Howdy folks,
Hope all's well on this fine Tuesday. Time for me to talk about the seventy-fifth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover art depicted the Thing and his Avengers allies Iron Man, Captain America, the Wasp, the Beast, and Hawkeye battling the Super Adaptoid, Annihilus, Blastaar, and other villains. The tale was titled "By Blastaar..Destroyed!" The issue had a publication date of May 1981.
Things started innocently enough with Ben Grimm doing a little light cleaning around the Baxter Building in New York as his teammate, the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), flew around him. Ben had invited some of his friends from the Avengers over for a poker match. Johnny flew off just before Sue Richards (the Invisible Girl) and her son Franklin met Ben in the hall. They were planning to go away for the weekend, but were waiting for Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), who was late as usual.
Grimm found his old college roommate lingering in the space-time lab. He apologized after seeing Ben, noting that he'd been so caught up in his latest experiment that he'd simply lost track of time. His space-time viewer had detected something unusual, but Reed didn't stay around long enough to investigate it. Grimm always had an uneasy feeling about the Negative Zone, but he was looking forward to the upcoming festivities once the Richards' plane departed. Ben's girlfriend Alicia Masters was at an art fair out of town, so Grimm would have the whole headquarters to himself for a while.
Meanwhile, in the Negative Zone, a trio of winged creatures returned to their master empty-handed. Disappointed with their failure, Annihilus ended his lackeys' lives with a single power burst. He then turned to his current project, which was restoring a very powerful artifact acquired after it had been drifting near the far reaches of his territory. It was almost ready, but unfortunately for Annihilus, not in time to help him fend off an attack from Blastaar.
The entity known as the living bombburst used his legendary power to strike at his old enemy. Blastaar lured Annihilus further into the Negative Zone before explaining the reason for his intrusion. He was there to offer him wealth beyond his wildest imagination. Blastaar said that he came from a planet that hosted many fierce warriors. He was eventually cast out from his world, left attached to an asteroid to drift helplessly (as shown in Fantastic Four #62).
Blastaar longed for his lady love back home and offered to serve as Annihilus' general in upcoming combat. Annihilus knew of the dangers Blastaar's soldiers posed, thinking that he alone could not defeat their considerable defenses. He agreed to the proposition, and the two villains joined their life forces to seal the deal. Annihilus called for a celebratory feast as he flew off, knowing full well that he intended to betray his new temporary ally as soon as he got the chance to do so.
Back on that world, Blastaar's lady Nygla and others were being herded into the area of no return. They were being led into a sort of gladiatorial arena, one where a large octopus-like beast called Sascra already occupied space on Annihilus' behalf. He and Blastaar watched the combat until Blastaar spotted his love in the pit below.
Blastaar leapt down to save her, swiftly defeating the large creature and sending it out into the depths of the Negative Zone. Annihilus then flew down and vanquished all the remaining contestants except for Nyglar and Blastaar. He then brought them back to his compound to display his latest weapon: a robot called the Super Adaptoid. Annihilus had captured the machine after it floated by following recent defeats by the Avengers and Captain Marvel.
The Adaptoid's artificial intelligence was now controlled by Annihilus. The two titans walked on with the robot, but Nyglar stayed behind. Even though she loved Blastaar dearly, she knew that she couldn't let them bring their evil plans to fruition. She found a communications console and sent an emergency transmission.
On Earth, Grimm was engaged in his poker contest with the Beast, Captain America, Iron Man, the Wasp, Hawkeye, and the Avengers' faithful butler, Jarvis. Things were going well for some players and worse for others when an alarm interrupted the game. It came from Reed's space-time lab. The heroes made their way to that part of the floor, and Ben manned the controls to ensure that the message came across clearly.
The connection didn't last long, but Nyglar was able to communicate Blastaar and Annihilus' intentions before fading out. The Avengers disputed the proper course of action to take until Ben got their attention. He had reason to believe that the call was legitimate and eventually convinced his friends to join him on a quest into the Negative Zone.
The heroes donned power packs, and Ben explained to Jarvis that they had seven hours to investigate before the power packs ran out. Jarvis stayed at the console to watch the clock, as his comrades crossed through the barriers and encountered the first threats along the way. Meanwhile, Nyglar expressed her concern for Blastaar's safety, but was brushed aside as her love moved forward with their plans of conquest.
By then, Annihilus had gathered his troops, which were dispatched against the Negative Zone newcomers moments later. The Thing and the Avengers fought bravely against the aliens and their ship. Blastaar soon arrived on the scene and tussled with Grimm once more. After Ben was blasted through several asteroids, the Beast and the Wasp renewed the attack on Blastaar, while Iron Man concentrated his efforts on the alien ship and its crew.
Hawkeye was later captured along with the Wasp and the Beast and brought to Annihilus' vessel. He ordered the Super Adaptoid to bring the sphere they had been encased in to his private cruiser for further study. Afterward, Nyglar expressed her unhappiness with her love's intentions to steal from undiscovered portions of the Negative Zone.
Jarvis maintained his watch on Earth as more enemy ships were launched in the Negative Zone. Ben was later found by Cap and Iron Man, who were resting on another small asteroid. Blastaar once again led the raiding forces, unaware that Nyglar was eavesdropping on his new ally, and learned of his plans to dispose of him once his usefulness was at an end.
Iron Man led the charge against the reinforcements, followed by the Thing and an injured Captain America. Annihilus was observing everything from his ship and ordered the Super Adaptoid to join the fight. As he and Blastaar were attacking the heroes, Nyglar worked to free the captured Avengers. She returned Hawkeye's gear to him and guided them to safety, unaware that Annihilus was lurking from behind a corner.
He retaliated against her by striking a deadly blow right before Blastaar returned. He grabbed his lady before her body could grow cold, but still wouldn't seek revenge against his host. Ben and Cap finally defeated the Adaptoid before reuniting with the rest of their colleagues.
In the meantime, Annihilus' invasion forces were nearing Blastaar's homeworld. What they didn't know was that the warriors who had been trapped in the bowels of that planet were merely political prisoners who had been sentenced to death. The real danger was the native Balluans on the world's surface who had lain in wait, anticipating just such an attack.
It was something that had been planned for months, after Blastaar regained leadership. He grabbed his rival's cosmic control rod before flying homeward. The Avengers returned to the Baxter Building with minutes to spare and the Super Adaptoid safely under wraps. Ben observed that in life, unlike poker, you sometimes had to play the game as best as you could, even if you didn't know the rules right away.
I was somewhat surprised to learn that this was the first meeting between Blastaar and Annihilus. Both of them had menaced the Fantastic Four before, and it was clear that Annihilus was the superior intellectual of the two. I find both characters intriguing, for different reasons. This was my first time seeing the Super Adaptoid, and his abilities remind me of those of the villain Taskmaster, who can easily imitate the fighting styles of heroes he sees. Although the art for the house ads for this issue was better than the art for the actual issue, it was still an interesting story, one that began with the familiar poker matches with Ben and his Avengers friends.
That's it for today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the seventy-sixth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The Thing tries to have a nice, relaxing day off, until trouble starts. He manages to overcome the obstacles set before him, thanks to the timely assistance of a couple of guest stars. I'll also talk about why this is one of my favorite issues of the series next time. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment