The next Marvel Two-In-One guest star is a head shaker: the Son of Satan. You have got to be kidding me. It seems that Hell - with its cast of characters - was just too colorful a place for Marvel to pass up. These days, Marvel has veered away from the more religious-centric Satan to a devil of their own creation: Mephisto. But not in this story. Here we are dealing with Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, who, quite frankly, behaves like an angel - and not a fallen one at that. Let's take a look at this guy.
This rendition really makes me chuckle. Specially the pentagram at the chest area. This is the kind of thing that would really rile up religious groups. I'm just amused that this got past the Comics Code Authority - still in full swing at the time. This comic came around the time that Dungeons & Dragons was getting all sorts of flak for having a demon-like Efreet on the cover of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Years later, Magic the Gathering would get the same kind of flak for featuring the pentagram. But just look at Daimon Hellstrom here. Man, that is wild.
Looking at other aspects of the story we have a beautiful theme going here: Old West Ghost Towns. This kind of thing is not so much spooky but romantic. I know the real Old American West was far from the romanticized place we know now but I'm an adherent of the romantic view of the Old West, to me it's just another kind of fantasy place. Ben seems to agree with me as he wanders around a ghost town called Lawless.
Be prepared for the Thing to be absolutely ineffective in this story. We're talking spirits and ghosts here. 90-ton punches don't work on these things. Take this guy for example:
The ghost of Jedadiah Ravenstorm
Or this customer right here: Kthara, Mother of Demons
Ben gets to demonstrate his toughness and determination.
But that's about it. Thank, uh, God, that the Son of Satan is by Ben's side. Daimon has recourse to his hellfire effect.
And the handy dandy trident (that's a technical term they use in hell).
All in all, this isn't really the issue of Marvel Two-In-One that you should bring to Sunday school.
