Good afternoon, folks,
Time for me to talk about the third Marvel Two-In-One annual. The cover depicted the Thing (Ben Grimm) under the foot of a large being known as a Monitor. The man called Nova was fighting that foe, while another Monitor was reaching for him with one hand. His other fist was clenching an unidentified female. The first part of this story was called "When Strike the Monitors!"
The tale began with Richard Rider (aka Nova) streaking through the skies in a good mood. He was feeling happy until he noticed a construction worker on a nearby building start to fall. He rushed to a hotel and tore the awning from its entrance before using it to cushion the worker's fall. He flew away after accomplishing his goal, but was soon blinded by a brilliant light in the sky.
The light was noticed by others as well, right before a large being emerged. It towered over the people, who started fleeing in panic. The alien was followed by a mechanical tripod that began drilling into the Earth's surface. Nova alone wasn't able to tackle this terror, and he soon sought assistance.
The Avengers were unavailable, so Nova made his way to the Baxter Building. The Thing was the only member of that super team at home, and after introductions were made, chapter 2, entitled "The Mystery Unfolds!" began. Grimm used a Fantasticar to arrive at the scene of the disruption. He landed the craft and lashed out at the intruder, only to find his blows were as ineffective as Nova's initial attacks were on the being.
As a second saucer entered our atmosphere, a woman emerged from sleep in a ship that was circling the planet. She rose and went to a viewscreen to observe the commotion. She knew it was time to take action, and soon arrived by the heroes' side. She called herself Milandra and explained that the large beings known as Monitors were her foes. They'd arrived on Earth to determine its worth, and if the planet was not deemed worthy, it would surely be destroyed.
Milandra had been the Monitors' prisoner. Her energies had powered their starship. She didn't know the reasons why she'd been freed, but was aware of the plight that her sisters on the other Monitors' ships faced. The heroes had less than ten Earth hours to prevent the destruction of their world.
Nova and the Thing learned more about the predicament after Milandra transported them to her vessel. They had decided to join the cause right before another Monitor attacked them. Nova flew to meet the challenge and found himself flung into deep space. He witnessed the collapse of another planet and had to find his way back. Meanwhile, Grimm continued to fight their foe after Milandra's sister was free. He leapt at the towering alien before everything went black. The next thing he knew, Ben was free-falling toward the ground below. He pushed the emergency button on his belt buckle, which sent the Fantasticar soaring to his rescue.
In Chapter 3, which was named "As Tokyo Goes, So Goes the World!," Grimm piloted his ship back to the site of his initial encounter with the Monitors, as sisters Kallandra and Milandra attempted in vain to stop their captors' devices. The Monitors detected their activity and activated circuitry with but a thought to dispel the intruders.
Ben was whisked to safety by Milandra a while later, as she explained more of the Monitors' history. They had begun long before modern civilization. Their society achieved what they believed to be perfection and sought to see if other worlds were up to those same standards. Their ships scoured the galaxies to inspect different worlds and destroy those found to be lacking.
The Monitors needed power, which Milandra and her kind could provide. They were captured and placed in their star-spanning vessels, which extracted their powers until she woke up and freed herself. Meanwhile, Nova strove to return to his homeworld, not knowing that his friends were wondering about Rider's whereabouts. He soon returned to his allies' side and rejoined the struggle against the alien invaders.
While the Thing and Nova took on the direct threat, Milandra and Kallandra sought to free their sister Askare. The trio joined forces, but before they could confront their captors, a blast from one of the Monitor's hands destroyed the robot that had been Askare. She and her siblings were indeed mechanical, but had evolved over the millions of years they were enthralled. Their bodies housed the billions of souls lost over the many years to the Monitors' attacks.
The final chapter of this saga was called "Wrath of the Monitors!" The aliens continued to destroy Tokyo, but Ben and Richard weren't about to give up. Nova lured one of them into a volcano, while the Thing managed to make his opponent disappear after being struck by a subway car.
The last Monitor was approached by the robotic sisters, who appealed to him. He agreed to return to his home planet with them and seemed eager to persuade his people to end their judgment of other worlds. The quartet vanished, leaving everything as it was before the invasion. The Thing and Nova stood there somewhat confused, after having been engaged in a conflict that really didn't seem like it was even necessary in the first place.
This was one of the first Marvel Two-In-One issues that I ever read as a child. I was drawn into the annual by Sal Buscema's distinctive artwork, but I had to read it a few times to make sure I understood the morals of this tale. Everything worked out in the end, and no one was seriously harmed.
Nova had his own title for 25 issues at the time before it was cancelled. He also appeared in a crossover story with the Amazing Spider-Man. After his mag was axed, he was featured in a multi-part story in the Fantastic Four's comic and a storyline in ROM: Spaceknight that ended with Rider losing his Nova powers and returning to Earth. Rider would later regain those abilities and become a founding member of the New Warriors. As far as I know, the Monitors have not appeared in another Marvel comic since this annual was published.
That's all I have for you today. Time to work on putting one of the bookshelves that I received as a birthday gift together. Tomorrow, I'll cover the forty-sixth issue of this series. Ben goes to Hollywood, where he meets a character who had his own live-action TV series at the time. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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