Random Happenstance

There's a Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode--I think it's Cry Wilderness, but don't hold me to that--no, it's Beast of Hollow Mountain!--where onscreen, a fleeing character trips and falls for the umpteenth time, and the guys complain that the movie's way over it's two-falls-per-character limit. I don't know if that's a hard-and-fast rule, or just a guideline, but it's handy. And for no reason, it reminded me of this comic, which uses the "Marvel misunderstanding" character brawl, to move the plot forward, about a dozen times. Let's watch, shall we? From 1980, Marvel Two-in-One #61, "The Coming of Her!" Writen by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Jerry Bingham, inks by Gene Day.

Off of Pier 17 in the East River, dockworkers pull ashore a mysterious pod. They have also seen enough movies to be terrified when something starts to emerge from it, and split; and the mysterious figure makes a beeline to a loft in Soho, home of Alicia Masters, who is on a late date with the Thing. Said mysterious figure is soon revealed to be Her, and Ben takes her sudden arrival as an attack...and is walloped out of the building.

Her didn't mean him any harm, though; she only wanted Alicia's help in finding her counterpart, Him...better known as Adam Warlock! Not really understanding yet, Alicia goes along with Her; leaving Ben to think she's been kidnapped. Her explains she was the second attempt at a perfect being by the scienists of the Enclave (not named here, I don't think) and she wanted to mate with Him to create a perfect race. Alicia had been among the last on earth to see Him...several years back, before he went to Counter-Earth.

Back at the Baxter Building, Ben uses one of Reed's inventions to try and track Her, but he instead gets some unexpected help: Starhawk, from the Guardians of the Galaxy! They had been preparing to return to their own time, when he sensed Her's power surge and went to investigate, but Ben's scan interfered with his. Her gets her own guest-star too, as Moondragon shows up to check her out. (Her attacks MD, but only with "a sphere of containment.") Moondragon has to break the bad news: Adam Warlock was dead, killed fighting Thanos. (And he would stay dead for a good ten years or so!) Her doesn't think death for someone like Warlock, would be the same; and wants to see the body. Alicia wants to go as well, if she can tell Ben she's all right first.

Still, when Ben and Starhawk come flying in, Her reacts first, and slaps both of them around a bit. Alicia tries to yell to Ben that she's okay as she's taken aboard Moondragon's spaceship; but of course she isn't heard, and Ben can't risk throwing a hunk of concrete at the ship. As the ship leaves, Ben has to jump in the river to rescue Starhawk, but is pretty steamed when he gets out...!

90% of the problems this issue could've been avoided by Her using a door, but she was new. Gruenwald would use Her again, years later, in Quasar...and then she'd be used as a villain about every appearance after that. Also, I had thought Ben and Starhawk had fought each other at least a little as well, but nope. So, one fight avoided!