Exposed to the deadly Virus X in his fight against A.I.M.
last issue, Ben “the Thing” Grimm is feeling the effects as he walks through
New York. A trio of punks spies him and decides they can make their reputations
by defeating him. They pursue Ben to an alley where they attack him, wielding
bats and chains. But they were seen by Steve Rogers, who dons his Captain America
togs and whups the tar out of them. He helps Ben return to the Baxter
Building. There, Reed Richards and Giant-Man (Bill Foster) examine Ben under a
Bio-Scanner, trying to determine what is wrong with him. Only Cap knows that
Bill Foster is secretly dying from radiation poisoning while working to save
Ben. Thing starts to mutate, his rocky skin swelling up; he flies into a rage,
all his years of pent-up anger at Fate’s turning him into a monster coming to a
head. Reed and Cap manage to calm him down while Reed examines the sample of
Virus X….
Ben decides to go for a spin in his Sky-Cycle and Giant-Man
offers to join him, giving him a helping hand in return for Ben’s having helped
him in a similar situation….
Cap, reasoning that A.I.M. would have an antidote for Virus
X, rides across town atop a city bus, then leaps through the window of a
counterfeiting organization. In four seconds, Cap has overpowered all of the
crooks, forcing them to reveal where A.I.M.’s secret hideout is located….
At A.I.M.’s secret base in the Antarctic Circle, a
blue-suited scientist brings a message to MODOK (who is testing Virus X to
confirm that it is always fatal to humans) that Captain America is searching
for their base. Knowing Cap will succeed, MODOK orders an appropriate reception
for him….
Thing and Giant-Man arrive at the secret spaceport where the
Fantastic Four had their start. He recounts their origin in cosmic rays and his
own transformation into the Thing. Bill realizes the depth of Ben’s bitterness,
dwarfing his own self-pity; Bill offers a few words of encouragement. Then they
receive a call from Cap…
…to join him in the assault on an A.I.M. base where they
take down all of the Agents and head to the transmat station which they use to
teleport themselves to the Antarctic base. On arrival, they are surrounded by
MODOK and an army of Agents with guns drawn. MODOK has a Synthezoid patterned
after the Thing and refuses to let them have the antidote for Virus X. While
Ben fights the Synthezoid and Cap takes on the armed Agents, Giant-Man heads
for the lab and forces the scientists to turn over the antidote. An explanation
of how it works leads Bill to realize that it could also cure his own radiation
sickness. Ben clobbers the Synthezoid, sending it crashing through the wall
which, since they are below sea level, lets the ocean come rushing in to
destroy the base. The three heroes jump on the transmat platform and escape to
the Baxter Building. On the way the hypo gun was damaged and there is only one
dose of the antidote left. Hesitating only briefly, Bill uses it on Ben, who
returns to his own Thingly appearance. Bill walks away in despair, considering
Ben a real hero who deserved to be cured instead of a second-rate loser like
himself….