It's time for me to talk about the twelfth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover showed Iron Man (in his infamous nose suit of armor) and the Thing facing off against Prester John. The tale was titled "The Stalker in the Sands!" The issue had a publication date of September 1975.
The story started with Ben Grimm preparing to pilot an aircraft that was designed by Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). Stark and his crew were surprised when the craft didn't lift off as intended. Instead, the plane descended down the launch tube. Grimm walked away from the crash and headed toward a bright light in his vicinity.
By the time Iron Man appeared to investigate, the Fantastic Four member had fallen before the feet of Prester John. He stood before a stone gate, and as the heroes knelt before him, the long-lived foe recounted his initial encounter with Grimm's team (back in FF #54). Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) had found the Evil Eye that John coveted. He flew off with it before Wyatt Wingfoot blasted the device from his hand.
The Evil Eye went missing for years. Prester searched for it and found many treasures in the meantime, but not the one that meant the most to him. One of his lackeys eventually presented him with a stone that allowed him to see events that spread across timelines. Prester took it to mean that he was the power of the universe, and only awoke after the cavern he'd been in for years was opened by the rocket malfunction.
The two stars of Marvel Feature #12 battled Prester John for control of the stone. The Thing was eventually able to grab it and toss it into the sky, where it soon shattered into multiple pieces. Once it was destroyed, Prester realized that the images were merely those of typical mortal desires, and not as prescient as he'd previously believed. He then asked the heroes to join him on a quest for nourishment.
Before reading this issue, the only other time I'd seen the villain of this tale was in part of the Avengers/ Defenders crossover event from the 1970s. He's another one of those characters who could either be a friend or a foe at any time. I thought he was better suited for an appearance in the Mighty Thor, and even though I usually love Bill Mantlo's scripts, I felt that this one was a bit lackluster. It did give him an excuse to include Tony Stark and his armored alter ego, though.
Well, that's it from me for today. I'll start the weekend with a recounting of the thirteenth issue of this series. Ben embarks on an unusual battle, teaming up with someone who briefly took his place in the Fantastic Four. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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