Marvel Two-in-One #1 (1973)

“Vengeance of the Molecule Man!”
Writer: Steve Gerber
Pencils: Gil Kane

When I first had the idea of reviewing randomly selected FIRST ISSUES from the Option38 Vaults, this was one of the first books I thought of. After all, it had been awhile since I read “Two-in-One” and I remembered the series as sort of “Uncle Benjy’s Marvel Adventure Time”, with the Thing (Ben Grimm) getting into scenarios, generally for the fun of it.

So I was a little surpsied that this issue started out with the Thing acting like a weenie, having a temper tantrum in a bus station.

After reading a newspaper, Thing’s torqued off that there’s another “monster” out there, named “Man-THING”, infringing on his name. For a guy who was usually upset that he, himself, was a “monster”, it seems a little random that he now wants to get into a pissing contest with (regular-size) Man-Thing, just to see who the bigger monster is. Regardless, that’s the plot hook to get Thing down to Man-Thing’s swamp.

Since this story involves (regular-size) Man-Thing, you can bet that things will soon get WEIRD. The weirdness arrives in the form of “Son of the Molecule Man”, from another dimension. Basically, the original Molecule Man was exiled to another dimension and “died”, but not before bestowing his powers and essence on his “son”. The son was basically a creation of the original Molecule Man, but now he’s travelled back to Earth to seek revenge for his departed father. Thus, he dons an updated version of his “dad’s” costume…one with decidedly less clothing.

To go off on a tangent for a second; like a lot of fans, my first introduction to Molecule Man was the wimpy Owen Reece in the original “Secret Wars” in the 80’s. He was something of a reluctant supervillain with infinite power, who hooked up with the dumpy Volcana. So I was a little surprised, years later, when I found out his character originally had a much more sinister intent. It’s almost like they’re two different Molecule Men, but the Molecule Man who “dies” in this issue is the same one from the 80’s. Confused? Ehhh…through the miracle of the Internets, you can get the exact details, but the nutshelled version is that Molecule Man was exiled to another dimension, whipped up a “son”, died and transferred his power an essence into a little magic wand (which the “son” carries in this story, dubbed “The Wonder Wand”). He eventually came back to corporreal form, as Owen Reece, in he early 80’s. Got it? Hope so, cuz’ I really don’t want to turn this article into “Molecule Man History”.

No, this article is about fightin’! Thing eventually makes it to Man-Thing’s swamp, but before he can go 10 rounds with ol’ Carrot Nose, the new Molecule Man suddenly appears with his magic wand. He zaps both the Thing and the Man-Thing, returning them to their human forms of Ben Grimm and Ted Sallis, respectively. Ben’s wearing his usual blue trunks, but Ted appears in a full “forest ranger” outfit. No-Prize Explanation: Man-Thing had a LOT of stuff built into him. Trees, shrubs, fungus, so it’s easy to think that underneath it all is a fully clothed Ted Sallis.
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While the two reverted heroes have some bonding time and try to figure out a way out of their predicament, Molecule Man goes to a nearby town. It’s supposed to be backwoods Florida, but the town looks like New York City, of course. For his own amusement, Molecule Man returns both guys to their “monster” forms and gets them to duke it out. In the melee, Thing tosses a mudball (made out fo the Man-Thing, no less) at Molecule Man, knocking the Wnder Wand out of his hand. Separated from the Wand, the “new” Molecule Man soon withers and turns to dust.

The Thing tries to get the wand to work again, but determines it’s useless and tosses it to a local kid. Man-Thing slumps back to his swamp, but at least, as Ted Sallis, he got to hang out with Ben Grimm on a human-level for a bit. The final panel is of the local kid, playing with the Wonder Wand… and looking hella’ creepy.

Similar to how the arrival of disembodied brain of the GLOB arrived in “Giant Size Man-Thing #1”, once again Man-Thing is affected by another magical foreign object. Since Man-Thing was mute and I’ve never read his entire series, I’m guessing this was a common plot element used for him. He just kinda’ sloughs around a swamp, so he needs outside interference to get his stories rolling.

A little too much time was spent on the “new” Molecule Man, but they did set him up as an incredibly random recurring villain by having his Wand remain “at large”. At least the Thing warmed up by the end of the story. He’s still fairly ornery, but at least he developed something of an appreciation and kinship with the Man-Thing. Also, while the cover-billed slugfest did take place, the two guys got to communicate and talk to each other, something that wouldn’t have worked if they had remained in their monster forms.

Overall, an out-of-the-ordinary start for the Thing’s new series. It did succeed in taking the Thing out of the Baxter Building and into an scenario he wouldn’t have seen with the Fantastic Four. Thing’s gruff attitude and headstrong ways actually sped the story up, as there’s no way Reed Richards would’ve led the team on a mission that had the sole purpose of sparring with the Man-Thing. Better and crazier things would be ahead for the Thing, though. Like time travel, giant magic sewer rats and Greek gods. So this issue is a decent primer for the weird randomness that would be “Marvel Two-in-One”.

Summary: Thing meets Man-Thing; Molecule Man’s “son” runs around in undies and dies.
Cover Price:.20
Rating: .65