Marvel Two-In-One No. 50 Remembrance of Things Past
We come to the 50th issue of Marvel Two-In-One and I expect the creative team to have paid extra attention to it. So let's see what we have . . .
John Byrne words and pictures. This is looking good.
I always knew this was happening: Reed Richards continues to experiment on the Thing hoping to restore Ben's lost human form. Here is an interesting panel that shows the evolution of the Thing.
Wow. Look at this revelation.
Here goes . . . if I wrote the Thing I would say 'enough' to the 'always a monster' situation. I would introduce a Thing that we have never seen before: Ben Grimm able to transform to the Thing at will. The big guy needs a break.
The Thing uses Doc Doom's Time Platform for the third time in Marvel Two-In-One. The first time was to transport himself and Captain America to help the Guardians of the Galaxy the second time was for a trip to World War II and an adventure with the Liberty Legion.
Ben's idea is actually quite brilliant. He will take Reed's formula, travel to the past, and give himself the formula at an earlier stage of evolution - a time when the formula will work.
And look at this.
The Baxter Building before it became the home of the FF.
Ah, here is the Thing in his apartment, very soon after this unwanted transformation. Troubled and gloomy.
'Bah', yes, the old Thing always said 'Bah'. Trust a fan boy like John Byrne to get this right. More than that, trust a fanboy like John Byrne to take us for a tour of Marvel lore.
Okay. Old Thing meets new.
Wow. This comicbook is delivering.
As you can see, the old Thing is in so much personal pain that he's just a ball of anger.
As an aside, where is Ben keeping that formula? He's just wearing his usual trunks. Plus that thing was in a glass container. I don't see how it can survive this.
The action in this next panel is amazing but the dialogue is the real stunner.
'I would give my soul to look as human as you'. Holy crap.
Look at this.
A time when Ben was convinced he was the strongest one of all. Those were the days. Now the Thing is mid-level, well, upper mid level, or is it lower upper level - just a shade below the top-of-the-curve heavy hitters. After meeting the likes of Thor, the Hulk, Juggernaut, Hercules and a handful of others, Ben doesn't mouth these kinds of declarations anymore.
Here we are shown, that no matter the rage, underneath it all is Ben Grimm the test pilot. This is a thinking fighter.
Old Thing, new Thing, both these personas are a walking government infrastructure catastrophe.
Here is the most representative Thing vs. Thing panel.
Followed by the victory shot.
I recall reading somewhere that the Thing did not only change appearance through the years. Each later evolution was stronger than the older one.
Finally the formula is administered and . . .
It gets better . . .
Back in the future, the Thing is still the Thing. Reed explains it best.
It seems not only the Thing's body has acclimated to the cosmic rays; his mind has adjusted to the change also. No more rage or depression - at least not so much.
Ok, the 50th really delivered. I love this story. Somewhere in an alternate reality the Thing became Ben Grimm permanently. He didn't have to go through all the alienation and agony of making peace with becoming so different from the rest of us. Somewhere in the time stream, Ben Grimm got the break he so richly deserves. Beautiful. And happy 50th issue Marvel Two-In-One!
