Retro Comic Recap: Marvel Two-In-One #26

Good afternoon,

Hope all's well with everyone. It's time for me to talk about the twenty-sixth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover depicted the Thing breaking through the glass windows of a skyscraper, apparently seeking revenge on Nick Fury. The tale was titled "The Fixer and Mentallo are Back!" The issue had a cover date of April 1977.

The story started inside what might look like an ordinary pizza parlor on the outside. Ben Grimm and Fury were chatting at a table before Nick's colleague, Tim "Dum Dum" Dugan, joined them. Moments later, the row of seats started to descend deeper into the headquarters of the worldwide organization known as SHIELD (Supreme Headquarters Intelligence and Law Enforcement Division). 

A hovercraft was waiting for the trio, which they took to SHIELD's floating helicarrier. Fury led their guest to a screening room, where their associate was briefed on the latest acts of violence committed by the criminals known as Mentallo and the Fixer. The duo had been a thorn in SHIELD's side, and Nick wondered if Grimm knew anything about their whereabouts. Ben had never seen them until just then.

Their opponents were hiding out in a mountain retreat. Mentallo was mastering the Fixer's flying disks while they plotted their next moves. A short while later, they made a beeline for the helicarrier. It was child's play for the criminal masterminds to break into the heavily guarded compound. By the time Dugan, Fury, and Grimm were alerted to their intrusion, the villains had overpowered several SHIELD soldiers with electronic mask gadgets that would place their targets in their command.

Ben and Nick took matters into their own hands and took on the subjugated SHIELD agents before falling t to the same devices that did to their comrades. A few extra flying disks were attached to the Thing before his foes spirited him away. By the time Dugan helped Fury up, their opponents and Grimm were long gone. 

While Ben's new masters were taking him back to the Fantastic Four's headquarters at the Baxter Building in New York City, Fury was hot on their tail, thanks to the radar scanner he'd attached to Ben before the attack. The Fixer and Mentallo barely had enough time to gloat over their supposed triumph before Fury burst through a set of windows and launched his own assault on his rivals.

The Fixer ordered that Grimm retaliate, and the two longtime friends engaged in a battle until Nick was able to grab the control beacon from Ben's forehead. The Thing was back to himself again, and they turned to the intruders. However, before anything else could be done, the humanoid from the future called Deathlok the Demolisher stood in our heroes' path. 

Mentallo and the Fixer were a criminal team for some time in the Marvel Universe. I've read about their exploits in this magazine, as well as others like the Micronauts. The Fixer later became a founding member of the Thunderbolts, a team that was comprised of former villains with new hero identities. Mentallo has appeared in various titles from time to time. His costume reminded me a bit of Magneto's initial uniforms. 

Deathlok is another interesting character who has appeared in his own solo tales, as well as Marvel Team-Up, Captain America, and other issues of this series. I prefer this version of Deathlok to the one that was popularized in the 1990s, because it seemed a bit more flawed and human to me. 

If you want to know what happened next, tune in for my next article. That one will cover the twenty-sixth issue of this title. The reasons for Deathlok's emergence in this particular timeline will become clear, and Ben tries to stop him, with the timely assistance of a few familiar faces. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.