Happy Tuesday, folks!
Today's issue recap is a little out of the ordinary. The cover depicted the Thing taking on several gray robots, while members of the Yancy Street Gang assist him. The story was called "Happy Deathday, Mister Grimm!" The issue had a publication date of January 1979.
It all started with several mobsters taking on members of the Yancy Street Gang. One of the bruisers found an envelope in a gang member's coat pocket that was addressed to Ben Grimm (aka the Thing of the Fantastic Four). He explained that they always send him something for his birthday. The lead mobster was convinced that this year would be different, not knowing that the letter was merely a bluff and that their real gift was already on its way.
Meanwhile, at the Baxter Building in New York City, the Thing was playing a game of hide and seek with his godson Franklin Richards and the other members of his superhero group, his girlfriend, Alicia Masters, and the boy's caretaker, Agatha Harkness. He'd been blindfolded and was trying to find the youth, a task that was made a bit more complicated by the abilities of his teammates.
Ben eventually ran smack dab into a wall before taking off his blindfold. Franklin revealed the special cake that was waiting for Grimm. He took a deep breath and blew out the candles. His mighty burst of air also blew part of the cake into the wall behind the table that it was resting on.
Willie Lumpkin arrived shortly thereafter with a package for the Thing. Grimm was naturally suspicious of anything from the Yancy Street Gang and started to panic when he heard the box ticking. Sue Richards (aka the Invisible Girl) placed an invisible force bubble around the box until it exploded. A harmless birthday ribbon was inside, along with a card.
While the rest of the group got up to leave for a concert, Ben stayed behind. Something in the card made him want to check out his old stomping grounds. He took a sky cycle and headed toward Yancy Street, unaware that he was being watched. One of the mobsters observed his arrival and reported it to his superior, who already had the Thing under surveillance on his many monitors in the room.
Grimm was surprised how quiet things were until several air-to-surface missiles took out his sky cycle. Grimm was mad and noticed a pair of trucks heading toward him just before the overhead lights went on at the building he faced. Fire hydrants on either side blasted a spray of water at the Thing, who held onto the ground until he was able to reach under the concrete and rupture the water line that fed them.
The broken pipe started to emit toxic gas, right before a trio of faceless androids bore down on our hero. Meanwhile, faithful members of the Yancy Street Gang fought for vengeance against the mobsters in a nearby warehouse. They'd been forced to build the same automotons that Grimm was making mincemeat out of at that very moment.
The lead mobster's boss pointed a wand at a screen, sending a powerful electric charge that knocked Ben unconscious. The remaining robots were then left to face the Yancy Streeters. We then saw that the mastermind behind the evil plot was none other than Machinesmith.
I'd read Machinesmith's issues of Captain America (drawn by John Byrne) that were published not long after this issue was. I was interested in this character, but he's very underutilized. He appears here and there in different titles, but has never risen to be a consistent threat, in my opinion. That's a pity, because he has a real knack for understanding his opponents and devising ways to combat their strengths. I was a little surprised that mobsters were used to coerce the gang members into forced work, because the mob felt a bit outdated by then.
That's all I have for you today. Tomorrow, I'll cover the forty-eighth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. Ben and the Yancy Street Gang fight for their freedom from Machinesmith, with a little help from a character who's never had their own ongoing title yet. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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