Good morning, peeps!
I'm starting the day with a synopsis of the twenty-sixth issue of the Thing. The cover showed Ben Grimm locked in a battle with several members of a circus. The story was called "Runaways." The issue had a cover date of August 1985.
The tale began with Grimm staring at a circus poster, mesmerized by the beautiful woman who was featured in the advertisement. Ben thought she was identical to Tarianna, the woman who perished back on Battleworld. He decided not to get back on the bus and remain in Ohio, determined to find her.
Ben headed for the local mall to pick out a trench coat and hat, so he would be less conspicuous walking around the carnival grounds. He didn't see anyone familiar until he recognized a young magician who was Vance Astrovik (who Grimm met in an earlier issue of Marvel Two-In-One). Vance recognized him and stopped to chat after seeing Ben in the crowd.
Grimm wanted to take Astrovik back to his parents, but the young mutant wasn't about to let that happen. He brushed the Thing back with a small sample of his powers. As Ben was recovering, a fellow carnival worker named Lauren approached her coworker.
She was concerned about the recent disappearances of some of their colleagues. All of the people who'd vanished were suspected by their boss of squealing. Vance promised to meet Lauren later that evening after the show.
Ben overheard the conversation and asked Vance if the woman from the circus poster was among the missing. Astrovik walked away after asking the Thing to mind his own business. Ben knew that the lad was now someone to watch over. Vance went to his employer, who tried to downplay the matter. After he left, the mystery boss called one of his lackeys, ordering him to go after Lauren Anderson.
Vance wandered around after the evening's performance. He wondered where Lauren was, since she failed to meet him as originally promised. Worried, he ran to her trailer, finding that it had been ransacked and she was nowhere in sight.
The youth heard noises emanating from inside the storage tent and decided to investigate. He climbed a stack of crates to see Lauren bound to a chair before their employer, who was the villain known as the Taskmaster. He was trying to persuade Lauren to admit she was an undercover agent who planned to expose the fact that the circus was a front for the Taskmaster's plans to train workers who would later be used as underworld enforcers.
A crate fell between them during the interrogation, putting the Taskmaster on edge. Vance finally faced his boss as he drew back the string on his bow and fired at the lad moments before Grimm stepped in front to intercept the arrow. Ben let Vance free Lauren, while he went after their common foe.
The Taskmaster had escaped long enough to send a cage full of lions at his pursuer. Ben was backed against a tree as the cage collapsed. Vance used his powers to corral the cats before Grimm used a nearby ticket booth to serve as a temporary holding cell for them.
The duo then set off for the big top, where the Taskmaster's star pupils were waiting. Each of them posed individual threats, but the combination was no match for the heroes. Afterward, Vance saw the Taskmaster fleeing again, but this time he wound up in the hands of law enforcement. Lauren admitted that she was a Secret Service agent before bidding Vance farewell.
Ben was about to take off too. He had no intention of letting Vance tag along with him until he disclosed that the woman Grimm was looking for had indeed been part of the circus, but had left about a month before others from their crew started vanishing. Knowing very little about the object of his affection, Ben realized it was probably better having Vance around, at least for a while, anyway.
I first read this issue as a kid, which was part of a polybagged comic set. I didn't know much about the Taskmaster, but when I saw the cover, I thought that the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime might be the main enemies. Looking back, I see how they could have partnered with the Taskmaster to supply all the muscle that his employers might need. A wasted opportunity, I guess, but still a decent story.
That's it for now. I'll be back later this afternoon to write my five hundredth retro comic book blog post. This one will cover the twenty-seventh issue of the Thing. Ben and Vance are still traversing across the country and meet Ben's love interest, who was working with a group that had their own monthly Marvel mag for a while. Until then, have a great Sunday and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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