In this tale, our duo is out shopping with their girlfriends when they encounter a strange, lifelike mannequin. While examining it, they meet its mysterious creator. After a tense interaction, he hands them passes to an art exhibit and even invites them to visit his workshop.

The catch? This creator is secretly a villain from their past, out for revenge! He unleashes “The Terrible Toys” to take down the Thing and the Human Torch, keeping them restrained while plotting to target Alicia as well.

Spoiler alert:

By the story’s end, we learn that this villain is none other than the Puppet Master—now sporting a post-plastic-surgery look and employing new tactics. Instead of his usual puppet-controlling approach, he’s trying something a little different this time around.

Story

The plot is a fun read, kicking off with our heroes already bested before rewinding to show how they got there—and how they eventually escape. As a standalone story, it works as a “date gone bad” scenario for our heroes. It’s also a great showcase of how tactics that might keep them down individually fail spectacularly when they team up.

Characters & Development

This is where things go a bit off the rails. First, the Puppet Master. While his new look (explained) and altered tactics/powers (also explained) causes him to feel like an entirely different character. The essence of the Puppet Master we know is missing.

Then there’s Alicia. She has been consistently portrayed as highly skilled at recognizing people—even blind—and yet she fails to realize that this villain is her own stepfather, someone she lived with until his first confrontation with the Fantastic Four. The excuse that he “lowered his voice” just doesn’t hold water. It’s hard to buy that she wouldn’t figure it out.

Originality & Continuity

The story does feel original, even if some of the steps getting there are flawed. The format of the boys being out with the girls and running into trouble (a recurring scenario) works much better than the forced attempts to separate Johnny and Ben from Reed Richards and Sue Storm in other stories.

In terms of continuity, the “can fit anywhere” approach works well here. While other tales are leaning more into long-form arcs, it’s refreshing to see a single-issue story that wraps itself up, even if it feels a bit rushed at times.

Artwork

Overall, the artwork enhances the campy, fun vibe of the issue while delivering a few genuinely chilling moments. although still failing to impress me the way other artist do, the style of Powell does grow on me, particularly during the dating scenes over the action scenes.

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Ultimately, The Terrible Toys is a solid, standalone comic that’s fun to read, especially if you’re a fan of the Thing and Human Torch’s banter or just want to experience the wonderfully weird corners of the Marvel Universe. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun—and sometimes, that’s exactly what comics should be. While the plot has its hiccups—like Alicia’s inexplicable failure to recognize her stepfather and the Puppet Master’s uncharacteristic shift in tactics—it still manages to deliver an engaging and self-contained adventure.