Hi everyone,
Today's topic is the second issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover depicted the Thing and Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, preparing to face off against a foe whose metal hands were shown in the foreground. The tale was titled "Manhunters from the Stars!" The issue had a cover date of March 1974.
The story started with a young man named Wundarr who plummeted into the ocean. His descent was observed by Namorita, a cousin of the legendary Atlantean. She dove into the waters to save him and eventually brought him to land. After reviving him, she asked the stranger who he was.
Unfortunately, Wundarr had no knowledge or memory of his past. He repeated Nita's name and, in doing so, spoke for the first time. Before the duo could continue the conversation, Namor and several of his followers arrived on the scene. Namorita explained what had just happened, but her cousin was wary of the intruder, and Wundarr soon leapt away.
His power reminded Namor of his fellow Defender, the Hulk. Nita felt for the lad and convinced Namor to help find him. Meanwhile, the strange young man was being watched from a spaceship that was orbiting Earth. The ship's occupants were most interested in Wundarr because they knew about his lineage.
Wundarr's father, Hektu, had been their world's greatest astronomer. He informed the government of their planet Dakkam that its sun would go nova. His claims were dismissed, and the planet's security force eventually eliminated him. Hektu had built a rocket ship for his family, which Wundarr had escaped in. The observers wanted to find and kill the boy and were preparing a large robot to accomplish that goal.
We then learned that Wundarr's ship crash-landed on Earth 20 years before. The infant's ship was discovered by the Man-Thing (who guest starred last issue). By that time, Wundarr's body had aged to that of an adult. However, his mind was still that of a toddler. He had a tantrum after meeting the Man-Thing and eventually fled (a story that was encapsulated in Fear #17).
Back in New York, Ben Grimm and his Fantastic Four teammate, Johnny Storm, had just left a movie theater after watching a screening of the martial arts movie "Five Fingers of Doom." Ben was less than thrilled by the feature, while Storm was enamored with the action and skill of the warriors. Johnny flew off as the Human Torch toward their headquarters, the Baxter Building. Ben decided to walk home.
It wasn't long before the city residents were alerted to Wundarr's arrival. The confused man-child started tossing cars until the Thing intervened. He engaged in battle as Wundarr's fellow Dakkamites watched from afar and Namor and Nita neared the site of their struggle.
The two Atlanteans learned of Wundarr's whereabouts from a nearby ship captain, whose television set was tuned to the skirmish still in progress. Ben knew that the fight itself didn't make much sense, but he continued until he was tackled from behind by the Sub-Mariner.
Namor was explaining the reason for his interference right before the robot and its masters landed. The artificial being called a Mortoid loomed over his foes, but proved to be no match for the mightiest Atlantean and the Thing. The two quickly defeated the robot just in time to stop the aliens from abducting Namorita.
The two Dakkamites then returned to their ship and sped away. Namor and Nita described Wundarr's condition to Ben before departing. Grimm was then left alone to carry the unconscious boy to safety.
Namor is an interesting character. He was one of the company's first superheroes, who was revived in the 1960s in the pages of the Fantastic Four. He's fought against and alongside the super team many times. Namor was one of the original Defenders, sided with Doctor Doom in the Super Villain Team-Up book (that I'll cover at another time), was an Avenger, and even aligned with the X-Men at times. He's one of those characters who will appear for a while and then sort of disappear for a while. Namorita was largely absent during the Seventies and Eighties (except for appearances like this one and guest spots in the Submariner's own title) until the New Warriors were formed in the Nineties.
Wundarr was a character that I didn't know a lot about until I started collecting this series. Most of his appearances have been in this title. He would later be known as Aquarian, and we'll see more of him throughout this run. His origin reminds me a bit of Superman, and the main character from Marvel's Star imprint brand's series Planet Terry. He has a lot of potential, but hasn't been popular enough to merit his own one-shot or limited series comic book yet.
That's all I have for you today. Tomorrow, I'll cover the third issue of this series. Ben is still figuring out what to do with Wundarr when he embarks on a mission to tackle new foes. We'll also see guest appearances by Reed Richards, Shanna the She-Devil, and the Black Widow in that issue. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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