Carol Danvers’ Game Night: Marvel Two-In-One Vol 1 #51 – May 1979
Marvel Two-In-One Vol 1 #51: "Full House -- Dragons High!"
Ms. Marvel is a guest in this improvised superhero team.
From the headline we can see that Ms. Marvel is just a guest star. This issue belongs to The Thing. The Thing arrives at the Avengers mansion claiming that he has an emergency. Nick Fury tells him that there is no time to loss. They run together, giving the readers a feeling of a serious mission.
However, the emergency turns out to be Captain America and Iron Man bailing out of game night. It’s pretty fun to see superheroes just hanging out and doing regular things. Although to me Ms. Marvel just feels like an obligatory female member so as not to have all men at the game.
While the superheroes are playing, S.H.I.E.L.D arsenal 6 is being breached by criminals working for someone they call a general.
Back at Avengers mansion Ms. Marvel is winning. In the most horrible way possible, meaning that she doesn’t even know that she has good cards. Why would Fury even invite someone who doesn’t know how to play? Or play or don’t. I don’t like this beginners luck attitude with her.
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D arsenal 6, the criminals manage to fight and win against the S.H.I.E.L.D agents, and steal something that appear to be a plane or a spaceship from behind reinforced steel doors.
Back at Avengers mansion The Thing displays a very annoying and yet real sort of chauvinism. He is annoyed that someone invited a woman to a poker game as if it’s a sacred rule that no women are allowed in the game, and he thinks that it is even worse because she dares to win. It’s just awful. it’s not like she’s portrayed in a great fashion here, but this just makes me really dislike The Thing in this issue. I know he is not super bright, but this is a different level. As this should be his story, he is not looking so good here.
At last, Nick Fury gets a word on the break in at S.H.I.E.L.D arsenal 6 and heads there immediately, with his poker friends. Looks like Ms. Marvel has just become the obligatory one female member of the team for this issue. If you just had one more, it wouldn’t appear as such.
When the Avengers, for a lack of a better term, fly up, they see the helicarrier being attacked by an aircraft called the Sky Dragon. Ms. Marvel flies off to join the battle and Wonder Man tells her to take the lead. Yet it is Beast who does the most damage. Ms. Marvel ends up fighting besides The Thing who tells her she fights as good as she plays poker. What a compliment coming from him.
As soon as General Pollock finds the last component that he needs, Nick Fury is all over him. But one of Pollock’s soldiers takes Fury out. Pollock tries to escape back to Sky Dragon and away, but he is stopped by The Thing, then Ms. Marvel arrive, Wonder Man and Beast. Just like in the first Avengers movie, it turns out the Fury is wearing a bullet proof jacket that saved his life. Ms. Marvel makes a joke that his girlfriend knitted it for him, while Beast wonders what time it is.
It is sunrise by the time they all head back to Avengers mansion. They are all tired. All but Wonder Man, because that’s part of his power set. He goes to make coffee for everyone, so they can continue the game.
When he comes back they are all asleep after a long night of Avenging. It is just a brilliant ending.
This is a super fun issue. The poker game, the fight and the brilliant ending. But as for Carol Danvers, it stands out to me that she is the only woman. Her run was canceled, but Marvel had to keep her around because of the Marvel brand name, so she becomes the obligatory woman character. There is not a single other woman in the issue, not even in the background. But she is pretty badass and apparently has some beginners luck at poker, so she has that going for her. But I feel that she blends in the background more than stand out. Although Ms. Marvel sleeping on Beast’s head is pretty funny and she is front and center in this last image of the issue. I guess I just miss her solo issues already. There she can lead, because here, despite Wonder Man’s words, she’s surly not a leader.
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