Marvel Two-in-One #52
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Two-in-One #52 earns its place in the Bronze Age record books as the debut issue of Crossfire (William Cross), a rogue ex-CIA operative whose ultrasonic brainwashing scheme — designed to drive the entire superhero community into killing one another — established him as a credible, technology-driven antagonist who would go on to become one of Hawkeye's defining nemeses. The issue is equally significant for Moon Knight's publishing trajectory: appearing in June 1979, just months before his own self-titled series launched, this team-up served as a mainstream Marvel Universe showcase for the character, demonstrating all three of his established personas — Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and cab driver Jake Lockley — in a single story and underscoring his readiness to anchor his own title. The storytelling conceit of Moon Knight using the Jake Lockley identity to chauffeur a suspicious Thing directly to the villains' base is one of the cleverest deployment of the multiple-identity gimmick in the character's pre-solo run, and the issue also carries the curious biographical footnote that its writer, Steven Grant, shares his name with one of Moon Knight's own alter egos.
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The issue was written by Steven Grant — then early in his Marvel career, later best known for his Punisher limited series — with interior pencils by Jim Craig and inks by Pablo Marcos, under editor Roger Stern and editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. The cover was penciled by George Pérez and inked by Joe Sinnott, giving the issue a visual marquee considerably stronger than its interior art. Marvel Database records an on-sale date of March 6, 1979, with a June 1979 cover date, placing it squarely in the busy pre-launch build-up to Moon Knight's solo debut. Tom Brevoort, recalling the issue from his own childhood collection, noted the striking biographical coincidence that the writer shared a name with Moon Knight's millionaire alter ego, and speculated — though without certainty — that Doug Moench may have named the fictional 'Steven Grant' persona in the writer's honor before Grant had entered the industry.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Crossfire (William Cross), a former CIA interrogation expert turned high-tech criminal subversive, created by writer Steven Grant and penciler Jim Craig (Marvel Two-in-One #52, June 1979).
- Crossfire's debut scheme involves an ultrasonic brainwashing device intended to manipulate superhumans into slaughtering one another — the core concept that drives his later battles with Hawkeye and Mockingbird.
- Moon Knight appears in all three of his established 1979-era identities in a single issue: the costumed Moon Knight (Marc Spector), the millionaire Steven Grant, and the cab-driver Jake Lockley — with Lockley used to covertly ferry the Thing to the villain's headquarters.
- The Jake Lockley persona was first introduced in Marvel Spotlight #28 (1976); this issue's deployment of it as an active plot mechanism demonstrated the narrative versatility of Moon Knight's multiple identities ahead of his solo series.
- Written by Steven Grant — the same name as one of Moon Knight's alter egos — a biographical coincidence flagged by multiple commentators; editor Tom Brevoort speculated Moench may have named the fictional identity after the real writer.
- Interior art by Jim Craig (pencils) and Pablo Marcos (inks); cover art by George Pérez and Joe Sinnott; edited by Roger Stern, with Jim Salicrup as assistant editor and Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief.
- Crossfire's next appearance after this debut was in Hawkeye Vol. 1 #4 (1983), launching his long-running rivalry with that character; he later appeared in Captain America #317, Avengers Spotlight #24–25, and became a recurring presence in the Hood's criminal syndicate during the late 2000s.
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↩ Reprints [Marvel Hostess Ads] #37 (1979)
Reprinted in Spécial Strange #27 (1982), Essential Moon Knight #1 (2006), Essential Marvel Two-in-One #2 (2007), Moon Knight Epic Collection #1 (2014), Moon Knight Omnibus #1 (2020), Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One #5 (2020), Marvel Two-in-One Epic Collection #3 (2024), I Fantastici Quattro #259
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