4 issue test #44 - Marvel 2 in One

Want to talk about Marvel Legacy? No? It’s barely relevant any more anyway? There’s another f*cking relaunch happening at Marvel? OK, this is the last year I’m doing 4 issue tests, they were supposed to be a steady stream of titles throughout the year, these days every time I’m done with relaunch there’s another one ready to bite.

Let’s talk about Marvel Legacy, it’s a prelude to Marvel’s next event, less than a year after the end of Secret Empire (colour me shocked there) it brought back Wolverine and it offered a tease that the Fantastic 4 would reunite for the first time since Secret Wars.

At the end of Secret Wars, Reed basically remade the multiverse and he, his wife and kids are off exploring it. The Human Torch was a character in Uncanny Avengers as for the Thing? He briefly joined the Guardians of the Galaxy before being recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Maria Hill, the same Maria Hill who had been relieved of her position in S.H.I.E.L.D. because of her amoral super villain prison. He was investigating Victor Von Doom, who came out of Secret Wars and for some reason decided to become Iron Man… yeah, I don’t get it either but I’m not reading his title so maybe there’s an explanation there.

On the writing duties for this… strangely named title is… Chip Zdarsky. You may remember him way back for being the writer of Jughead, I hated Jughead… but then his run on Spider-man has been well received so maybe it’s a sign I’ll like it.

OK, so the issue opens with Johnny Storm racing… guess this wasn’t just a Fant4stic thing. The car is overheating because of his excessive force and ultimately explodes. Of course, Johnny’s fine. Meanwhile Ben Grimm is doing a speech announcing a Fantastic award, a grant for people with big projects in scientific exploration.

Ben isn’t exactly at home here but he meets someone named Rachna, a genuine and like-minded scientist who isn’t fond of the party either. Either way, they’re interrupted as Spider-man fights a supervillain named Piledriver. Ben puts it to a swift end and Spider-man is…rather rude, something that oddly seems to happen every time he shows up in this.

Spidey does have a reason to be there though, he’s concerned about Johnny and his recklessness and moroseness. He gives Ben a key to an old warehouse where the stuff that was in the Baxter building was. And I can’t be bothered to explain why they don’t just have the Baxter Building.

Ben heads to the warehouse and reminisces about old times, when he’s confronted by Victor Von Doom. Time for some bullsh*t that doesn’t really sit with continuity. Apparently before Secret Wars, despite the fact Doom was confronting the Beyonders with Doctor Strange at the time, he also paid a visit to the Baxter building and stole a thing that was left for Ben. Ben loses his sh*t on this but Doom is no slouch in a fight, he contains Ben and tells him he’s sorry for the minor transgression, the device will only open to Ben so Doom just leaves.

It’s a holographic device that Reed designed, he tells Ben to keep exploring and that he’s left the multisect, a device that can do something or another that can’t fall into the wrong hands, at the site of her first adventure.

So, Johnny is flying into space, but his powers fail and he falls, only managing to flame back on as he approaches Earth. Ben and he do not start well, he’s not that happy to be reminded of the Fantastic 4 but realises what he’s doing and calms down. Johnny tells Ben he’s losing his powers, this was a test, not a suicide attempt.

Ben tells Johnny about the message and suggests to him that Reed may still be alive, Doom is watching from a spy drone and wonders why Ben would lie. 

#2 opens 2 days previously, Ben and Alicia, his blind girlfriend, are talking. Ben tells her about the lie, Alicia does not approve. 2 days later, Ben and Johnny are heading to Monster Island. We get the oh so necessary detail that Johnny burns off bacteria when he flames on, so he never has smelly feet and never needs to brush his teeth.

They’re heading to Monster Island, the sight of the Fantastic 4’s first adventure. They head into a cave and are confronted by Mole Man and a bunch of monsters. Basically we get a fight with the winner supposedly being allowed to rule, so Wakandan logic then. Johnny is being jumped and his flames weakening when he’s saved by Doom. Doom is of course now deemed ruler, much to Mole Man’s objections. He tells Ben that there’s no device here and suspects there’s no device at all, but something Doom says gives Ben an idea

When he, Ben and Victor were in college, Victor got an award that they suspect Victor cheated to get. They may not be able to get it for him but stick a letter f over the trophy. Turns out that’s where Reed hid the multisect.

#3 opens with Doctor Doom finding the Mad Thinker, it’s his second visit in as many months. Ben and Johnny haven’t left yet, because of Johnny’s power issue. They go to pay Hercules a visit, he once lost his powers but got it back thanks to a scientist, the same one who Ben saw in #1. She’s basically a scientist who restores power for money and because we need an action scene, she’s currently doing so with Hydro Man, who naturally breaks out and goes crazy until he’s knocked out.

Unfortunately, because of the way Baxter money is tied to funding the Avengers, despite the fact that Stark usually does that and I think he’d still have a way post-mortem, despite that, it turns out Johnny had been tying up the money through shell companies to fund them. Ben shows her the multisect and she agrees to explain what’s going on in exchanged for following them.

Apparently, the powers of the FF are tied to each other, not sure how that’s possible given how many deaths and resurrections there’s been but let’s go for it. Ben’s getting weaker too and unless they find the real Reed, they’re both gonna lose their powers. The Mad Thinker tells Doom he’s trying to replace read, and has stolen plenty of his equipment to do so, Doom finds this laughable but is teleported away by the Thinker who then goes to have a hair cut to look a bit like Reed.

#4 opens with the revelation that Rachna is doing what’s she’s doing in the hope of saving a woman she loves I believe. We then get another scene of spider-man being rude and calling Johnny Stupid for no reason at all. Rachna arrives and the three head into the multiverse. Johnny notices something and they head out.

They land and split up with Rachna going to explore some ‘lower-level radiation’ whilst the others head to this Universe’s Baxter Building. They soon encounter this universe’s Wolverine and She Hulk, who think they’re skrulls. Wolverine stabs Johnny and they back off when they see his blood isn’t green. They head into the Baxter building and it’s explained that the Secret Invasion got a lot further in this universe, with millions of people replaced by skrulls.

Reed and Hank, the beast have been working together to try and protect the world. Johnny’s annoyed to find their read isn’t his. Hank realises they’re travellers from the multiverse. What happened on their universe was this: Galactus invaded Earth, Ben tried to stop him but was killed. Reed fell into deep grief and Sue left him. Who saved the Earth, Doctor Doom did, he used a psionic trick combined with some tech he’d constructed to take over the body of Galactus. He may not have consumed the Earth, but his lust for power and energy lead him to eating everything else.

OK, let’s start with the obvious question. Why is this called Marvel’s Two in One? It’s not got two stories, it’s not a team-up book, you can tell by the fact the 2 in the blue Fantastic 4 style is everywhere.

Let’s start with some negatives, because I don’t have that many of them. Zdarksy’s portrayal of Spider-man is puzzling to me, it’s a little OTT on the childishness considering how much he’s gone through in the past few years. Then there’s the art. I like Jim Chung’s work in the first 2 issues, unfortunately the next two issues are done by Varlerio Schity, and speaking of sh*tty, the artwork isn’t great. The backgrounds lack detail in places, the dots that replace shading don’t

So, on the writing side of things. There are a couple of plot holes, like how the Human Torch is only losing his powers now? And the aforementioned problem with Doctor Doom stealing the thing. But overall I thought is an interesting concept they’re exploring… it’s a pity it took to #4 to actually do something with it, the pacing is a tad slow.

I like that Doctor Doom is going to remain a part of this story long term. He’s the Fantastic 4’s best villain and although he’s not villainous these days, he’s still a foe for them. As for the Thing’s lie… well, it’s not really a lie since I’m pretty sure they are actually alive as revealed in Marvel Legacy, I’m sure there’ll be some drama about it and I’ll sigh deeply when that happens

Rating

#1 7/10

#2 7/10

#3 7/10

#4 7/10

Overall 7/10

Marvel’s 2 in One may have a lame title, but ultimately has interesting story potential, even if the artwork in #3 and #4 holds it back