Marvel Two-in-One #1
Marvel Two-in-One #1 (January 1974) formally launched one of the Bronze Age's defining team-up franchises, giving Ben Grimm his own marquee title after the concept was road-tested in Marvel Feature #11–12. Rather than pair the Thing with a conventional superhero, writer Steve Gerber opened with a clash between two monsters — the rocky Thing and the muck-born Man-Thing — a structurally bold choice that announced the series would run on character texture and tonal contrast rather than straight superhero convention. The issue also contains a key moment in Man-Thing continuity: the Molecule Man's wand briefly restores both the Thing and Ted Sallis to their human forms, one of the rare in-continuity instances where Sallis regains his human consciousness and recalls his origin. As the first chapter of a 100-issue run that would introduce characters from Quasar to the Serpent Society, this issue set the template for Marvel's second major team-up title alongside Marvel Team-Up.
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The series grew directly out of Marvel Feature, whose final two issues (written by Mike Friedrich and Jim Starlin, inked by Joe Sinnott) had proven that a Thing-centric team-up title could sustain reader interest. When Marvel Feature concluded, editor Roy Thomas handed the new ongoing to Steve Gerber — then also shepherding the Man-Thing's solo title — and penciler Gil Kane, with Sinnott continuing as inker for continuity of the Thing's look. Gerber picked up Ben Grimm's story thread exactly where Starlin had left it, stranded in the New Mexico desert, and used the name-similarity between 'the Thing' and 'the Man-Thing' as a comic-book-logic springboard to bring the two monsters together in the Florida Everglades.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First issue of Marvel Two-in-One, the ongoing Thing team-up series that ran 100 issues (January 1974 – June 1983) plus seven Annuals.
- Written by Steve Gerber, penciled by Gil Kane, inked by Joe Sinnott, lettered by Jean Izzo, colored by George Roussos, and edited by Roy Thomas.
- The cover carries a production error noted in the Marvel No-Prize Book: the series name in the black band reads 'Marvel Two-On-One' instead of 'Marvel Two-in-One.'
- Story title 'Vengeance of the Molecule Man!' — the villain is actually a mental construct/artificial duplicate of the original Molecule Man (Owen Reece), whose mind later resurfaces in Iron Man Annual #3 and Avengers #215; the original Molecule Man is established as having been trapped in another dimension since his defeat in Fantastic Four #20.
- The Molecule Man's wand temporarily reverts both the Thing and Man-Thing (Ted Sallis) to their human forms — one of the very few in-continuity moments where Sallis briefly regains conscious memory of his transformation.
- Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Hulk (Bruce Banner), and Iron Man (Tony Stark) appear only as cameo flashbacks, not in the main present-tense action.
- Continued directly from Marvel Feature #12, with Gerber and Kane picking up Ben Grimm's ongoing desert-to-Florida journey begun under the Friedrich/Starlin team.
- The issue has been reprinted at least eight times, including Essential Marvel Two-in-One Vol. 1 (2005, black and white), Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One Vol. 1 (2013), Man-Thing by Steve Gerber: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (2015), Marvel Two-in-One Epic Collection: Cry Monster (2018), True Believers: Fantastic Four – Marvel Two-in-One #1 (2018), and Marvel Two-in-One Omnibus Vol. 1 (2025).
Cast · 16 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Thing is cooling his heels in the New Mexico desert when he decides to head to Florida and take on the Man-Thing for appropriating his name. In an alternate dimension, the Molecule Man has duplicated himself and his "son" decides to take vengeance on the Fantastic Four when his "father" dies. Instead of arriving in New York, Molecule Man finds himself in the Florida Swamp where Thing and Man-Thing are able to separate the villain from his power staff and reduce him to dust.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).