Marvel Two-In-One launched in 1974, teaming the Thing with a different hero each month. This guide will tell you everything you wanted to know about the series – and more!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 1975
Cover Price: 25¢
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Bob Brown

WHO stars in this issue?

the Thing – Benjamin J. Grimm was bombarded by cosmic rays in a space exploration flight, alongside three friends. The cosmic rays gave each of them different powers, and they formed the Fantastic Four. Ben underwent the most physical change of the foursome: his skin mutated into orange rock and, as a result, he gained super-strength.

Black Widow – Natasha Romanoff is a Russian spy that defected to the United States. She has no super-powers, but is well-trained and often armed with high-tech weaponry, including her “Widow’s Bite” wristlets.

WHAT happens?

On a high-speed car chase through a New York City park, the Black Widow crashes into the Thing. When she gets out to check on him, she’s subdued by her pursuers, the Sword of Judgement – revolutionaries intent on avenging the exploited peoples of the world. The two heroes are captured by the terrorist group and brought to their base of operations in the Atlantic Ocean. They meet with the terrorist leader, Agamemnon, who reveals their plan (dubbed Operation: Poseidon) to drop the world’s most powerful thermo-nuclear device into the depths of the ocean. When it is triggered, it will unleash a radioactive 1000′ tsunami upon the United States of America.

After he leaves the prisoners alone, the Black Widow reveals that Agamemnon was a past lover of hers named Andrei Rostov. She unzips her costume to reveal organic weaponry that was hidden beneath her back body mold and the gadgets assist them in breaking free! In their battle against the Sword of Judgement, the cable securing the bomb snaps, dropping it into the ocean. But, the Thing manages to grab hold of it before it plunges too far. He is now tasked with bringing the bomb back to the surface while the Widow has to buy him time to do so, by taking on the Sword. As the hours pass, the Black Widow manages to defeat their army of one hundred members – leaving only Agamemnon. Their battle is quite evenly matched – until the Thing (who has, by now, secured the bomb) intervenes and defeats the terrorist.

WHERE does the story take place?

The bulk of the action takes place in the base of operations for the Sword of Judgement. It’s located over 2,000 kilometers off the coast of New York – in the Northern part of the Atlantic Ocean.

WHEN do the villains next appear?

The Sword of Judgement doesn’t make an appearance for another 35 years! The next time they’re seen is in Darkstar and the Winter Guard #2, where they attack St. Petersburg.

WHY is Black Widow the guest-lead?

A few months earlier, Chris Claremont (the writer of this issue) had scripted a Gerber-plotted issue of Daredevil (#117 – January 1975). At that time, the Black Widow was a prominent guest-star in the series so, it’s possible that Claremont’s brief encounter with the character gave him a taste that left him wanting more.

HOW was it?

It was a fun team-up with incredibly high stakes – but the coincidental way the Thing is brought into the story irks me a bit. This is much more of a Black Widow story, so fans of her hers should really enjoy it. Not only does it reveal one of her past lovers but it also shows off her weaponry and incredible fighting abilities (she takes down 100 men by herself!). Lest you think she gets all the spotlight, we are treated to some heart-warming introspection by the Thing, a Mazel Tov cheer (he is Jewish, after all) and an appearance by his girlfriend, Alicia Masters. Which is nice, because she wasn’t in many of the earlier issues – strange, considering she’s so closely linked to the title’s main character.

Note: This issue’s letters column features commentary on Marvel Two-In-One #8 (one of the letters is from writer, Robert Rodi).

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Marvel Two-In-One launched in 1974, teaming the Thing with a different hero each month. This guide will tell you everything you wanted to know about the series – and more!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: May 1975
Cover Price: 25¢
Writer: Steve Gerber with Chris Claremont (script)
Artist: Herb Trimpe

WHO stars in this issue?

the Thing – Benjamin J. Grimm was bombarded by cosmic rays in a space exploration flight, alongside three friends. The cosmic rays gave each of them different powers, and they formed the Fantastic Four. Ben underwent the most physical change of the foursome: his skin mutated into orange rock and, as a result, he gained super-strength.

Thor– When Doctor Donald Blake slams his cane on the ground, he becomes Thor – the Asgardian that the was worshipped as the Norse god of thunder. Wielding Mjolnir, the mighty hammer that can only be lifted by those who are worthy, Thor can harness the power of lightning. He’s also super strong and can fly through the air by throwing his hammer and holding on to its thong.

WHAT happens?

The Thing joins Namorita, her friend Ann, and Wundarr for a Saturday children’s matinee at the Inner City Marionette Theatre. While they’re out in the city, the Puppet Master enlists the aid of a mystery man. With his help, the Puppet Master’s radioactive clay is now supercharged and able to possess an immortal. His immortal puppet? Thor! A powerful choice to send against his most hated enemies: the Fantastic Four.

Under the Puppet Master’s command, the glassy-eyed Thor launches into attack against the three members of the F.F. who are home: Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch, and Invisible Woman. They’re quickly defeated by the Asgardian but before he can deliver the killing blow, he manages to snap out of his trance and transforms back to Doctor Blake to attend to the wounded heroes. That’s when the Thing and friends return to the Baxter Building.

After making sure the Fantastic Four will be fine, Blake leaves and transforms back into Thor. At this point, the Puppet Master’s mystery companion is revealed as … Radion, the Atomic Man! (Who?) Radion recharges the clay Thor puppet and the Puppet Master regains control of Thor. The god of thunder is sent back to fight the Thing and the battle flows into the street where the Puppet Master and Radion are standing by. And, just as the Puppet Master is reaching for a puppet that will control the Thing, he notices that both puppets have lost their controlling radioactivity! It seems that Wundarr‘s presence has eliminated the threat of their power – after all, he innately absorbs energy. Radion, a being composed entirely of radioactive matter, runs off – for fear of Wundarr absorbing him entirely. The Puppet Master is then easily defeated by a powerful slap from Wundarr.

WHERE does the story take place?

The Baxter Building – the Manhattan-based headquarters of the Fantastic Four.

WHEN do the villains next appear?

The Puppet Master returns in Fantastic Four #168-170 (cover date: March-May 1976) where he takes control of Luke Cage, Power Man.

Radion returns as the Ravager in Iron Fist #3 (cover date: March 1976), where he is encased in a suit of armor.

WHY is Thor the guest-lead?

This story was originally supposed to take place earlier in the MTIO schedule but, since Thor had recently appeared in Marvel Team-Up, it was decided that this tale would be pushed back a few months. With that in mind, it seems that the presence of Thor (a Marvel mainstay) in the early issues of this then-young title would have served to include some legitimacy and early hype. After all, a Thing vs Thor battle is sure to increase sales!

HOW was it?

A “Thor vs” story is almost as good as a “Hulk vs” one but, I could have used a lot more battle in this issue. The Thing vs Thor fight only lasts two issues! Even the initial Thor vs F.F. fight lasts only two pages.

The other let-down was the “mystery” villain. Why create a shrouded villain only to have it be revealed as someone who has never been featured before?! For me, that kind of defeats the purpose of building up the hype of the “mystery” – when it’s a mystery you can never solve. Now, I can understand the purpose of doing it if you’re trying to build hype between issues (like early appearances of Archangel before his big debut) but it just doesn’t make sense to me to do it all in the very same issue. Anyway, enough ranting about the “shrouded mystery” of a villain’s debut. It seems Radion was a Claremont creation, since his next appearance was in an issue of Iron Fist (which Claremont wrote). So, readers who are curious about this character (anyone? anyone at all?) can find more about him there.

The cover promises a “battle royal” – but, don’t believe the hype. On the plus side? We get some more character action/development from Wundarr (he even puts a whole sentence together, this time).

Note: This issue’s letters column features commentary on Marvel Two-In-One #7.

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