At the Hard Rock Café, a tiny shack in the Southwestern
desert, Bruce Banner is quietly having a cup of coffee when Ben Grimm, the
Thing, arrives. He tells Banner they need to have a talk and hits him to bring
out “the other guy.” Hulk (with a normal human intellect) sits down next to
Thing, who prefaces his remarks with a little nostalgia. Ben tells Hulk about
the Fantastic Four’s first meeting with Doctor Doom. Doom had sent
Mr. Fantastic and Thing into the past to retrieve Blackbeard’s treasure and when
they returned, Doom discovered he had been cheated, the treasure chest
contained only iron chains. Thing fought Doom and tore off his head revealing
Doom to be a robot double. At this point Hulk wonders whether Thing’s story has
a point and Ben invites him to tell a story but before Hulk can say anything
beyond, “Well….” Ben returns to his tale, revealing that the real Doom appeared
to them over a comm device and mocked Ben, calling him a freak. Reed tried to
comfort him as they left. Hulk has changed back to Banner at this point so Ben
hits him again, bringing back the big Green Guy. Angered, Hulk smashes Thing
through the wall and he lands near a little girl who offers him a lick of her
lollipop. The girl’s parents arrive and the mom starts pleading with them not
to hurt their daughter. Irritated, Ben hands the kid to her mom, who curses
Hulk and Thing as monsters and freaks before they drive off. Thing puts on his
hat and coat and departs; Bruce, calling himself a fool, follows him and find
Ben waiting around the corner to resume his story. But Ben again hits Banner
and now the Hulk is really angry….