Hello there,
It's time for me to talk about the sixty-fourth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover showed the Thing and Stingray on separate panels dealing with their own challenges. The tale was titled "The Serpent Crown Affair Part One: From the Depths." The issue had a cover date of June 1980.
The story began on a sad note, as Alicia Masters walked away from Ben Grimm, heartbroken by her love's suggestion that they stop seeing each other, because of his concern that the dangers his role as a hero might bring her. She closed the door to her apartment building angrily. Ben sat there in silence for a few moments before heading home to the Baxter Building.
Grimm had no sooner seen his old friend Reed working on another of his many machines when the doorbell rang. Doctor Walter Newell of the Pacifica Institute of Oceanography was there with a guest. They were seeking the Fantastic Four's assistance under the suggestion of Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. The mention of Namor's name was enough for Reed to allow the guests in.
Newell and his associate, Dr. Henry Croft, were welcomed in a few minutes later. After Croft shed his hat and showed his face, it became obvious why the duo sought the FF's help. Croft's skin was a distinct shade of light green that led Reed to believe that he was amphibian. Newell explained that Croft had been turned into a water breather against his will. He and the other passengers of a plane heading for Miami several years back were hijacked and taken to a compound known as Hydrobase (as shown in issue #61 of Subby's title).
A man named Dr. Hydro was behind the capture. He thought that the only hope for mankind was in a return to the sea. That's why he subjected the captives to a gas that turned their skin into a scaly shade of green and granted them the ability to breathe underwater. Hydro was eventually defeated by the Sub-Mariner, but their humanity was not yet restored. Those subjected to this treatment still lived as pariahs.
Newell interjected by adding that he'd created a diving suit and gone by the moniker Stingray while in costume. He learned of Croft and his fellow "hydromen" and vowed to do what he could to help them. Newell learned after an encounter with Namor and the Inhuman Triton that the Inhumans might be able to assist. Reed led the two men into his lab so that he could obtain and examine a specimen from Croft. Ben stood by silently, figuring it was going to be a long night, and decided to get some exercise in the gym,
Meanwhile, at a different gym, several blocks from the Baxter Building, the female warrior Thundra from an alternate timeline stood outside the business, thinking back to her recent experiences. She had told the officials at Project Pegasus all that she knew about how her former employers had plotted against them. She returned to Kowalski's Gym to get info for the project about the ones who preyed on her gullibility.
Tearing the door open with a simple swipe, Thundra ascended the steps angrily, as she thought back to her Madison Square Garden debut. The match against fellow female wrestler Titania was tainted, as Thundra's foe jabbed her with a needle laced with a sedative. When Thundra awoke, she was in an office where her new employer gave orders. She led the other women grapplers into Project Pegasus to place a device in the compound. There, she ran into Ben, who had more questions for her than she could answer.
The gym was full of competitors, but the one person that Thundra was interested in was her former manager, the diminutive Herkimer J. Oglethorpe. He leapt to her with praise, but she had nothing in her eyes but contempt for him. Before much more could happen, Thundra was advised not to harm the man. The words were uttered by Oglethorpe's new protege, another hero from another world called Hyperion.
In another part of the country, the man known as Aquarius (formerly Wundarr) was walking alone down a hghway at night as the headlights of a vehicle came closer to him. He saw a deer wandering onto the road and used his powers to prevent the car from striking it. After the animal had crossed safely, Aquarian released his null field and the motorist whisked by at an unexpected rate of speed.
Back in the Baxter Building, Grimm had dozed off while keeping his feet up against a heavy weight when one of Reed's elastic fingers woke him. He asked Ben to transport Croft and Newell to meet with Triton. Richards had contacted the Inhumans, who were unaware of any of their Terrigen mists being used by anyone else outside of their own community.
A short while later, Ben was piloting a pogo plane toward that sunny destination. As they neared San Francisco, they spotted an oil rig that seemed to be out of place. Grimm landed the plane in the water, and he and Newell set out to investigate. Dr. Croft was left behind to keep watch.
Ben got the attention of the rig's workers right before an underwater rumble shook the platform. Stingray opted to check things out from the air as the Thing climbed a platform ladder. Ben made repairs while Newell dove under the ocean's surface to find the source of the commotion. Stingray was soon attacked by scuba divers who most likely had set the explosive charges that damaged the oil rig.
As Newell was addressing that threat, Ben found himself surrounded by angry oilmen. He finally managed to shake them all off just in time to catch Stingray, who flew up into the air, landing in Grimm's arms. A submarine then surfaced, and its passengers stepped out: Anaconda, Black Mamba, Death Adder, and Sidewinder of the new Serpent Squad.
This was also one of the first MTIO issues that I ever read. The storyline was a good excuse to add seldom-seen characters and incorporate a few new and old dangers. The art team of George Perez and Gene Day was phenomenal. They really translated Ralph Macchio and Mark Gruenwald's plot well.
Thanks for your patience. I took a little time off to travel to the north and south ends of the state over the last several days to see my favorite band, Sevendust, perform. It was good to see them and other members of the Sevendust family again, along with Theory of a Deadman and up-and-comers Return to Dust.
Later today, I'll cover the sixty-fifth issue of this series. We'll find out what the Serpent Squad's intentions were, and if Triton met his friends at the rendezvous point. We'll also see more interaction between Hyperion and Thundra. Until then, have a great weeekend and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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