The year 1982 saw the publication of the seventh and final Marvel Two-In-One Annual, which, like its companion monthly series, featured the Thing and a special guest-star in action together--only in this instance, the series ends with a bang (and more than a few punches) when Ben Grimm is joined by a group of Marvel's heaviest hitters in Madison Square Garden to answer the challenge of an alien bruiser to meet him in the boxing ring, where they will fight for the fate of our world!
Together with writer Tom DeFalco and penciller Ron Wilson, the six-man finishing crew of Bob Camp, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Armando Gil, and Chic Stone joined to produce a 39-page story which features the first appearance of Champion, an Elder of the Universe who seeks out and contends with those who can satisfy his thirst for competition. Soon enough, however, we find that DeFalco has apparently taken a leaf from the planet Kral, a world in the Skrull empire whose population became fascinated with Earth's gangster era and mimicked the people and culture of that period. Here, we find the sport of boxing having an equally compusive effect on Champion and his entourage of alien trainers as well as a slick fight promoter, who bring along with them an Earth-style boxing ring, a training gym, the lingo of boxing and boxers, and even attire that carries the Everlast sporting goods logo--traveling to other worlds and seizing powerful individuals to offer them (what else?) a "title shot" against Champion, a confident and seasoned boxer who has embraced the sport of boxing to the fullest and who can weave and get in under your guard with the best of them.
We first meet our promoter, Proja, who surprises the Thing with one of the most offbeat offers our gravelly hero has ever heard--and who, as Ben learns, slyly won't take no for an answer.
Yet Ben is only the first of several stops Proja makes--extending his "offer" to a number of potential challengers for his master before finally arriving with them in a training area placed outside the fabric of reality, geared for terran clientele.
Finally, their host makes himself and his purpose known to the assembled heroes, while also making it immediately clear that refusal to participate in the upcoming match will exact a lethal cost.
Under different circumstances (and by that I mean a different plot), it's hard to imagine the cream of Earth's super-powered individuals so quickly throwing in the towel (to use a boxing phrase) following a single strike from their foe, when they have their enemy right here and need not accede to any of the rules or penalties of a boxing match in their reprisal. Or, picture this another way: The Hulk gets a pass, since at this point in time Bruce Banner's mind has control over him (barely)... but if Thor were facing Champion by himself, can you see him so quickly resigned to caving in, with a clear threat to Earth not being dealt with?
At any rate, the herd is thinned down a bit, or otherwise curtailed in an apparent effort to avoid taking suspension of disbelief too far. Doc Samson is "disqualified" and returned to Earth, due to his inability to handle himself like a boxer during training. (I would've thought that was the whole point of training, but what do I know.) The Sub-Mariner, as well, is disqualified after refusing to lower himself to "such folly." Wonder Man, having left the Avengers to become an actor, remains a contestant but is still at the point where he has misgivings about being a hero, or a fighter.
As for the venue, with this story being all in good fun I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised at the promotional aspect of the story coming into play beyond that of a Proja's role, though I honestly wasn't expecting the match to take place on Earth. Then again, if Champion has become so immersed in the Earth sport of boxing and all that it entails, battling Earth contestants in an Earth arena plays to that, and is suitable for the story that DeFalco is presenting here.
(I was disappointed to see that She-Hulk only rated a throwaway "mention" as to her exclusion from this match, though she'll be given her due in late 2004 when she faces and defeats Champion in the ring, and on his own terms. Speaking of exclusions, I'm surprised that Proja didn't appear in Olympia to snag one of the Eternals. By the way, Mr. DeFalco--when has Hawkeye ever observed such formalities when speaking with "Captain America"?)
Since the spotlight will ultimately fall on Ben Grimm, it's understandable why Thor's bout with Champion wasn't saved until, say, the penultimate match. Instead, it's the first up--and with that being the case, it's a fair bet (as our bookies for this fight would say) that he won't prevail against his opponent. To that end, we'll see Thor needing to be hampered to an extent--retaining his attitude of making sure his opponent learns the price of challenging him, but having to deal with complications. During training, for instance, Thor was explicitly told that he wouldn't be allowed to use his hammer in the fight--yet while Thor has been known to "holster" his hammer when he feels it necessary to use only his fists in combat (primarily so that he would not revert to his mortal identify of Donald Blake), he adamantly refuses to do so in this match.
Consequently, disqualification remains a convenient option to remove him when his appearance in this annual has served its purpose.
Next to the Thing, it probably goes without saying that the contestant who's most chomping at the bit to get in the ring with Champion is the Hulk--but while DeFalco has dropped a not-so-subtle hint that Banner walks a fine line in being the dominant personality in control of the Hulk, at this point in time it would be another eighteen months or so (our time) before that control begins to lapse to the degree that DeFalco and Wilson present here; nevertheless, Banner's influence suddenly disappearing to leave a raging Hulk in his place prompts Champion to exercise his prerogative as to what kind of foe he wants to box in this match. In addition, Sasquatch, like Samson, isn't suited to the finesse of ring boxing, despite his bluster of relishing a chance like this to push himself to his limits against Champion--while the Danger Room training regimen of Colossus obviously never prepared him to go one-on-one against an opponent in a contained area while having his power buffered by boxing gloves, though he makes a valiant effort.
Wonder Man, like Thor, is disqualified by breaking protocol--though after pulling himself together and shedding his fears and hesitation to battle Korvac, it's surprising to see him succumb to those doubts once more with so much on the line. As a result, his own ejection will likely do little for his self-confidence.
And so now, with the outlook for Earth grim, and all hopes riding on the Thing, the tone of the story spikes noticeably in light of Ben's determination to, as they say, go down swinging--an attitude shared by the roaring crowd who make sure he hears and feels their support for him. At the risk of making use of another boxing term, we can all agree that this annual has reached the main event. (And just to stack the deck as far as whipping the crowd and ourselves into a frenzy, unlike the other contestants Ben rates a custom robe.)
Speaking of determination, soon enough the power and skill of Champion has Ben relying on just that, along with sheer grit and whatever stamina he has left--surviving the first round and barely the second, to the astonishment of his opponent. It's something of a reminder of another bout where the Thing ended up in the ring, only with the Hulk (under unfortunate circumstances)--and just as then, the Thing finds himself unable to make headway against a more determined foe.
Normally, we would be steeling ourselves to see Ben rally and pull this one out, as he's done on other occasions when being aware that the situation has come down to his strength and resolve. Yet now, it's all Ben can do to survive a record-breaking third round--even as, begrudgingly, we must give credit where credit is due to Champion, who finds he must muster his own resolve when the Thing inflicts a damaging blow to his midsection that forces the alien to realize he must take it up a notch against his opponent in order to head off any possibility of a comeback. The man is deservedly well-named in the ring, even as we're compelled to watch as he rains blow upon blow on the Thing--until finally, the referee is forced to declare a winner.
The final moments in the ring are a sight to see. Champion remains conceited and arrogant, confirming to any within the sound of his voice the self-serving nature of his "destiny" despite the contradictions involved. (For one thing, a person is never aware of what their destiny truly is, and thus, it cannot be "chosen" in the manner that Champion believes; and, secondly, one who wishes to truly compete with others doesn't make a point of seeking out "lesser beings" to do so.) Yet even Champion must acknowledge the fighting spirit of the Thing, a competitor who this day saved his world--and who is swarmed in the ring by his friends, amid the cheers and applause from the crowds who if it were at all possible would doubtlessly hoist him upon their collective shoulders.
Whatever happened to boxing? It used to be huge but nowadays much less so.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I don't have an answer for you, Colin--in terms of spectator sports I was more into tennis matches, and those seem to be as televised as ever while boxing appears to have had its heyday during the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteAs nothing but a guess, I'd reckon that the Mixed Martial Arts fights may be better at scratching the "watch two people beat the snot out of each other" itch.
ReplyDeleteThis comic always annoyed me to no end. Thor and the other heroes act like flimsy caricatures of themselves. I know it's the Thing's book, so he gets the top-billing, but better ways to disqualify the others only take a bit of thinking. Lazy, lazy writing.
Is Hercules mentioned in passing somewhere in the story? He is most conspicuous in his absence. Probably DeFalco's mediocre efforts could not conceive of any way to disqualify the demi-god that competed in the original Olympics and other sporting events. Herc was likely involved with the creation of original boxing as an Olympic sport!
It's possible that Hercules wasn't mentioned in the story precisely in order to avoid explaining why he wasn't included, as you infer, Murray--though I must say I would have been curious to see how he would have handled himself in the ring. However, having appeared only sporadically in an Avengers story since the business with Korvac (the last I recall was during the fiasco membership meeting hosted by Moondragon), his whereabouts tend to register with little more than a question mark for readers, as they by now accept the fact that the character will turn up soon enough. (A shoulder-shrug reaction which apparently has worked in Mr. DeFalco's favor here.)
ReplyDeleteDeFalco would do some decent journeymen level writing in the mid-eighties to early-nineties, but he is very pedestrian in the early eighties. He would flashes of inspiration, but his execution was very uneven. He tends to write very generic super-hero stories. And his dialogue here is just awful.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot to like in this MTIO Annual, but overall I agree with Big Murr that this is mediocre quality. The concept is solid, but any number of other writers or scripters could have turned in a much better story.
I believe at the time of this annual (Champion's introduction), Champion was not introduced as an elder of the universe. Does anyone know when that was established? I think it might have been originally done in an issue of the Marvel Handbook as opposed to an actual story.
Chris
Chris, if you'll look closely at that initial scene where our heroes are all trying to take him down, Champion very forcefully announces his status as an Elder. (Though if memory serves, who comprised the Elders and what they were was still a question mark at this point in time. I seem to recall the Collector being the earliest to reveal himself as one, around the time when Korvac had him in his crosshairs.)
ReplyDeleteI missed that. I was concentrating more on his statements later in the Annual when he talks about his people and it sounds more like members of his alien race contesting with humans for dominance in the galaxy.
ReplyDeleteChris