Cover: Ron Wilson & Joe Sinnott

The Thing #27

Sep 1985 · Marvel · 0.65 USD; 0.75 CAD; 0.30 GBP

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“The Thing and the Thunderiders”

★ 1st appearance — Sharon Ventura

About this Issue

The Thing #27 (September 1985) is the debut issue of Sharon Ventura, the adventurer and stuntwoman who would go on to take the Ms. Marvel name, join the Fantastic Four, and eventually transform into the She-Thing — making her one of the most narratively significant characters to emerge from Ben Grimm's solo series. Her introduction planted the seed for a complicated romance between her and Ben that would reshape the Fantastic Four's roster for years. The issue also marks a pivotal moment in Vance Astrovik's early career, showing the young telekinetic Marvel Boy functioning as a road-trip companion and moral conscience for a Thing adrift from his old life, a dynamic that laid groundwork for Vance's later starring role as a founding New Warrior. Taken together, the two debuts in this single issue make it an unusually consequential chapter in mid-1980s Marvel continuity.

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writer Mike Carlin · artist Ron Wilson · inker Paul Ryan · colorist Bob Sharen · letterer Jack Morelli · cover Ron Wilson, Joe Sinnott

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History

The Thing's first completely solo series launched in 1983 after the cancellation of Marvel Two-in-One, with John Byrne writing and Ron Wilson on art throughout. After a long Battleworld arc tied to Secret Wars, Byrne departed and Mike Carlin inherited the book — steering Ben away from the Fantastic Four and into a period of restless wandering that naturally brought him into contact with new supporting characters. Issue #27, on sale May 7, 1985, was scripted by Carlin under editor Mark Gruenwald with Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief; Ron Wilson penciled and Paul Ryan provided guest inks, keeping visual continuity with the book's established look. Carlin wrote the issue using the Marvel method, with actual dialogue added after the artwork was completed.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Sharon Ventura (later Ms. Marvel II and She-Thing), created by writer Mike Carlin and penciler Ron Wilson.
Story title: 'Thunderiders!' (also rendered 'The Thing and the Thunderiders'); on sale May 7, 1985, with a September 1985 cover date.
Writer: Mike Carlin. Penciler: Ron Wilson. Guest inker: Paul Ryan. Editor: Mark Gruenwald. Editor-in-chief: Jim Shooter.
Vance Astrovik (Marvel Boy, later Justice) appears as Ben Grimm's teenage road-trip companion; it is established across the arc that Vance ran away from an abusive home and befriended Ben after their earlier encounter with the Taskmaster at a circus.
The issue features the Thunderiders — the former Team America, a group of mutant stunt motorcyclists who had to rename themselves after losing the trademark to 'Team America' — and Ben joins the group by the story's end.
Ben's pursuit of Sharon is framed as a Secret Wars aftermath: he believed she resembled Tarianna, the ideal woman he had imagined into existence on the Beyonder's Battleworld during Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1–12.
Sharon Ventura would go on to join the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #309, be mutated into the She-Thing by cosmic rays in the issues that followed, and become a recurring figure in FF stories through the late 1980s and into the 1990s.
The issue's antagonist is the Black Marauder — a psychic projection ability of the Thunderiders collectively manifested onto Richie 'Champ' Champoulion, an unwitting mutant.