Issue(s): Fantastic Four #321
Cover Date: Dec 88
Title: "After the fall!"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Writer
Ron Lim - Penciler
Romeo Tanghal - Inker
Ralph Macchio - Editor

Review/plot:
The Hulk/Thing fight isn't quite over, because now it's time for the She-Hulk to fight the She-Thing. Guest art by Ron Lim, and it's not his best.

The reason for the fight is that Sharon is looking for the Hulk to get revenge on what he did to the Thing, so she goes to She-Hulk hoping to find out where he is. The She-Hulk seems unaware of, or is at least unfazed by, the fact that the Hulk was supposed to have died recently, let alone the fact that he's returned.

Sharon is really spoiling for a fight...

...and despite not having seen him in a while, the She-Hulk isn't too happy about the idea of her going off to hurt him anyway. So a fight does break out.

I should note that as far as i know, Sharon's codename is still officially Ms. Marvel. It's She-Hulk that refers to her as a She-Thing, in a thought bubble.

The fight doesn't last long when it becomes apparent that She-Hulk is holding back because she realizes that Sharon is upset. So they get to talking. But someone observing them doesn't like it.

This is the second Watcher that we saw in Fantastic Four annual #21. To continue the fighting, he sends Dragon Man after Ms. Marvel.

Sharon actually saw the Watcher before, scraping something off the wall in the wreckage of the Hulk/Thing fight, and he zapped her...

...and disappeared. But she wasn't interested in that since she was focused on fighting the Hulk, and she doesn't make a connection between that and the Dragon Man attack.

Dragon Man isn't at all interested in She-Hulk...

...but after a little bit of futile fighting, she decides to vamp at him, and that scares him away.

She-Hulk has remembered that in his earlier appearances he's been unable to attack pretty ladies, so that's why she's doing that. The implication, of course, is that Sharon isn't lady-like enough to be recognized as such by Dragon Man. But she says that she's ok with this and she's currently happy in her rocky form.

It's possible Steve Englehart also has a weakness for pretty ladies.

In any event, Dragon Man was focused on Sharon because he had specific orders to do so. The Watcher is collecting cell samples of the FF. He was scraping off cells of the Thing when Sharon first encountered him.

The Watcher is living at the top of an office building, with illusory one-way windows, and he's been brainwashing the janitor into bypassing his room.

During all of this, Alicia visits with the Thing in the hospital, and they reconcile a bit and the Thing tells her that their break-up doesn't hurt now that he's got Sharon.

And the Human Torch faces the fact that he's in love with both Alicia and Crystal.

Fun issue.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This takes place a little while after the end of Hulk #350. The Thing has been brought to the hospital by the time even the flashback in this story begins, but it's still the same night. Avengers annual #17 is probably happening at the same time as this issue.

References:

• The Hulk and the Thing fought last issue and in Hulk #350.
  
• She-Hulk replaced the Thing in the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #265 and left after the Thing returned to the team. I guess she officially left in Avengers #278.
  
• She-Hulk and Sharon Ventura fought previously in Thing #36 before Sharon mutated.
  
• While fighting, Sharon makes reference to the FF's recent adventures, from Fantastic Four #313 through Fantastic Four #319.
  
• The Thing returned to Earth from the Secret Wars Battleplanet in Fantastic Four #277 and discovered that Alicia was with Johnny Storm now.
  
• Crystal left the team in Fantastic Four annual #21.
  
• Dragon Man first appeared in Fantastic Four #35, and that's where we first saw that he had a weakness for pretty women.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

One weird thing about this issue- how does Jen know that Bruce "became the Hulk full time"? We know about Gorsham's spell but Jen doesn't.

It's a wonder, given Englehart's insatiable love at this point in his career of sprinkling dialogue with trite rhetorical comparisons -the Millennium event mini at DC was so full of them as to be near-unreadable- that Sharon made so little of having previously been a less-outlandish version of She-Hulk; a tall, strong, hot chick.

I can't help thinking Ron Lim was on this issue precisely because of She-Hulk and her va-voom factor being a plot point...

Gotta admit that at this point I really don't get the Johnny - Crystal thing. Attracted to her, I sort of understand. But in love with her? It's no comparison as people between Alicia and Crystal.

Here's a case of something that bugs me far more than the characters involved. Sure Ben is happier with She-Thing Shary on the rebound but my goodness now we have to have Alicia rehash about how her and Johnny "just happened". A great line to have been inserted would have Ben interrupt her with something along the lines of: "Awright already...I get it!"
It's how I feel anyway.