The Thing [2025] #4 - Marvel Comics

THE THING No. 4, October 2025

There’s a distinct atmosphere of sheer zaniness to Issue Four of “The Thing” that may well please many fans of the Fantastic Four's founding member. Indeed, whether it be the members of the Serpent Society all wisely agreeing that ten million dollars isn’t anywhere near enough cash to tackle Ben Grimm head-on, or the rock-covered Yancy Streeter running as fast as he can from the Red Ghost and his nefarious apes, everything within Tony Fleecs’ twenty-page long narrative appears to have been penned for laughs; “Nope. Absolutely not! I ain’t punchin’ monkeys today.”

However, such a humorous tone also wrecks any solemnity to the titular character’s dilemma of desperately needing to return a seemingly vulnerable, kidnapped child to her home, whilst simultaneously fending off a seriously long roster of the Marvel Universe’s most notorious super-villains. Poor little Sara is clearly becoming increasingly traumatised by the entire ordeal. Yet due the sheer number of slap-stick scenes crammed into this comic, the child’s terror arguably just doesn’t appear all that convincing, and resultantly therefore loses much of the drama it ordinarily would have had.

Easily this book’s biggest disappointment though surely comes with the Thing’s abrupt ability to stop the mighty Juggernaut mid-charge with a single hand, and then end the pair’s highly anticipated confrontation after just a few panels. Such a titanic, highly promising punch-up – which even garners the attention of cover artists Nick Bradshaw and Rachelle Rosenberg - probably had a high number of this mini-series’ readers drooling at the prospect of some top tier fisticuffs. But instead Grimm doesn’t do much of anything except toss Black Tom across Lower Manhattan, so the supposedly unstoppable Cain Marko has to regrettably rush off to find him.

Also rather disappointing is Justin Mason’s pencilling, which just seems to be slightly off-kilter when it comes to him depicting this publication’s considerably-sized cast. The illustrator's goofy facial expressions and awkward-looking poses particularly jar with the seriousness of Ben's perilous predicament, and such a sketching style resultantly detracts from some of the more adrenalin-fuelled moments - like when the Thing and Moonstone momentarily stand toe-to-toe so as to exchange punches on a street corner.

The regular cover art of "THE THING" #4 by Nick Bradshaw & Rachelel Rosenberg