Clobberin' Time?:
     None in Annual 1 or issues 8-12. The closest we get is issue 7 when, while fighting giant monsters in an arena, Ben mildly asks "All right, who's next to get clobbered?"

Petunia's Patch:
     
     No mentions of Petunia in issues 7-12 or the annual.

Things of Interest:
     Annual 1:
     Cover by Chip Zdarsky. Variant cover by Pyeong Jun Park. I was liking the cover having a team-up vibe to it, but unfortunately, issues 7-10 go back to being Ben/Johnny.
     Honestly, this isn't even vaguely a Ben story - it's a Doom story. My guess is that Mr. Zdarsky's plan was to have Doom be a big part of an ongoing M2iO series, but the oncoming FF series derailed that (this will be a theme on this particular page, I fear). If it was his intent to have an "FF" consisting of Ben, Johnny, Doom, and Rachna Koul, this issue kind of works. As is (particularly given that Dan Slott, in the FF book, has since completely ignored all the "Infamous Iron Man" development), it seems kind of pointless. Still, I did enjoy the flashback scenes with Doom and his father - so much of Doom's story is a combo of people being mean to him and his own cacklingly evil personality - it's nice to see slightly reasonable stories of his early development.
     Okay, the Doom of this universe _just_ killed Ben, and is standing over the corpse of Mr. Fantastic, which is a fleshless skeleton which looks like it has been dead for decades. Huh?
     I'm not sure how I feel about the Council of Reeds (not new to this book, by the by - I believe it dates to the Hickman FF run). We regularly see that Reed is not really stable without his support group (see issues 3-6 of this series for one example!), and putting a whole bunch of them together seems, well, unsmart. One Reed even comments on how important their families are, and yet... here they are.
     To be clear, the alternate universe in this issue is not the same one as in issues 4-6, nor the one in issue 7. The Multisect has been being used more than just the few times we saw.

     Issue 7:
     Ramón K. Perez on art now, our fourth (counting the annual) and final artist in our 13 issue run. Another lovely Nick Bradshaw cover.
     Ah, a "Road Warrior" universe, with a feudal warlords post-holocaust setting, caused by the "Civil War" event.
     Rachna Koul's personal agenda is finally revealed, and we get a backstory and name, Disha, for her comatose sister. Kind of an odd move here, with her comatose on every single world they've visited, except this one - where she's a giant mutated monster. Kind of an extreme, no?
     For the first time since we left the main Earth, we briefly catch back up with Alicia and Spidey, as well as hints of the Thinker's goals.
     I do really appreciate "Rocky and flaming Bullwinkle" in reference to our twosome.




     Issue 8:
     Cover by Jay Anacleto.
     I have remarkably little to say about this issue. Ben and Johnny are depressed people, in a depressed world, dealing with their depressing issues. Somehow it still works, and isn't anything as bad as that sentence made it sound - this is kind of "working through their issues so they can move on." Literature being literature, we know that now that they've both accepted Reed and Sue's deaths, a surprise must be coming in the next issue or two.
     I'm happy to note that a Marvel Two-in-One Epic #1 is solicited in here, reprinting the original MTIO issues 1-19, plus Marvel Feature 1-2 and MTU 47. It's the Golden Age of MTIO!
     Worthy of note is that August 8th (between M2iO issues 8 and 9) sees, finally, the publication of the revived Fantastic Four book, written by Dan Slott with art by Sara Pichelli. For those of you reading this in a utopian future world which can't imagine a time without the FF, the Fantastic Four book was canceled as of issue 645 (cover-dated June, 2015), presumably as part of a squabble over movie rights. With the movie rights issue moving towards resolution, the FF book was resurrected 40 months later with a new issue 1 (cover-dated October, 2018).


     Issue 9:
     Cover by Paco Medina. Variant "Return of the Fantastic Four" cover by Alan Davis, which harkens back to about Fantastic Four 113-116, in which Sue recruits Doom to aid the FF against the Overmind.
     Okay, this one has been building up in me, and while I hoped for an explanation, well, it doesn't seem to be coming. The Thinker (called "Mad" by others), is a computational genius with an incredible mind for detail. His awareness, observational skills, and knowledge of the world allows him to make incredibly precise, even superhuman, calculations, and that's his shtick - he's behind the scenes, letting things play out until his victory. The Thinker here isn't even recognizable as the Thinker. Looney tunes action guy who suddenly wants to be Reed, and is taking on the FF face-to-face? Either the writer of this has never read a Thinker story, or he read the Ultimate universe Thinker and assumed they're the same, or he's playing some sort of insanely complex long game where the Thinker wants people to think him mad (possible, and in character for the Thinker, but it seems so unlikely here!). In any case - I hate, do not get, and do not even recognize this Thinker. Maybe he's an impersonator (that could explain why Doom was calling him Julius in issue 3)? Just... no. Worst Thinker, and worst Thinker story (and there have been many bad ones) ever.
     I have zero problems with Ben and Johnny's success against the Thinker's crew. The two have been fighting as superheroes for 13+ years, while the Thinker's crew are all new to their abilities.
     The Spider as Mad Max in the vehicle chase is a bit on the nose, but it was cute and I thought it worked well nonetheless.
     You know, somehow when I first read this book, I didn't even notice Ben reverting to the Thing on the last couple pages, a clear sign that the person appearing there was really who they appeared to be. So, Rachna was telling the truth all along, then?

     Issue 10:
     Cover by Paul Renaud.
     Well, with their powers back, none of the villains seem to be much of a problem for Ben and Johnny. It all feels fairly realistic - I do like the quick work made of the Spider, the way the Thinker's team folds, and the reveal that the Thinker's stretching powers were just prosthetics. However, the downside of that is that it also feels... anticlimactic. No stakes. The restoration of their powers had nothing to do with anything Ben and Johnny did. They don't find Reed and Sue. The villains are beneath them. And the series' arc is now done. What was the point?
     I'm self-aware enough to realize that any Marvel Two-in-One resurrection may well not live up to my childhood series (though I certainly recognize the flaws in much of the original MTIO). Perhaps it was the set-up, in that Ben and Johnny were going to explore and reveal "the Fate of the Four," but with the return of the FF book, this series just kind of turned into "killing time until the FF came back." The first three or so issues were pretty fun, but the next eight (counting the annual) were regularly dark and depressing. My ideal Ben Grimm is fun, and though he wasn't his worst "woe is me" Thing personality by far, the series wallowed in the negativity of their situation much too long. I suspect, given how well the first three issues went, that the writer might have turned it around if given the chance, but again, I think the oncoming FF book derailed everything you could potentially do with the Thing/Torch concept. I think Mr. Zdarsky could have done a wonderful job with this book, in a different situation.
     Okay, there are still two issues left in the series. Stick with me for just a bit more...

     Issue 11:
     Cover by Paul Renaud.
     Okay, time jump! They just assume you've been reading FF (probably true), and know that the team is back together. Still, this feels like it has to be a bit awkward in the trade paperback. I wonder if there's explanatory text in there?
     In any case... Reed and Ben walk into a bar. Okay, the alternate-universe burger joint, but still. I appreciate that they do go back and collect the Thinker (I'm still not recognizing "Julius" as a name) rather than leave him to create potential havoc there.
     Okay, one panel throwaway mention, as Reed says "It's a shame the Multisect was destroyed" and we get an editorial note to see Spectacular Spider-Man #309. What the frick? Driving focus of the whole series, and you randomly trash it elsewhere? Man, they really do consider this series to have just been a space filler, don't they?
     I did go track down Spectacular Spider-man 309; its the second of a two-parter where a Sandman from the future is possessing today's Sandman. Spidey calls the Torch, who drops the Multisect on the Sandman, closing the time gate but destroying the device.
     So, more dealing with the team's hurt feelings, though now it's Reed and Ben instead of Johnny and Ben. I actually kind of like it in this issue, probably because Ben and Reed come across as more equals than Ben and Johnny do (best friends as opposed to big brother / little brother). I get some of Reed's rationales, and I get Ben's feelings, though occasionally someone does need to just slap Reed. I'd like to know why Sue went along with this now, though - I see Reed's logic, but wouldn't Sue have objected?
     And, again, it all comes back to Victor. I could really like this take if I didn't already know that the FF series was going to ignore it. Still, lovely work this issue on Mr. Zdarsky's part to try to put in as many connecting patches as possible to make amends for Mr. Slott's ignoring this book once he started his own.

     Issue 12:
     Cover by Paul Renaud. I really hate the off-center large logo on that cover - it somehow makes it looks misprinted. Variant covers by Philip Tan and by Nick Bradshaw.
     Final issue... November 28, 2018, M2iO goes to its grave, pretty much unmourned by anyone. I recall various statements at the time implying, if not stating outright, that it was killed by the return of the regular Fantastic Four book.
     So, here come the last of the loose ends! Johnny and Sue settle their issues over the FF's letting him believe them dead, Rachna Koul's issues get completely explained away (though not resolved, yet, which feels more real), and we end, as is FF-appropriate, with some closure about how great family is. All in all, a lovely little issue of the Fantastic Four comic book.
     Okay, now I have to protest. Ben and Johnny just missed about 10 years of the childhood of their niece and nephew? Valeria probably barely even remembers them, and Franklin went from 6 to 16 without ever seeing his Unca Benjy. I get Reed's arguments, and I get Sue's apologies, but honestly, after re-reading issues 11 and 12 for this review, it's the Franklin/Valeria effects which are the ones which suddenly seem particularly cruel.
     That said, 12 really is a charming FF book, and 11 is a nice two-in-one issue. Hmm, back to my old theory - the series starts well, gets thrown into flux once the return of the FF series is announced, and then ends well once they know M2iO will be ending. It's the middle, the issues living in the uncertainty of the FF's return, which suffer. In any case - 11 and 12 are very much worth reading, and whatever rating I leave on the page will have been dragged up by these two issues.

     Issues 7-12 and the annual were released as a trade paperback not long after issue 12 came out. Marvel 2-in-One Vol. 2: Next of Kin. As on the previous page, I used the cover for that as the main image here.
     Just to be clear (and I imagine that someone will eventually number these)... issues 4-6 are one universe (Doom becomes Galactus). Annual 1 is another (Doom kills Reed and Ben). Issue 7 has four one-panel hops on page 2: Ben and Johnny fighting giant crabs and tortoises, then the two Dooms from Annual 1, then Rachna's sister from issue 5, and finally an Atlantean Reed and Sue. We're told here that "some of the worlds I (Rachna) have led you to haven't been super welcoming," so we know there've been more as well. Issues 7-11 (Warlord Spider) is another universe.