One of my favorite things in comics is when a hero faces a villain they’ve never (or very rarely) faced before. Way back in 1989 and 1990, Marvel did “Acts of Vengeance”, one of their first huge crossovers, where most of the villains in the Marvel Universe teamed up to take down all of Marvel’s heroes. Their strategy was that each villain would go after a hero they’d never fought before, which made for some interesting matchups. There were some pretty lopsided battles (including Daredevil facing off against Ultron!) and some pretty epic ones (Thor throwing down with Juggernaut), but they were all a blast to read.
The Thing #3 written by Tony Fleecs with art by Justin Mason and colors by Alex Sinclair is reminiscent of that crossover, and it’s an equally delightful read. The Thing, desperately trying to save an old acquaintance’s niece, faces off against Bullseye and Hammerhead. Boy, are they going to have a bad day when the clobbering starts!
It’s hilarious watching Bullseye and Hammerhead try to intimidate The Thing, who could decimate them with his pinky finger. I’ve always felt Hammerhead was a jokey character anyway, who was kind of threatening when he first confronted Spider-Man years ago. For a while, he seemed like a serious rival to the big man himself, Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin, but over the years he’s been watered down into a parody of gangsters from old black-and-white films and he feels the same here. Speaking of the Kingpin, he’s working in the background and the mystery of his link with Ben’s old acquaintance deepens. He’s a fearsome presence in every scene.
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The biggest challenge for The Thing is dealing with Sara, the young girl he rescues from Hammerhead’s clutches. Alternating between hysterical and defensive, she pushes Ben’s patience to the limits and you feel his frustration as he tries to calm her down and get her to safety, even as Kingpin puts a bounty on his head, bringing every villain in New York out of the woodwork gunning for him and the girl.
And wait until you see who bursts in on the last page cliffhanger! Let’s just say Ben’s going to have a much harder time facing this villain than the long line of second and third-string goons he’s fought in the miniseries up to this point.
I loved the dynamic between Ben and the villains, as well as between Ben and Sara. Ben and Sara’s relationship felt very similar to classic works like “Lone Wolf and Cub”, where an embattled old fighter has to self-reflect and possibly change the way he deals with the world to protect the life of someone younger and defenseless.
Artist Justin Mason deftly brings out the chaos of the exploding warehouse and its aftermath while lending some great comic visuals as Ben dispatches Bullseye, Hammerhead and their goons in hilarious fashion.
This issue (as well as the previous two issues) has a great mix of two-fisted action and comedy, and the mystery of Ben’s old friend’s link to Kingpin deepens. The miniseries is about to go into high gear in the remaining two issues, so if you love a lot of action mixed with some comedy, and you love good old Ben Grimm, grab this issue and enjoy the ride!
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