Thing #4
I, Monster!
The Thing and Lockjaw teleport from Attilan to a small Southern town known as Rock Hollow. They discover that the residents of Rock Hollow have taken to harassing a poor old woman named Sarah Anne Jackson. Sarah is the mother of a twelve-year-old mutant boy named Lucas. Lucas’s birth coincides with a great economic depression that nearly destroyed the town. As such, the villagers blame the ugly mutant kid.
Several of them gather around Sarah’s small shack demanding that she turn Lucas over to them. But the arrival of the Thing and Lockjaw keeps them at bay. The Thing scares them off and talks to the local sheriff. The sheriff gives him some history of the town and the Jackson family. Sarah is grateful for the Thing’s intervention and provides Lockjaw and him with food and drink.
Before long, however, the crowd returns. One of them shoots Lockjaw while another throws a brick through the front window, killing Sarah Anne Jackson. Lockjaw teleports into town to warn the Thing. The Thing teleports back to the shack with him, but he is too late to save Sarah’s life. Suddenly, Lucas steps out of the house for the first time in twelve years. His mutant powers have developed and he generates a wave of calm that disperses the crowd.
After burying Sarah Anne, the Thing has Lockjaw take Lucas Jackson to his new home – the Great Refuge of Attilan on Earth’s moon. The Thing is seen quoting, “There are no monsters on the moon”.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of Liddleville within Doctor Doom's abandoned castle in the Adirondack Mountains, a pile of radioactive clay takes form and remolds itself into a humanoid shape.
Recurring Characters
Thing, Lockjaw, Puppet Master, Roberta
Continuity Notes
There are references to the Puppet Master's attempt to trap the Fantastic Four in the miniature town of Liddleville, as seen in Fantastic Four #236. This resulted in both the Puppet Master and Doctor Doom both being trapped there themselves. Later in Fantastic Four #246 some Doombots rescued Doom and smashed the Puppet Master's miniature robotic body.
This story implies that the town of Rock Hollow was hid hard by the 1973-1975 recession. This should be considered a topical reference relative to the date of publication, per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
The Thing implies that Lockjaw is not a dog, but an actual Inhuman trapped in a dog like form. He was led to believe this last issue. However it was later revealed in X-Factor #71 that revelation was a hoax perpetuated by Gorgon and Karnak in order to prevent Quicksilver from exposing his daughter Luna to the Terrigen Mist.
When Ben calls the Baxter Building, Roberta states that Mister Fantastic is presently at Avengers Mansion. This is a reference to Fantastic Four #257. Reed is at the Mansion trying to repair the Vision who was rendered inert during a battle against Annihilus in Avengers #233.
