Retro Comic Recap: Marvel Two-In-One #23

Hello there,

It's time for me to talk about the twenty-third issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover showed the issue's stars, the Thing and Thor, squaring off against a giant green baddie. The story was called "Death on the Bridge to Heaven!" The issue had a publication date of January 1977.

The story began right where the previous issue left off. Ben Grimm and the mighty Thor were fending for their lives against a skeleton army that had been summoned from Heliopolis by the god Seth. After vanquishing the troops, their foe faded from view. Shortly afterward, Grimm and Thor felt themselves drifting off, presumably to follow their attacker.

They left the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Janice Lightner behind at the hospital where the duo had arrived with the Thing (last issue) to seek medical assistance for Janice's brother Tom (also known as the menacing Blacksun) from Doctor Don Blake (Thor's alter ego). Johnny continued to carry Tom as they walked on in search of help. 

By then, Thor and the Thing had arrived at the Golden Paths of the Gods. There, Seth proclaimed that the heroes would fight their final battle. The Asgardian had been there once before and had defeated the foe with the aid of Seth's brother. That same sibling was now hanging by his arms from atop the entrance to a nearby building. Not even Thor's Mjolnir could break the chains that bound him.

Ben was briefly hypnotized by Seth before breaking free of his control and lashing out at their captor. The villain then brought forth the Devourer, a giant green creature that burst through the doorway and grabbed Horus. Thor swung his mighty hammer at the beast, while Ben preferred a direct assault on their foe. The creature's tail eventually swung wildly, striking Seth at one point and knocking him to his feet.

Seth realized that his associate was now beyond his control. He took a few moments to ponder his options before freeing his brother. Horus was too weak to protect them, and the Devourer soon knocked Thor out of the fight. Ben wasn't about to give up the cause, and he swiftly grabbed Horus as he leaped from the walkway.

Thor recovered in time to hurl his Mjolnir toward his friend, who caught it in time to evade the Devourer, who plummeted into space. Ben and Horus returned safely. A while later, the Thing returned to the hospital and rejoined Johnny and Janice. He was flanked by Blake, who now had his attention directed toward the man also known as Blacksun. 

I felt that this was a fair conclusion to this two-parter. It would have been nice to have had just a bit more background for Seth and Heliopolis, but for a shorter tale, I guess this was okay. I also wondered if the Devourer met his demise, or if he returned in other Marvel mags. Thor was the second hero to guest-star in this title (and the first one to appear twice or more in Marvel Two-In-One, with Iron Man's debut in this series appearing in Marvel Feature #12). 

Next time, I'll cover the twenty-fourth issue of this title. Ben teams up with a character that was created in the 1970s and became a trusted friend that would appear semi-regularly throughout portions of this series' remaining run. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.