Marvel Two-in-One #17: This City -- Afire!
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letterer: Jean Hipp
Colorist: Don Warfield
Editor: Marv Wolfman
The Guest Star:
Spider-man
The Villain:
Basil Elks- the Basilisk!
Guest Shots:
None, unless you count Mary Jane Watson
The Set Up:
Spider-man appears on a NYC rooftop, popping out of Dr. Doom's time platform after his time travel adventures in Marvel Team-Up 41-46. He's a little muzzy headed, and a lot of his time travel adventures are starting to fade, so he swings off across the city for home.
Back in the Savage Land, Ben is making his way down into a live volcano to continue looking into the activity Reed sent him down to investigate last issue. Unknown to him he's being watched, however, and he soon finds himself blinded by a bright flash. As his eyes clear, he meets a gloating Basilisk. A fight quickly develops, and the Basilisk freezes Ben with his eye beams. The Basilisk starts to teleport to New York, and Ben breaks free just in time to be accidentally pulled along with the disappearing Basilisk.
In New York, Peter Parker is having a hard time grading tests when a phone call from Mary Jane Watson alerts him that a volcano has appeared in the middle of the Hudson River. Needless to say, he gets into his Spidey suit and heads for it, only to find the Bailisk and an unconscious Thing there...
Clobberin' Time?:
As his eyes recover from being a blinding flash: "Now that my baby-blues are back in business I ain't gotta worry about havin' ta fight what I can't see -- 'cause your ugly puss is comin' through loud an' clear an' buster, that means -- It's Clobberin' Time!"
Petunia's Patch:
Ben, startled by a weird green bat: "Yoiikkks! What in the name o' Aunt Petunia--??"
Things of Interest:
This is the first part of a two-part crossover that finishes up in Marvel Team-Up 47.
The Basilisk has the distinction of being only a MTU and MTIO villain- he was eventually knocked off by the Scourge in Fantastic Four 289.
Apparently Marvel Two-in-One going monthly with issue 16 messed up the schedule for the planned crossover. The next issue blurb in issue 16 said the story continued in MTU 47, and Marvel Team-Up 47 has a next issue blurb that references MTIO 18. Marvel Two-in-One issue 17 does get it right, in any case.
Special thanks to Mark Pearson for pointing out my miss of a "Petunia's Patch" mention, now included above.