Three-In-One

Thing consistently headlined Marvel Two-In-One. But after Black Goliath (later Giant-Man) became a supporting character, the series effectively became a Three-In-One when another superhero also appeared. Nowhere was this more clear than in Marvel Two-In-One #76, guest-starring Iceman. In the story, the three heroes defeated Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime, who had infiltrated an ordinary carnival.

Giant-Man's diagnosis of cancer was a subplot not only in this issue and throughout much of the series. A massive blood transfusion from Spider-Woman would eventually save his life, but Spider-Woman would lose her superhuman Immunity Factor as a result (#85).

Marvel Two-In-One. Vol. 1. No. 76. June 1981. "The Big Top Bandits." Tom DeFalco (plot), David Michelinie (script), Jerry Bingham (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Michael Higgins (letters), George Roussos (colors), Jim Salicrup (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Marvel Two-In-One. Vol. 1. No. 85. March 1982. "The Final Fate of Giant-Man!" Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Wilson (penciler), Chic Stone (inker), Joe Rosen (letterer), George Roussos (colorist), Jim Salicrup (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Reconstructing the Construction Worker

A citation at the end of Defenders: Beyond #3 (Nov. 2022) noted that the construction worker within that story previously appeared in Classic X-Men #43 (Jan. 1990). In comparing both issues, I prefer the rendition of the character in the Defenders over his portrayal in the X-Men. Among other physical differences, this latest depiction gives the character a construction helmet and reflective lenses—with a mustache replacing his classic stubble. Additionally, the construction worker's entire dimension now appears in black-and-white instead of full color.

It is indeterminate if the surreal character still whistles while he works, as he had in the X-Men vignette.

The Defender: William Shatner

In New Defenders #128 (Feb. 1984), Beast lamented that his VHS tapes of the 79 episodes of Star Trek were ruined. I wonder if Beast was also a fan of The Defenders television series that ran 1961-1965 on CBS. Before William Shatner became Captain Kirk, the actor appeared five times on the courtroom drama. Far from being typecast, Shatner played a different role in each of those Defenders episodes:

"Killer Instinct" "The Invisible Badge" "The Cruel Hook" "The Uncivil War" "Whipping Boy"

Shatner previously starred as a young defense attorney in a television play titled The Defender, which aired in two parts on CBS in 1957.

The Second Cosmos

Defenders #4 (Vol. 6) announced that the final installment of that five-part series would list the Marvel heroes and villains who were the basis for the archetypal characters in the Fourth Cosmos. Instead, those answers appeared at the end of Defenders: Beyond #2, reinforcing how intersected the two limited series happened to be.

Often reading like a travelogue, Beyond #2 brought the latest group of Defenders to the Second Cosmos, described as a multiverse of possibility and infinite instability. In a fitting touch of continuity, the issue brought back the Omega Council and Concordance Engines, credited in Defenders #11 (Vol. 4) for the impressive number of improbable events that happen on Earth.

This page comes from Defenders: Beyond #2 (Oct. 2022).

The Making of Mad-Dog

Published two decades before Patsy Walker become Hellcat, Patsy and Hedy #46 reads almost like an origin story for Buzz Baxter becoming the supervillain known as Mad-Dog.

Patsy dated Buzz regularly in high school. But when his car kept breaking down, Patsy insisted that Buzz get a new car. Pressured by Patsy and a handful of their friends, Buzz traded in his car at Mad-Dog Cur Used-Cars. The new car, however, proved almost as unreliable as his old jalopy had been.

Later that issue, Patsy turned down Buzz when he asked her to go for a drive—or on any kind of date for that matter. Classmate Hedy Wolfe, who also pined for Buzz, spoke to him about Patsy's behavior.

Hedy: Can't you see how she treats you? She takes you for granted like you were the family dog!

To make Patsy jealous, Hedy suggested that Buzz start dating her instead. Hedy then told Patsy that it was Buzz who had come up with the scheme. Patsy responded by making a date with a stranger who had whistled at her on the street. When Buzz saw the two of them out together, he slugged the unsuspecting fellow. In hindsight, these story elements set the stage for Buzz taking the name Mad-Dog and plotting to disrupt Patsy's wedding to Daimon Helstrom (New Defenders #125).

These panels come from Patsy and Hedy #46 (Oct. 1956).