Hello folks,
Today is my birthday, but my present to you is a synopsis of Marvel Two-In-One #41. The cover showed Ben Grimm and Brother Voodoo trying to pursue a plane. The story was called "Voodoo and Valor!" The issue had a cover date of July 1978.
The tale began with Grimm returning to his rented apartment, where he'd been staying after the Fantastic Four broke up. He opened the door and was stunned to see a stranger rummaging through his personal belongings. Ben went to fight the intruder until he revealed that he was Brother Voodoo and that he'd arrived in peace.
Voodoo had heard about the recent kidnappings of prominent black members of the local community. When he arrived, T'Challa (aka the Black Panther) had disappeared, but he'd left behind a telegram from the Daily Bugle that contained a list of the people who were being targeted. He and Grimm left to find the next woman on the list.
At Slifer Field (a reference to Marvel contributor Roger Slifer), that very woman, a Mrs. Marley, was being ordered to open the gate by the man who'd apprehended the Black Panther and the others on his list. The villain's vampire eventually lifted the gate to let them inside.
As the group approached a nearby Lear jet, the woman's young son was being asked about her disappearance. The child claimed that a creature had taken her. His description seemed similar to the being t that Ben and T'Challa had encountered earlier (in the last issue). Voodoo transported himself and Grimm to Long Island, right outside the ruined fence.
They made a mad dash for the jet just as it was taking off. The Thing wound the fence into a large ball and was about to toss it at the plane, until Voodoo reminded him that it might accidentally hurt the ones they were trying to save. Ben set the ball down in disgust.
Some time later, the jet reached its intended destination. The African leader met with a man named W'Sulli and was complimented. The former witch doctor once led the small city until his son took over and killed his fellow townspeople (as illustrated in Marvel Preview #12). Having a vampire under their command would make it easier for them to achieve their objectives.
He came to know the man called Dr. Obatu when the former Doctor Spectrum fled a firing squad in his native land. He'd wandered aimlessly until falling into W'Sulli's hut. He saw the zuvembie before him and knew he could be a great asset. The conspirators wheeled their captives into the town square not long before Ben and Voodoo arrived by plane.
The craft was shot down, but Grimm emerged unscathed, carrying his friend to the place where T'Challa and the others had been taken. Voodoo sent the astral form of his brother Daniel (Brother Voodoo was comprised of two brothers at the time) to join in the attack not long before the Black Panther was finally freed.
The villains' plot gradually fell apart. The zombie turned on the witch doctor, and Obatu fell to his fate from a high balcony. Afterward, the three heroes led the other captives to safety, heading toward a plane that would take them to freedom.
This was a fun three-part series. I didn't know much about Brother Voodoo before reading this issue. He's played a larger role in the Strange Academy series lately. I always enjoy seeing T'Challa in Marvel comics, and I'm glad that he and his compatriots were unhurt. It's too bad he wasn't featured more often during the time that this story was initially published.
Well, that's all I have for you today. Time to read a bit of The Origins of Marvel Comics before bed. Tomorrow, I'll tackle the forty-second issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The Thing pairs with a character who was featured in the Tales of Suspense title before getting their own mag to take on something called Project Pegasus, a story that also involves someone who we haven't seen in this series in several issues. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment