The Adventures of the Terrific Two Continue: A Review of Marvel Two-in-One #2

written by Chip Zdarsky
drawn by Jim Cheung (pencils) Walden Wong and John Dell (inks)
colored by Frank Martin

For the second month in a row, the surviving half of Marvel's first family have featured in an engaging book that promises to get even more interesting next month.

Having lied to Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch about Reed and Sue Richards still being alive, Ben Grimm aka the Thing takes him on a trip to Monster Island, where he believes the two of them may find the device Reed left behind. Unfortunately, they find themselves smack in the middle of a political struggle between Mole Man and an up-and-coming monster aiming to wrest leadership from him, all of which is fallout from the recent "Monsters Unleashed" event. There and then, Mole Man devises a way to "elect" the leader; whoever's followers can take out Johnny and Ben gets to be the leader of Monsters Island! The terrific two find themselves in a bit of a pickle. Will Dr. Doo--err--the Infamous Iron Man bail them out, or cause them even more trouble?

With Disney's impending purchase of Twentieth Century Fox, I can't help but wonder if this story will play out differently in the months to come. Zdarsky indulges in a bit of "meta" commentary with Johnny commenting on how disrespectful it is that a Fantastic Four comic book is still being published (in Marvel's "world" of course) and he clearly conceived this story aware of how fans feel about the FF book's hiatus and the reasons behind it. He seems to be reaching out to fans, inviting them to enjoy the book regardless of the corporate issues behind it, and truth be told, enjoy it I did. I imagine Dr. Doom and the Mole Man, in the FF's nearly sixty-year publication history, have crossed paths before (I wouldn't know, I haven't seen it happen) but seeing it happen here was surprisingly humorous, and in keeping with the tone Zdarsky has set.

Of course, as enjoyable as Zdarsky's script is, I'm really here for Jim Cheung's art, which, yet again, is stellar. For all of its editorial's flawed story decisions lately, Marvel remains home to several extremely talented artists, and Cheung is definitely near the top of that heap. I'm glad a character he co-created will be featured in Avengers: Infinity War. This guy deserves all the accolades he can get. Truth be told, I'm starting to hope now more than ever that, however long it takes the Fantastic Four to finally get back together, (and it can't be that much longer now), Cheung is there to draw at least a dozen issues. Marvel have my attention (so far) with this book; a fantastic development like that would ensure that they keep it for a long, long time.

8.5/10