Marvel Feature #12: The Bite of the Blood Brothers!
Writer: Mike Friedrich
Artists: Jim Starlin & Joe Sinnott
Letterer: M. Royer
Colorist: L. Lessman
Editor: Roy Thomas
The Guest Star:
Iron Man
The Villain:
the Blood Brothers
Guest Shots:
Thanos
The Set Up:
Stranded in the desert after last issue's storyline, the Thing finds himself walking for civilization. Hearing a sound like a small jet, Ben turns to see Iron Man scream towards him and then pass him by without stopping. A very peeved Thing heads in the direction Iron Man flew.
Iron Man, meanwhile, muses that he can't stop as he's involved in trying to stop Thanos, and is heading for Thanos' old base. It turns out to be still occupied by the Blood Brothers who, discovering Iron Man before he notices them, contact Thanos and are ordered by him to kill Iron Man. They quickly attack, and Iron Man decides he can't take them and must get reinforcements. Unfortunately, Ben is just coming in as Iron Man (still looking backwards for signs of the Blood brothers) is flying out and the two collide, knocking each unconscious, or very close to it, as the Blood Brothers emerge...
Clobberin' Time?:
Page 18, Panel 3. "Ya got my corpuscles boiling, ya dirty vampires -- and when that happens -- It's Clobberin' Time!
Petunia's Patch:
No Petunia in this issue.
Unofficial Index:
The Thing last appeared in Marvel Feature #11, and next appears in Marvel Two-in-One #1. Iron Man last appeared in Captain Marvel #30 and next appears in Avengers #119.
The Blood Brothers' only previous appearance was in Iron Man #55; from here they next appear in Iron Man #90 following a brief flashback in Iron Man #88. Thanos appears here in the middle of Captain Marvel #30.
Eros (Starfox) and Mentor also have brief cameos in this book as captives of Thanos, in between appearances in Captain Marvel #29 and #31. Thanos' base here (in Arizona, on the New Mexico border) previously appeared in Iron Man #55, appears in the flashback in Iron Man #88, and later plays a major role in Avengers #252-253.
Things of Interest:
This is the last issue of Marvel Feature, which is cancelled and replaced by Marvel Two-in-One.
This issue has the distinction of being a very small part of the first Thanos storyline. As such, it was later reprinted in 1985 in The Life of Captain Marvel issues 3 and 4 (split in half between the two issues).
