Happy Sunday, folks!
Starting the day with a summary of the seventy-second issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The Thing was held by the neck by the villain known as Maelstrom, as his Inhuman allies Gorgon, Black Bolt, and Karnak were swept up in a strange energy field around them. The story was called "The Might of Maelstrom." The issue had a cover date of February 1981.
The tale began at Hydrobase as Ben Grimm, Reed Richards, Gorgon, and Karnak looked at the recently defeated Helio, Gronk, and Phobius, who had been placed in restraints. Not much was known about the three strangers, who made off with the canister of anti-Terrigen that Reed had been using to cure the island's residents. Gorgon was certain that their captives were not fellow Inhumans. Reed left the room to ponder what to do next. He was about to assign a security detail to search for the missing canister, leaving his companions to try to obtain any useful information from the prisoners.
What none of them knew at the time was that the canister in question was already on its way to the intruders' master. The self-propulsion module that had been attached to it was working perfectly. After a few hours, the canister made its way into the hidden undersea base, where it was passed on from the lackey Falon to Maelstrom's hands. He ordered an analysis and duplication of the gas, before commanding his subordinate Deathurge to his side. The arrival of the canister without chaperones meant that Maelstrom's soldiers had failed. It would be up to Deathurge to administer their penalties.
The loyal servant agreed and took to his staff to set flight toward Hydrobase. He arrived before long and tossed his weapon at his inactive colleagues, essentially draining their life forces before any of them could react. His presence was noticed by Ben, Gorgon, and Karnak, and the trio struck. Deathurge avoided their attacks before phasing out of the building.
Afterward, in analyzing Gronk's body, he confirmed that tissue samples showed that his powers were Terrigen-based. He asked the Inhuman Nadar if anyone else could have accessed Terrigen without their knowledge. Nadar doubted that possibility, stating that the mist was securely locked up and traveled with them as they changed their home locations over the years. Reed still wasn't about to dismiss it, and suggested a team go to investigate old Atillan, just in case.
Grimm volunteered to join that expedition with Gorgon and Karnak. He felt responsible for letting the canister slip into enemy hands. Reed was focused on transporting the remaining hydromen back to the US. A small sea vessel carrying Ben and his friends departed not long thereafter, and a small opening in the former spot of Atillan was detected. They passed through it and unknowingly entered Maelstrom's base.
The villain was ready for them, and a series of hypersonic rays left them unconscious. As several soldiers carried the trio away, Reed was contacting Black Bolt, leader of the Inhumans. He informed his old ally of the recent happenings and promised to keep him updated as new information became available. The oft-silent ruler walked away from the transmission thinking that it was probably best that he join his companions on their search.
Meanwhile, Grimm and his friends were now being led before Maelstrom. He ordered that the captives be brought to the vivisection area before leaving the room. He headed toward a back room, where his elderly father, Phaeder, laid in bed. He told his father about the intruders and thought back to the initial conflict between Agon and Phaeder began more than a century before. Maelstrom's father had been banned from the council after his genetic experiments had been discovered.
The elder Phaeder eventually made a duplicate of himself, which was left behind for Agon to find. Agon mistakenly thought that the inert form was his old rival, not knowing that Agon and his offspring would spend many years continuing their research. During that time, Maelstrom acquired the ability to steal kinetic energy from others. Their work went on so that they could retaliate against Attilan at some point.
Maelstrom then returned to visit his new prisoners. They had just awoken. Maelstrom confirmed that he was responsible for the anti-Terrigen canister's theft, and that he was behind Dr. Hydro's actions that turned Dr. Henry Croft and his fellow passengers into hydromen in the first place. Karnak continued to struggle against his bonds, and finally broke free moments before Black Bolt arrived.
The leader of the Inhumans battled against Maelstrom, and in the process learned that a large bomb filled with anti-Terrigen capsules had been launched at his home. Ben eventually took Black Bolt's place in the conflict, allowing the Inhuman to speed toward the bomb. He managed to cause the rocket to veer off course, just as Ben found several anti-Terrigen capsules hiding behind a wall that Maelstrom had just knocked him through.
Grimm threw a capsule at his foe, who immediately started to weaken. He ran toward his father, admitting his failure. Maelstrom then called for Deathurge once more, who dutifully slew his master as Agon passed on in his sleep. The complex started to crumble after Gorgon struck the floor with a mighty blow from one of his hooves. As the heroes escaped, we could see several stasis tubes marked with some of the names of the base's occupants.
Maelstrom and his retinue would return from time to time. This storyline was a bit too brief to delve into his full origin story, but I'm glad he wasn't one of those one-and-done villains that we've seen far too often in Marvel mags. I would like to see him and his crew have a full-on battle royale against the Inhuman city at some point.
That's it for now. Later today, I'll cover the seventy-third issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The Thing battles beasts from the past with the assistance of someone who was featured prominently in the Pegasus Project saga. Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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