Tag: Marvel Two-in-One

Comic Book Review: Marvel Two-In-One #9

While eagerly awaiting the relaunch of Marvel’s First Family, (i.e. the Fantastic Four), I jumped at the chance to read the new adventures of The Thing and The Human Torch when Chip Zdarsky’s new Marvel Two-In-One series was reborn. I have a history with this title, having read and collected the 1970s version. You see, this was one of those cases where Marvel wanted to feature a particular hero, in this case the Thing, without actually giving him a self-titled book. So they created a team-up book (which was working for them in Spider-Man’s Marvel Team-Up book), in which Ben Grimm/the Thing, teamed with various heroes in his own adventures. Loved that series!

Marvel Two-in-One #9
Marvel Two-in-One #9

Fast-forward to the 21st Century, and we realize we live in a dystopian future devoid of any Fantastic Four books. Long story, not going to editorialize (much) on Marvel’s short-sighted and mean-spirited war with Fox Studios over ownership of the Fantastic Four and X-Men characters, but, suffice it to say, we have been FF-less for a while now. Then, ta-da, Marvel and Fox kiss and make up, and Marvel announces the imminent return of the Fantastic Four.

To prep us for that, they bring back Thing’s Marvel Two-In-One series, where Ben is teamed with (for the whole series) with his buddy Johnny Storm/Human Torch, along with a somewhat reformed Dr. Doom.

Zdarsky does a great job of capturing the personalities of Ben and Johnny, while setting the stage for the actual return of the Fantastic Four. In this particular issue…yes, some minor spoilers here…

We see our heroes duking it out with the Mad Thinker and his most recent lackeys while trying to survive in an alternate Earth where a deranged Peter Parker has set up his own Battleworld. Against this backdrop of plot and battles, we see the series-wide struggle between Ben and Johnny that is at the heart of this series. Ben is convinced that Reed, Sue, and the kids are dead, while Johnny holds out hope that they are alive, and that is why he accompanied Ben on this multiversal journey.

Looking forward to #10 and the new FF series. If you are a fan of the Fantastic Four, you MUST read this series prior to picking up the new Fantastic Four comic series.