Appearing in "His Mission: Destroy the Fantastic Four!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Dr. Jose Santini ⏵ (First appearance)
- ⏴ Yancy Street Gang ⏵
- Joe (Mechanic) (First appearance)
- Blackie (First appearance)
- William Shakespeare (Mentioned)
- Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom) (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for "His Mission: Destroy the Fantastic Four!"
The Fantastic Four pay a visit to Alicia, who has been hospitalized after her encounter with the scientists of the Beehive. [1] The tender moment between Ben and Alicia is soured when Ben implies that he is taking advantage of her blindness as a selfish means of dating her. Reed gets Ben out of the hospital room and asks him what is wrong. Ben admits that he has doubts that Alicia would remain with him if she ever got her eyesight back and saw what he really looked like as the Thing. When Reed tries to reassure Ben that Alicia truly loves him, Ben finds it hard to believe and begs Reed to find a way to restore him to normal.
At that very moment the chemist Doctor Santini has been captured by a mysterious man who exposes Santini to his hypno-lenses. Demanding to know what Reed Richards had hired him for, the man learns that Santini was sought out to help try and find a cure for the Thing's condition. This gives their mysterious enemy just the right avenue to get revenge against his hated foes.
While back at the Baxter Building, Reed conducts another test on Ben's body in his ongoing quest to try and find a means to cure his friend. He tells Ben that with the help of Doctor Santini he may be able to create a cure that will be permanent this time around. As they exit Reed's lab, they walk in on Sue trying on her new modified costume that has a mini-skirt. When she is spotted she is embarrassed and tries to turn invisible. This turns into a playful chase between husband and wife. When Reed wraps himself around his wife, Ben helps her out by blowing so hard that Reed is thrown off of her. This makes Reed happy since it appears that Ben is acting like his old self again.
At that moment at a nearby garage, Johnny shows off his girlfriend Crystal to his friends. When they begin hitting on Crystal, Johnny reacts poorly by giving one of his friends a literal hot foot. Upset by Johnny's immaturity, she summons up a whirlwind with her elemental powers to shake things up a bit. As Ben, Reed and Sue have some fun, their mysterious foe completes his disguise so that he looks identical to Doctor Santini and prepares to enact his plan of revenge against the Fantastic Four. Back at their headquarters, Ben puts on his best suit for their guest, but it bursts at the seams because he was holding his breath to put it on. When "Doctor Santini" arrives, he is introduced to Ben. After seeing a display of the Thing's power, "Santini" promises that after this experiment Ben will be an entirely different person. Reed begins to work with "Santini" on a possible cure.
Meanwhile, Ben has gone for a walk and is so lost in thought, he is oblivious when members of the Yancy Street Gang manage to knock off his hat with a shot from a slingshot. As the two scientists complete their work, they believe they have some sort of success. Although she doesn't voice her concerns, Sue has come to mistrust "Doctor Santini" but cannot explain why. When Ben returns he is excited to get the experiment under way hoping it will cure him. First Ben goes into a chemical bath and then is bombarded with mesa rays. Finally Ben is strapped into a "molecul-board" for a final bombardment of energy. When "Santini" announces an unexpected adjustment, Reed tries to stop him but he is too late. When the beam hits Ben it doesn't change him back to normal, it only affects his personality. Filled with a total rage, the Thing blames Reed for failing to restore him to normal yet again, this time fully prepared to kill his best friend.
This story is continued next issue...
Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- This story takes place after the events of Fantastic Four Annual #5
- The mystery villain is revealed as the Mad Thinker next issue.
- Reed has not attempted to change Ben back to human form since Fantastic Four #25 when the Thing refused any further treatments because he was happy with Alicia.
- The Thing was last turned against the Fantastic Four by the Wizard in a somewhat similar fashion in Fantastic Four #41–43.
- The last time the Yancy Street Gang played a prank on the Thing was in Fantastic Four #36 when they sent an etiquette bomb to the Invisible Girl as a wedding present. The gang lays low until Fantastic Four #113 when they mail a stink bomb to the Thing.
Chronology Notes[]
Events occur behind the scenes between the events of this story affecting the chronology of the following characters:
Mister Fantastic:
- ⏴ Page 1-9, Panel 3 ⏵ - Fantastic Four return from Beehive, Reed comes up with a means to cure the Thing.
- ⏴ Page 9, Panel 4-20 ⏵ - Mad Thinker turns the Thing against the Fantastic Four.
Invisible Girl:
- ⏴ Page 1-9, Panel 3 ⏵ - Fantastic Four return from Beehive, Reed comes up with a means to cure the Thing.
- ⏴ Page 9, Panel 4-20 ⏵ - Mad Thinker turns the Thing against the Fantastic Four.
Human Torch:
- ⏴ Page 1-2, Panel 3 ⏵ - Fantastic Four return from Beehive, Reed comes up with a means to cure the Thing.
- ⏴ Page 3-9. Panel 4-20 ⏵ - Mad Thinker turns the Thing against the Fantastic Four.
Thing:
- ⏴ Page 1-9, Panel 3 ⏵ - Fantastic Four return from Beehive, Reed comes up with a means to cure the Thing.
- ⏴ Page 9, Panel 4-20 ⏵ - Mad Thinker turns the Thing against the Fantastic Four.
Mad Thinker:
- ⏴ Page 1-9, Panel 3 ⏵ - Mad Thinker kidnaps Doctor Santini.
- ⏴ Page 9, Panel 3-20 ⏵ - Mad Thinker turns the Thing against the Fantastic Four.
Trivia
- Susan debuts the mini-skirt variant of her uniform, the first alteration of her original uniform she designed in Fantastic Four #3. In subsequent issues the colorist would color Sue's legs the same blue as the rest of her uniform, making the mini-skirt appear more as a tunic.
