Marvel Two-in-One #53 (July 1979)

In the 1970s, Marvel was in the mood to do a little bit of experimentation. One of the titles they used was Marvel Feature. In this series, Marvel would feature characters that they wanted to spin off into solo series. This was a way to gauge a character or team's popularity with readers. This book would lead into the Defenders' first series, and to another book we'll look at here: Marvel Two-in-One.

The premise of Two-in-One was simple: The Fantastic Four's ever-lovin' blue-eyed powerhouse, the Thing, teaming up with various characters throughout the Marvel Universe. The series lasted nine years (1974-1983), getting 100 issues and seven Annuals. The series would be most notable for the "Project Pegasus Saga". This six-issue storyline involved Ben Grimm helping work security at the titular government facility. If you ever saw the first Avengers film, Project Pegasus appeared in the beginning of that movie. So, with that out of the way, for the first review of 2022, let's take a look at Marvel Two-in-One #53!

The cover is a John Byrne and Joe Sinnott piece. It's pretty cool, depicting Ben and Quasar facing off.

"The Pegasus Project Part 1: The Inner War!"
Writers: Ralph Macchio, Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: Joe Sinnott
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Gaspar Saladino, Diana Albers
Editor: Roger Stern
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with Ben Grimm ridin' on a jet plane.

Page 1, Full Page

Well, he's flying the Fantastic Four's Pogo Plane. He's heading for his new job working security at Project Pegasus. He's been allowed to help work security here at the Project. You see, in issue #42, he cut out on a friend of his named Wundarr when he got injured...and Ben's been feeling understandably guilty about it. It's why he's here at Project Pegasus, to check up on him and make sure Pegasus is treating him well. 

Ben arrives and goes through the comprehensive security of the Project. He then is introduced to the chief of security of the Project, a man we've met before here on this little blog: Wendell Vaughn, aka Quasar.

Page 6, Panel 2

Unfortunately, Ben Grimm mistakes him for the Crusader, who the FF fought in Fantastic Four #163-164 (November-December 1975). The Crusader was seemingly the 1950s-era superhero Robert "Marvel Boy" Grayson who had gone insane and become a supervillain. The 2006-2007 Agents of Atlas miniseries would later retcon that the Crusader was not the real Bob Grayson, but an Eternal imposter. Anyway, in that classic superhero tradition, Ben and Wendell end up brawling.

It's here we get a recap of how Wendell became Quasar. Afterwards, he worked with SHIELD as part of a group of Super-Agents in Captain America #217. That gig went bust in Captain America #229-230 and The Incredible Hulk #232, but his work won over SHIELD's high command, so he is here. It's here that Ben runs into another old acquaintance.

Page 9, Panel 2

Ben Grimm has previously encountered Lightner as the supervillain Blacksun in Marvel Two-in-One #21 and #42. Don't expect issue #21 to be reprinted any time soon, as it featured a team-up with Doc Savage, and the Man of Bronze is not public domain. Anyway, since that incident, Lightner is working at Pegasus. And he secretly is a mole for another group: The Nth Command. Meanwhile, another player enters the scene, walking the Lower East Side of Manhattan. 

Page 10, Panel 1

Meet Thundra, an Amazonian warrior woman from Femizonia, an alternate future world ruled by women. She encounters a mugging and breaks it up as a Femizonian warrior can. The man she rescued is in awe of her strength. He introduces himself as Herkimer J. Oglethorpe, and he figures she could make it as a professional wrestler. 

Back at Project Pegasus, Quasar shows Ben around. He takes him to the holding cells. You see, Pegasus isn't just an energy research facility, it's also a sort of jail for supervillains with energy-manipulation powers. Among the cells they pass contain Nuklo, Solarr, and someone that Ben wants to see...Wundarr.

Page 12, Panel 4

The therapist assigned to work with him points out that he's in a coma, thanks to the events of Marvel Two-in-One #42. As a result of a sabotaged experiment, Wundarr's energy-absorbing powers have been enhanced, causing him to generate a null-field that shuts down anything within ten feet of him. Ben discovers that Wundarr's field even affects superpowers. 

Meanwhile, Lightner shuts down the exterior defenses so someone can infiltrate the facility. The story ends with Ben going to see if he can find some people he can play a bit of poker with, unaware that he has a nasty surprise heading his way.

Page 15, Panel 1

Deathlok is here, and he's ready to turn The Thing into The Swiss Cheese. Mmmm, Swiss cheese...

I enjoyed this little comic. I really did. One thing I liked about it was the referencing of the previous events of other books when recapping Quasar's origins and history. It made it feel like the comics are all connected, and the stories mattered. It's something that you don't see a whole lot in modern Big Two books anymore. There was a scene in which Ben passed the cells containing the villains Nuklo and Solarr. A nice bit of foreshadowing the threats of the Saga. The subplot of Thundra being recruited to be a pro wrestler made me chuckle a bit. This story had a little bit of everything. A bit of humor, a bit of intrigue with Lightner working against Pegasus, a bit of action. It's a great read.

Byrne and Sinnott are a very solid penciler/inker team. Their rendition of Ben Grimm almost made me think George Perez was drawing him. 

If you want to read this for yourself, the comic was first reprinted in the 1988 trade paperback The Thing: The Project Pegasus Saga (Where I got the scans here from). But it was also reprinted in the 2009 trade Essential Marvel Two-in-One Vol. 3 (in black-and-white), and the 2010 Essential Marvel Classics hardback Thing: Project Pegasus. The Project Pegasus Saga is a fun little story, and I highly recommend it. 

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