TGIF, folks!
Closing out another busy week with a summary of the ninety-third issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover depicted the Thing involved in a slugfest with Machine Man, as the villain Ultron looked on. The tale was titled "And One Shall Die..!" The issue had a cover date of November 1982.
When we last left Ben Grimm, he'd been entranced by the recently revived Ultron and had his sights set on crushing the hero called Machine Man (as shown last issue). Although he'd been damaged during his own confrontation with the Avengers' longtime rival, Machine Man (aka Aaron Stack) still had enough tenacity to stand his ground. He stretched one of his artificial arms to reach the handle of an electrical relay, hoping the connection would be enough to incapacitate his unlikely opponent.
Afterward, the robot developed a small magnetic energy field that he used to push Ultron away from them. He then grabbed Jocasta and left through the hole in the wall that Ultron had just made. Machine Man used his circuitry to interface with Ben's jet cycle, and the duo flew away just as the Thing and Ultron were recovering.
The robots escaped, but Ultron hypnotized Ben again. This time, he was certain that his evil plans would not fail. Machine Man headed to his friend Gears Garvin's garage, hopeful that his comrade could help him repair the damage Ultron had caused during their initial encounter. While Garvin worked, Jocasta explained why she'd left the Avengers and had felt compelled to return to the site of Ultron's form, because he had manipulated her into restoring him (as shown in the previous issue). She still felt guilty for having done so, but Machine Man reassured her, knowing that it wasn't her fault and that they would eventually defeat him.
In the meantime, Ultron was using his new soldier, the Thing, to do the heavy lifting for him. Grimm placed barrels of liquid resin that the robot planned to use to create duplicates of himself for his eventual rematch against the Avengers. Additional materials were needed, which Ben obtained by force at Stark International. The hero made off with several chemicals that his new master requested. He placed them in a deep space survival capsule before placing them on the flier that Ultron had been using since his resurgence.
Ultron wanted to make the world a better place, but those pesky humans kept getting in the way. With his army of clones, the robot would be free to try to accomplish that goal. Meanwhile, Garvin was continuing with his creative attempts at repairing Machine Man while Stack's roommate Peter Spaulding argued with the mechanic. Jocasta walked out during the verbal confrontation, and Stack caught up with her.
The former Avenger seemed to be a bit jealous of the fact that Machine Man had people who cared about him. She stated that she felt like an outsider in the super-team. Stack told her that some cared about her before bringing her back to the garage.
A short while later, Garvin plugged Jocasta into a device that was used to track Ultron. Once they knew of his whereabouts, Garvin, Stack, and Jocasta piled onto Ben's jet cycle and headed toward that destination. They soon reached the underground facility where Ultron was building his army of duplicates.
Jocasta used her energy eye beams to blast an entrance, and the trio soon found themselves facing two paths. The former Avenger took one hallway, while Machine Man and Garvin entered the other. Ultron had set several traps for the intruders, including his new servant, the Thing.
The evil robot was waiting for Ultron. He tried to appeal to her sensitivity, but she rejected him once more. While they talked, Ben was still trying to destroy his master's enemies. Jocasta then grabbed the power cannon Ultron had been holding and forced its destruction.
The resulting explosion tore a hole in the wall behind them. It also started to rouse Grimm, who was jus beginning to break free of Ultron's command. He united with Machine Man to rebel against Ultron. Machine Man extended one of his mechanical arms into his opponent's mouth, where he grabbed wires until their foe fell to the floor.
An internal detonation downed the evil robot, at least for the time being. However, the destruction of the cannon also destroyed Jocasta's body. Machine Man picked up several pieces and openly mourned the loss of his new friend.
This was a sort of closure for both Machine Man and Jocasta. Machine Man would return in a four-issue limited series set in the future a couple of years later, and this version of Aaron Stack would return to assist the Avengers and other superheroes. Jocasta, who was modeled after Janet Van Dyne (the Wasp) would be rebuilt and also help other heroes, and reform a relationship with Machine Man. For the time being, it was a way to address a couple of characters who had small followings, but apparently not enough to warrant some solo or team adventures for them.
That's it for today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the ninety-fourth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The Thing pairs up with a couple of heroes for hire who had their own combined book at the time to take on a menace that was rather appropriate for the technology of the early 1980s. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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