Ben Grimm Gets Even Uglier!

Marvel Two-in-One #81 & 82 (November & December 1981) is a solid, entertaining superhero adventure with some excellent action scenes drawn by Ron Wilson. What makes it notable, though, is the skill with which writer Tom DeFalco catches important aspects of the personalities of the heroes involved in the tale. These two elements--solid storytelling and sharp characterizations--are combined to make this particular story stand out even amidst Two-in-One's generally excellent run.

The first issue teams Ben Grimm with Namor, though we're about two-thirds of the way into the story before the two heroes actually meet. Namor is visiting New York to get away from the pressures of ruling Atlantis. He's trying to find a homeless woman named Sunshine Mary, who had been kind to him when he had amnesia and was living in the Bowery just before the events of Fantastic Four #4.

Ben, in the meantime, is going through one of his periodic "I'm not good enough for Alicia" phases when he runs into a robot kidnapping a homeless man. Even in a comic book universe, that's something you don't see every day.

The robot gasses Ben and takes him to a secret AIM base, where MODOK is experimenting with a new deadly radioactive virus on the Bowery bums his robots have been snatching.

MODOK's unique visual design and monumental ego have always made him a great villain. Find a logical reason to stick his big head in a story and that story's fun factor instantly rises 38.743%. 

By the way, MODOK's AIM henchmen are in blue rather than yellow because at the time MODOK is in charge of a breakaway faction after an internal rift in the organization. It's an unspoken but nice bit of continuity with the larger Marvel Universe.

Namor, in the meantime, has discovered that Sunshine Mary is among the missing. Accompanied by an army of homeless people, he tracks down MODOK's lair. Ben also breaks out of his containment bottle and the two trash the place, saving homeless and forcing MODOK to retreat. But some of MODOK's Virus X has leaked and, in the last panels, we discover that Ben is infected.

But before that, we have one of those insightful bits of characterizations I mentioned. Namor greets Sunshine Mary after the rescue, but she is horrifed by him. He's no longer "one of us.... but... a freak! A monster!"

Ben and Namor have never really liked each other, but Ben's attempt to comfort Namor and Namor's prideful rejection of the idea that he needs comforting catches both men's personalities in a nutshell.

As the next issue begins, Ben is wandering the streets of New York, mutating physically into an even uglier form that he's normally stuck with and so weak that he's threatened by a trio of common thugs. Fortunately, Captain America happens by and teaches the thugs a much-needed lesson.

Cap gets Ben to the Baxter Building and Reed calls in Bill Foster (the then-current Giant Man) because he need's Foster's expertise as a biochemist. But an antidote alludes them.

Cap takes it upon himself to track down MODOK and get an antidote right from them. He trashes a known AIM front operation and soon (with Ben and Giant Man in tow) finds a transporter that will zap them directly to MODOK's secret base in Antarctica. MODOK is waiting with a platoon of minions and a Thing-based robot.

The fight scene that follows is quite excellent, with fun visuals and strong choreography.
Ben, despite his growing weakness, pulls himself together and beats down the robot. Cap cleans up the minions while Giant Man searches for an antidote. He finds it and discovers that it might actually cure his radiation poisoning as well as cure Ben.


That, by the way, was Giant Man's problem during the 1980s. He was slowly dying of radiation poisoning. It was a story arc that showed up whenever he guest-starred in a comic.  Because he never had his own book, it's a story arc that probably went on too long, but even so it was something that helped give his character depth, allowing him to show his basic generosity of spirit despite knowing he's likely to die soon.

In the fighting, the devise containing the antidote is damaged and there's only enough for one person. Foster, without telling anyone this, uses it to save Ben. His internal monologue tells us "The world needs heroes like the Thing, not second-rate losers... like Giant-Man."

This makes me think of several occasions during the Lee/Kirby run of Fantastic Four where Ben would risk his life for somone else, convinced in his own mind that Reed, Johnny or Sue are simply worth more than he is. He and Giant Man parallel each other here. Both are clearly heroes. Both are noble, brave and more than willing to die to protect the innocent. But neither of them recognize themselves as heroes. Their worth is incalcuable, but they simply cannot see this in themselves.

Next week, we'll begin a look at Gold Key's regrettably short-lived Tragg and the Sky Gods.