Marvel Fanfare issues #11 and #12 were try-out issues to see if Ben Grimm could be the anchor of a team-up book. That try-out was successful, and Marvel Two-in-One (January 1974) hit the stands soon afterwards. Written by Steve Gerber and drawn by Gil Kane, it picks up soon after the point where Marvel Fanfare #12 left off.
Ben had been stuck in the desert. He's made it to a bus depot and bought a ticket home. Why he doesn't call Reed at this point and arrange faster, more comfortable transportation is not discussed in the story. Gerber, I think, simply wanted to inject a little humor into the tale. This scene also shows us Ben's motivation for deciding to head to Florida instead of home to New York. He sees a news story about Man-Thing and objects to his name being taken. So its off to the Everglades to have a fight with the swamp monster.
It's a silly motivation and, even though I understand the purpose was humor, I also didn't care for Ben terrorizing an innocent guy, though once again I concede the humorous intent and that Ben does have a temper. But Ben will get a chance to show where his heart is before the tale ends. Overall, I like this story a lot.
The bad guy is the son of the original Molecule Man, who had ended up on another planet. Time flows faster on that planet, so M.M. dies of old age before he can figure out how to regain his powers and take revenge on the Fantastic Four. His son, though, pledges to carry on and do the job. Powered up and teleported to Earth, he is soon locked in combat with Ben. Along the way, he discovers that if he loses his power wand, he'll rapidly age and die.
Man-Thing gets into the fight, so the new Molecule Man quickly decides to zap both his adversaries, turning both back into regular human beings.
M.M. finds a town and begins to raise havoc, including killing an innocent man. When Ben and Ted Sallis (the former Man-Thing) show up, Ben is enraged by the killing. M.M. decides he doesn't like Ben's inherent nobility and turns him back into the Thing. Soon afterwards, he turns Ted back into Man-Thing. After all, his power is great enough. Neither of these pathetic beings can be a threat to him.
It seems this is true, until Ben throws a glob of mud at the villain. He's aiming at his face, but instead knocks the wand out of his hand. This causes M.M. to grow old, die and turn to dust within seconds.
Man-Thing doesn't do a lot to add to the fight, but he serves a purpose in that Ben no longer wants to fight the monster. He realizes that there's someone out there even less fortunate than him. Yes, he got made, scared an innocent man and came looking for an unnecessary fight. But in the end, Ben is a good man and that's what will always shine through in any well-written story about him.
Next week, back to the DC Universe to visit Batman and Robin.
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