Marvel Two-in-One #72
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Two-in-One #72 concludes the two-part Maelstrom introduction and delivers the first full appearance of Deathurge — a wraith-like agent of the cosmic entity Oblivion who would become a recurring presence across Avengers, Quasar, and Great Lakes Avengers stories for decades. The issue also marks the debut of Phaeder and quietly expands Inhuman mythology by establishing, via flashback, that the island city of Attilan and the Great Refuge hidden in the Himalayas are one and the same location — a continuity clarification that anchored subsequent Inhuman lore. Together with its companion issue #71, it launched Maelstrom as one of the most durable villains in Marvel's cosmic and Inhuman corners, a character whose nihilistic ideology and clone-resurrection mechanics gave writers from Roger Stern to Gruenwald himself a durable engine for long-form storytelling.
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The two-part Maelstrom storyline was scripted by the writing team of Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio under editor Jim Salicrup, with Bob Budiansky serving as assistant editor and Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief. Pencils across both issues were by Ron Wilson, the title's longtime regular artist, with Chic Stone on inks for issue #72. Notably, the issue's own letters page acknowledges that the original concept for Maelstrom came from writer Steven Grant, and that the character's visual design was by Paty Cockrum — an unusually transparent crediting for the era. Gruenwald and Macchio's collaboration on Marvel Two-in-One ended with this issue (#72), as Gruenwald continued alone on the title through #74.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First full appearance of Deathurge, a Darkforce-powered wraith serving the cosmic entity Oblivion, who goes on to appear in Avengers, Quasar, Hellstorm, and G.L.A. storylines.
- First appearance and origin of Phaeder — the exiled Inhuman geneticist and Maelstrom's father — whose legacy was later expanded in X-Factor Annual #3 and Silver Surfer Annual #1.
- Maelstrom's first appearance was in the preceding issue #71 (January 1981); issue #72 is his second appearance and the conclusion of his debut storyline, culminating in his apparent death ordered upon himself via Deathurge.
- Deathurge had an unnamed, single-panel cameo at the bottom-right of the last page of issue #71; his first named, full appearance is in this issue (#72).
- A flashback in this issue established for the first time that the Inhumans' Great Refuge in the Himalayan Mountains and the Atlantic island of Attilan were actually the same city, relocated decades earlier — a significant retroactive continuity clarification for Inhuman history.
- Written by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio; art by Ron Wilson (pencils) and Chic Stone (inks); edited by Jim Salicrup. The letters page credits Steven Grant with the original Maelstrom concept and Paty Cockrum with the character's visual design.
- Maelstrom's minions Gronk, Helio, and Phobius appear to die in this issue but are established to survive via cloning — a plot mechanic that recurs when Maelstrom returns in Avengers #247–250.
- The story arc was reprinted in Essential Marvel Two-In-One Vol. 3 (2009, black and white) and Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-In-One Vol. 6 (2022, in color).
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↩ Reprints [Marvel Hostess Ads] #55 (1981)
Reprinted in Spécial Strange #49 (1987), Essential Marvel Two-in-One #3 (2009), Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One #6 (2021)
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