Marvel Two-in-One #54: Blood and Bionics


Writer: Gruenwald / Macchio
Penciller: Byrne
Inker: Sinnott
Letterer: Costanza
Colorist: Sharen
Editor: Stern

The Guest Star:
      Deathlok

The Villain:
      Deathlok; Dr. Thomas Lightner

Guest Shots:
      Quasar; Nuklo; Dr. Bill Foster; Wundarr; Atom-Smasher; Thundra; The Grapplers: Poundcakes, Titania (I), Letha, and Screaming Mimi

The Set Up:
      We open with Ben under attack by Deathlok, who actually manages to pierce Ben's hide to the point that Ben is bleeding. We quickly learn that Deathlok has no organic parts left (as Ben puts it "Somebody's lobotomized the poor sucker."). Quasar quickly comes to Ben's aid, and the two go after the escaping cyborg.
     Elsewhere, we see Thundra learning the ropes about professional wrestling, to the misfortune of the Grapplers (Letha, Poundcakes, Screaming Mim, and Titania).
     In Project Pegasus, Dr. Thomas Lightner reports to the myseterious Nth Command that Deathlok was unable to finish his portion of the "Nth projector" and Lightner is ordered to create more chaos at Pegasus, which he does by releasing Nuklo, the nuclear man...

Clobberin' Time?:
      Nope.

Petunia's Patch:
      Not this month. Hey, we got two last month, so I'm not going to complain!

Things of Interest:
      Future superstars (?) of the Marvel Universe...

Three panels, one each from pages 22, 23, and 24. She goes after Thundra, she meets Thundra, and after...
Did everybody recognize current Thunderbolt and future Avenger, Songbird (then Screaming Mimi), in her very first appearance?

     This is part two of the six-part Project Pegasus saga, which runs from MTIO 53 to MTIO 58. All six issues (plus issue 60) were reprinted in 1988 in trade paperback as The Project Pegasus Saga.
     The Titania who appears here bears no relationship to the one who later appears in the Secret Wars series and who eventually marries the Absorbing Man. This Titania was killed by the Scourge in The Thing 33.
     Letha (another member of the Grapplers who also has her first appearance here) was also eventually killed by the Scourge, in Captain America 320. This pretty much leaves just Screaming Mimi and Poundcakes as the only survivors of the original Grapplers.
     Deathlok had just recently had a several month run as a supporting character (okay, more of a plot device) in MTIO 26-34, where Ben makes a concerted effort to arrange to save his life. It makes his situation here a little more poignant (and personal to Ben) as a result...