Marvel Two-In-One No. 65 The Serpent Crown Affair Part Two
With that, the Serpent Squad very brusquely introduce themselves to the Thing and Anaconda shows us her power.
Good luck with stopping the Thing through brute strength though, it can't be done - and the Serpent Squad knows it. They hold Stingray hostage and maneuver the situation to a stage that the Thing would most definitely label as a "revoltin' development". Cue the visual:
Terrible. If the Thing uses his strength to try and free himself he'll tear the arms off Stingray. What follows next is the most intense part of the tale as Ben painfully shimmies down the metal beam underwater.
This is made deadly by the fact that the air-breathing Thing has to hold his breath the whole time. Ben is known to be able to hold his breath for 9 minutes tops. The beam descent feels like hours but finally:
Back on the rig we have the not-so-timely arrival of Triton.
Triton of the Inhumans. The last time I saw him was in the pages of Civil War: Black Panther. By that time, the Inhumans have already relocated to the Moon and Triton was bemoaning the loss of the oceans of Earth, having to make do with flooded Moon caverns. Nice to see him swimming free during the good old days.
With that, the trio dive in and take the battle to the foe and underneath the waves - the Thing using a breathing device.
Unlike the scientist Stingray, Triton is a seasoned fighter. His is the first attack and what a salvo it is.
Ben has identified the poisonous Death Adder as a priority.
Unfortunately, the Thing finds himself in a literal bind as Anaconda moves in and Black Mamba uses her seductive power.
In his mind's eye Ben sees (and feels) Alicia naked and doing some crazy things to an orange pile of rocks.
It is a fitting moment for Stingray to get his revenge.
I love it when great looking armor packs in solid "horsepower".
The whole thing ends with the Serpent Squad routed and apparently lost in an undersea rockslide. All except for the teleporting Sidewinder, and he has the Serpent Crown. Ben has been around long enough to know that a power object on the loose simply cannot be ignored.
