The cover is just to draw attention from the fact that this is hardly a "Two-in-One."

I don't think this cover fooled anyone at the time, although I'm not sure it was supposed to. This wasn't really a team-up story and they had to put something on the cover, so...from 1982, Marvel Two-in-One #91, "In the Shadow of the Sphinx!" Written by Tom DeFalco, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Jon D'Agostino.

There were other heroes in this issue, even if they really aren't helping poor Ben out much: Dr. Strange makes an astral appearance, to tell Ben he has to go to Egypt. Ben blows him off, but then Reed was examining a recent survey picture of Egypt, which showed a pyramid that he didn't remember being there before. That's enough to compel Ben, grudgingly, to fly over in a pogo plane for a look. Which still might be a dumb idea, since Ben realizes when he gets there, he doesn't speak the language and can't really question the locals. Then, an escaped professor asks him for help, but he's chased by a batch of local goons. Said goons are no match for the Thing, but Ben loses track of the professor in the fight, so he opts to "surrender" and get taken to the big bad. Which--that shadow--could it be?

No, it's the Sphinx, remember the title of the story? And so you don't forget, while Ben's chained up, the Sphinx monologues for three solid pages on his origin, the Ka Stone that gave him immortality, getting super-bored with said immortaliity, challenging Galactus to a fight and losing, and Galactus sending him back in time to get his Ka Stone again and relive his stupid life. The problem was, Galactus sent him back to just before he got the stone, creating a time paradox--I don't know if that's a paradox as much as a mere loop. Working together, the two Sphinxes create a machine to rebuild the Ka Stone after it was broken, and one Sphinx goes into suspended animation to wait for that day. Which...why? Weren't you sick of that life? Why wouldn't you tell your past self to do things differently, rather than "do everything exactly the same, it'll go badly and you'll end up exactly where I am."

When the Sphinx leaves to see if the Ka Stone is done cooking, Ben frees himself from the big metal mittens he was held by, then goes to punch him up. Even without his stone, the Sphinx wasn't a pushover, although he is hurt when Ben accidentally catches him with a shot to the kidneys. Furious, the Sphinx throws Ben's pogo plane at him--I don't think you see those anymore, maybe this is why--but that just got Ben into position to clobber the Ka Stone machine. The stone reaches out to Ben's mind, trying to convince him to take it, but Ben's not buying it. Thrown for a loop after the usual massive explosion, Ben is down when the Sphinx finds his partially rebuilt stone. While glad to have it, he also realizes he's maybe not the head guy in their pairing, and sensing that the Ka Stone had plans for Ben, he takes off in his flying pyramid. Ben probably had to fly home commercial. (Weirdly, he'd be back in Egypt in MTIO #95!)

Batman-shaped shadow notwithstanding, I don't think Ben had to face the Sphinx again: after this, he seemed to be Nova and the New Warriors' problem. This is at least one more issue where Ben's reading is rudely interrupted (I'm thinking of Spidey surprising Ben in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2) as he's reading a "Mark Boyland" novel while lifting weights: that's a reference to Mack Bolan and the Executioner novels, which ran from 1969 to 2020! Ben also cross-pitches Epic Magazine, suggesting the Sphinx pitch his fantasy there. And although I don't think any of them are related: how many evil rocks are there in the Marvel Universe? The Soul Gem, Bloodstone's stone, several Moonstones, the Ka Stone: many of which are portrayed as trying to influence or take over their bearer. (Then there's the Looter, who claims to hear his meteorite but everyone assumes he's nuts!) Also, on the back of this issue: the full-page ad for Megaforce! Somehow, I saw that in theater, and spoiler alert: it's not very good!