The Thing’s solo book feels a lot like Hulk’s solo book in early 1985. Hulk is having a series of adventures in other dimensions that don’t connect with the greater Marvel Universe as a result of being stuck in the Crossroads, while Thing is on a planet built from pieces and civilizations from around the galaxy, so he, too, meets unusual creatures each issue. Hulk’s adventures will stop if he finds happiness (he will then stay in that dimension), and Thing’s will stop if he finally decides to come back to Earth.
We’ve been seeing, though, that Thing’s thoughts can affect the nature of Battleworld—just like Hulk’s feelings can affect where he is sent from the Crossroads.
I’d say this is interesting, but the execution hasn’t been very good. Battleworld stories are mostly boring.
In these issues, Ultron returns. Dr. Doom defeated him during the Secret Wars, and a local native finds his head and reactivates him. This could have been a great story arc, but it gets quickly shut down when Thing starts to “unthink” (for reasons really not worth getting into) his visions of Battleworld, which basically makes all the Ultron stuff “unhappen.” It doesn’t make a lot of sense, and frankly it’s a cop-out. But at least the unthinking makes Battleworld disappear, and Thing finally goes back to Earth.
Wasted potential here, really.