Man-Child and Mortoid: Marvel Two-In-One 2

Marvel Two-In-One #2 (March 1974)
"Manhunters From the Stars!"
Steve Gerber-Gil Kane/Joe Sinnott

Doug:  We could have called this "random-reads Friday", but we'll just go with it.  From time to time Karen and I see books in our collections and just toss out to the other "got this one?"  Today's one of those days when we could each say "Yes!"  So, here are our thoughts on a very early issue of one of our favorite Bronze Age titles, Marvel Two-In-One.  And it's a great start with that nifty Johnny Romita cover; but how shall the lanky-looking Gil Kane fare under the pen of Joltin' Joe Sinnott?  No time like the present...

Karen: I don't think we've reviewed many books written by Steve Gerber -Defenders I guess, but other than that, it's got to be very few. But he was a prolific writer for Marvel in the 70s, and he certainly had his own style.

Doug:  Nothing like a body plummeting from the sky to let a reader know that this one's going to be action-packed!  And when the body belongs to none other than future MTIO regular Wundarr, we're definitely in for some entertainment.  Oh, and did we mention Namorita on the splash page?  Nita's just sunning herself on the craggy shores of Hydrobase, where Namor and a group of amphibians have taken up residence (as per Subby's own title, in the late # 60's).  Nita soon realizes that Wundarr can't swim, so enters the drink and tows him to shore.  He's taken in some water, so our young heroine must give him CPR -- and she's not complaining.  Wundarr comes round, but then we go into an awkward "Me Tarzan, you Jane" sort of dialogue.  Nita quickly figures out that this dude's a couple fries short of a Happy Meal.  When the Avenging Son then bursts onto the scene, Wundarr take a Hulk-like powder, leaping away.

Karen: I was amazed by Wundarr's leaping ability. As Subby says, only the Hulk has exhibited that talent. Yet I recall Wundarr falling into the 15 ton weight category some years later.

Doug:  Nita chastises Namor for his brusqueness, and then tearfully says they have to pursue -- Wundarr is not as big of brain as he is of brawn.  We then cut to a starship in orbit above Earth.  Inside our some humanoids from the planet Dakkam.  In a very Krypton-like story, these guys relate how one of Dakkam's greatest scientists was convinced that the planet would be destroyed.  He crafted a rocket capable of delivering himself and his wife and their infant son to safety.  But his detractors didn't want him to cause a worldwide panic, and in their efforts to stop him the rocket was launched with only the baby.  And, much like the version we more commonly know, that rocket made it to Earth where the child grew to maturity and became super-strong.  However, unlike the legend of Superman, Dakkam never did die out -- the scientist had been completely wrong.  These emissaries of Dakkam had been sent with a killer robot (I love the name!  A "mortoid") to slay Wundarr, lest he ever come back to Dakkam to avenge his father.

Karen: Dakkam = Daxam?? Obviously Wundarr's dad was no Jor-El, but he has a lot in common with a certain man of steel.

Doug:  We then get a one-page recap of the events of Fear #17, Wundarr's 1st appearance where he met, of all people, the Man-Thing.  That didn't go so well.  Our next scene-shift takes us to a movie house just off Times Square, where the Thing and the Human Torch have just taken in "The Five Fingers of Doom" (because everybody was, after all, kung fu fighting in 1974) and are arguing the artistic value of such flicks.  Ben grabs a lamp post and mangles it, just to show the doom in his own fingers.  Johnny decides to take off, but Ben says he'll just mope around the Square.  He's feeling blue, having just battled the previously-mentioned Man-Thing in the inaugural issue of MTIO.  That big ugly has him feeling self-conscious.  Just then, who should come plummeting earthside, but Wundarr!  He lands right in front of a cabbie who can't avoid hitting him.  Angered and confused, Wundarr picks up the cab and throws it wildly.  But the Bashful One quickly gets out of his trenchcoat, catches the cab, and then it's of course Clobberin' Time!

Karen: I gotta say, I'm enjoying this Kane/Sinnott combo! You can practically feel the impact as WUndarr falls and is then struck by the cab. Great stuff!

Doug:  Yeah, this definitely predates the ol' "Unca Benjy!" Wundarr that we reviewed in our "Project Pegasus" reviews.  Ben takes it to Wundarr hard, and their battle is monitored by the Dakkamites up in space.  Ben begins to question what Wundarr's deal is, why he doesn't talk, etc.  He even muses if Wundarr might be related to Black Bolt!  Just then, Namor and Namorita arrive on Manhattan's seafront.  Questioning a moored sea captain as to Wundarr's whereabouts, the old mariner tells of the big battle going down in Times Square.  As the two Atlanteans take wing, Ben delivers the ending blow, nearly knocking Wundarr unconscious.  Feeling just a bit guilty and wondering if maybe Wundarr is mentally-impaired, Ben's knocked off balance by Namor's arrival.  Two things are great about that splash page -- first, Namor calls Ben a "craven brute", and second, Gil Kane's use of foreshortening is perfect.

Karen: I really love how the citizens of the Marvel universe are so cavalier about super-beings. The sailor Namor questions is sitting on the deck of his boat, having a beer and a smoke as he watches Ben and Wundarr beat the crap out of each other! I also liked the way Ben begins to suspect that Wundarr "ain't playin' with a full deck!" Despite his appearance and rough demeanor, Ben has always been a sensitive and perceptive guy, just another reason to like him. And I agree, that full-page art is fantastic.

Doug:  Nita tends to Wundarr while Subby squares off against Ben.  Of course Ben is really confused now, but hey -- whenever pointy-ears wants to scrap, Ben's game.  Back in space, the Dakkamites worry that the entrance of the Atlanteans will turn the tide of battle in Wundarr's favor and that the Thing now will not kill him.  So they decide the must get involved.  Steering their ship toward Earth, they descend until they are hovering above Times Square.  At that point our two conversationalists, along with the Mortoid, float down to the ground.  Wundarr is neutralized by a beam of some sort.  Namor and Ben decide to put aside whatever differences they had and fight the giant robot.  It takes all of six panels for them to destroy it.  The Dakkamites decide that they can't tangle with all of the super-types, so they beat it back up into their ship.  On the ground, Ben breaks the grip that Wundarr had on Nita's wrist.  But before he can even ask what the heck has just gone down, Namor tells Ben that Wundarr is a baby trapped in a man's body and needs care; Nita echoes and encourages Ben to be someone Wundarr can love.  Then they take off, and leave the Thing alone holding the super-child.

Karen: The "Mortoid" really doesn't stand a chance, does he? It's fun reading the exchanges between Ben and Namor -old foes who know each other very well. The last panel, with a shocked Ben holding Wundarr, really makes you feel for both of them!

Doug:  I thought this was a pretty good story, but needed to be either a two-parter or at least the lead story in a Giant-Size.  The ending seemed very rushed.  Gil Kane is such a good storyteller with his varying perspectives and the aforementioned foreshortening.  Sinnott helps him out a bit, but I'll be honest -- while I appreciate Kane's style I've never completely warmed to his faces and sometimes-stressed hands and fingers.  There's no doubt he knows how to tell a story -- for my money, though, he's just not as polished as one of the Buscemas.  But it's a pretty good-looking book, and the sacrifice of two pages for Wundarr's backstory was necessary, as I don't know how many folks back in the day would have read Fear #17.

Karen: I enjoyed this, even if it did seem somewhat brief. Gerber shows a real understanding of the characters and I thought they were all pitch-perfect. A nice little one-off story.

Project Pegasus: The Age of Aquarian!

Marvel Two In One #58 (Dec 1979)
"To the Nth Power!"
Writers: Mark Gruenwald/Ralph Macchio
Artists: George Perez/Gene Day

Karen: This is it, the conclusion of the Project: Pegasus saga! We start with an unconscious Ben being threatened by Klaw, who knocked our heroes out at the end of the previous issue. Suddenly Klaw is overcome and his body begins vibrating madly, and is sucked back into the metal blaster of his hand. As Ben regains consciousness, we pull back and see that Klaw's undoing is the work of Wundarr, who is now dressed in a white and sky blue outfit. It kind of reminds me of Dove over at DC.

Doug: Yeah, the new outfit does have that same color scheme. Hey, art question right off the bat -- who do you think did the roll call headshots on the side of the splash page? It sort of looks like Kerry Gammill, or maybe Ron Frenz... no one is credited, and I could not find any more information on the various databases I consult. Readers might notice, too, that this issue has Perez providing breakdowns and Gene Day the finished art. There are times throughout the story when some of the faces seem a bit off. While the art is certainly solid throughout, it's not holding a candle to last issue's Perez-masterpiece.

Karen: For the most part I really liked the art, but I know what you mean when you say a few things were off. As for the headshots -you got me! It certainly doesn't look like the rest of the art.

Karen: Ben is startled and happy to see Wundarr up and around -and quickly realizes that he is changed -not just in appearance, but in intelligence. This is not the man-child he once knew but a far more eloquent man. Wundarr explains that his encounter with the Cosmic Cube has expanded his energy-nullifying powers to a phenomenal degree. The Cube is also responsible for his mental transformation. He declares that he is Wundarr no longer, but shall now be known as the Aquarian. He says he will bring peace to the world.
Doug: You just know you had these lines going through your head while you were writing all of this:

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

Karen: Oh yeah, hence my title to this post! There's definitely some Christ-like symbology here, but it's so wrapped up in this action-packed story, it doesn't come across too heavy-handed.

Doug: You're right. In fact, it's almost like it's 10 years too late to have any real relevance. I wonder what the influence was that spurred Macchio and Gruenwald to this idea?

Karen: After Ben and the Aquarian take Giant-Man and Quasar to the infirmary, they head off to find the "spatial distortion" that Aquarian senses inside the project. We then get a nice full-page display of what has become of Dr. Lightner: he's used the Nth device to turn himself into a living space warp! And he's sucking the entire project into the void of his body. Ben tries to stop him, thinking he can throw enough objects into him that he will "block him up", but the matter only makes Lightner grow larger.

Doug: Loved the scene where Aquarian hoists Giant-Man with one hand. I've always wondered why our giant friends don't automatically revert to their normal heights when passed out? I'm thinking of Hank Pym in Avengers #140 here...

Karen: Maybe it has to be a conscious effort? The Aquarian then tries to use his energy-nullifying abilities to shut Lightner down; he has some mild success, but also turns off the power in the compound, freeing some of the prisoners, including Thundra. Ultimately, Aquarian fails.

Doug: This was an interesting sequence of events, that like most of this story seemed pretty well-thought out. I think with two writers on the book, or in other cases when there is very close collaboration between the writer and the artist, some of the rough edges get smoothed out, and some of what we might normally find to be plot holes are closed before they become a problem/see the light of day.

Karen: Both Quasar and Giant-Man recover and head for the site of the distortion, to be joined by Thundra as well. Quasar attempts to destroy Lightner -or the Nth Man, as he calls himself -but his energy only feeds him. Giant-Man offers himself up -he says he can try to grow from within Lightner's void and fill him. Quasar objects, saying it might kill Giant-Man. And we finally learn why Giant-Man has been so driven: he's dying of radiation poisoning. He had hoped to find a cure at Pegasus, but that never materialized. So he launches himself at the Nth Man -only to disappear. It didn't work.
Doug: I can't decide if the revelation of Foster's illness makes me like him more or not. Pity him, perhaps. But now his motivation is just to make a legacy for himself -- it just doesn't seem like anything he does is out of altruism. I don't know... sort of just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe he isn't noble at all?
Karen: Well, I think he has a big chip on his shoulder, if nothing else. Aquarian tells the others that he might be able to save Giant-Man, and others, by entering the Nth Man. But they will need to form a living chain in order for him to do so. Despite losing their strength so close to Aquarian, the heroes hold on as the young man plunges into the void that was Lightner. Inside, Aquarian encounters a nightmare realm -actually it reminded me of a Ditko landscape from an old Dr. Strange. He recovers Giant-Man, who is losing his mind there. The Aquarian fires up his null field as much as he can, hoping that it will have a greater effect from inside the villain than it did from outside. Eventually he succeeds, and the Nth Man is dispersed, in some more spectacular art by Perez.

Doug: Very nice scene, evoking all of the great let's-band-all-our-energies-together moments. Ben's devotion to Aquarian, and vice versa, was very touching in this scene. The authors did a nice job with that story element throughout. You mentioned Ditko -- certainly. However, I couldn't get past it seeming like the stupid Sentry vs. the Void from some issue of New Avengers. Then I pulled the fork out of my eye.

Karen: As our story wraps up, Ben and Aquarian say their goodbyes. Aquarian plans to spread his message of peace -yeah, good luck with that! Thundra is cleared of all charges for helping to destroy Lightner. And Giant-Man continues to look for a cure, with encouraging words from Ben. The last three panels of the story tell us who was behind the whole Nth projector scheme: that evil oil company, Roxxon. Seems they want an energy monopoly. Now that's a villain that's not so hard to believe in.

Project Pegasus: Klaw + the Cube = Trouble!

Marvel Two-In-One #57 (November 1979)
"When Walks Wundarr!"
Mark Gruenwald/Ralph Macchio-George Perez/Gene Day

Doug: If you thought George Perez was good last issue, just wait. There are panels in this story that are simply breath-taking. And to think that when this mag hit the newsstands, young George had only been getting paid by Marvel Comics for a scant four years. Marvel Two-In-One #57 is the penultimate chapter in the Project Pegasus arc, and mainly serves as a set-up to the grand finale -- which we'll have for you in one short week!

Doug: As we dive in, Quasar has assembled the PP security team to discuss just what the heck has been going on within the Project. The break-ins by Deathlok and Thundra, and the breakout of Nuklo. What's the common thread? Has anyone been seen at or near any of these circumstances? What could be the motive? But more importantly, the security at this energy research center has been compromised, and that is of utmost importance!

Karen: You mentioned the art at the top of this review, and I'll bring it up again. The splash page, showing the meeting room and huge monitors, is pure Perez gold. He would do a similar scene in Avengers vol.3. The man can draw command centers, situation rooms, you name it!

Doug: After a nice recap of the events discussed above, Ben volunteers to attempt to get information from Thundra. However, fish ain't bitin' and Ben leaves no better off. We then cut away to Wundarr's cell, where the alien manchild has awakened and leaves his quarters in a zombie-like state. As he moves down the corridor, his energy-dampening powers dim not only the lights, but the containment apparatuses at the front of the prison cells. The super-villain Solarr takes full advantage, but in attempting to attack Wundarr, finds that his powers fade -- even his physical prowess.

Karen:I liked that all forms of energy, even kinetic energy, were dampened by Wundarr. Of course, he seems immune to his own power, which is lucky for him, or he might not be able to breathe or pump blood through his body!

Doug: Solarr decides he's not going to let the opportunity to escape pass him by, so he seeks an ally in his quest for freedom. Seeing the name "Electro" on a nearby cell, Solarr deactivates the security and enters, only to find that Electro's basically in a body cast! Now some might think this scene was superfluous, but I thought it was great! Most of us who grew up in the Bronze Age would say that what separated Marvel from DC in that era was the continuity between titles, and even the cross-company self-promotion. So while Electro was incapable of assisting his fellow baddie here, we got a nice reference to his recent battle against the amazing Spider-Man. Good stuff -- a nice touch.

Karen: That was too funny -and actually quite realistic -why would Solarr bother with Electro? I agree with you, it was a nice touch, showing once again the inter-relatedness of the Marvel U.
Doug: While the good guys have figured out that Dr. Lightner seems to be the common thread, Solarr finds the cell of Klaw, the master of sound. Breaking in and finding only the sonic prosthesis, Solarr throws it against the wall in anger. However, the clanging and jarring of the device is enough to let the genie out of the bottle, so to speak, as Klaw is reformed from the very claw he wears! Weak and somewhat incoherent, he agrees to assist Solarr in their breakout. In a brief interlude, we see Lightner up to no good, hoping to use the now-assembled Nth projector to transform himself into the Black Sun. However, something goes awry -- but we'll have to wait until next issue.

Karen: The scene with Electro served a purpose: it sets up this scene with Klaw. Here we see that there is some sense of comradeship between thieves, as Solarr seems genuinely disturbed that Klaw might be dead. Sure, they're both a couple of self-serving criminals who could turn on each other, but still, you sense a bit of humanity here as they try to escape together.

Doug: Solarr and Klaw have made their way to the track that surrounds the complex. Hijacking one of the kiddie-cars, they now ride toward freedom. Until Quasar confronts them. His intervention is short-lived, however, as Solarr blinds them. Stepping into the void, Ben and Giant-Man don't have much initial success, until Ben does a maneuver he saw on a Road Runner cartoon and whiplashes the tracks. Solarr and Klaw are disengaged and attacked by a recovering Quasar. Back to Wundarr, the still-entranced youth has found what he was looking for: the safe-keeping place of the now-dormant Cosmic Cube! However, as Wundarr approaches, his energy-dampening powers seem to have the opposite effect, as the Cube now begins to return to activity!

Karen: Again with the art: I really like the way Perez draws Quasar when he's all powered up. He's like a glowing human star -it's really effective.

Doug: We close the story with a nice little battle between our heroes and Klaw, with Klaw of course coming out on the short end. Bill Foster is for the most part useless (although he does knock Klaw out), as he's proven to be in this entire story. I'll tell you, I certainly thought there was more potential in the character than what was ever realized. But he just comes off as a step slow physically and mentally.

Karen: I love that Ben is able to use the experience he's gained form years of facing Klaw to figure out how to get through the villain's force field. Once again, Perez outdoes himself with his depiction of the crackling energy surrounding the Thing and Klaw. Giant-Man does come across as a bit of a third wheel, although as I recall he'll get a better showing next issue.

Doug: While the good guys congratulate themselves on vanquishing Solarr and Klaw, it is the vibrations of their voices that re-energize the sound claw, and it's Klaw who ends with the upper hand. Next issue -- to be concluded!