman Villain(s): Atom Smasher II Guest Star/s: Giant Man II, Alicia Masters, Mr. Fantastic & The Whiz Kids (Herbert Bell, Talia Kruma, Dale West, & Celia Jackson) Official Plot: With his body in the final stages of terminal cancer, Giant-Man tries to sleep in the medical lab of the Baxter Building. He is plagued by nightmares of battling a dark-garbed figure. His mind eventually drifts back to his past when he was working at Stark-West in California with his friends the Whiz Kids and the events that led to him using Henry Pym's Pym Particles to become Black Goliath. He recalls one of his early battles where he fought the villain known as Atom Smasher who was responsible for administering the dose of radiation that eventually gave Bill cancer. Tragically, Atom Smasher died during that confrontation, taking all the secrets of his power with him. Murdered by the villain known as Stilt-Man, Black Goliath tried to capture Atom Smasher's assassin but had no strength to do it, the first sign that he had contracted cancer. Despite this, the Black Goliath continues his super-hero career and his relationship with Celia Jackson. It wasn't until he discovered the truth, that he had cancer, that Foster packed things up and moved to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. in New York in the hopes of finding a way to cure himself. There he reinvented himself as Giant-Man and made friends such as the Thing, Quasar, Thundra and the Aquarian. Bill wakes up from his dreams feeling more exhausted than ever and still down on himself for his lackluster super-hero career. He is greeted by Mister Fantastic and the Thing who tell him to take it easy. When Reed tells Bill that he would like to conduct more tests, Foster declines as he has decided to accept his fate and would like to put his final affairs in order. Reed protests this, but Bill is insistent on enjoying his final days instead of squandering them. Ben agrees with Bill, and Reed eventually relents, reluctantly. As Bill and Ben head to the Pogo Plane and take off for California, Reed blames himself for not being able to find a cure, but was certain that he could have found one if given more time. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Spider-Woman is on a case for an insurance company to investigate a series of robberies of electronics companies. Staking out the next most likely location to get hit, Spider-Woman hits the jackpot when she catches some costumed men trying to break in. She swoops in for the attack, but is blasted the thieves mysterious and super-powered villain. The energy blast makes Spider-Woman's body feel like it's on fire and she eventually passes out. Convinced that their foe is dead, the leader of this group orders his men to load up and take off. As the ship takes off, Spider-Woman recovers from the blast, as the spider venom in her system fights off and makes her immune to the lethal dose of radiation her body was dealt. Having lost the trail, Spider-Woman decides to return to her apartment so she can shower and call it a night. Recalling how one of the men mentioned Los Angeles, Jessica Drew decides to investigate that possible lead. The following afternoon the Thing and Bill Foster pay a visit to Stark-West in LA where Bill is reunited with the Whiz Kids. He is also happily reunited with Celia Jackson and the two share a kiss. Deciding that this a moment for privacy, the Thing decides to go on a tour of the Stark-West Facilities. While outside he comes across a security guard who has been knocked out when suddenly he is ambushed by the same men who robbed the facility in San Francisco the night before. The Thing makes short work of them and is then confronted by their leader, a man calling himself Atom Smasher. When Ben asks if he is the same man who poisoned Giant-Man, Atom Smasher denies it, stating that he is still alive before blasting the Thing. While outside of the facility, Jessica Drew arrives by cab and hears the battle raging within the facility. Getting to some cover, Jessica then changes into Spider-Woman. However, she arrives on the scene too late, as does Bill Foster and the Whiz Kids, as this new Atom Smasher and his minions escape with what they came for. However, even though their foe has escaped, Bill gets to work developing a device that will allow them to track the unique radiation that emanates from his body, while the Whiz Kids discover what the villain is trying to build: a bomb. Meanwhile at Atom Smasher's hideout within an abandoned electrical company he and his minions have finished constructing his device: The Neutralode, a device that will flood the city with radiation, killing millions. Just then, the Thing, Spider-Woman and Bill Foster come crashing in through the walls. With Atom Smasher's minions dropping like flies, a group of them are ordered to hop into giant robots to fight off the heroes. While the Thing makes short work of these robots, Spider-Woman is felled by another radiation blast from Atom Smasher, but this time she is only playing possum as her body has become completely immune to his radiation. When she tries to go after him, the Thing tries to stop her when she tells him that she is immune to his radiation. This shocking revelation causes Ben to hope that there just might be a cure for Bill after all. At that moment Bill tries to risk using his size-changing powers one last time to destroy the Neutralode but is attacked by Atom Smasher. Even though his foe fights Bill off and makes it to his weapon, it had been seriously damaged in the battle. Not listening to Bill's warnings to stop, Atom Smasher activates the device and is seemingly killed when the device explodes. With Atom Smasher seemingly killed, Bill has completely lost all hope of finding a cure. Shrinking back down to his normal size he has grown too weak and passes out. The Thing and Spider-Woman then take him back to Stark West. After the Whiz Kids examine her, they determine that a blood transfusion from Spider-Woman can cure Bill of his cancer. However, it will come at a price: if Spider-Woman gives this blood transfusion it will strip her of her immunity factor. Despite this, Spider-Woman agrees to the transfusion as it is the only thing that can save Bill's life. The transfusion is a success and Bill is expected to survive. Leaving Foster with his friends, Ben recounts how the doctor said that the strain on his body has eliminated his ability to become Giant-Man ever again. When he runs into Spider-Woman in the hall, she is beating herself up because she has now lost a valuable power, making matters worse the doctor told her that her immunity factor might have been the secret for curing all cancer, and she feels like she blew it. As Spider-Woman flies away, the Thing doesn't think so because she was still able to give a good man a second chance at life. Brodie's ViewBill Foster's story comes to an end here, but not Bill Foster. I guess I should clear that up by saying the whole "Bill Foster cancer" story comes to an end here, which pretty much ends his story as a major part of this book. Of course, it's very much teased that the ending will be a sad one, as Bill pretty much decides that he doesn't want to spend what he feels are his last bit of life being Reed Richard's test subject, and Ben offers to take him home. Once home, and at the beginning of this issue, we get a nice recap of Bill's life as a hero, and once back in L.A, he is reunited with the supporting cast of his short lived book. Of course, this all ends up falling into place with the villain of this issue, who is the brother of the original villain that gave Bill the radiation poisoning that gave him cancer in the first place, The Atom Smasher. Needless to say, the original AS's brother decided to take up the mantle, and has a big scheme to give the people of L.A radiation poisoning in order to loot the city (Nice guy ), which first brings him into conflict with the Guest Star of this issue, Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, and then Ben, Bill, and Spider-Woman. During the first confrontation, Atom Smasher attempts to poison Spider-Woman, but it's revealed that she has the ability to shrug off various poisons, including radiation. Needless to say, this revelation ends up being more important later. It's also needless to say that our heroes end up whooping the second Atom Smasher's ass, and ending his short lived career (well, Atom Smasher kind of does that himself, permanently), with Bill, once again, proving what a hero he is by doing what he shouldn't be doing (becoming Giant Man one last time), and kicking the shit out of AS before the villain commits accidental suicide. Spider-Woman ends up letting slip to Ben that she has an immunity to AS's poison during the fight, and thus ends up being able to cure Bill Foster of his cancer, with the only drawback being that she loses her immunity to poison. This was a nice little story that really should have been the base to have Bill eventually come back as a full on Giant Man, but, alas, it was not meant to be. Bill Foster would kind of pop in here and there as a minor hero until 2006, when Marvel would allow Mark Millar to shockingly kill the character off mid way through the CIVIL WAR storyline. Anyways, in happier news, the next issue will be a bit of a cool down from the craziness of these last few issues, as Ben ends up having a heart to heart with.....a long time villain. GRADE: B+
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,881
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Dec 22, 2017 16:15:20 GMT -5
No idea if you know it or not Brodie,but Marvel just relaunched Marvel 2 in 1. Got a copy waiting on me at the LCS.
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Dec 25, 2017 1:55:46 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 86(Story #1) "Time Runs Like Sand!"/(Story #2) Farewell, My Lummox!" Cover Date: April, 1982 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & The Sandman/Franklin Richards Villain(s): Hydro-Man/None Guest Star/s: Mr. Fantastic/The Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic & The Invisible Girl/Woman) & The Impossible Family (Impossible Man/Woman/Kids (1st appearance of the last)) Official Plot: (Story #1) Helping Mister Fantastic in his lab the Thing hears some recent news about their old foe, the Sandman. Reed tells how he and the water-based villain known as Hydro-Man were accidentally merged into a single entity dubbed the Mud Thing until the moisture was dried from their collective body and it crumbled and was turned over to the police. Coincidentally as this is being spoken of, police forensic scientists have given up on trying to separate Sandman from Hydro-Man. After one last chemical test, they give the pair up for dead and take the sealed container holding their remains and have it thrown out in a dump. However the process was slow working and once the canister is left in the dump, both Sandman and Hydro-Man manage to free themselves, finally separated from months of being fused together. The entire experience has left both men profoundly disturbed and Hydro-Man decides to cut and run, leaving the Sandman to make sense of the experience alone. Heading into the city, Sandman realizes that he is still wanted and, with his powers on the fritz, he could easily be recognized and arrested. After stealing some clothing from a Salvation Army drop-off box, he then tries begging for some change from a man, but when he gets some attitude, Sandman resorts to brawn to convince the man to turn over enough money for him to go into the nearest bar and have a drink. Not long after the Sandman's arrival is he recognized by the bartender. After serving Sandman a drink, the barkeep then tries to call the Fantastic Four for help. Incidentally, he is successful at getting a hold of the Thing who agrees to go down to the bar and check out the bartender's claims, if only for a few drinks if the call turns out to be a hoax. Taking a Sky-Cycle to the bar, Ben is surprised to see that the caller was correct in identifying the Sandman at the bar. When the Thing lifts a table ready for a fight he is shocked when the Sandman willingly surrenders. Shocked by this, Ben realizes that there is something the matter with his old foe and he decides to sit down and have a few drinks and talk things out. As it turns out, the Sandman has been reevaluating his life and talks about his past. He tells the Thing that he lived in a poor household with his mother. He tells the Thing that his name is Flint Marko. Growing up he began to steal thing and became a bully to his classmates. In high school, Flint was the most brutal player on the school football team. However, his career was cut short when it was discovered that he was throwing games to the benefit of local gamblers and was kicked off the team and expelled. Marko then went into petty crime, keeping the truth of the origin of the wealth he earned from his crimes a secret from his mother. Soon, the Sandman rose up in the ranks of petty crime. Everything seemed to be working out for him, he even got a girl named Marcy. However, when he was eventually caught and put in jail, he discovered that Marcy had started an affair with his best friend. Driven crazy by this betrayal, Flint went on another crime spree and was arrested again. Breaking out of prison and on the run from the law, Marko ended up on a military facility where exposure to radiation caused his transformation into the Sandman. From there, the Sandman recounts his career as a super-villain and his defeats at the hands of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, and Machine Man. Finishing his tale of woe, the Thing asks where the Sandman plans on going next. The Sandman figures it is jail. Moved by this story, Ben decides that the Sandman deserves a second chance and leaves him a few more dollars and tells him to keep on the straight and narrow or he will bring him in. (Story #2) Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Girl are going out on a date and have left their son Franklin in the care of the Thing for the evening. As Ben entertains his godson from the evening the pair are eventually interrupted by the arrival of the Impossible Man and his wife the Impossible Woman, much to the Thing's dismay. The two imps are happy to announce that they have started their own family, introducing Ben and Franklin to the Impossible Kids. The Impossible Man and Woman ask to use Reed's computers to find a new world to live in. The Thing reluctantly agrees to watch the Impossible Kids do so. The Impossible Children prove to be more trouble than their worth, especially when one of the children tags along with Franklin to watch television, influencing the others by what is seen on TV. Eventually, the Impossible parents find a suitable world -- which they dub Pupppup II -- and take leave with their children, much to the Thing's relief. Brodie's ViewWe get Two, Two, Two stories in one for this one, as a bit of a blow off (though, important in spots) to the craziness of the last few issues. The first story involves, at this time, super villain, The Sandman, and his being shook (both mentally and physically) by recently being merged with fellow element villain, Hydro Man, into a giant mud monster. This happened in the pages of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, as both villains were mostly known for being Spidey villains, but we get the fall out here. Anyways, The Sandman ends up meeting up with Ben in a bar, and telling him his life story, at least from his perspective. Ben ends up kind of feeling sorry for him, and giving him a bit of money to get by legally, as it seems that Sandy wants to turn over a new leaf. This ends up having some pretty long term ramifications, at least for The Sandman, as it starts his face turn into a full fledged hero (and future/former Avenger). We'll see a little more of that turn one more time in this series, but this was a great little story. A very personal little story that ends up giving some long needed depth (we had seen a bit in the early days of this series as well, or at least the seed of it) to what had been up to then a C List villain. The second story has to do with long term FF nuisance/s, The Impossible Man & Woman. They show up as Ben is baby sitting the true Guest Star of this issue, Franklin Richards, and to make matters worse, an entire fleet of children. Needless to say, a lot of hoots and hijinks in this one, as the kids drive Ben nutty, as the Impossible parents are too busy trying to choose a new world to populate, as their last one got eaten by Galactus. Eventually they find a world, and split with the family, leaving Ben and Franklin (well, mostly Ben) to pick up the pieces before Reed and Sue get back from their date. This was a fun little story, but really only of importance if you're into the Impossible Man stuff, which I was only slightly. It was OK for what it was. In the next issue, we'll be back to business, as Ben will team with the character, who, thanks to the movies, is probably more instantly known as the character he inherited than the guy he replaced (at least as far as being known as THAT character). GRADE(s): A-/B
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Post by MrElijah on Dec 25, 2017 19:48:50 GMT -5
Y'know, that's one of my favorite issues. It's nice to have a good redemption arc. From goon to Wild Pack member to actual Avenger is hell of an rise for ol' Marko.
Shame they turned him back to Villian.
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Dec 26, 2017 1:50:31 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 87"Menace of the Microworld!"Cover Date: May, 1982 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & Ant-Man II Villain(s): Lizard Men of Tok & Zorak Guest Star/s: Pearla, Cassy & Ruth Lang, & The Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic & The Human Torch) Official Plot: The Thing is helping Reed conduct an experiment for Reed involving using electromagnets to increase the density of an object. Witnessing this is the Human Torch who has come to make jokes at the Thing's expense as usual. As the density of a massive steel ball is increased with the device the Thing tries to hold onto it for as long as possible. Eventually, the weight becomes too much and the Thing ends up falling down, much to the delight of the Torch who instantly begins mocking him. The Thing blows off the Torch's remarks and goes for his box of cigars to have a smoke. As he tries to find a match, suddenly the Thing begins to glow and instantly shrinks out of sight. Witnessing this Reed and Johnny recall how something similar to this happened early on in their careers when Doctor Doom conquered the land of Sub-Atomica in the Microverse. Reed recalls how they enlisted the aid of the original Ant-Man to help them on that case but remembers how Ant-Man -- now calling himself Yellowjacket -- has apparently turned to crime. Johnny then mentions that there is a new Ant-Man that has helped the Avengers on occasion, however, neither men have a way to contact him. As they discuss this, they are unaware that an ant has been listening to their conversation and at the mention of Ant-Man it begins to report back to its master. At that moment at the Long Island home of Scott Lang, Scott is getting on his daughter Cassie's case to clean up her room if she wants to go out to the movies with one of her friends. However, when he notices ants crawling into her bedroom from the window, he quickly ushers her daughter out of the room, allowing her to go to the movies anyway. With Cassie gone, Scott changes into Ant-Man, and unsure how long he will be gone calls his sister Ruth to come by and look after Cassie while he's gone. While Ruth is more than happy to spend time with her niece, her husband Steve is unimpressed with the time that Scott spends away from his daughter. With his personal matters dealt with, Ant-Man then heads off to lend his assistance to the Fantastic Four. Back at the Baxter Building, Reed is trying to locate where Ben might be in the Microverse. When Johnny asks why they can't just go after him, Reed explains that their Reducto-Craft was destroyed the last time they were in the Microverse. Suddenly Ant-Man appears before them and although he startles Johnny, he is quickly welcomed. When Reed tells Ant-Man that he will need to shrink down in size and venture to the Microverse, he tells them that he cannot shrink that small. Reed corrects him, explaining that continued exposure to his shrinking gas will allow him to shrink down in size enough to access the Microverse. Ant-Man decides to trust Mister Fantastic and gives it a try and to his surprise, he succeeds and begins whirling past molecules on his way into the Microverse. When Ant-Man regains his senses he finds himself in some strange castle where he is instantly spotted by guards who order his arrest. When they rush him, Ant-Man then shrinks down in size in order to out and fight his way through them. Rushing through the palace he finally comes upon the Thing, who is not being treated as a prisoner, but as an honored guest. Soon they are joined by Pearla the ruler of Sub-Atomica who demands to know why Ant-Man invaded her realm. Ant-Man explains it was a misunderstanding as he thought the Thing was kidnapped. Pearla explains that she had summoned the Thing because Zorak, the leader of the Lizard Men of Tok seeks to make Pearla as his bride. The only way that she can get out of this union is if the Thing can defeat Zorak in battle on the Field of Honor. Pearla considers Ant-Man a guest and orders her guards to set him up in a room for the night. Ant-Man soon begins to suspect that not everything is as it seems when he is placed in a room that looks more like a prison cell than a bedchamber, however, it has food and a computer system. Ant-Man begins trying to decipher how it works unaware that it allows the guards to spy on his activities. However, suddenly the screen goes dark, prompting the soldiers to check the room. When they enter it is empty and the computer smashed. Thinking that Ant-Man has escaped they go searching for him, unaware that he actually shrunk down in size and has hitched a ride in the boot of one of their number. Ant-Man is shocked when the guards go to Pearla's throne room to report and learns that the entire battle is all a ruse and that Pearla plots to sacrifice the Thing to Zorak as part of a grander scheme to launch an all-out invasion of Tok. Needing assistance, Ant-Man reaches out with his control helmet to find this world's equivalent to an ant and summons a strange looking flying insect. He then flies out to the arena where the Thing and Zorak are battling it out. Swarming Zorak with this world's flying ants, Ant-Man manages to get to the Thing and warns him that he is being manipulated by Pearla. The Thing then tosses Zorak into the guards and both he and Ant-Man fight their way to Pearla's invasion fleet and wreck it. With Pearla's plot exposed and her invasion force destroyed, the two heroes force Zorak and Pearla to sit down and sign a truce instead. With the crisis over, Ant-Man and the Thing head back home where Ant-Man asks Ben if he would like to join him and his daughter for dinner. Brodie's ViewWe go back to One Shot stories with this issue, as Ben has an adventure totally removed from the events of the last several issues in this one. Basically, he gets shrunk down to a microscopic level, and pulled into the microverse. This leaves Reed Richards and Johnny Storm little other option than to try and get a hold one of the one hero who might be able to help find Ben (as this is right after Reed's Microverse ship was destroyed in the pages of THE MICRONAUTS), Ant-Man. Unfortunately, the original Ant-Man, Henry Pym, is hiding out after snapping, striking his wife (Janet Van Dyne, The Wasp), and doing kind of a shitty thing, so, they're left little other option than to seek out his replacement, Scott Lang. We get a bit of interaction with Scott and his beloved daughter, Cassie, before Scott is summoned into action by the ants (who overheard Reed and Johnny's interaction, and went to go inform Scott). Scott is zapped into a microscopic world, where a human looking race is at war with a race of lizard people. The human race is planning to use a drugged up Ben as a distraction (as Ben is fighting an alien in a kind of gladiator pit) to allow them to get a drop on the lizard race. After Ant-Man is able to free Ben, the two start kicking mucho microscopic ass, to the point that they kind of force the two sides to live in peace (although, Ben expresses doubt that the peace will last very long), and they split. Not that epic of a story, but certainly fun, and a chance to allow the second Ant-Man (who, thanks to the movie, is probably more known as being Ant-Man than Henry Pym) the chance to build more of the hero cred that will eventually lead to his being an Avenger (what is this? The Avenger Try Out book? ). In the next issue, we'll see Ben teaming up with.....you guessed it....ANOTHER FUTURE AVENGER!!! Of course, as we'll see, there will be far more....sexual tension with this team up. GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Dec 28, 2017 2:55:08 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 88"Disaster at Diablo Reach!"Cover Date: June, 1982 Writer(s): David Kraft Artist: Alan Kupperberg Feature Character(s): The Thing & She Hulk Villain(s): The Negator Guest Star/s: Alicia Masters Official Plot: Stephen Edward Shields, president of Pacific Energy & Utility Corporation (PE&UC) & his assistant Rodney Stack hire the Thing as a bodyguard against masked LA murderer Negator, who intends to destroy LA in an atomic holocaust. Jules McClure of People to Protect Our Environment is shot in the back by Negator, after having made a large payment to the villain. The Savage She-Hulk is in a t.v. commercial for Wacky Willie's Wheels-And-Deals, attacking used cars to demonstrate durability. Their verbal contract specified She-Hulk's participation for a pink '57 Cadillac loaded with options. She has to jar Willie's memory, and teeth, to remind him to pay up. She nearly runs the Thing down, hitchhiking by after a plane crash. She thinks he's cute, little short, but cute. She drives him to Diablo Reactor, at speeds over 90 mph, scaring Ben. She stops at a Booze N Snooze Truck stop for burgers, pays as the Thing has nothing on him. She scoots (roughly) 4 rude men out of a booth, orders a Black Jack minus rocks, same for her 'date'. Thing changes his to a tall draft with lots of rocks. He's getting spooked. She-Hulk has waited long enough for Thing to make a pass, so she kisses him. On the news, Rodney reports the death of truckers Ed & Russ during theft of the uranium rods. It is the excuse Thing needs to get away (he thinks she's a looker, but Alicia wouldn't like it, also he imagines that She-Hulk's temper and his bullheadedness would lead to fights). She-Hulk will only give him the keys if he promises her a night on the town. Ben agrees. Her off-road driving is worse than her freeway driving, Thing makes a crack about his Aunt Petunia being right about women drivers. She-Hulk stops the car and demands an apology, as well as the whole weekend. She won't take his girl in NYC excuse for an answer, either. Rodney is Negator, he killed the truckers and a helicopter pilot, sabotaged the rods, and took the ransom money. He sees a pink caddy approaching, shoots two Diablo Nuclear facility guards, and starts the steel doors closing. She-Hulk enters the closing doors on two wheels. She saves Thing from Negator's blast (which damages her car's leather upholstery). She-Hulk pursues Negator as Thing seeks the uranium rods. Negator fights She-Hulk on a reactor tower with a 300-foot drop. Rodney tells She-Hulk he was a strong young man who labored in the uranium mines for his company but found out that his health was ruined. Now he's going to end nuclear power. He blasts off with a jetpack, but She-Hulk and Thing net him with a wire fence. Threatened into telling them the uranium core is already melting down, they punch their way in and use the jetpack to put the uranium core almost into space before it goes off. Mr. Shields tells Ben and Jen that they'll need to be decontaminated. The process will take 3 days, and they'll have to share the small quarters. Jen is intrigued, and Ben is embarrassed. Brodie's ViewWe get a few issue break from the Tom DeFalco/Ron Wilson run ( ) starting with this issue, and one can definitely tell the difference right off the bat with the artwork, which, while serviceable, definitely lacking compared with the very solid job Ron Wilson has been doing....well, for a while now. Seriously. Dude was the MVP of this book, and DeFalco (who would later go on to be Editor in Chief in the late 80's/early 90's) was giving him some pretty good/great stuff so far. This issue wasn't as good as any of that, but it was okay. One thing that helps is the Guest Star, She-Hulk, who is also a Top 10 favorite character, and this issue takes place during that brief period between the cancellation of her book and her joining The Avengers. At the very least, it allows Jen the chance to wear normal clothes, rather than the ripped shirt/hospital gown looking thing she's mostly worn to this point, Post Transformation. It is pretty fun that she spends most of her team up with Ben hitting on him, and Ben worried about cheating on Alicia, or at the very least getting caught in a compromised position with the green amazon that wants to jump his rocky bones....or bone. Anyways, the story tries to do an Anti-Nuke thing, with a former employee of a certain reactor wanting to cause a melt down in order to end nuclear power. Needless to say, Ben and Jen are able to easily stop the villain (who isn't really important enough to really talk about, as this is his only appearance), at the cost of being temporarily housed together, in the process of decontaminating them from the radiation they were exposed to. Needless to say, what happened in that housing STAYED in that housing. The best thing about this issue was the Guest Star, as this story would have been pretty lame otherwise. I get trying to make a statement about something, but at least don't handle that something as ham handedly as the writer handled the nuclear energy safety debate here. Ah well. The next issue will actually break our Future Avenger trend (or does it, as this character was an Avenger in the last 10 years. Of course, that could be anyone, as EVERYONE has been a Avenger in the last 10 years or so), as Ben's Guest Star will be someone.....Very Familiar. GRADE: B-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Dec 31, 2017 3:15:19 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 89"The Last Word!"Cover Date: July, 1982 Writer(s): David Kraft Artist: Alan Kupperberg Feature Character(s): The Thing & The Human Torch Villain(s): The Word (& Ultima) Guest Star/s: S.H.I.E.L.D (Nick Fury) Official Plot: A woman is trying to reach the Baxter Building headquarters of the Fantastic Four in a complete panic, fearful that she will be captured by her pursuers. Just before she can reach the fabled headquarters of the world's greatest adventurers she is confronted by a woman in a dark alley and screams for help. While up in the living quarters of the Baxter Building the Thing is trying to watch television when he is interrupted by the Human Torch who prankishly sets fire to the couch. After Ben accidentally throws the couch down the elevator shaft trying to toss it at the Torch, Johnny departs, telling Ben that he just remembered that a panicked woman had called in and should be on her way shortly. Flying outside, Johnny happens to spot a woman being carried into an ambulance by stretcher. Johnny brushes it off when he sees a more attractive woman heading into Central Park and decides to follow after her. Meanwhile, Ben comes out of the Baxter Building not finding the woman he was supposed to meet. Regaining consciousness from her stretcher, the woman calls out to Grimm warning him of the danger posed by someone calling himself the Word. Meanwhile, Johnny has followed the attractive blonde into Central Park and tries to impress her by creating a heart out of flames. When this doesn't work, Johnny flames off and tries his usual charm, but the woman simply brushes him off and goes off into Central Park alone, despite Johnny's warnings that it might not be safe at night. Johnny gives up and heads back to the Baxter Building where Ben is looking through SHIELD intel about the Word. When the file pulls up a picture of the Word and his daughter Ultima, Johnny recognizes her as the woman from the park. Looking into the file deeper they learn how the Word once ran a religious cult which was eventually quashed by the She-Hulk. Suddenly they are contacted by SHIELD director Nick Fury, who informs them that the Word has gone back on his promise to give up on his religious cult and has set up a new one while using a mining operation in Delaware as a front. Fury tells them that he had sent agents in to investigate and none of them have come back. When Nick asks Ben and Johnny to investigate they agree to go and check it out. Soon the pair are driving through the Delaware countryside unaware that the Word is already aware of their approach. Suddenly they are ambushed by traps rigged into the road, wrecking their ride. After fighting off these mechanized defenses they are then attacked by Ultima, whose superior strength rivals that of the Thing. Thanks to a gas that is being pumped into the area, both the Torch and the Thing are easily knocked out and taken prisoner. They wake up in the den belonging to the Word and find themselves wearing identical outfits and that they have placed a human looking mask over the Thing's face. The Word explains to them that he plans to make a world where everyone is treated equally. He begins by explaining that he was the editor of a dictionary company until he learned the secret meaning of words. To this end, he began working as a disc jockey, becoming an instant sensation. After driving the radio station into bankruptcy, the Word then started his cult. It was at this point he was able to use his words to make his daughter Ultima the peak of perfection, however, this was short lived as his daughter was crippled battling the She-Hulk and he was legally ordered to disassemble his cult. However, the Word refused to give up on his mission and was able to use his command of language to make his daughter move again. Slapped with collars that inject a drug into their system that weakens their strength, powers, and willpower, the Thing and Torch are forced to toil in the mine the Word has set up. There they find the missing SHIELD agents and are shocked that they have been brainwashed into accepting this way of life. The two begin working in the mine until the initial dose of the drug begins to wear off, giving Ben enough strength to cause a partial collapse of the mine and forcing the Word to order an evacuation. Once outside, Johnny puts all of his efforts into going nova so he can burn all the drug out of his system and destroy his bonds. Succeeding, he then frees the Thing. While the Torch handles the Word's private army, the Thing and Ultima battle it out. The Word watches on yelling encouragements to his daughter. Getting fed up with the Word's constant talking, the Thing knocks him out with a single punch. Without her father's words of encouragement, Ultima loses her powers and suddenly becomes crippled again. With the Word defeated people begin becoming freed from his control and SHIELD operatives arrive on the scene. The Word, having been thoroughly defeated realized that in trying to find a perfect world he ended up destroying the life of the one he wanted to protect: his daughter. Brodie's ViewThe Kraft/Kupperberg (who is better with the art, for the most part, in this issue) team returns for this issue, and I have to wonder if they were the writer/artist team for She-Hulk, as, once again, the subject matter kind of relates to our green giantess (EDIT: Kraft wrote a good portion of the She-Hulk comic). A slave labor/"religious" conversion cultish group called The Word (although, their end goals and the methods they use to break people to their will sounds a lot like a shot at a certain political mindset (Yes, we get yet another half assed "political statement," but at least this one somewhat works due to The Word being pre-established villains in another book)) are the Big Bads of this issue, as Ben and our Guest Star this issue, Ben's fellow FF team mate, Johnny Storm AKA The Human Torch. I will say that this is kind of lazy by the writer, as there's no real reason for his being there, other than a bit of Torch/Thing bicker/fighting at the beginning, which could have led to any other Guest Star. Shit, they should have just swapped heroes for these two issues, with She Hulk being the Guest Star here. It would have made sense, being that The Word were definitely being set up as being "Her Villains." Anyways, Ben and Johnny end up getting captured by The Word, which is ran by a former disc jockey turned somewhat religious cult leader. Through his supposed speaking powers, he has caused his formerly paralyzed daughter to gain somewhat super human abilities, which she will keep, as long as she believes in The Word (Of course, I think you know where this leads...). The two are doped up and fitted with various clothes and items, and placed to work in the mines. Eventually, of course, they are able to work past the dope, and defeat The Word, ending, we feel, their threat....Permanently. It was better than last issue, but not by very much. Once again, I'll say that THIS should have been the She-Hulk issue, as it would have made a much better fit. Well, fingers crossed here folks, as the next issue will Guest Star someone who actually had his own Team Up book around this time (with his ending shortly after MTIO), for one last cross promotion of Team Up books. GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 2, 2018 3:14:52 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 90"Eyes of the Sorcerer"Cover Date: August, 1982 Writer(s): Jan Strnad Artist: Alan Kupperberg Feature Character(s): The Thing & Spider-Man Villain(s): Sardeth & The Demon of the Caves Guest Star/s: Alicia Masters, Debra Whitman, & Solomus Official Plot: Peter Parker and his girlfriend Deborah Wittman are out on a date at the Central Park Renaissance Festival. After they watch a jousting competition, Deborah points Peter's attention toward a magician named Phil who claims he can free himself from a pair of handcuffs but fails miserably much to the chagrin of his girlfriend. People's attentions are distracted by the arrival of the Thing and his girlfriend Alicia Masters. As a fan of Alicia's work, Deborah asks Peter to take her to meet the famous blind sculptress. While everyone else is gawking at the Thing, Phil tries one last attempt to free himself by incanting a magic spell. Instead of freeing himself from the cuffs, by some complete fluke, the words he muttered actually cause Phil to peer into another dimension. There, he witnesses a battle between two sorcerers, the righteous Solomus and the evil Sardeth. Solomus has Sardeth trapped in a web and is about to execute him when Sardeth detects Phil's presence and uses this as a means of escaping his own body just seconds before it is set ablaze. As Sardeth takes possession of Phil's body on Earth, Peter Parker is deep in conversation with Alicia Masters. Getting upset at suddenly being ignored, Deborah decides to walk off. Alicia then tips Peter off of this snafu and he walks off to patch things up, thanking Alicia for pointing it out. Meanwhile, Sardeth has realized that he has come to a world where science is more dominant than magic and believes that taking it over will be child's play. As his first show of power, he uses his power to cause the ribbons on a May Poll to branch out and attack festival attendees. As Peter brings Deborah to safety, the Thing lunges into action and snaps off the May Poll. Shocked by this show of strength, Sardeth then uses his powers to turn the jouster into his Demon Knight. While Ben fights off his new attacker, Peter changes into Spider-Man and joins the battle. After pounding on their foe sufficiently enough, Spider-Man and the Thing manage to knock out the Demon Knight, causing him to revert back to normal. While the Thing checks on Alicia, Spider-Man swings off to find Sardeth. He finds the evil wizard floating above the city streets where he summons a massive creature which bursts out of the ground. While the Thing battles the monster, Spider-Man swings up and knocks out Sardeth with a single punch. After the Thing finishes subduing the monster he grabs Sardeth and threatens to squeeze the life out of him if he doesn't release Phil from his control. With the choice between death and fleeing this body and being potentially trapped as a spirit forever, Sardeth decides to choose the latter and lets Phil free. With the crisis now over, Spider-Man has just one question: What are they going to do about the monster that Sardeth left behind? Brodie's ViewWhen Team Up Books COLLIDE!!!! Our Guest Star this issue is none other than the star of Marvel's other major Team Up book at the time, the Amazing Spider-Man. The story? Well, it's pretty much the epitome of a one shot deal, as the two heroes, while relaxing with their respective ladies (Peter was in the middle of his doomed relationship with fellow student, Debra Whitman at the time) at a Ren Fair, until they are drawn into battle by a wannabe wizard who has been possessed by a real one. Of course, this leads to our heroes fighting various possessed demon knights and mystical demons summoned from below, and, yeah, each get to banter and get on each other's nerves (well, at least in one direction, as Ben is kind of annoyed by our web slinging hero). Finally, Ben is able to get his hands on the possessed wizard, and the two heroes are able to bluff the evil wizard to leave the body of the nerdy one, ending this whole deal as quickly as it started. That's really all that needs to be said. The writing was decent, but unremarkable (but at least no half assed political statements being made, so, that's something I guess), and the art, while also decent, was nothing worth really going nuts over. It was, as I said earlier, the epitome of a one shot deal. However, there is some good news, as our somewhat regular team of DeFalco and Wilson return next issue ( ), and takes us on a few more solid/great journeys before our run comes to an end. I will say that while the next issue has no official Guest Star, but quite a few people show up. Sadly, the figure implied on the cover of the next issue does NOT show up (although, they do eventually meet briefly in the AVENGERS/JLA crossover from the late 90's), but as I said before, the people that do show up definitely makes up for it. GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 4, 2018 1:21:32 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 91"In The Shadows of the Sphinx!"Cover Date: September, 1982 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & (No One) Villain(s): The Sphinx Guest Star/s: Dr. Strange & Mr. Fantastic Official Plot: In the deserts of Egypt a group of archaeologists has been digging for three months in the hopes of uncovering a lost piece of history. When a petrified figure is found the archaeologists uncover something best left buried. While half a world away at the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme detects some mystical disturbance. Peering into his Cauldron of the Cosmos he is shown an image of the Fantastic Four's Thing and the ancient pyramids. Unsure what this vision means, Strange sends off his astral form to locate the Thing and tell him of his findings. Doctor Strange interrupts the Thing at the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building while Grimm is working out. After telling Ben what he has seen, the Thing finds it incredible to believe that he would just pack everything up and travel to Egypt. When Strange offers his help, the Thing politely declines and goes about his day after the sorcerer departs. In the hallway, he bumps into Mister Fantastic who is examining a blown up copy of a real view of Egypt where a previously undocumented pyramid has recently appeared where Professor Hempstead was leading an exhibition. Taking this as a sign that Strange was right, Ben soon departs from the Pogo Plane and sets a course for Egypt. Landing in a desert town the Thing's arrival does not go unnoticed and word eventually gets to Professor Hempstead. Sneaking away from the dig, the worried archeologist manages to find the Thing still in town and warns Ben that there is an evil in the area. Before he can explain just what they are attacked by a gang of locals. Fighting off the attackers the Thing asks Hempstead for answers but finds that he went missing in the scuffle. Chasing after one of his attackers, Ben decides the best way to get to the bottom of things is to surrender. The Thing is led to the dig site and the mysterious pyramid. Once brought inside he is shocked to see who it is that Hempstead was trying to warn him about. Knocked out with a single blow, Ben revives a short time later in chains before his foe the Sphinx. Ben finds this quite the shock because he believed that the Sphinx was dead. The Sphinx then indulges the Thing about how he managed to cheat this fate. He recounts his days as a sorcerer who worked for Pharaoh Ramses over five thousand years ago. After failing at an appointed task the Sphinx was exiled into the desert where he wandered an unknown amount of time until he came across a strange temple. Inside he came across the Ka Stone which endowed him with immortality and power beyond his reckoning. The Sphinx then spent the ensuing centuries traveling the world and observing how history marched ever onward. He then recounts how in recent history he managed to obtain his goal: the secrets of the universe itself. This pitted the Sphinx against the Fantastic Four who in turn summoned Galactus to defeat him. In his last encounter, the Sphinx had the Ka Stone plucked from his brow and crushed to dust by Galactus who then punished him by sending him into the distant past to the time when he first found the Ka Stone, dooming the Sphinx to continue his life in a constant loop. However, the Sphinx explains, Galactus erred: Instead, the Sphinx stopped himself mere moments before he could claim the Ka Stone and gain the power he sought. They then conspired to beat the punishment of Galactus. To this end, they constructed a restoration ray that would later revive the future Sphinx in the present. The past Sphinx then took the Ka Stone and gained the power he was destined to wield. He then used that power to put his future self in suspended animation and then erased his memories of these events so he could continue on his fated path uninterrupted. The Sphinx then explained that now that he has been revived in the modern day, he seeks to reconstitute the Ka Stone and use it to take over the world. When the Sphinx leaves to use the restoration ray to gather all the fragments of the Ka Stone and reassemble it, the Thing is left to his own devices and is able to break free from his bonds. He then exits the pyramid and battles it out with the Sphinx. During the course of the fight the Sphinx totals the Pogo Plane, but eventually, the Thing manages to get the regeneration ray and smashes it before it can complete it's task, leaving the Sphinx is only a partially restored Ka Stone. Even though he was foiled the Sphinx reclaims the incomplete stone determines that it has a plan for the Thing and thus decides to spare him. Departing, leaving in his pyramid which levitates into the sky flying away, the Sphinx vows that he will one day get his revenge against the Thing. Brodie's ViewYay! Our "regular" writer/artist team, Tom DeFalco and Ron Wilson, are back for a few issues (and Wilson actually does the art for most of the issues in the rest of this run (Double Yay!!!)), and to answer the question right off....No, the Guest Star for this issue is NOT Batman. In fact, there is no real Guest Star, although, a few characters do Guest Star in supporting roles (Dr. Strange and Mr. Fantastic), but not as many as I thought upon first looking at the issue recap (as most of the appearances in this issue are flashbacks of our main villain, The Sphinx, and his various battles throughout the years).....sorry folks ( ). That all being said, though, this is a pretty good story that re-establishes the super powerful Sphinx (who was thought to be powerless and banished back in time after getting his ass kicked by Galactus) as a major threat. We find out that after being sent back in time, the Sphinx encountered his past self, which led to his being resurrected in our time, and trying to use his all powerful Ka Stone to take over the world (!!!!). Needless to say, this doesn't sit right with our rocky hero (who had to basically be guilted into checking this whole deal out in the first place by Dr. Strange, who bluffs that he (after Ben refuses) would go check out the disturbance in Egypt that sets this whole story off. Of course, we don't realize that it was a bluff until we get to the end of the issue and find out that Strange never brought his astral ass over there. I'm sure Ben really could have used his help in the fight with the Sphinx.....dick. Anyways, Ben ends up actually knocking the super powerful wannabe God on his ass a few times (and ends up breaking the Ka Stone), and sending the Sphinx packing, although vowing eventual vengeance on both Ben and his fellow FF'ers. He would try to take that revenge in the Thing's solo book, which would pick up as soon as MTIO ended, so, we won't go too much more into that. I will say that the next issue will be a two parter that involves one of the Avenger's deadliest foes, as well as someone who had kindasortanotreally been a member of that team in recent (well, early 80's) times. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 5, 2018 1:53:00 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 92"This Evil Returning...!"Cover Date: October, 1982 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & Jocasta Villain(s): Ultron Guest Star/s: The Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic & The Human Torch), The Avengers (Captain America & Jarvis), The Delmar Insurance Company (Eddie Harris & Pamela Quinn), Alicia Masters, & Machine Man Official Plot: With the Pogo Plane getting wrecked while battling the Sphinx in Egypt, the Thing is forced to take a commercial flight back home to the United States. After dealing with the aggravation of checking in and passing airport security, the Thing is about to board his flight home when suddenly a group of terrorists charge the plane with machine guns blasting, but the Thing quickly stops them by slamming his fist into the ground causing the jeep to upturn and then boards his flight as though this sort of display was a regular occurrence. While in New York City, a woman garbed in a trench coat and hat has sought refuge in an ally as she is wracked with pain. Her cries for help and being needed attract the attention of three street hoods who are seeking to take advantage of a vulnerable woman such as this. However, when they try to rape her there is a powerful blast of energy which sends them all flying out of the alley. This outburst gives the woman a temporary reprieve until the pain starts to build up again. While at the Baxter Building, Mister Fantastic informs Alicia that Ben just called from London and that he should be home soon. Alicia then asks Reed about why he hasn't been trying to cure Ben after his last attempt was a failure. Reed is caught because he is not sure if he wants to tell Alicia that Ben's inability to return to human form is due to a psychological belief that Alicia only loves him as the Thing. Before Reed can be pressed for an answer the guest scanner goes off and Reed is shocked when he sees who has paid a visit to the home of the Fantastic Four. Meanwhile, Ben's plane touches down at JFK International Airport and he is soon picked up by Johnny who arrives in the Fantasti-Car to give him a lift home. When they return to the Baxter Building, Ben is happily reunited with Alicia. Soon Ben and Johnny are introduced to Reed's guest, the robot woman known as Jocasta. When Reed mentions her affiliation with the Avengers, she tells them that they merely used her and discarded her. She explains how she was created by the evil robot known as Ultron to be his bride but she was rescued by the Avengers. She tried to find a new life with the Avengers until they were forced to reduce their numbers. When her hopes of remaining on the team were quashed she ran away from Avengers Mansion. However, she found that the people outside were not as accepting of her. Soon she was reduced to living in alleys away from the eyes of society. It was then that her cybernetics began to malfunction causing her a great deal of pain. Needing help she decided to seek the aid of Mister Fantastic to repair her damaged components. Agreeing to do what he can to help, Reed has Alicia prepare Jacosta a guest room. As Ben and Alicia are about to leave, Reed reminds Ben that there is the matter of the destroyed Pogo Plane to deal with and tells Ben to report the damage to their insurance company in the morning. Ready to try and solve the problem at hand, Reed retires to his lab where he contacts Captain America at Avengers Mansion and has him relay all the information the Avengers have on Jacosta's designs. While elsewhere in the Baxter Building, Jacosta tries to sleep but her dreams are haunted by the image of Ultron. While miles away on the site of a heavy metal plant in Neville Island, Ultron still remains trapped in a chunk of Adamantium, eager to be free once more. The following morning the Thing drops by the offices of the Delmar Insurance Company in order to file a claim for the damaged Pogo Plane. In the building, Aaron Stack turns down another questionable business deal suggested by his co-worker Eddie Harris. Stack is informed by his secretary Pamela Quinn that his appointment in, and Stack pauses for a moment to lament how a romance between he and Pamela could never be because he is secretly a robot. While Aaron Stack meets with the Thing, Alicia has taken Jacosta to one of her galleries. There Jacosta begins to malfunction again, smashing some of the sculptures and suddenly flees the scene. Alicia quickly calls the Baxter Building for help but there is nobody to answer the phone. Instead, it relays to Ben's belt buckle and abruptly leaves telling Stack that he has a lady robot to deal with. Intrigued by the prospect of a female robot, Aaron decides to follow after the Thing to learn more, changing into his true identity of X-51, the Machine Man. Meanwhile, Jacosta has traveled to the factory where Ultron's body has been trapped and using a molecular rearranger and fresh Adamantium, she manages to free Ultron, creating him a brand new body. Ultron reveals that he had placed a program within Jacosta's mind that forced her to resurrect him. Now free from his influence Jacosta rejects his desire to make her his bride. She is soon defended by Machine Man who comes to the scene first, but he is quickly subdued when Ultron breaks one of his legs. Just then the Thing comes crashing in and begins duking it out with Ultron. Ultimately, the evil robot succeeds by hypnotizing the Thing and putting him in his thrall. Ultron then orders his slave to destroy the Machine Man. Brodie's ViewI, and others, have often complimented MARVEL TWO IN ONE (and TEAM UP as well) as being the book(s) that was (were) perfect for wrapping up loose plot threads from other books that no one else was going to bother to wrap up, and this two parter is a perfect example of that. The loose plot thread/s involves both our Guest Star this issue, Jocasta (who I'll get to more in a second), and the villain for this issue (and her creator), the insane robot, (F'N) ULTRON (!!!). Jocasta was created in the pages of the AVENGERS (#162), as Ultron's attempt at creating a mate. Since the comic book version of Ultron was the dark and evil part of his creator (Henry Pym), it made sense that the dark side of Pym's mate would reflect the qualities that Pym found appealing, hence, Ultron used the personality of Pym's long time wife, Janet Van Dyne (AKA The Wasp), to make Jocasta human-esque (although, I imagine Ultron would be quite pissed to have this explained to him/it) like him/it. Unfortunately, since Janet didn't have the psychotic hang ups her husband had, Jocasta would up being much more like Janet than Ultron intended, and ended up betraying him for the Avengers, leading to his/it's defeat. Since then, he/it has been encased in solid adamantium, and for a time, Jocasta was kind of/sort of ally of the team. However, with a new team of writers came on the AVENGERS book, Jocasta was kind of shown the door, which leads into this issue, as she (and I feel better calling Jocasta a "she," as she's far more human than her creator) ends up at the door of another super team, The Fantastic Four, which is, of course, how the star of our book becomes involved. Backtracking a bit, we see Ben making his return from Egypt after last issue's throw down with the Sphinx in pretty humorous fashion (the best part being his destroying the metal detector in the Egyptian airport). Once back, he ends up having to go to the FF's insurance company to fill in the details for the Pogo plane he wrecked during that adventure, which ends up being a pretty funny scenario, which also ends up drawing another robotic hero into this whole deal, The Machine Man (who is undercover and disguised as a normal insurance investigator). Meanwhile, Jocasta, who we reveal has been being blasted by painful "mental" blasts from an unknown origin, and after freaking out during one of Alicia Master's art exhibits (as the blind sculptress had taken the female robot under her wing), she ends up being driven by a subliminal order that causes her to free Ultron from his adamantium prison ( ). Needless to say, this brings both Ben (and then MM) into the fray, but Ben arrives first, and underestimating the murderous Ultron, ends up being put under his mental control. The issue ends with Machine Man arriving to have to face both Ultron and a brainwashed Thing (Double ). Of course this continues in the next issue, as the fate of Jocasta will be decided one way or another, and we see a Team Up of a different variety. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 6, 2018 1:59:32 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 93 "And One Shall Die...!"Cover Date: November, 1982 Writer(s): Tom DeFalco Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & Machine Man Villain(s): Ultron Guest Star/s: Jocasta, Gears Garvin, & Peter Spaulding Official Plot: Ultron has enthralled the Thing and ordered him to attack Machine Man. As the Thing obeys these commands, Ultron gloats to Jocasta that soon the world will feel his domination. With one of his leg extenders damaged, Machine Man struggles to get away so he can get on the defensive. Finding an open electrical port in the factory, Machine Man uses his body as a conduit to electrify his enthralled attacker. This incapacitates the Thing, prompting Ultron to try and blast his foe. X-51 responds by unleashing a magnetic blast that sends Ultron backward, allowing Machine Man to recover Jocasta and flee the scene. Getting on the Thing's Sky-Cycle, X-51 manages to use his internal gadgets to hot-wire the machine so they can make their escape. Although Ultron is furious that the pair managed to escape, he still has the Thing under his control and finds that his strength might be useful to him in his quest to enslave humanity. Meanwhile, Machine Man has taken Jocasta to Garvin's Garage where his ally Gears Garvin tries to make repairs to X-51's damaged leg extender. Gears tells him that the repairs will be difficult and possibly unsuccessful. As Garvin goes to work, Machine Man asks Jocasta why they don't just get the Avengers' aid in stopping Ultron. She explains that she has estranged herself from the Avengers after they snubbed her during their recent line-up change. When Ultron's programming began to affect her, she sought out the help of Mister Fantastic which ultimately led to her bolting and reviving Ultron and his subsequent battle with Machine Man and the Thing. Jocasta suddenly realizes that she has been played for a fool by Ultron this whole time and is about to give up hope, but X-51 takes her in his arms assures her that if they have the will there will be a way to defeat the evil robot she inadvertently unleashed. While back in Pennsylvania, Ultron has the Thing load up two massive drums of Adamantium onto a flying platform and they take off. Ultron is certain that with this most recent plan he will be able to first crush his hated foes the Avengers and then take over the world. Ultron then has the Thing break into a Stark Industries facility in Westchester to steal a space survival casket. The pair then escapes to Liberty Island where Ultron has already secreted away a hidden lab where he begins mass producing an army of Ultrons he hopes to use to take over the world. While back at Garvin's Garage, X-51's friend Peter Spaulding has arrived and calls Machine Man's plans to go after Ultron while still damaged insane. To punctuate this point, Gears finishes his work on Machine Man's leg hydraulics, only for it to break down again. Still, X-51 insists on going on this mission, even missing a leg. Soon Gears and Peter are arguing with each other. While X-51 tries to break them up, Jocasta once more believes that things are hopeless and rushes out of the garage. Machine Man follows after her and gets her to confide in him. She explains that as a machine she feels that nobody cares for her, especially not someone human. X-51 then explains to her that he has been playing at the same game by posing as insurance adjuster Aaron Stack, reminding her that he too is also a robot. He suggests to her that if they rely on each other they don't have to be alone anymore. Touched by this moment, Jocasta takes Machine Man's hand and they get to work. Back in the garage, Gears manages to jury rig a device between X-51 and Jocasta that will allow them to track down Ultron and they take off on the Sky-Cycle despite the protests of Peter Spaulding. They soon arrive on Liberty Island just as Ultron is putting the finishing touches on his army. They come blasting through, but while Machine Man and Gears are kept at bay by Ultron's defenses, Ultron tries to convince Jocasta to join him as his bride. While not far away, the two men deactivate the defenses and then begin fighting off the enthralled Thing. Jocasta finally turns down Ultron and the two begin to struggle over his power cannon, setting it off and basting both of them at the same time. The resulting blast also snaps the Thing out of Ultron's control. With Jocasta blasted in half by the resulting blast, Machine Man orders Ultron away from him. The Thing attacks the insane robot, but it is X-51 who succeeds at stopping Ultron by literally reaching into his foe's mouth and pulling out his power supply. With his power rapidly draining, Ultron begs to be saved, offering to repair Jocasta, but Machine Man refuses and Ultron's power eventually drains. With Jocasta seemingly damaged beyond repair, Machine Man mourns the loss of such a tortured soul and tells her remains that her friends will miss her. Brodie's ViewThe (somewhat) final fate of Jocasta is decided in the issue, as we get the (not near final) big showdown with Ultron takes place. Poor Jocasta. You can kind of tell that the only reason she stuck around so long in THE AVENGERS book was to get a couple of Ultron stories out of the deal, and that the writers of the book had no real plans for her past that. At least DeFalco and Wilson give her the nice ending (although, I guess she eventually gets brought back by the followers of the High Evolutionary) that the AVENGERS writers clearly didn't give a shit enough to give her. And despite the usual rule of this book being people teaming up with The Thing, the real Team Up this issue occurs between Jocasta and our Guest Star this issue, the robotic (yet very human acting, even to the point of banter) Machine Man, as Ben spends most of the issue under the control of Ultron, and only snaps out of it for the final confrontation. Heck, we even get a hint of romance between the two machines that could have made for an interesting ongoing story, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Basically, MM takes Jocasta and flees Ultron (and his attack dog, who is, of course, the brainwashed star of this book), and regroups with a couple cast members of Machine Man's old book. The four of them then go back to try to stop Ultron before he can complete his plan to create an army of Ultrons strong enough to take over the world. The battle ends up kind of a stalemate until Jocasta ends up sacrificing herself to temporarily distract Ultron enough to release his mental hold on Ben. Once this happens, it's a short battle that ends when MM ends up thrusting his robotic limbs down Ultron's throat, busting up the non adamantium insides of the murderous robot until he shuts down. Of course, DeFalco makes this even more painful, as it's revealed that Ultron could rebuild Jocasta, and he uses that as a bargaining chip to try to "save his life," but MM refuses, letting Ultron "die." A very tragic, yet heroic end for a character that was merely meant as a plot device. BTW, of course Ultron would eventually return from this "death," and he would eventually try to make another "mate (Alkhema)," but this one would be more mentally unstable than Jocasta, and would end up betraying him as well (you'd think Ultron would learn). Anyways, that ends this pretty kick ass story on a high note. DeFalco will have a couple more good/great stories to deliver before this book is done (including one Annual that is an absolute gem), but this next issue will bring David Kraft ( ) back to the writer's chair. Hopefully this issue will be better than his last two, which were meh and crap. GRADE: A-
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Post by Joe Neglia on Jan 6, 2018 3:26:27 GMT -5
Y'know, that's one of my favorite issues. It's nice to have a good redemption arc. From goon to Wild Pack member to actual Avenger is hell of an rise for ol' Marko. Shame they turned him back to Villian. I've never understood Byrne doing that. Everything about it came off lazy and cheap. Wasn't even worth it, as Sandman's only been in one decent story arc in the almost-two decades since, and it dealt with, surprise, his good nature trying to come back out.
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 6, 2018 3:52:50 GMT -5
Y'know, that's one of my favorite issues. It's nice to have a good redemption arc. From goon to Wild Pack member to actual Avenger is hell of an rise for ol' Marko. Shame they turned him back to Villian. I've never understood Byrne doing that. Everything about it came off lazy and cheap. Wasn't even worth it, as Sandman's only been in one decent story arc in the almost-two decades since, and it dealt with, surprise, his good nature trying to come back out. That whole Spider-Man reboot, despite having good art, was pretty unnecessary and underwhelming. Byrne also tried to mess with the Hulk's origin story by involving Skrulls, which made just about everyone go "Why?!?" I remember Peter David taking a swipe at Byrne for doing that in the pages of CAPTAIN MARVEL.
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Post by Joe Neglia on Jan 6, 2018 5:19:08 GMT -5
I've never understood Byrne doing that. Everything about it came off lazy and cheap. Wasn't even worth it, as Sandman's only been in one decent story arc in the almost-two decades since, and it dealt with, surprise, his good nature trying to come back out. That whole Spider-Man reboot, despite having good art, was pretty unnecessary and underwhelming. Byrne also tried to mess with the Hulk's origin story by involving Skrulls, which made just about everyone go "Why?!?" I remember Peter David taking a swipe at Byrne for doing that in the pages of CAPTAIN MARVEL. It wasn't part of the reboot, though - that whole series was tossed aside and isn't considered continuity - it was part of Byrne and Mackie's Amazing Spider-Man run, which unfortunately was in-continuity. It was such a badly-done story, Tom Brevoort had to come in almost a year later and do a back-up story explaining why Sandman went bad again.
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 7, 2018 0:19:21 GMT -5
That whole Spider-Man reboot, despite having good art, was pretty unnecessary and underwhelming. Byrne also tried to mess with the Hulk's origin story by involving Skrulls, which made just about everyone go "Why?!?" I remember Peter David taking a swipe at Byrne for doing that in the pages of CAPTAIN MARVEL. It wasn't part of the reboot, though - that whole series was tossed aside and isn't considered continuity - it was part of Byrne and Mackie's Amazing Spider-Man run, which unfortunately was in-continuity. It was such a badly-done story, Tom Brevoort had to come in almost a year later and do a back-up story explaining why Sandman went bad again. You are correct, sir. I guess that crap just kind of blended together in my mind, as I remember buying those when they came out, loving the art (as I've always been a fan of John Byrne's art), but strongly disliking the writing/story). Poor Spidey. The 90's were NOT a good time for him, story-wise, even though he was at one of the heights of his popularity due to the McFarland stuff.
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 7, 2018 2:41:37 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 94"The Power Trap!"Cover Date: December, 1982 Writer(s): David Kraft Artist: Ron Wilson Feature Character(s): The Thing & Power Man/Iron Fist Villain(s): J. Mann Incorporated Guest Star/s: Alicia Masters & Jeff Mann Official Plot: Alicia Masters is walking through Greenwich Village after deciding to head home alone while Ben prepared to carry home a block of granite for her latest carving. Under the belief that she would be safe walking by herself, Alicia soon realizes that Ben's concerns for her safety were warranted when she is accosted by a local street gang calling themselves the War Gods. They begin going through her things and are about to drag her into an alleyway when suddenly someone begins pelting the youths with rocks sending them fleeing. Her rescuer is a lone man, but when she asks who he is he tells her that he is nobody. After helping Alicia gather up her things he offers to walk her home. However, along the way, her attempts to learn her savior's identity are deflected as the man is afraid that if she knows his identity those who are after him might imprison him again. Taken up into her studio the mystery man is very impressed by her work, prompting more questions from Alicia, but all the strange man will tell her is that he was betrayed by those he trusted. She offers to help, even to get Ben involved, but the man is fearful of getting anyone else involved, explaining that his company has been taken over by those with evil goals. Suggesting that perhaps she can help him in other ways, Alicia begins to feel his face in order to start making a sculpture of it. However, the man is soon frightened off when he hears the Thing coming up the stairs, finally returning with the granite Alicia had ordered. Seeing the man making a run out the window, Ben believes that Alicia has been seeing someone else behind his back, but Alicia assures him that isn't the case and tell him about how the stranger was afraid of someone coming after him. Looking at the sculpture that Alicia was making of the man's face Ben recognizes him as Jeff Mann, a billionaire who went missing recently. He explains that those who run his company have been searching for him ever since, but now that he has fled Ben believes it will be difficult to find him in the maze that is New York City. The Thing isn't the only one talking about Jeff Mann in the city this day. At a local arcade, Power Man and Iron Fist's Heroes for Hire have been hired to find Mann. They are currently waiting in a video arcade for an informant who might have a lead on where Mann might be. In order to pass the time, Power Man is playing an arcade game called X-Factor which was created by Mann's company. Luke Cage finds the game's puzzle difficult to solve and is almost ready to smash the arcade machine when Iron Fist calms him and tries to give it a try. Even with his martial arts training, his strategy skills are still not enough to break the game's puzzle. Finally, they are met by Benny, their informant, who has a list of people that Mann might have come into contact with. It's a varied list which includes both high ranking business officials and low-end bookies, making the Heroes for Hire realize that they have a long day ahead of them. While at the same time, the Thing has returned to the Baxter Building where he consults the Fantastic Four's computer files on Jeff Mann. Ben is surprised when the computer informs him his old Yancy Street friend Jerry Dean has done business with Mann in the past and decides to follow through on this lead. While at a local country club, Iron Fist uses his position as business owner Daniel Rand to play squash against Kurt Samel, an associate of Jeff Mann. While Danny questions Kurt about Mann, he can't help be think that Samel is hiding something that he knows. Although he does find a lead: Samel once sold Mann a piece of real estate on Yancy Street. Power Man also follows a lead of his own, paying a visit to a bookie named Louie who operates his betting ring out of a newspaper stand. After leaning on Louie for a bit, Cage is told that Jeff Mann has been hiding out in an old building on Yancy Street. When Power Man finally arrives at the location Louie tells him about, he is able to find Jeff Mann hiding out in one of the rooms of the derelict building. When Luke nabs Mann he doesn't resist and so Cage decides to hear the man's story. Jeff explains that his company was taken over by the very consultants he hired to run his operation and his life. Having grown fed up with the lack of control, Mann ran off so that he could live his life by his own terms. Feeling sorry for Mann, Power Man has no choice but to follow through on his job to find him. On their way out of the building, they are stopped by the Thing who demands answers for what is going on. But while the two are arguing Jeff tries to make a break for it, only to get snagged by Iron Fist. Power Man tells the Thing to butt out and let them handle the job, leading to the pair coming to blows while Iron Fist takes Jeff away. While the two powerhouses duke it out, Iron Fist takes Mann back to the board of directors at J. Mann Incorporated. There Iron Fist becomes confused when they insist that both he and Power Man must be present to get paid for their job. Nonetheless, Iron Fist agrees to go back and get Power Man, leaving the board to wonder if he suspects that they intend to kill Iron Fist and his partner. Iron Fist recovers Power Man who has lost his fight with the Thing, but when Ben tries to get in his way, Iron Fist uses his trademark move to knock him aside. When the Heroes for Hire return to J. Mann Incorporated the board of directors spring their trap. A trap floor opens beneath the two heroes and they fall into a massive maze full of death traps. While the Heroes for Hire are fighting for their lives, the Thing catches up with them and forces his way into J. Mann Incorporated. When he demands answers from the board of directors, Jeff Mann manages to break free and warns the Thing to get away while he still can, only for Ben to get dropped into the death trap as well. The three heroes are able to pool their resources together and break themselves out of the trap. When the board of directors tries to flee in a car, Iron Fist uses his powers to smash the engine. In the aftermath of the battle, Jeff thanks the heroes for helping him and excuses himself so he can pay Power Man and Iron Fist for their services. When they come back they find the Thing has become engrossed with the X-Factor arcade game in order to pass the time. Brodie's ViewAnnnnd in the space of one issue, we go from greatness to crap, as David Kraft returns with a story that makes his last two look great in comparison. The cover is about the greatest thing about it. I've not read much of Kraft's writing (I know he followed up Steve Gerber's celebrated run on THE DEFENDERS), but if the three issues I've read from him are any indication of his talents, I think I'm pretty good on trying to read any more from him (although, I'll have to for the next issue as well ). It's funny that I mentioned Steve Gerber, as David Kraft kind of reminds me of someone trying to imitate Gerber's writing style....badly. Take this story for instance; it's such a mess of a story that doesn't really come together until the last few pages, and by that point, who the hell cares? Alicia Masters is picked on (as a setup for a mugging/rape) by a stereotypical street gang, until she is "rescued" by a scuzzy, kind of crazy guy that ends up being a billionaire designer type, who is on the run from the sinister company he was the designer for. This has Ben looking to protect the guy, while on the other end, our Guest Stars for this issue, the duo of Power Man and Iron Fist, are hired by the company to find the guy. After a whole lot of unnecessary build up, the three heroes descend on the designer, both with different intentions, only to engage in the classic (but once again, badly used) misunderstood hero fight. Finally, Cage and Fist end up escaping with the designer, taking him back to the evil organization. Now, the evil organization could have simply paid PM and IF, waited until they left, and then did whatever they were going to do with their returned billionaire, but, no, they betray the heroes, sending them into a deadly pinball game (which could have been cool, but it happens like 4 pages before the end of the issue, so, little drama there), and then after Ben shows up, sends him there as well. The heroes quickly bust out of the secret death chamber, and captures our baddies, mercifully ending this crap. Even Ron Wilson, who has been doing great work, does a lazy job here, as if he saw the script and just said "f*** it, doing minimally passable work to match a minimally passable story. I'm hoping better for the next issue, which, thank goodness will be the end of the David Kraft scripted issues, and which will involve Ben teaming with a supernatural creature. Then, we get one of the best stories in this entire run, so, at least we get a nice juicy steak after eating SPAM. GRADE: C- (slightly better than this deserves for the cover)
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 8, 2018 2:25:35 GMT -5
Marvel Two In One # 95"The Power To Live...!"Cover Date: January, 1983 Writer(s): David Kraft Artist: Alan Kupperberg Feature Character(s): The Thing & The Living Mummy Villain(s): Nephrus/Gemal Hassan Guest Star/s: Alicia Masters & Willie Lumpkin Official Plot: Alicia Masters has just received an unexpected package in the mail, while she opens the box Ben reads the letter attached. When the sender states that the contents of the package will make her the first in a "new race" of Egyptian gods, Ben tells her to stop opening it but it is too late. Suddenly the room is filled with an energy that pushes him back and calls to Alicia. Enthralled by what is inside the box, Alicia puts on a strange helmet and tells Ben her intention to join this new pantheon of gods as a bride of Nephrus. When Ben tries to stop her, Alicia fires a powerful beam of energy from the strange helmet that sends him crashing into the wall. He warns him not to interfere with her again or it will cost him his life and departs. When Ben recovers he tries to examine the package and the letter for clues but finds that all evidence of the delivery has been incinerated. With no other clues to follow, Ben decides to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit on ancient Egypt to see what he can learn there. There the thing meets with Egyptologist Lillian Templeworth, who is uneasy with the Thing being in her museum. But when he mentions the "Bride of Nephrus" she shows him a picture of the Crown of Hathor, Ben recognizes it as the one Alicia put on earlier. Templeworth explains that the helmet was recently stolen by Gemal Hassan, the museums chief curator until recently. When they begin comparing notes, Lillian suddenly realizes that Alicia being both blind and an artist made her the ideal candidate as the Bride of Nephrus and that Gemal is seeking to locate the long-lost Spirit Gem of Nephrus, which can only be wielded by an ancestor of Nephrus. At that same moment, Alicia has arrived in New York Harbor, where she summons Gemal in a massive Egyptian ship. Much to the surprise of a dock security guard, the ship takes off into the sky when Alicia climbs aboard. Back at the museum, the Thing and Lillian go over her information on the Spirit Gem and pinpoint where in Egypt it may be hidden. While at that moment in Egypt, the Living Mummy sits upon a sand dune and reflects upon his life. He recalls how he used to be the brave African chieftain named N'Kantu until he was captured and made a slave by Nephrus. He recalls how Nephrus had N'Kantu embalmed and transformed into the Living Mummy. He recalls how after thousands of years beneath the sand he had escaped his entombment only to be hounded and feared by those in this modern age. Suddenly the Mummy's thoughts are broken when he spots a procession crossing the desert. Within it, he sees both Alicia Masters and Gemal Hassan. Due to Hassan's resemblance to the ancient Nephrus, the Living Mummy decides to follow after it to get his revenge against the man who cursed him to live for centuries. While aboard the procession, Hassan gloats that about gaining immortality once he locates the Spirit Gem. When they arrive at the site where the gem may be hidden, Hassan boasts that soon he will become a god. Not far away, the Thing and Lillian Templeworth have arrived in Egypt and are trying to obtain some camels to travel into the desert. Suddenly they are attacked by a band of locals, but the Thing easily fights them off and the two flee into the desert. Back at the dig site, Gemal is alerted to the approach of the Thing and Templeworth and uses the camp's defenses to try and keep them at bay while they continue their search for the gem. While Ben defends Templeworth from the cannons, the Living Mummy confronts Gemal who flees. In the middle of this Conflict, Alicia is able to locate the Gem and gives it to Gemal. Placing the gem upon his chest, Gemal is then ascended to godhood as his body is possessed by the spirit of his ancestor, Nephrus. When Ben and Lillian arrive at the site they run into the Living Mummy. Before they can decide how to deal with this new potential threat, both Nephrus and his "bride" burst out of the ground. While Ben and the Mummy battle Nehprus, Lillian tries to break Alicia's connection with him. With energies from the Crown of Hathor surrounding Alicia, Lillian tries to break the connection between her and Nephrus by throwing a live electrical wire at her. As the battle rages on, Alicia wakes up finally free from the influence of the crown. Lilian informs her that she still has the power to control the crown, and so she uses it to blast the Spirit Gem off Nephrus' chest. The gem falls into the Thing's hand who witnesses as their foe begins to rapidly age. Ben then crushes the gem, preventing Nephrus from regaining his power and causing him to crumble to dust. With his ancient enemy finally dead, the Living Mummy then shambles back out into the desert, leaving Ben to be reunited with his love. Brodie's ViewMore Kraft cheese here, but at least this issue is an improvement over the last one (which isn't saying very much, but...). To make things better, I can guarantee to you that this will be one of the last times you hear the name David Kraft mentioned in these reviews, unless I'm goofing on him in retrospect. Basically, this issue starts with Alicia Masters getting a mysterious package, one with a note that actually announces before hand that whoever opens the box will be possessed by some Ancient Egyptian God....or whatever (I love the fact that the person that our main villain actually writes a note stating that whoever opens the box will be possessed. I kind of wonder what would have happened had some curious mail carrier opened it before Alicia. Somehow, I can't imagine that a possessed Willie Lumpkin would have the same effect). Of course, Ben reads this a bit too late, and Alicia gets possessed by said Egyptian God, and meets up with our main villain, Gemel Hassan, who wishes to also be possessed by an ancient Egyptian god. Anyways, Ben, in somewhat hot pursuit (he wastes a hell of a lot of time bickering with an older museum worker who eventually offers to help him), eventually ends up in Egypt, where he arrives just in time to see the now possessed Hassan (possessed by the spirit of Nephrus) exploding out of a pyramid with Alicia. Meanwhile, our Guest Star at the time, The Living Mummy, who was mummified by Nephrus, converge and fight the baddie. Of course, our heroes are able to defeat this goof, with Alicia, who has come back to her senses, knocking Hassan/Nephrus' magical stone off of him, which causes Hassan's body to quickly rot into dust, and, yeah, all's well that ends well. Once again, not as terrible as the last issue (or the She Hulk one, for that matter), but not particularly great either. One can tell that Kraft really tries to be a good writer, but it just never happens. He's not early IMAGE/mid 90's Marvel bad, but he's standing in some tall cotton among some of the actually Good writers we've seen on various runs throughout this book. Speaking of which, we get the return of the DeFalco/Wilson team for the next couple reviews, the first of which being an Annual that ranks among some of the great Annuals/stories we've had throughout the MTIO run. Really. It's that good. There will be a ton of Guest Stars (and this time I mean it) throughout it, and a story that ranks among the Top Ten of the greatest Thing solo stories, at least in the respect of demonstrating what makes our rocky hero so great. GRADE: B-
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