Marvel’s Greatest Comics #92
Publisher: Marvel
Published September 1980
Reprints Fantastic Four #112 July 1971
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Buscema
Colors: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
I had this comic as a kid and recently picked it up again for nostalgia. The main thing that drew me to this comic was the cover, The Hulk and The Thing locked in battle. I was sold the second I saw that cover, and had to have this comic; I didn’t know what happened inside, or if The Hulk and The Thing even really fought. Now it’s almost 30 years later and this cover is still my favorite.
Marvel’s Greatest Comics started out as Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics until issue #22. Issue #23 started Marvel’s Greatest Comics which was usually reprinted classic issues, introducing the new generation of readers to these great stories.
This comic is a reprint of Fantastic Four #112, ori
ginally published way back in 1971. The comic starts off in Central Park with The Hulk and The Thing in an all out battle royale. The National Guard and the Police are on the scene and are keeping bystanders out of harms way, which is usually the case when The Hulk is around. They pull back and decide to let the two titans finish each other off, which they attempt with great enthusiasm! While The Hulk and The Thing are destroying Central Park, over at the Baxter Building Reed and Johnny are discussing what to do about The Hulk, when J. Jonah Jameson comes on the TV. He goes on an anti Fantastic Four tirade and encourages New Yorkers to “Smash Them, Crush Them, Kill Them!” Johnny decides he has to go help Ben, but Reed douses him with chemical foam, putting out his flame. While Reed and Johnny argue about which course of action to take, the battle in Central Park is rumbling on. The authorities decide to end this Melee in Manhattan, and bring in tanks to battle the two goliaths. The first barrage of fire causes The Hulk to jump onto a nearby rooftop and out of range, leaving The Thing the only target. The Thing uses the merry-go-round to take the tanks out. The local media has been able to bypass some of the police barricades by this point and are now doing a blow by blow commentary of the fight. Alicia Masters who is The Thing’s girlfriend hears about the battle on her radio and makes a herioc journey thru New York City to the raging battle of behemoths. As she finally finds the two titans, she calls out Ben’s name distracting him for a brief moment. At that moment The Hulk lands a devastating and apparently fatal blow on The Thing. Reed and Johnny show up seconds later and Johnny yells at Reed for being too late and for killing Ben.
Really this is a classic battle between The Thing and The Hulk, and I have always loved fights between these two. I would suggest picking this comic up if you can find it. It may not be the original printing but it is easily more affordable.
Scott Andrews
scott@comicattack.net
When these two go at it it’s always a classic fight! Theirs is one of the BEST rivalries in Marvel!
This sounds like a fun one! So did The Thing get back up in the end?
I love it when these two go at it!
Nope Andy he’s been laying in the same spot since 1971! lol
The issue ends with the thing being layed out by the Hulk. So I don’t know what happens next. I would assume the think rocky hide of the Thing would make it difficult to check for a pulse.
I prefer the reprint cover as opposed to the original. I like how each characters name is shown in its standard logo, it’s just a nice additional touch. The black for the background (or the actual LACK of background) really works, as all attention is focused on the two combatants.
Great cover!