Happy Thursday, folks!
Today's topic is the twenty-third issue of the Thing. The cover depicted Ben Grimm walking away, apparently done with the Fantastic Four. The story was called "Remembrances." The issue had a publication date of May 1985.
The tale began with Grimm cleaning out his old room at the Baxter Building in New York City. He was angry with his life, mainly because when he arrived back on Earth from Battleworld, he found out that his longtime girlfriend Alicia Masters was now seeing his teammate Johnny Storm (the Human Torch, in an episode chronicled in the Fantastic Four's own magazine). He was angry enough to punch through his bedroom door.
As Ben sorted through his belongings, he came across an old photo of Johnny. That jogged some old memories of the hijinks he and Storm used to go through back in friendlier times. They included being woken up by music playing from two large speakers posted on either side of Ben's bed, the old dip a person's hands in warm water trick, and being bombarded with a volley of lemon meringue pies.
Storm asked to enter as Grimm was packing up his things. He wanted to apologize for what had happened and admit that he really was in love with Alicia. Ben said nothing, keeping his back turned to Johnny. Storm eventually left Ben to continue with his task.
Reed Richards entered the room after Grimm packed away pictures of the two of them during their college days and a photo of Alicia that had him thinking back to their relationship. Reed wanted to know if there was any way that he could help his old friend. Ben replied that he felt like being alone for a while, having grown accustomed to it during his days on Battleworld following the Secret Wars.
Reed admitted that he'd made a mistake regarding Ben's sojourn on the patchwork planet. If he'd known his thoughts about Alicia at the time, he would have advised Grimm against remaining there. Reed had tried multiple times to cure his friend of being the Thing.
That was old news to Ben. What he didn't expect to hear was Reed's announcement that Ben could always change back to his human form, but a mental block had prevented him from doing so. The fact that Richards had never told him that until now enraged Grimm. He went for his friend, who did his best to peacefully restrain the Thing so he could hear him out.
Ben felt that his current condition was all Reed's fault, adding that he'd killed the human portion of himself on Battleworld because he had to save himself from that twisted version of his own personality. Ben rushed through the wall, passing Johnny, Sue Richards (the Invisible Woman), and Sue and Reed's son Franklin along the way. He hailed a cab, unsure where his next destination would be. Back in his old room, Reed stood holding a broken picture of him and Ben, while Sue, Johnny, and Franklin stood by him in silence.
By this time, John Byrne had given up writing chores on the book, and Mike Carlin stepped in full-time to resume the story that Byrne started. The one thing that's surprised me is that Marvel has never returned to the fact that there's still a human part of Ben that exists within the monster, as evidenced by a portion devised by Reed and Sue's children that allows him to be human again temporarily. If that human form still exists, then it's reasonable to assume that the mental block might also be there as well.
We would learn several years later that at the time, Alicia had been kidnapped and replaced by the Skrulls. The woman Johnny fell in love with was an impostor. The real Alicia Masters would eventually be freed, and several years later, she and Ben would marry and adopt a pair of alien children.
Ben's solo journey continues in the twenty-fourth issue of the Thing, which I'll cover tomorrow. It's briefly interrupted by one of the Fantastic Four's oldest enemies and one of Spider-Man's old opponents that's more in league with the Thing's power levels. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
