Project Pegasus, Part 6

 

cover art by John Byrne

Marvel Two-in-One #56 (October 1979) is a fun chapter in the Project Pegasus saga, in which we finally find out what Thundra's professional wrestler subplot has to do with the main story arc.

Ralph Macchio and Mark Gruenwald continue to write the story, with George Perez providing breakdowns and finished art by Gene Day.

The issue begins with a bang, with Thundra leading a team of female wrestlers (whose suits include equipment giving the superpowers) inside the Project, where they knock out a few technicians and plant a piece of equipment in a specific place.

One might wonder why Thundra has agreed to this, but we don't find that out quite yet. We do learn that she was deliberately lured into the wrestling gig so she could be offered the job, but merely mentions that she was offered a reward she couldn't turn down. She later refuses to say more to Ben.

Anyway, there's more going on than Thundra knows, because her team runs out on her after the equipment is planted to raise havoc around the Project. This leads to several well-choreographed and entertaining action scenes, as Quasar, Giant Man and Ben all encounteer trouble. 

The various fights are brief, but each has a different feel from the other and allows each of the heroes their moment in the sun.
                        

Though Quasar and Giant Man have clear wins, Ben's fight is interrupted at an embarassing moment just as Thundra gets a scissor lock with her legs around his neck. She is forced to surrender at this point, though, so the good guys have won, though they still have no idea what the point of this raid was. Or, for that matter, what was the point of the respective rampages by Deathlok and Nuklo?

Well, we readers don't know yet either, but we know at least a little bit more. Dr. Lightner, the bad guys' mole in the Project, finally has all the stuff he needs to make an Nth Projector. We'll find out what that is next issue.

After an awkward start with an exposition-heavy story a few issues back, the Project Pegasus story arc has been moving along nicely, with each issue advancing the plot a little by slowly getting Lightner the equipment he needs, while giving us plenty of entertaining action.

That's it for now. Next week, we'll pay a visit to Roy Rogers.