Happy Deathday, Mister Grimm!

Mister Carnation, a mobster for "the Corporation", and a bunch of his men corner the Yancy Street Gang inside of a warehouse. They beat up the Yancy Streeters and question them in regards to a package sent to the Baxter Building. The Gang members always send a birthday prank gift to their former leader Ben Grimm, the Thing.

At the Baxter Building, the Thing plays a game of Hide and Seek with Franklin Richards. Sue, Johnny, and Agatha Harkness use their respective powers to place various obstacles in Ben’s path. As the game concludes, Ben removes his blindfold and finds a giant birthday cake waiting for him in the family room. He blows out the candles, but his super-breath splatters the cake all across the room.

Moments later, mail carrier Willie Lumpkin arrives at the door with a gift-wrapped package addressed to Ben Grimm. Ben knows it's from the Yancy Street Gang and is startled when the package begins ticking. Sue throws up a quick force field, and the package explodes. The explosion is harmless, however, and inside the box is a wreath with a ribbon that reads, "Happy Birthday, Thing". Ben reads the card and knows that something suspicious is taking place on Yancy Street.

Elsewhere, Mister Carnation reports back to his mysterious boss. He tells him that they failed to intercept the Yancy Street Gang's package and that the Thing will soon be in the neighborhood. The mysterious mastermind behind the operation tells Carnation that he expected such action and was, in fact, counting on it.

The Thing flies the Airjet-Cycle to Yancy Street and is surprised to see that the avenue is completely deserted. Suddenly, large floodlights from the street side businesses come on, and a fire hydrant spontaneously begins dousing him with water. The Thing punches his way through the ground to tear up the water main to shut the hydrant off but accidentally grabs a gas line instead. The gas that escapes from the ruptured line, however, is not natural gas, but rather a special toxin designed to slow the Thing down.

Suddenly, bizarre faceless androids begin creeping up out of the sewers. They begin pile driving on top of the Thing just as a group of Carnation's cronies arrives on the scene. The Yancy Street Gang appear as well and fight up against the mobsters. The androids continue to pour on their attack and collectively generate an electric charge that shocks the Thing into submission.

From within his hidden lair, the mastermind behind these events reveals himself to be Starr Saxon, the Machinesmith.

Recurring Characters

Thing, Yancy Street Gang, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch), Agatha Harkness, Alicia Masters, Franklin Richards, Corporation (Machinesmith), Willie Lumpkin

Continuity Notes

• There is animosity between the Thing and the Yancy Street Gang because, as revealed in Thing #1, Ben used to be a member of the gang until he moved away from Yancy Street and started a new life. A change that the Yancy Streeters saw as a betrayal.

• Although unexplained here, the Machinesmith is actually Daredevil's old foe Samuel "Starr" Saxon as explained in Captain America #249.