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Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #64-67
Thing: The Serpent Crown Affair
The Snake God's crowning glory! The Serpent Crown: power that goes to your head and overtakes your mind! Armed with two Crowns, Avengers foe Hugh Jones seizes control of Washington, D.C. - and it's up to the Thing and friends to stop him! But when the Crowns possess hundreds of people to acquire hundreds more Crowns, the Scarlet Witch and Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange must add magic to the Thing's might to halt the hellish headgear's havoc! Featuring the Serpent Squad, the Avengers and more!
COLLECTING: Marve l Two -in- One 64-67, Marvel Team -Up Annual 5
COLLECTING: Marve l Two -in- One 64-67, Marvel Team -Up Annual 5
119 pages, Hardcover
First published May 16, 2012
3 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Mark Gruenwald
920 books44 followersGruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity. Before being hired by Marvel, he wrote text articles for DC Comics official fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics. Articles by Gruenwald include "The Martian Chronicles" (a history of the Martian Manhunter) in issue #13 and several articles on the history of the Justice League in issue #14.
In 1978 he was hired by Marvel Comics, where he remained for the rest of his career. Hired initially as an assistant editor in January 1978, Gruenwald was promoted to full editorship by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in 1982, putting Gruenwald in charge of The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Woman, and What If. During this period, he shared an office with writer/editor Denny O'Neil, whom Gruenwald considered a mentor.
In 1982, Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, the first limited seriespublished by Marvel Comics. As a writer, Gruenwald is best known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America during which he contributed several notable characters such as Crossbones, Diamondback and U.S. Agent. He made a deliberate effort to create villains who would be specific to Captain America, as opposed to generic foes who could as easily have been introduced in another comic.
His 60-issue run on Quasar realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, he considered his magnum opus to be the mid-1980s 12-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intended superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet
In 1978 he was hired by Marvel Comics, where he remained for the rest of his career. Hired initially as an assistant editor in January 1978, Gruenwald was promoted to full editorship by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in 1982, putting Gruenwald in charge of The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Woman, and What If. During this period, he shared an office with writer/editor Denny O'Neil, whom Gruenwald considered a mentor.
In 1982, Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, the first limited seriespublished by Marvel Comics. As a writer, Gruenwald is best known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America during which he contributed several notable characters such as Crossbones, Diamondback and U.S. Agent. He made a deliberate effort to create villains who would be specific to Captain America, as opposed to generic foes who could as easily have been introduced in another comic.
His 60-issue run on Quasar realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, he considered his magnum opus to be the mid-1980s 12-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intended superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 16, 2020
Not as good as The Thing: The Project Pegasus Saga, but this was still a decent sequel if you wanna read about the ending of Thundra's 80s storyline and when Doctor Strange guessed Spidey's secret identity.
Probably should have been a four stars read for me if George Pèrez was drawing more than just 2 issues and a few covers, sadly it was not.
'Nuff said.
May 24, 2019
When the head of Roxxon Oil acquires the Serpent Crown, it's up to The Thing and a group of friends to stop him! Even with legends like Stingray and Thundra by his side, can Benjamin J. Grimm stop... The Serpent Crown Affair?
The Thing: The Serpent Crown Affair collects Marvel Two-In-One #64-67 and Marvel Team-Up Annual #5.
Years after the fact, I still enjoy reading comics set in the days when The Thing was one of Marvel's headliners. This collection, The Serpent Crown Affair, is more of the same. In this volume, the Thing teams with Stingray, Triton, Thundra, the Scarlet Witch, Quasar, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and others, all opposing the menace of the Serpent Crown, a mystical artifact from pre-cataclysmic Lemuria.
The writing is average for the time period, enjoyable but nothing spectacular. I have no trouble believing in the head of an oil company as a major villain. The Serpent Crown is a real threat, whether there are one, two, or 777 because of Nth-Man's shenangians. With an art team headlined by Ron Wilson and George Perez, these issues are the best of the best for the time they were published.
The Serpent Crown Affair is a fun slice of Bronze Age goodness. 3 out of 5 stars.
The Thing: The Serpent Crown Affair collects Marvel Two-In-One #64-67 and Marvel Team-Up Annual #5.
Years after the fact, I still enjoy reading comics set in the days when The Thing was one of Marvel's headliners. This collection, The Serpent Crown Affair, is more of the same. In this volume, the Thing teams with Stingray, Triton, Thundra, the Scarlet Witch, Quasar, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and others, all opposing the menace of the Serpent Crown, a mystical artifact from pre-cataclysmic Lemuria.
The writing is average for the time period, enjoyable but nothing spectacular. I have no trouble believing in the head of an oil company as a major villain. The Serpent Crown is a real threat, whether there are one, two, or 777 because of Nth-Man's shenangians. With an art team headlined by Ron Wilson and George Perez, these issues are the best of the best for the time they were published.
The Serpent Crown Affair is a fun slice of Bronze Age goodness. 3 out of 5 stars.
February 14, 2023
Más episodios de Marvel Two-In-One. Al tener todos guion de Gruenwald (Con ayudas) hay tramas más largas y el nivel es bastante mejor que en otras épocas de la misma serie.
February 8, 2020
Una delle sequenze di Marvel Two-in-one migliori. Una storia relativamente semplice ma con dei buoni colpi di scena ben calibrati, disegnata ottimamente dal giovane ma già bravo e affermato George Perez. 3 stelle meritate, viste a distanza di venticinque anni da quando l'ho letta la prima volta l'ho trovata ancora briosa e frizzante.
May 7, 2012
Entertaining if slight George Perez adventure from the 1970's. Not essential but quite enjoyable. Here we learn the fate of Thundra, which I'd missed somehow until now.
September 26, 2015
This isn't as good as the Project Pegasus saga, but it's decent sequel, still showcasing solid superhero work from this time period.
October 26, 2023
So good! Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio's run on Marvel Two-In-One is such an underrated classic. They really understand characterization, and by that I mean they dive into what makes The Thing tick. Many fans confuse characterization as endless pages of breakfast table conversation that do nothing but pad out a page count. It's not. Issues 64-67 are fantastic, and I hope that we get the entire series collected in Marvel Masterworks hardcovers.
The Serpent Crown is one of the '70s continuity-porn things with a twisty-twervy history. It takes several of those story recap pages in MTIO Annual #5 just to bring a new reader up to speed. I can imagine little Aloysius in Boise, ID buying this off of a spinner rack thinking that it is clear as mud. If you drop that aspect and just read it as a crown that possesses the wearer and tries to bring about the return of the serpent god Set then you will enjoy this more. Once you factor in alternate Earths and countless Serpent Crowns like you see in MTIO Annual #5 things get ridiculous pretty quick. This issue cost the book a full point.
The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic line was a sort of junior Masterworks line, where material was presented in a high quality format but at a much lower MSRP than the Marvel Masterworks. The line reached well over 100 books but petered out because Marvel flooded the market with them.
The Serpent Crown is one of the '70s continuity-porn things with a twisty-twervy history. It takes several of those story recap pages in MTIO Annual #5 just to bring a new reader up to speed. I can imagine little Aloysius in Boise, ID buying this off of a spinner rack thinking that it is clear as mud. If you drop that aspect and just read it as a crown that possesses the wearer and tries to bring about the return of the serpent god Set then you will enjoy this more. Once you factor in alternate Earths and countless Serpent Crowns like you see in MTIO Annual #5 things get ridiculous pretty quick. This issue cost the book a full point.
The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic line was a sort of junior Masterworks line, where material was presented in a high quality format but at a much lower MSRP than the Marvel Masterworks. The line reached well over 100 books but petered out because Marvel flooded the market with them.
April 2, 2024
Now this is what I'm talking about! After having been slightly disappointed by the Serpent Crown storyline in Avengers I was happy to find out that this Marvel Premiere wastes no time in getting to the action of potential of a metaphor like the Serpent Crown, and even tho this particular run of stories can get a little out there I still vastly prefer this to the Avengers collection. Thing is a delight to be around and I can now see why he has a few Marvel Premiere Classics too his name. Also love Scarlett Witch as she has one of the best costumes in comics history. Really recommend this Premiere for anyone looking for a good old fashioned comic storyline.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews