Issue(s): Thing #5, Thing #6
Cover Date: Nov-Dec 83
Title: "With friends like these..." / "Mindscape"
Credits:
John Byrne - Writer
Ron Wilson - Penciler
Hilary Barta - Inker
Ann Nocenti - Editor

Review/plot:
These issues have the Thing facing off against the Puppet Master. First, the Puppet Master possesses Wonder Man...

...She-Hulk...

...and Spider-Man...

...and pits them against the Thing. Then a mob of civilians.

Then he attempts to take control of the Thing directly...

...resulting in a mental battle inside the Thing's head.

The above image is similar to the cover drawing for issue #6; see the comments for a little tidbit about that.

His robotic body from Liddleville having been destroyed by a Doombot, the Puppet Master's consciousness was transformed directly to the radioactive clay that he used to use to form his puppets. So when he possesses someone now, he does so by taking on their shape. After losing his mental battle with the Thing, his clay body crumbles.

Obviously the Puppet Master doesn't die after this; i guess his consciousness somehow finds its way back to his real non-miniaturized body.

The battle with Wonder Man, She-Hulk, and Spider-Man and the subconscious thrashing during the Thing's mental battle all caused tremendous physical damage to the city. So soon after the Annihilus attack and the battle with Terrax, you'd think New York would be absolutely broke from repairs by now.

Click to disaster-size

Issue #5 is a fun multi-super-hero brawl and issue #6 has a unique approach to literally getting us inside the Thing's head.

Here's a nice extra feature from issue #5. I can tell you that it doesn't do me a bit of good.

Quality Rating: B

Historical Significance Rating: 2

Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP places these issues along with Thing #3-4, which take place between Fantastic Four #257-259. But #259 shows the Thing returning home from the events of issue #4 on a commuter plane, so these issues must take place after the arc beginning in #259 and concluding in Fantastic Four #262.

References:

• The Puppet Master was assumed dead after Fantastic Four #236.
  
• He was later seen, still trapped in Liddleville, in Micronauts #41.
  
• His tiny robotic body was then crushed by a Doombot in Fantastic Four #246.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The cover to #6 caused a mini-controversy in Comics Buyer's Guide about 10 years later. Rob Liefeld, who was criticized very heavily for swiping other artists' work, did a CBG cover basically swiping Brent Anderson's cover for #6. I sent in a postcard mentioning this, it got printed in the letter column, and Rob Liefeld responded saying pretty much "I had no idea that cover existed! Thanks for telling me!" Peter David, one of Rob's most vociferous critics, ran both covers side-by-side in his column and wrote "Rob, what color is the sky in your world?".

Was the CBG cover the same as this Youngblood cover?

http://ilovecomiccovers.blogspot.com/2011/07/thing-6-youngblood-7.html

Yes, that's it.

When you get to 1986, you'll find the explanation for how the Puppet Master survived. In Thing 34, the Sphinx restores him.

At about this time, Barry Windsor-Smith was announced to be working on "several" Thing stories for Marvel Fanfare; only one actually got published. He was also stated to be drawing the next X-Men graphic novel, which may have become "Lifedeath".

Byrne has since objected to the How To Draw The Thing page being published. Apparently, it was meant to be a in-house document to keep the Thing appearance consistent since Byrne wasn't drawing the Thing. Publishing it seems bad form, in light of the fact that unless you are already a pro, it's not going to teach you anything except that the Thing isn't supposed to have the separate eyebrow and which artists read/paid attention/remembered/or cared about Byrne's design on this page.

Really? I read this issue when it was new, and always thought it was a nifty addition. Maybe it was something to do with the "Marvel Try-Out" book or "Official Handbook" that got filtered down to the individual comics.