Fantastic Four #51
This Man... This Monster!
Roaming the streets, the Thing is offered a place to stay by a man who has become very interested in him. While Ben sleeps the man uses a device to transfer Thing's powers to himself and goes to the Baxter Building posing as the Thing in hopes of eliminating Reed Richards based on the misconception that Reed makes his discoveries for the glory.
When Ben wakes up to realizes that his powers are gone, he tries to warn Reed that the Thing that's with him is an imposter. The team believes that Ben is really the imposter and dismisses him from the Baxter Building. Meanwhile, at College, Johnny and Wyatt get involved in a squabble with football star Whitey Mullins. It is broken up by Coach Thorpe, who realizes that Wyatt's father used to play on the Metro College football team. He offers Wyatt a position, but Wingfoot refuses.
While back at the Baxter Building, Reed tests out his newest invention: a portal to the Negative Zone. Travelling in this anti-matter universe, he has the "Thing" hold the tether so that he is not lost in the realm. When the tether breaks, the Thing impostor changes his opinion of Reed Richards. He realizes how selfless Reed is and jumps into the Negative Zone portal to save him. Throwing Reed back through the portal into the positive matter universe, he perishes at the energy barrier that separates the positive and negative matter universes.
Elsewhere, the human Ben Grimm is about to visit Alicia to show her that he is back to normal and propose to her. When he knocks on the door, however, he realizes that he has changed back into the Thing. Fleeing the scene he returns to the Baxter building where Reed and Sue realize that the friend they were just mourning is actually still alive and well. The imposter that was posing as him -- whoever he was -- had died a hero.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Wyatt Wingfoot, Alicia Masters, Ricardo Jones (unidentified), Jim Thorne, Belle Thorne, Whitey Mullins
Continuity Notes
The man who impersonates the Thing in this story is later named Ricardo Jones as revealed in Web of Spider-Man #69, that story reveals that he was survived by his brother Armand.
It is late revealed in Fantastic Four Annual #6 that the Negative Zone is ruled by a creature known as Annihilus.
