The Thing #6: ...There Goes the Neighborhood!
Writer: Dan Slott
Penciller: Kieron Dwyer
Inker: Kieron Dwyer
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Colorist: Laura Villari
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Guest Shots:
Spider-Man, Hercules, Arlo North, Kathleen O'Meara and Damage Control, Alicia Masters, Hiram Sheckerberg, Lockjaw, and cameos by... Human Torch, Dragon Man, Beyonce Knowles, Mr. Fantastic, Blastaar, Invisible Woman, Namor, She-Hulk, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, and Valeria Richards, plus Bunny by phone
The Villain:
Trapster, Sandman
The Set Up:
We pick up where we left off last issue, with Ben facing Sandman and Trapster, and a bomb the two villains set all ready to go off and destroy the Grimm Youth Center. Ben fires off a Fantasti-Flare, and the trio pauses expectantly, waiting for Ben's teammates to show up, and... nothing happens. Just as the three are resuming their fight, in swings Spider-Man, attracted by the flare. Sandman and Trapster groan their dismay, joined by Ben, who apologizes to them, saying that he never have used the flare if he'd know Spidey was going to show up. The fight resumes...
Clobberin' Time?:
Page 9, panel 1, a young girl is calling her friends on her cell phone to have 'em come down and watch the fight. "No, he hasn't said 'clobbering time' yet," she reports.
Petunia's Patch:
No Petunia.
Things of Interest:
I love the acknowledgement of the Sandman and Ben's classic meeting of the minds in MTIO 86. After Byrne's badly mismanaged retcon of Sandman into a baddie I never wanted to see him and Ben meet again, but Slott handled the scene perfectly.
The Trapster's code to disarm the bombs: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. Spidey recognizes the series after he gets to the third number, and Ben's never heard of it and can't remember it. You either get that or you don't.
Spidey shows up in his "Iron Spider" suit, which Ben can't stand; that makes two of us. This was also in that period of time after the FF knew who he was, but before Spider-Man made a deal with the devil to save his aunt and everyone had those memories erased. Certainly this story still happened in Marvel continuity; we just have to ignore Ben knowing his identity.
Damage Control show up to fix the fall-out from the battle, and with them is Kathleen O'Meara, who promptly hits on Ben. Okay, I'm darn stunned - I would have expected no one in this world but me would remember her from the Carlos Pacheco FF run (specifically volume 3, issue 37, and even I had to go look the specific issue up).
Love the Kirby Krackles cereal poster, but the last page is a bit over the top.
