Although the distinction between Thing and Hulk would eventually be much clearer than the obvious surface differences, the similarities found in this issue are telling of an interesting subtext – discrimination.
Although the story is somewhat silly and seems awfully early in the series for an origin recap (and sadly not anywhere near the last recap issue we’ll see), the story does serve to establish a firm connection between reader feedback and Marvel Comics. The point in which Reed addresses the reader directly seems like the perfectly ideal and surreal way to answer fan mail in a comic book.
As alluded to in previous issues, we are given confirmation that avatars of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby do both inhabit the Marvel Universe and meet regularly with the Fantastic Four to discuss future plot lines. Doom is aware of this as well and uses the Marvel offices to lure Reed into the bullpen for additional plot discussions.
The brutal fist fight between Namor and Ben marks the most dramatic point in an otherwise goofy issue, and even contains yet another reversion for Ben from “Thing” form to human due to a random lightning bolt striking at the exact wrong time.
Although the Puppet Master will become an ongoing member of the Fantastic Four’s villain roster, his impact to the lives of the Fantastic Four is nowhere near as significant as that of his estranged step-daughter, Alicia Masters.
Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
