Reprints Marvel Two-in-One #42-43, 53-58
Written by Ralph Macchio and Mark Gruenwald.
Penciled by Sal Buscema, John Byrne, George Perez.
Inked by Joe Sinnott,Alfredo Alcala, Sam Grainger, John Byrne, Gene Day.
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Project PEGASUS (Potential Energy Groups/Alternate Sources/United States) is a top secret research facility operated by the U.S. Department of Energy. It's located in the mountains of Upstate, NY. PEGASUS' mission is to study all possible forms of alternative energy.
The Thing visits his friend Wundarr who is being studied at Project PEGASUS. Wundarr has the power to absorb energy and turn it into strength and power. Unfortunately, Wundarr also has the brain and personality of a toddler. The Cosmic Cube, a device which can reshape reality, has been brought to Project PEGASUS because the energy experts want to see if Wundarr's abilities can unlock the secrets of the Cube. But the Thing is incensed when he sees Wundarr chained up and frightened. Captain America is present and convinces Ben to calm down.
The testing of Wundarr's power on the Cube is underway, when it's suddenly sabotaged, leaving Wundarr comatose. It's the work of a man who calls himself Dr. Victorius. He steals the Cosmic Cube and flees to the swamps of Florida's Everglades, pursued by Ben and Cap.
When the heroes arrive in Florida, they find that Victorius is not alone. The villain is joined by Jude, the Entropic Man and his cult of entropists. They are dedicated to spreading atrophy and decay all over the the world. Captain America and the Thing have their hands full, but thankfully the Everglades are also the home of the macabre Man-Thing! He unwittingly assists Ben and Cap in overcoming Victorius and his followers.
Some months later, Ben returns to Project PEGASUS to work as a security guard. He's doing this partially so that he can check on Wundarr. The facility's chief of security is Wendell Vaughn, who fights crime as the superhero Quasar. He wears wristbands that give him super-strength and the ability to shoot energy beams.
The Thing learns that Wundarr is still in a coma and that his interaction with the Cosmic Cube enhanced his power. Wundarr now has the ability to cancel out any source of power when he is within ten feet of it.
One of the PEGASUS scientists, Dr. Thomas Lightner is acting in a suspicious manner. Lightner previously battled the Thing as a villain named Blacksun, but has since been cured. Lightner communicates with someone known only as Nth Command, telling them that Grimm's presence has complicated their plans.
During his first night, Ben goes exploring aroung Project PEGASUS. He's suddenly attacked by Deathlok, the cyborg super-soldier from the future! The Thing and Quasar battle Deathlok, forcing the 'borg to self-destruct. But the fight leaves the Thing with an injured arm that was shot by Deathlok.
At the same time, Ben's old friend Thundra, the super-strong femizon from an alternate Earth is visiting New York. She's been recruited by a promoter named Herkimer J. Oglethorpe to become a professional wrestler. Thundra fights and defeats a team of women wrestlers known as the Grapplers
Back at PEGASUS, Lightner continues to act strangely behind the scenes. The nuclear-powered manchild Nuklo is held at the facility for testing. Nuklo is very dangerous, so Lightner releases him in hopes that Nuklo will cause havok.
Lightner's hopes are realized when Nuklo endangers PEGASUS. The Thing subdues Nuklo with the assistance of Giant-Man, who works at the facility in his civilian identity, Dr. Bill Foster.
In New York, Thundra has her first wrestling match. She dominates her opponent Titania, until Titania injects her with a fluid that renders the femizon unconscious.
When Thundra awakens, she learns that her "wrestling career" was just a ruse to get her to break in to Project PEGASUS. Thundra leads her team of Grapplers into the energy facility and deliver a mysterious device.
The Thing, Giant-Man and Quasar are able to defeat and detain Thundra and the wrestlers. But we learn that the device they've brought will be used by Lightner to build something called the Nth Projector. Lightner plans to use this to transform himself back into Blacksun. But things don't go according to plan. The Nth projector turns Lightner into the Nth Man, a being of pure, negative energy! He threatens to absorb everything around him.
In the middle of all of this, Wundarr escapes from his holding cell. He suddenly has the intellect of an adult and is more powerful than ever. He changes his name to Aquarian, in honor of the location of his home planet.
This is a very good development, because the Thing and the other heroes will need all the help they can if they want to prevent Nth Man from destroying the world!
Plus, in the midst of this crisis, Project PEGASUS is threatened by villainous duo Solarr and Klaw!
Review:
It's hard to do justice to this storyline without spoiling large portions. But it's one of the best mult-part sagas of the Bronze Age.
Story:
The Thing is one of my all-time favorite characters, and he's well-written here. Ralph Macchio and Mark Grunenwald co-wrote these tales (Macchio wrote the first two issues reprinted here by himself) and they really get what Ben is all about. Early in the book, the Thing makes a comment about how he doesn't know anything about advanced technology. Captain America tells Thing stop the "hick routine" and reminds the readers of Ben's previous life as a test pilot.
The writers also do a nice job showing how much the Thing cares for Wundarr.
Giant-Man, Quasar and Wundarr/Aquarian all serve as good partners for Ben Grimm in this story.
Gruenwald and Macchio also do a great job with the "B-plot" involving Thundra. Just when you might think the wrestling storyline is an excuse for the writers to stall and draw out the saga, Macchio and Gruenwald merge it with the goings-on at PEGASUS. This saga made me wish these writers had written some solo-Thundra stories during the Bronze Age.
This is also a case of the parts being greater than their whole. It's basically just Ben Grimm interacting with a bunch of other heroes and battling a bigger bunch of villains. But it's a whole lot of fun.
Art:
The art features work by several of the biggest names of the Bronze Age and it's excellent.
John Byrne penciled four issues here, mostly inked by Joe Sinnott. Their art looks great, just as it did in issues of Fantastic Four that were published around the same time.
George Perez and Gene Day take over and finish the book. They also make a fantastic art team. Take a look at this great image from Perez and Day:
How Does It Look?:
Here's a page scanned from an original copy of Marvel Two-In-One #55 (borrowed from the excellent blog Comics Should Be Good):
And here's how that same page appears when it's reprinted in the Project PEGASUS book:
Extras:
This hardcover contains Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries for Quasar and Project: PEGASUS.
The Thing: Project PEGASUS features some excellent story and art from some of the greatest comic creators of all time. This is without a doubt the high point for Marvel Two-In-One and this book is highly recommended.
J.A. Morris' rating:
4 Sals!
