Happy Thursday, folks!
Today's topic is the ninety-second issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover showed the Thing, Jocasta, and Machine Man preparing for battle as the image of the villain Ultron's head loomed in the background. The tale was titled "This Evil Returning..!" The issue had a cover date of October 1982.
The story started at the Cairo, Egypt, airport, where Ben Grimm was booking a flight back to New York City. He had no baggage to declare, wrecked the metal detector (which was obviously not built for his frame), and even assisted in breaking up a terrorist attack while waiting to board his plane, but Ben eventually managed to fly toward home.
Meanwhile, in that same city, a trio of young punks had found what they thought would be their next victim. A woman wearing a hat and trench coat asked them to stop following her. They failed to heed her warning and were knocked unconscious moments later.
At the Baxter Building, Grimm's teammate Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) was engaged in a conversation with Ben's girlfriend, Alicia Masters. Grimm had called from London and was on his way home. Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) was on his way to the airport to pick Grimm up. Reed had been working on a beta ray detector when Alicia asked Reed about his efforts to turn Ben human again. All previous efforts had failed, which Reed suspected might partially be due to the fact that Grimm feared what Alicia would think of him if he returned to his human form.
Before they could converse about that subject further, the guest scanner indicated a visitor had arrived. While Reed was stunned by the identity of their guest, Ben's plane was landing at JFK International Airport. Storm gave him a ride in the Fantasticar, and Grimm and Masters were soon reunited. While they were getting reacquainted, Richards introduced his comrades to Jocasta, who had recently left the Avengers.
The female robot was originally created to serve as the evil Ultron's mate, but wound up becoming one of the Avengers. She never really felt like a true member of that team, and left of her own accord after their roster was trimmed to six. Jocasta's cybernetic abilities started feeling a bit out of whack, which is why she sought the assistance of the Fantastic Four.
Reed offered her the use of a guest room and promised to address the issue. Alicia invited Jocasta to her next art exhibition, which seemed to be a rather kind gesture for a person who seemed a bit down on their luck. Ben and Alicia were about to head out when Reed brought up the matter of the destroyed Pogo plane (demolished by the Sphinx last issue). He made Grimm agree to visit their insurance agency as soon as possible.
Afterward, Reed called upon the Avengers and obtained some valuable information from Captain America about Ultron. Their longtime foe was supposedly defeated. The android was still frozen at a deserted heavy metals factory but very much aware of his condition and plotting his next move.
The next day, the Thing checked in at Delmar Insurance. There he conferred with Aaron Stack (aka Machine Man) to make a claim on the destroyed vehicle. Alicia was at her gallery exhibit, where one patron mistook Jocasta for one of the blind sculptor's works of art. The two new friends had a laugh about it before Jocasta's senses started going awry, and she began smashing her way through the building.
Masters made a panic-stricken call to the Baxter Building, which was picked up by Ben's beeper. He left the insurance office to investigate, not knowing that Machine Man was about to tag along. Jocasta's outburst had brought her to the same factory where Ultron stood. She carefully constructed a machine that she placed around her creator. Jocasta then pulled a switch to empty a bucket of liquid adamantium over the unmoving figure.
She blasted the robot with her eye beams, and shortly thereafter, Ultron emerged, good as new. She instantly regretted the part she played in his revival, but before she could defend herself, Machine Man entered the fray. He was tussling with the titan before Ben arrived via jet cycle.
Machine Man was trying to repair his stretched mechanical legs when Grimm took on his opponent. Ben was evenly matched with Ultron until the villain used hypnotism to entrance his attacker. Ben then turned on Machine Man, who didn't look like he was ready for another battle just yet.
I remember reading Jocasta's origin story, which I picked up from the bargain box at my local comic book shop, just like I did this two-part epic. She was another very underutilized character at the time, as was Machine Man, who was coming off the cancellation of his own title. Both Machine Man and Jocasta would disappear from the Marvel landscape and later return, although not quite the same as they once were. Since this title was also coming to an end very soon, I guess it was appropriate for the creative staff to tackle the fates of these characters.
I never was a big Ultron fan, but I had to give him credit for his tenacity. He played a significant role for a while during the first Secret Wars limited series, and has recently gone on to assist the same Avengers that he fought for years. It seems that he's made his peace with his maker, Hank Pym, and others on the Avengers teams, at least for the moment anyway.
If you want to know what happened to the heroes, show up tomorrow for my recap of the ninety-third issue of Marvel Two-In-One. You'll find out if Ben did indeed start a fight with Stack, and what role Jocasta played in the confrontation. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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