I'm kicking off a new week with a discussion of the fifty-third issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover depicted the Thing squaring off against the character known as Quasar, with an inset drawing that promised an update on Ben Grimm's old friend, Wundarr. The story was called "The Pegasus Project Part One: The Inner War!"
The tale began with Grimm flying a plane, heading for Project Pegasus. Ben was concerned about his old friend Wundarr, who was at the facility. After landing the Pogo Plane, the Thing was greeted by a staffer who walked him through their security procedures.
After being cleared, Ben was about to be introduced to the new security chief, who Grimm mistook for the Crusader (who fought the Fantastic Four in issues #163 and 164 of their own mag). His rival defended himself, and eventually caged the FFer temporarily before stating that he was not the same person who Ben had fought before.
He did wear the same energy bands as the former Marvel Boy who battled the Fantastic Four and presumably blew up during the aforementioned confrontation. Wendell Vaughn was given those baubles after they'd been examined by his father Gilbert. Wendell soon learned that he couldn't remove the bracelets and later paired up with other super-agents at SHIELD (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage and Law Enforcement Division).
After that role ended, Wendell was recommended for his current role at Project Pegasus. He then gave Ben a tour of the facility. Along the way, Grimm ran into Tom Lightner (last seen in Marvel Two-In-One #42). Afterward, Ligthner retreated to his quarters to transmit a message to his superior at Nth Command.
At the same time, the female warrior from another universe known as Titania was walking the streets of Manhattan. She broke up a robbery, and the victim was so impressed by her acts of heroism that he offered her a job. Titania walked with Herkimer J. Oglethorpe toward his place of business.
Wendell (known in his superhero identity as Quasar) led Ben past the cells for known super-villains like Nuklo and Solarr before approaching the entrance to Wundarr's quarters. The boy trapped in a man's body was curled up in the fetal position on his bed, with his therapist, Dr. Jeannine O'Connell, standing beside him. After being linked with a cosmic cube (in MTIO #42), Wundarr remained alive but unconscious after the connection was detached.
Wundarr continued to lie motionlessly, but as he did so, lights around him suddenly went out. It appeared that the cube had strengthened his own abilities to the point that anything powered by electricity that came within ten feet of the lad would cease functioning normally.
Grimm tried lifting the bed, but not even his mighty strength could do much more than budge it. Quasar was confident that the doctor could help the troubled youth. Afterward, he showed Ben to his quarters on the base.
Ben was settling in when Lightner used his neural jammer on a pair of guards. As he did so, another figure cloaked in shadows roamed the rooftops of Project Pegasus until he found a way inside the complex. Grimm was restless, and after a while, decided to take a walk to see if anyone was interested in a friendly game of poker. With each step, he grew nearer to the shadowed figure from before, which we soon saw to be the futuristic cyborg known as Deathlok.
The last content page of this issue was a diagram of the Project Pegasus compound. Regular readers know I love a good comic that was illustrated by John Byrne, and this one was no exception. It was a good start to a multi-part storyline, and one of the longest scripts this series had. It was good to see both Wundarr and Deathlok again, and we all know that Lightner was probably up to nothing good.
Quasar is one of those characters who was searching to find his own niche at the time. He'd guest-starred in the Incredible Hulk and Captain America before receiving his own title about a decade later. His costume has changed enough to really differentiate him from Marvel Boy and is now usually associated with some of the more cosmic characters in the Marvel Universe.
That's all I have for you today. Tomorrow, I'll cover the second part of this tale, which consists of the fifty-third issue of Marvel Two-In-One. Byrne and inker Joe Sinnott return to pair up with co-plotters Ralph Macchi and Mark Gruenwald to tell us more about why Deathlok is skulking around. We'll also see where Oglethorpe took Titania and see yet another familiar face right before Lightner launches the next phase of his plan. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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