Monday, August 13, 2018

I wonder why Yellowjacket didn't get cover billing...


...ow, that might do it. From 1978, Marvel Two-In-One #39, "The Vision Gambit" Written by Roger Slifer, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Pablo Marcos.

I don't have the previous issue handy, but the Mad Thinker has captured both the Thing and Daredevil, and was gassing the former to blackmail the latter: the Thinker was convinced DD had precognitive powers. Frantically, Daredevil has to bluff his way out: he tells the Thinker the gas was going to leak and kill them both, then confirms his "psychic" status by announcing the unexpected arrival of a kid Ben had met the previous issue. The kid is promptly captured by an android, but that gives Ben time to get loose while the Thinker goes into his presentation: Vision knockoffs! He demonstrates one that's pretty good, but could be better if he could capture and study the real deal. I don't know if I agree with his supposition that the Hulk would eventually tire and be killed, though: the bad guys always forget about him getting madder and stronger. During his little presentation, Ben is about to clobber him, but the Thinker has absolutely seen that coming.

Now thoroughly hypnotized, Ben is 100% on Team Thinker. He opts against doing the same to Daredevil, for fear of interfering with his "psychic" abilities; but with hostages he knows DD doesn't have a choice. Meanwhile, at Avengers Mansion, their target is lounging around watching hockey. (Aside: you could imagine an android, or synthezoid, having rigid posture, but I love how Vision often seems to be almost languid when he sits.) The Thinker had already calculated that Yellowjacket was the only other person at the mansion today, and Ben sucker-punches him. This puts the Vision on the defensive, but the Thinker had given DD a weapon to zap him when he went intangible, then contain him in an "ionic field." Then Daredevil has to lug over a box to scoop the Vision up for transport. (It takes him a while, and the Thing would've been quicker, except the Thinker didn't want to give DD time to plan with Vision.)

Victorious, the Thinker just has one little chore to take care of: kill Daredevil! He had checked his gas lines and found no leak, so knows DD had bluffed him. Thinker resigns himself to relying on his calculations, but they've done pretty well for him...up to when "Daredevil" shrinks and escapes Ben! Back at the mansion, DD had revived Yellowjacket, then they did a bit of costume switching: YJ wore his costume under Daredevil's, except for his pants, which were left full of ants as a decoy; and Daredevil had Yellowjacket's mask! As DD dodges Ben, Yellowjacket gets the hypnogoggles and releases Ben, then restores the Vision to normal. All good, except the Thinker still has his Vision knockoff--actually, several! DD and YJ are both knocked out, as multiple Visions pile on Ben; before the real one disintegrates them with his "searing optic blasts!" That sounds like an oops, since Vision usually had a beam from the gem on his forehead, and I don't think it was usually this effective.

Oh, yeah, that kid: the Vision checks the Thinker's math, and finds it pretty accurate, but he had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Daredevil wasn't the psychic his computers predicted, the kid was. That struck me as mildly unnecessary, since I thought Thinker got the psychic idea from observing DD. (Strictly speaking, the kid wasn't psychic either; just intuitive based on observations.) I have an Essential Two-in-One or two, might need to see if I have the prior issue in one.

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