Synopsis / Summary / Plot
The Thing, Ben Grimm, is in the hospital recovering from a couple of grueling adventures. His chief misery is the strict Nurse Hasselbutt, who forbids him to have beer or cigars and ejects his more boisterous visitors. Elsewhere the sinister Mad Thinker concludes that this is the day of the Thing’s doom, as one of his enemies is bound to attack him in the hospital. Sure enough, Spider-Man swings by to see Ben just as the Mecho-Marauder arrives at the hospital’s front door. Spidey clobbers the villain but is thrown out by the bossy nurse. Mirage enters the lobby, only to be beaten by Daredevil; Thor takes out the Mole Man and his minions, Ant Man defeats Shellshock, Captain America smacks down the Grapplers; Iron Man stops the Hijacker’s war machine, etc. Soon, Doctor Doom recruits a veritable army of supervillains to assault the hospital in force, while all the heroes in town assemble to confront them. As a massive pitched battle occupies the streets surrounding the hospital, the bored Thing looks up to see that one villain has made it into his room: the Sandman, and he’s bearing…beer and cigars. The baddie is grateful for Ben’s help in straightening out his life and is repaying the favor in the best way he knows how. The two former enemies bond over the brew and stogies, while ignoring the entire ruckus outside.