The Yancy Street Gang were a running gag or cameo appearance of a street gang that Jack Kirby injected into the Fantastic Four. While they were basically a thorn in the side of Ben Grimm, they also showed a great deal of affection for the ol' orange lump.
Usually they were played for comic relief, having sent a package to Ben, or hurling insults at the Thing from behind a fence or around a corner. But occassionally, the gang played a significant role in the story, or formed part of the focus of the adventure.
Let's see how many instances of them we can cite over the years.
While I don't recall their first appearance, I do remember some of the more memorable ones.
Let me go first.
During the classic Thing/Hulk slugfest in FF #25, the gang intervened when they rolled a flatbed pick-up backwards down a hill leading to the Hudson River. The truck bed didn't separate the two as planned, but scooped them up and carried both down to the dock, where it dumped them both into the water. This gave both the combatants a much needed break, but the two immediately continue fighting for several pages. Though the duo separate for a moment at the end, Ben also makes an oath that he'll never give up, that the Hulk will have to kill him to beat him. It also made for a dramatic cliff-hanger to segue into the exciting conclusion in #26, as "The Avengers Take Over".
In issue #29, only three issues later, the FF are summoned down to the lower East side, where "It Started on Yancy Street". As I recall, the FF get pelted by apple cores, fruit, garbage, from the unseen gang, and then, the Red Ghost and his apes ambush the quartet when they return. expecting a second match up with the gang, get kidnapped to the moon and while there, get drawn into an adventure that includes the Watcher.
There's been a couple of other comedy routines, where the gang have sent an exploding powder box to the Thing... and a couple of times when they just sent a Beatle wig or an alarm clock, which Ben or course, drowns in a bath of water and ruins.
While doing a little research on this topic, I turned up this thread, which also touches on Ben's connection to the Yancy street Gang...An Interview with Ben Grimm
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