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Marvel Two-in-One Epic Collection
Marvel Two-in-One Epic Collection, Vol. 3: Remembrance of Things Past
The ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing stars in Marvel Two-In-One, a beloved 70s team-up series that features a different partner for the Thing each issue!
Welcome back to MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE, starring the world’s most endearing pile of orange rocks, the Thing! And his adventures begin…behind bars?! After the Thing is declared a public nuisance (and not just on Yancy Street), it will take the skills of both Matt Murdock and Daredevil to set him free. Then, thrill to Jim Starlin’s famous two-part cosmic epic pitting the Avengers and the Thing vs. Thanos and his Infinity Gems! Plus: The debut of Project PEGASUS, the reality-bending Cosmic Cube, an android army of Visions, the Black Panther, Brother Voodoo, Hercules, Captain Marvel and a bruising Thing vs. Hulk battle! Not to mention the hated Yancy Street Gang…and the Marvel Universe’s greatest poker club!
COLLECTING: Marvel Two-in-One (1974) 37-52, Marvel Two-in-One Annual (1976) 2-4, Avengers Annual (1967) 7
Welcome back to MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE, starring the world’s most endearing pile of orange rocks, the Thing! And his adventures begin…behind bars?! After the Thing is declared a public nuisance (and not just on Yancy Street), it will take the skills of both Matt Murdock and Daredevil to set him free. Then, thrill to Jim Starlin’s famous two-part cosmic epic pitting the Avengers and the Thing vs. Thanos and his Infinity Gems! Plus: The debut of Project PEGASUS, the reality-bending Cosmic Cube, an android army of Visions, the Black Panther, Brother Voodoo, Hercules, Captain Marvel and a bruising Thing vs. Hulk battle! Not to mention the hated Yancy Street Gang…and the Marvel Universe’s greatest poker club!
COLLECTING: Marvel Two-in-One (1974) 37-52, Marvel Two-in-One Annual (1976) 2-4, Avengers Annual (1967) 7
440 pages, Paperback
Published January 28, 2025
4 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Marv Wolfman
2,304 books304 followersMarvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 31, 2025
Reading through this volume containing short adventure after short adventure featuring Ben Grimm and a rotating cast of Marvel mainstays old and new was a labour of love. Quality was all over the proverbial map, so instead of typing out any kind of coherent review I think I'll just post a few of my favourite panels and covers for your consideration.
MAKE MINE MARVEL!
MAKE MINE MARVEL!
December 10, 2025
Avengers Annual #7 & Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 - This volume kicks off with a real big bang. A two-part epic featuring the Avengers, Captain Marvel, Adam Warlock, Spider-Man and the Thing as they square off against Thanos, the Mad-Titan. Definitely sets a high standard for this collection. This little masterpiece is from Jim Starlin, who handled both writing and pencils on both chapters. (These is also included in Avengers vs. Thanos and Avengers Epic Collection, Vol. 9: The Final Threat) (5/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #37-39 - Ben gets framed and used by The Mad Thinker and it takes a sort of Defenders ancillary reunion to get him free and clear (Daredevil, Yellowjacket, the Vision, and the Thing have all had short stints with the non-team). It’s a fun story, but the Mad Thinker’s plan is as utterly ill-conceived and illogical as always. (3/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #40-41 - Ben and the Black Panther look into the mysterious disappearances of numbers highly prestigious African Americans. But the story takes a wild twist when it appears a vampire might be behind the disappearances. Then T’Challa finds himself among those kidnapped and Ben had to team-up with Brother Voodoo to rescue everyone. Another unremarkable story, but still entertaining. (3/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #42-43 - This 2-parter returns Wundarr to this series, gives us Project: Pegasus, the return of the Cosmic Cube, the Cult of Entropy, Victorius, Captain America, and even the macabre Man-Thing. And there’s even art by John Byrne on the second story. What more do you want? (4/5)
Marvel Two-in-One Annual #3 - Nova recruits Ben to fight the Monitors in this rather cliched end-of-the-world story. Nothing special here. (2/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #44-46 - These next three stories are definitely played for laughs. Guest-stars include Hercules, Captain Marvel (or rather Mar-vel), and the Hulk. The first has Ben relating an adventure to a bunch of kids about him helping out Hercules free the other Olympians. It’s a tall tale indeed. Then Ben deals with an old threat that has revenge on his mind, it’s a Skrull, and what better way to find a Skrull than side by side with a Kree warrior. The jokes here are that the enemy is from the planet of gangsters, so there’s a lot of 1930s visual references. I usually love a good Thing / Hulk brawl, but this one is not one of them. It’s all just a contrived mess to promote the new (at the time) Incredible Hulk tv series. All three of these stories are rather disappointing as they rely on joke premises or narratives that are just filling the pages. (2/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #47-48 - In this 2-part arc, Ben teams up with the Yancy Street Gang and Jack-of-Hearts to defeat Machinesmith, The Corporation, and a mob boss, The Carnation. It starts off as silly as the previous stories were, but tension ramp up. Still, not great, but entertaining. (3/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #49 - Doctor Strange guest-stars and he and Ben almost meet. Almost. Definitely a Lovecraft inspired tale that some nice campy, scary humor. Otherwise there’s not much to this one. (2/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #50 - Ben Grimm meets Ben Grimm. A potential cure for being The Thing is discovered but it’s only going to work on a much younger man. So Ben travels back in time to give the cure to his younger self. Temporal shenanigans ensue as only John Byrne can deliver. (5/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #51 - This is a fun one. Poker Night at Avengers Mansion gets derailed when some old malcontents decide to steal some top secret equipment held by SHIELD. Ben, Nick Fury, Ms. Marvel, the Beast, and Wonder Man head to the helicarrier to make short business of the threat so they can get back to poker night. Early Frank Miller art, before he went all incel or whatever, good stuff. (4/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #52 - Moon Knight helps Ben track down an international threat hell bent of taking out every superhero in the business. Another good one, fast paced and thrilling. (4/5)
Marvel Two-in-One Annual #4 - Black Bolt and the Thing take on Graviton, unfortunately the reason why Black Bolt came to find Ben remains a mystery. Fun, but not great. (3/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #37-39 - Ben gets framed and used by The Mad Thinker and it takes a sort of Defenders ancillary reunion to get him free and clear (Daredevil, Yellowjacket, the Vision, and the Thing have all had short stints with the non-team). It’s a fun story, but the Mad Thinker’s plan is as utterly ill-conceived and illogical as always. (3/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #40-41 - Ben and the Black Panther look into the mysterious disappearances of numbers highly prestigious African Americans. But the story takes a wild twist when it appears a vampire might be behind the disappearances. Then T’Challa finds himself among those kidnapped and Ben had to team-up with Brother Voodoo to rescue everyone. Another unremarkable story, but still entertaining. (3/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #42-43 - This 2-parter returns Wundarr to this series, gives us Project: Pegasus, the return of the Cosmic Cube, the Cult of Entropy, Victorius, Captain America, and even the macabre Man-Thing. And there’s even art by John Byrne on the second story. What more do you want? (4/5)
Marvel Two-in-One Annual #3 - Nova recruits Ben to fight the Monitors in this rather cliched end-of-the-world story. Nothing special here. (2/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #44-46 - These next three stories are definitely played for laughs. Guest-stars include Hercules, Captain Marvel (or rather Mar-vel), and the Hulk. The first has Ben relating an adventure to a bunch of kids about him helping out Hercules free the other Olympians. It’s a tall tale indeed. Then Ben deals with an old threat that has revenge on his mind, it’s a Skrull, and what better way to find a Skrull than side by side with a Kree warrior. The jokes here are that the enemy is from the planet of gangsters, so there’s a lot of 1930s visual references. I usually love a good Thing / Hulk brawl, but this one is not one of them. It’s all just a contrived mess to promote the new (at the time) Incredible Hulk tv series. All three of these stories are rather disappointing as they rely on joke premises or narratives that are just filling the pages. (2/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #47-48 - In this 2-part arc, Ben teams up with the Yancy Street Gang and Jack-of-Hearts to defeat Machinesmith, The Corporation, and a mob boss, The Carnation. It starts off as silly as the previous stories were, but tension ramp up. Still, not great, but entertaining. (3/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #49 - Doctor Strange guest-stars and he and Ben almost meet. Almost. Definitely a Lovecraft inspired tale that some nice campy, scary humor. Otherwise there’s not much to this one. (2/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #50 - Ben Grimm meets Ben Grimm. A potential cure for being The Thing is discovered but it’s only going to work on a much younger man. So Ben travels back in time to give the cure to his younger self. Temporal shenanigans ensue as only John Byrne can deliver. (5/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #51 - This is a fun one. Poker Night at Avengers Mansion gets derailed when some old malcontents decide to steal some top secret equipment held by SHIELD. Ben, Nick Fury, Ms. Marvel, the Beast, and Wonder Man head to the helicarrier to make short business of the threat so they can get back to poker night. Early Frank Miller art, before he went all incel or whatever, good stuff. (4/5)
Marvel Two-in-One #52 - Moon Knight helps Ben track down an international threat hell bent of taking out every superhero in the business. Another good one, fast paced and thrilling. (4/5)
Marvel Two-in-One Annual #4 - Black Bolt and the Thing take on Graviton, unfortunately the reason why Black Bolt came to find Ben remains a mystery. Fun, but not great. (3/5)
March 19, 2025
While there are a few gems in this collection there are a lot of duds. And the gems seemed to highlight the fact that "a good artist makes all the difference because of the Marvel Method". Let me explain. For the Marvel Method - the writer and the artist hash out the general plot and it is up to the artist to then do all the art and therefore lay out the story and then the writer comes in at the end to put in the dialogue. TBH, I am not sure the MM was still going strong in the 70's but regardless, when Starlin, Byrne and Miller (Frank) draw the story - it is an enjoyable read. When the others draw the story it is a bit of a boring slog.
This collection starts off with one of my favourite marvel tales of all time the conclusion of the original Warlock saga, drawn and written by Jim Starlin. The only reason that inclusion doesn't bump this collection up to a 3 is the fact I have it in 2 other collections (Warlock and Avengers - since it is a two parter with the Avengers).
The other highlights are the two Byrne issues - especially issue 50. It is a time travel story and I wonder if it is one of the first times "change the past and you create a new timeline but you do not alter YOUR future" is stressed in comics. It certainly is used nowadays and it helps overcome the grandfather paradox of time travel (what if I traveled back in time to kill my grandfather - how would I exist now to be able to kill my grandfather?). Anyway - very cool story.
I also enjoyed the Frank Miller drawn issue which had the "floating super hero poker game". I wonder if that was its first appearance (MTIO #51)....I just checked!! it was! Very cool.
But other than those three highlights, the rest of the book is a slog and not as much fun as it should have been with Ben Grimm being the star.
This collection starts off with one of my favourite marvel tales of all time the conclusion of the original Warlock saga, drawn and written by Jim Starlin. The only reason that inclusion doesn't bump this collection up to a 3 is the fact I have it in 2 other collections (Warlock and Avengers - since it is a two parter with the Avengers).
The other highlights are the two Byrne issues - especially issue 50. It is a time travel story and I wonder if it is one of the first times "change the past and you create a new timeline but you do not alter YOUR future" is stressed in comics. It certainly is used nowadays and it helps overcome the grandfather paradox of time travel (what if I traveled back in time to kill my grandfather - how would I exist now to be able to kill my grandfather?). Anyway - very cool story.
I also enjoyed the Frank Miller drawn issue which had the "floating super hero poker game". I wonder if that was its first appearance (MTIO #51)....I just checked!! it was! Very cool.
But other than those three highlights, the rest of the book is a slog and not as much fun as it should have been with Ben Grimm being the star.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews