Good morning,
Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend. It's time for me to discuss the fourth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover depicted the Thing and Captain America squaring off against a large robot and several human-sized aliens. The tale was titled "Doomsday 3014!" The issue had a publication date of May 1974.
The story began in the Central Park Zoo. Ben Grimm was leading Wundarr, the alien man with the mind of a child, past the exhibits. Wundarr pointed to a cotton candy stand and asked his "Uncle Ben-jee" for some. Grimm obliged, but while he was at the counter, chaos erupted around him.
A lion was released from his cage by the powerful youth, who didn't understand why the animal was caged in the first place. It was up to the Thing to ensure that the beast and other animals Wundarr had freed in a short time were rounded up and prevented from harming anyone else in the zoo. Some of its patrons included Sharon Carter and Steve Rogers, who we all know is Captain America.
The couple saw several patrons fleeing in terror, and the Avenger sprang into action moments later. He reached Ben, who had the animals mostly in control by that point. Steve noticed several crooks taking advantage of the situation to rob the merchant booths. As the heroes were occupied with their respective tasks, Namorita and her friend Annie were also wandering the park grounds.
Nita pointed out Wundarr to Annie, and she was recognized instantly by Wundarr (who met Namorita in issue #2). Ben returned shortly thereafter and was angered by the man-child's actions. Nita begged him not to judge Wundarr too harshly, since he didn't understand why what he'd done was wrong. She explained to Ben that she'd returned to the area to attend college and share a house with Ann. Namorita offered to take Wundarr off Ben's hands for a while, and Grimm was happy to oblige.
Cap and Sharon reached Ben after Wundarr had left with Nita and Annie. Ben explained what had just happened and why on the walk back to the Baxter Building. The trio walked in on Reed Richards conducting another experiment with Medusa (who was Sue Richards' temporary replacement in the Fantastic Four for a while). Reed and Medusa stopped what they were doing and went to welcome their guests. On the way out of the lab, the Thing's hand accidentally moved a power feed switch on the contraption Richards had been using.
The quintet relaxed and talked until a piercing scream filled the room. Everyone ran toward its source, which was a young woman who'd appeared in the lab. She was surprised that the people gathered around her spoke English and said that Captain America had died 1,000 years ago before fainting. Ben brought the woman to a couch. When she awoke, she mentioned the Badoon, whom she seemed to be deathly afraid of.
She said that the Badoon was an alien race that had enslaved her people, adding that the Guardians of the Galaxy had named their ship after Captain America. It was now evident that the stranger had arrived from the future using the time machine that was in the laboratory.
Cap asked Reed if that machine could be used to send them to the time period of the woman named Tarin. A short while later, Captain America, the Thing, Carter, and Tarin stood on the time platform that once belonged to Doctor Doom. Reed and Medusa stood at the control panels and watched their friends fade from sight as the platform lifted from the floor.
The quartet soon found themselves in the 31st century. New York was quite different from what they were used to, and it was much more hostile. They were soon attacked by beings called Zoms. Their foes could not be harmed or knocked out, proving to be more than a typical challenge for our heroes.
They fought well, but numbers were not on their side. Things escalated when the monster of Badoon, who looked more like a machine than a mortal being, entered the fray. Not even the Thing's most powerful blows could fell the beast. Cap, Sharon, and the Thing eventually fell to the futuristic warriors. They were then led off, as Tarin observed from nearby. She swore that the Badoon would not enjoy their victory for long.
This was another fun issue. I always enjoy a good Sal Buscema comic book, and this issue showcased his distinctive art style and his versatility in depicting a wide variety of heroes and villains. It was nice to see Reed and Medusa, since I have most of the original Fantastic Four run, and Wundarr and Nita, even if that plot point was done for a while after the first part of this issue.
That's it for this morning. Later today, I'll return to recap the fifth issue of this series. We'll find out what happened to Captain America, the Thing, and Sharon Carter. We'll also see the Badoon and their interactions with this issue's featured guest stars, the Guardians of the Galaxy (author's note: this is the original Guardians of the Galaxy who originated in the 30th century and are mostly different from the Guardians featured in the Marvel cinematic universe and Guardians of the Galaxy comics in recent years). Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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