Good morning, peeps,
Hope everyone's having a great weekend. Time for me to talk about the thirty-seventh issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover depicted Ben Grimm in a court of law. He was sitting in a chair, bursting a set of iron chains that had been shackled around his wrists after being sentenced to a term of 20 years, with his lawyer, Matt Murdock, just as incredulous as the Thing was. The tale was titled "Game Point!" The issue had a cover date of March 1978.
The story started in Grimm's bedroom. He was trying to get into the Stephen King novel The Shining, not knowing that he was in someone's crosshairs. A few moments later, the Thing was struck by a dart. It was enough to cause him to break the bed he'd been sitting on in the flophouse that he now occupied after the Fantastic Four broke up.
Grimm went for a walk, where he was targeted and struck once more. Ben lashed out at a lamppost with his fist and pounded his feet on the ground as he continued to be hit by undetected pellets. His destruction was soon noticed by a local business owner and the police. The Thing was placed in handcuffs and later led away by several officers.
Ben was booked at New York's 53rd precinct. He was placed in a lineup, where the man whose storefront had been damaged had picked him out. Grimm was later placed in a crowded cell with another man and a kid who was looking to make some easy money through a game of craps. Murdock arrived to represent the former Fantastic Four member a couple of hours later.
The next step in the process was a preliminary hearing. Matt defended Ben as he listened to witness testimony. One of the witnesses was Alex Stone, the man who brought up Grimm's initial charges. He talked about several incidents where the Thing caused property damage and endangered nearby citizens (covered in Fantastic Four issue #s 25, 26, 111, and 123). Ben listened and started to wonder if he really was a menace after all.
One distinct difference with the most recent incident was the fact that Reed Richards (aka Mister Fantastic) had paid for the damages in the past. With the team's disbanding, that option was no longer available. Stone expressed his concern for the safety of children if Ben couldn't control himself. Grimm's anger continued to rise, but Matt and his partner, Foggy Nelson, did their best to try to calm their client.
Ben's girlfriend, Alicia Masters, was kept out of the courtroom until it was declared that Grimm be brought up before trial. The Thing then unleashed his anger on the courtroom. After his outburst, Alicia and others saw the strongest member of the Fantastic Four facing several police firearms trained upon him.
The judge declared Grimm guilty. He was ordered to be chained up and taken away, never to be seen by the judge ever again. Murdock noticed a low hum before the outburst and guessed it might be why Ben lost his temper. Ben started to doubt himself as he was taken away. Meanwhile, Stone started to grin, noting that things were going just the way he wanted them to.
This wasn't your typical Marvel comic of the time. Most people don't think about the property destruction incurred by superhero/villain fights (at least, not before Damage Control was created). This was an opportune storyline, in the wake of the FF's breakup (although that proved to be temporary). If you're thinking that Ben was set up, you may be more right than you know.
Later today, I'll discuss the second part of this saga with a recap of Marvel Two-In-One #38. As Ben prepares to face the music, Murdock's costumed alter-ego Daredevil digs a little deeper into the circumstances surrounding his friend's scrutiny, especially the strange sound that his keen hearing noticed right before the sentence was given. Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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