Retro Comic Recap: Marvel Two-In-One #55

Happy Wednesday, peeps,

We're halfway through the week. Time for me to talk about the fifty-fifth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover showed the Thing and Giant-Man squaring off against the menace known as Nuklo. The story was called "The Pegasus Project Part III: Giants in the Earth." The issue had a publication date of September 1979.

An injured Ben Grimm (who was shot at by the cyborg Deathlok last issue), Quasar, Ben Foster, and other members of Project Pegasus were in the middle of a poker game when alarms sounded. They ran to find the source of the problem. Quasar noticed two areas of interest on the facility map. He went to check out the nuclear module, while Bill and Ben went to address the other concern.

The two friends hopped on a lift that stopped suddenly. The villain named Nuklo was underneath the mechanism, using his mighty strength in an effort to prevent the elevator from descending further. The Thing took matters into his own hands by holding the ceiling, as Foster transformed into Giant Man. Grimm had met him before when the superhero was known as Black Goliath (the two interacted in issue #24 of this title), but he hadn't known that he was really Foster until just then.

Together, the Thing and Giant-Man worked to prevent the ceiling from falling down on them before Nuklo moved on to his next objective. As the platform continued its normal path, Foster explained to Grimm how he'd gained his abilities. Ben suggested that he use the name Giant Man, which Foster agreed with.

By the time they reached their intended destination, security forces were already on the scene. Nuklo had been freed, and the guards were off to try to recollect and contain him. As Ben and Bill pursued them, Quasar was making his way across the compound's nuclear reactor controls. He soon learned that the fail-safe controls had been tampered with and that the control rods wouldn't move. Quasar (Wendell Vaughn) then realized that he could use his powers to create a nuclear reaction that would hopefully be enough to serve as a substitute for the faulty system.

Meanwhile, at New York's legendary Madison Square Garden, fans were clamoring for a highly-touted wrestling match between FF ally Thundra and her opponent, Titania. The two were pretty evenly matched at first. Titania was looking for a rematch after her previous defeat at Thundra's hands (as shown in the previous issue) and pricked her opponent with a needle that had been dipped in a toxin that was strong enouogh to fell the mighty woman from an alternate timeline. 

As Thundra's manager, Herkimer J. Oglethorpe, was pondering his future after Thundra's loss, Giant-Man and the Thing were still looking for Nuklo. At one point, Ben tore some protective shielding and wrapped it around his comrade's hands for good measure. They eventually caught up with the escaped man-child who was just starting to understand what he'd done after being scolded by his mentor, Henri. 

Foster dove at their target, seeming very eager to try and prove himself. He pounded away at his opponent until Grimm got a few licks in, and eventually moved Nuklo toward an antigravity chamber that would hold him. His appointed guardian, Henri Sorel, was most displeased with the heroes' resorting to violence. He felt that he had just been getting through to his charge before they intervened.

Ben thought about his actions, and how Nuklo was somewhat similar to Wundarr in that regard. Both had tremendous power with the mind of a child in an adult body. Wundarr had scarcely moved after being moved to his current room at Project Pegasus, but just then, the being from another world awoke after a strange voice seemed to guide him. 

This was another exciting part of this storyline. The revelation of Foster's secret identity helped to forge a long-time friendship with Grimm. I liked his character, and felt that after his short-lived series ended and a brief association with the Champions before that team disbanded, that he needed a good place to fit in. Unfortunately, he wasn't placed in another team, but did go on several adventures with the Thing and company over the years. 

Tomorrow, I'll cover the fifty-sixth issue of this series. We'll learn what happened to Thundra after her loss in the ring, and how she became involved in the main storyline of this saga. We'll also see just what else Dr. Lightner is up to. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.