Time for me to discuss the sixty-ninth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover showed the Thing, along with several members of the original Guardians of the Galaxy, battling in a strange fog. The tale was titled "Homecoming!" The issue had a cover date of November 1980.
The story started in the Baxter Building in New York. Ben Grimm was making pancakes on the stove while talking with his Fantastic Four teammate Sue Richards (aka the Invisible Girl) about his recent breakup with his girlfriend, Alicia Masters. Sue's son Franklin was playing with his action figures on the floor, and his Human Torch toy flew under the stove. It was child's play for Ben to lift the stove to retrieve the figure. Sue's force field kept the flapjacks in the air while Grimm helped her son.
They had no sooner sat down to breakfast when a strange blue light illuminated the middle of the table. A few moments later, Ben's old friend Starhawk stood before them (they met in issue #61 of this series). Starhawk explained that he and his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy were making repairs on their ship that was orbiting Earth so that they could return to their time period. During that work, one of their members, Vance Astro, went missing. Starhawk feared that he might seek out his younger self from this era, which could have serious ramifications.
Little did anyone know that the meeting in question was about to take place. The older Vance approached the younger one, who had just been walking down the street. The lad was surprised by the things that the stranger knew about his life. As they walked along together, the Fantastic Four were on alert. Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) noticed a swift-moving fog bank on radar, and wondered if it might be connected to the current situation. Their team leader, Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), wasn't sure, but he led his group to investigate.
As the Fantastic Four travelled via Fantasticar, they came across an Avengers Quinjet occupied by Captain America and the Vision. Cap allowed Reed's vessel to take the lead, with the quinjet staying back in case the FF needed assistance. The Fantasticar separated into its individual components for each member after entering the fog bank.
Ben spied something through his scope as the two Vance Astroviks continued to converse. The older Vance tried to persuade his younger version not to take the same course of action he took. The growing fog eventually distracted the superhero long enough for the young Astrovik to escape his company. Ben set his section of the Fantasticar down and soon found their fugitive.
Grimm related his own experience with trying to go back in time to warn his younger self (as recounted in the classic MTIO #50) and how it created an alternate timeline. Astrovik heard his words, but was still determined to proceed with his mission. In the meantime, the fog continued to spread across New York, affecting characters like Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Storm, and the Aquarian.
The older Astrovik reached his childhood home, where he was greeted at the door by fellow Guardian Charlie-27. A battle soon ensued between the bulky warrior from the future and the Thing. Yondu and Martinex came to Charlie's defense and were able to bring their comrade back to the ship before Ben could find him.
On the space station, Vance faced Starhawk, Charlie-27, Yondu, and Martinex and explained the reasons for his sojourn. He added that he had nothing to do with the strange fog that had suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The quintet was soon transported to the Astrovik home, where Ben was trying to sort things out with the younger Vance and his family.
The elder Astrovik was convinced that his younger version was responsible for the weather malady. He tried to coax the lad to control his abilities, but all he did was blast the heroes from the future out of the domicile. The boy felt a bit of remorse after hearing from Ben what his future had in store.
A short while later, Grimm went to check on the Guardians, who were now joined by their teammate Nikki. Everyone was fine, and the fog had lifted. The boy's father blamed the older Vance for the problems, to which the intruder simply stood before him and revealed the face underneath his mask before he and his group returned to their ship.
By the time the rest of the Fantastic Four had reunited with Ben, Grimm still had a few more questions than answers. Back on the Guardians' ship, Astrovik sat back with confidence. He was pleased that his suit had some regenerative capacity that prevented him from disintegrating after lifting his mask. Vance was certain that his younger version would grow up to be a fine Guardian someday.
Even though this plot was a one-off, it was kind of a prelude to the next storyline. I prefer the original Guardians roster to the recent lineups. I just think they were a more diverse but effective team as a whole. They have appeared from time to time in different Marvel mags, and even had their own short-lived series, but really weren't too popular until getting another title of their own in the 90s. The recent Guardians movies skyrocketed their fame, although not many of the fans of those films know the original/classic team makeup.
That's it for now. Tomorrow, I'll close out the workweek with a discussion of the seventieth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. This one's a bit of a fill-in yarn, as Ben attempts to reconcile with Alicia and runs into a familiar duo that he hadn't seen in years. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment