At Clobberin' Time, The "g" Is Silent

Put up your dukes! Because aside from a hammer to the gut, coming your way are more:

It's been awhile since we've seen the Thing cut loose with his famous war cry. And speaking of that clarion call to clobberin', did you ever wonder how that cry sounded out loud? It's too bad the Thing only lets it out just a few seconds before unloading on someone--otherwise, it's likely his foe(s) would flee at just the sound of the cry itself:

Yes, believe it or not, there are a few things that have proven to be hindrances to Ben landing a punch when announcing it as only he can. One of those things would be a jet flying-belt. Another would be the pliable right arm of a "wise guy":

And on top of everything else, a scolding from the Invisible Girl. It doesn't get much worse than that.

But Sue does have her uses in terms of paving the way for Ben's war cry. For instance, giving him a moment to recover from a deadly attack so that he can work up to a proper response:

And that release is certainly important. Otherwise, the Thing is just going to bottle up all that rage, which isn't really helpful when you're trying to stop a fight:

Tsk--"clobbering time." Sort of takes the sting out of a trademark phrase that's gone down in comics history. See what the frustration is already doing to him?

The only thing worse would be the "anti-climax" clobberin'--you know, where there just isn't time to get the whole thing out and the the scene loses a little something in the process:

(Check out a prior post if you want to see Dragon Man really get schooled on Ben's famous phrase.)

Anyway, the cry isn't just there to strike dread into Ben's sparring partner. The FF has been in its share of crisis situations where the Thing's fearsome phrase has served to rally them to persevere and battle on, no matter the odds.

And there's of course the momentum it provides the team with:

Good grief, even Ben's breath makes villains rue the day they got in his way. So you'd better believe that goes for his feet, too:

But mostly, it's just enjoyable to see the sheer power that Ben delivers when shouting those magic words:

(I'm sure the Hulk was impressed for a second or two. Really.)

Finally, people are always asking me what my very favorite "It's Clobberin' Time!" moment is. (Not really. Actually, not ever. I'm sure they've wanted to.) And that's easy. Because Reed sets this moment up beautifully, and the Thing just lays into the bruiser he's battling with a WHAMMO of a punch.

Annnnnnd lights out, pal.