Allen Christian reviews Marvel Two in One: The Thing and the Human Torch #10…
If you’ve been following Chip Zdarsky’s brilliant run thus far on Marvel 2-in-One, you’re likely asking the same question as everyone else: “Why wasn’t he given Fantastic Four?” The short answer to that is that Dan Slott really wanted it and Dan Slott has had some very successful runs at Marvel. Not to say that a huge mistake has been made. I’ve enjoyed the first couple issues of Slott’s run and have given both issues glowing reviews here. However, Zdarsky is displaying month after month that he truly understands at least two of the FF. 2-in-One is the Fantastic Four book that we’ve been missing, at least until Slott’s story begins to define itself a bit more.
Issue #10 continues the ongoing saga of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm as they trip across the multiverse. Of course, for the past couple issues they’ve been stranded without their powers, and we last saw them on the edge of death, fleeing an alternate universe Peter Parker playing an Aunty Entity/Immorten Joe mash-up role. When we rejoin them this issue, their powers have been restored without explanation, and they make quick work of the Spider and his gang before heading back to town to deal with their universe’s Mad Thinker cosplaying as Reed Richards and his Faux Fantastic Four who have followed Ben and Johnny through the multiverse. Those are the stupidest sentences I’ve ever paired together, and I’ve done summaries for some of the stupidest comics ever made. This isn’t one of them though, and it’s tough jumping on the review wagon at this stage of this book, because so much has happened in just the past nine issues that not only does this plot make sense, it’s actually really good.
At the end of the last issue, Johnny saw an image of Sue while they were in the desert. At the end of this issue, we learn that not only was this a very real instance of Sue communicating with her brother across the multiverse, but opening this channel of communication also brought the Four close enough to restore their powers. Because that’s why they didn’t have their powers. Prolonged absence of the Four from one another across dimensional barriers apparently degrades their powers. This flies into the face of a lot of established canon, but this is modern-day Marvel and no one cares anymore. I don’t care, either. It’s a good comic.
This is the kind of book that if you’d have handed it to me without the context of the previous issues, I’d have probably thrown it away before finishing it. I’m very busy, please don’t bother me with this nonsense. As serialized as modern comics are, most comics readers wouldn’t see a problem here. Personally, I think that in a world where I can go grab a Blu-ray copy of Vanilla Sky out of the bargain bin for $5, $4 should buy me something I can enjoy on its own merits, even if it is just part of a larger story. In context, this is yet another phenomenal installment in Zdarsky’s ongoing saga of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. Of course, the next issue cover teases us with the prospect of the Thing teaming up with Mr. Fantastic. Is this a new precedent for the book? Will we see a revolving door of characters for the Thing to team up with, like the Marvel Two-in-One of old. I certainly hope so.
Rating: 7/10
Allen Christian – @FourColorFilm
