His Mission: Destroy the Fantastic Four!

The Fantastic Four pay a visit to Alicia, who has been hospitalized after her encounter with the scientists of the Beehive The tender moment between Ben and Alicia is soured when Ben implies that he is taking advantage of her blindness as a selfish means of dating her. Reed gets Ben out of the hospital room and asks him what is wrong. Ben admits that he has doubts that Alicia would remain with him if she ever got her eyesight back and saw what he really looked like as the Thing. When Reed tries to reassure Ben that Alicia truly loves him, Ben finds it hard to believe and begs Reed to find a way to restore him to normal.

At that very moment the chemist Doctor Santini has been captured by a mysterious man who exposes Santini to his hypno-lenses. Demanding to know what Reed Richards had hired him for, the man learns that Santini was sought out to help try and find a cure for the Thing's condition. This gives their mysterious enemy just the right avenue to get revenge against his hated foes.

While back at the Baxter Building, Reed conducts another test on Ben's body in his ongoing quest to try and find a means to cure his friend. He tells Ben that with the help of Doctor Santini he may be able to create a cure that will be permanent this time around. As they exit Reed's lab, they walk in on Sue trying on her new modified costume that has a mini-skirt. When she is spotted she is embarrassed and tries to turn invisible. This turns into a playful chase between husband and wife. When Reed wraps himself around his wife, Ben helps her out by blowing so hard that Reed is thrown off of her. This makes Reed happy since it appears that Ben is acting like his old self again.

At that moment at a nearby garage, Johnny shows off his girlfriend Crystal to his friends. When they begin hitting on Crystal, Johnny reacts poorly by giving one of his friends a literal hot foot. Upset by Johnny's immaturity, she summons up a whirlwind with her elemental powers to shake things up a bit. As Ben, Reed and Sue have some fun, their mysterious foe completes his disguise so that he looks identical to Doctor Santini and prepares to enact his plan of revenge against the Fantastic Four. Back at their headquarters, Ben puts on his best suit for their guest, but it bursts at the seams because he was holding his breath to put it on. When "Doctor Santini" arrives, he is introduced to Ben. After seeing a display of the Thing's power, "Santini" promises that after this experiment Ben will be an entirely different person. Reed begins to work with "Santini" on a possible cure.

Meanwhile, Ben has gone for a walk and is so lost in thought, he is oblivious when members of the Yancy Street Gang manage to knock off his hat with a shot from a slingshot. As the two scientists complete their work, they believe they have some sort of success. Although she doesn't voice her concerns, Sue has come to mistrust "Doctor Santini" but cannot explain why. When Ben returns he is excited to get the experiment under way hoping it will cure him. First Ben goes into a chemical bath and then is bombarded with mesa rays. Finally Ben is strapped into a "molecul-board" for a final bombardment of energy. When "Santini" announces an unexpected adjustment, Reed tries to stop him but he is too late. When the beam hits Ben it doesn't change him back to normal, it only affects his personality. Filled with a total rage, the Thing blames Reed for failing to restore him to normal yet again, this time fully prepared to kill his best friend.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Alicia Masters, Crystal, Mad Thinker, Doctor Jose Mantini, Yancy Street Gang

Continuity Notes

• The events of Fantastic Four Annual #5 occur between Page 9, Panel 3 and 4.

• The mystery villain is revealed as the Mad Thinker next issue.

• Reed has not attempted to change Ben back to human form since Fantastic Four #25 when the Thing refused any further treatments because he was happy with Alicia.