Marvel Two-in-One #26-27 "The Fixer & Mentallo Are Back" (1977)
 Writer: Marv Wolfman
Penciler: Ron Wilson
Inker: Pablo Marcus
Colorist: Janice Cohen

Fury calls on the Thing after S.H.I.E.L.D. learns that Mentallo and the Fixer are after him and bring him to the helicarrier. The villianous pair break into the carrier and manage to kidnap the Thing and use him to get into Baxte Building where they activate Dr. Doom's time machine. Fury arrives just in time to witness the arrivial of Luther Manning, aka Deathlok the Demolisher to the present day.

Thing and Fury are overwhelmed by Deathlok and Mentallo and the Fixer escape with Deathlok under Mentallo's control. Fury learns that the pair plan to assasinate Jimmy Carter at his inauguration. Deathlok's human side wrestles with the task he's been given and manages to make it a suicide mission, in hopes of being stopped by someone. The Fantastic Four and Fury are there to oblige him.

  • Continuity Notes
  • Cover appearance on issue #26
  • Appearances by Dum Dum
  • Villian appearences by Mentallo and the Fixer, both last seen in Strange Tales
  • First meeting of Fury and the original Deathlok, Luther Manning; Fury would later becomes allies with the second (Michael Collins), and oversee the development of a third (Jack Truman).
  • Fury helps thrawt yet another assasination attempt on President Carter a year later in Marvel Team-Up #82-85
  • The Thing subsequently delivers Deathlok to London (over the course of several issues), wherein Fury makes a few cameos, finally picking him up in Marvel Two-In-One #34

Review
If only the inauguration had been this exciting. A fun Marvel heroes romp with Fury just one among a list of heroes and villains. The first issue actually serves as a nice intro to S.H.I.E.L.D. with Thing being escorted through all the customary S.H.I.E.L.D. secret passages and tunnels, all simply to hop aboard a helicopter to fly up to the helicarrier (what, the vortex beam wasn't working that day?). Mentallo and the Fixer's partnership is still hokey in an almost Golden-Age way but Deathlok takes center stage in the second issue with his pathos coming across very well realized. Not a bad purchase for a few bucks.

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