Them! is the first of two stories in Scooby-Doo #149, by DC Comics. It was followed by Big Girls Don't Sneeze.
Premise[]
Tourists in an old-west town are threatened by a giant underground worm.
Synopsis[]
Mystery Inc. meets with Trooper Cooper in Hawks, a ghost town in Nevada, about a worm-like monster terrorizing tourists in the area. According to Cooper, the worm has created large holes several feet deep in the ground, burrowing through solid rock by dissolving them and leaving behind a trail of radioactive slime. They meet Wooley West, an amusement park chain owner who wants to build a park on the area. Mystery Inc. travels to the nearby mines where the monster has also been spotted.
While driving on the road, they spot a gaping wormhole with the same slime trail on the side of a mountain. There, they meet Dagwood Fenster, a prospector looking for uranium in the area; Fenster does not fear the worm as it scares others away from his mines. Looking further, they find another entrance to a mine with a slime trail, meeting another miner, Harley Woods. They follow Woods into the mine, but as Fred, Daphne, and Velma speak with Woods, Shaggy and Scooby find the worm, but realize it is merely a train-like vehicle, riding it back to Fred's group.
Woods admits he invented the vehicle as a digging machine, but realized it dissolved valuable minerals into slime. He did not mean for tourists to mistake it for a worm monster, but he kept it secret because he was ashamed of his failed invention. However, Mystery Inc. gives him the idea to give the digging machine to Wooley West to use as a roller coaster for his amusement park, and six months later, West opens the park, thanking Woods for his invention.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Trooper Cooper (only appearance)
- Wooley West (only appearance)
- Dagwood Fenster (only appearance)
Villains:
- Giant worms (only appearance)(no lines)(robot)
- Harley Woods (only appearance)(redeemed)
Other characters:
- Tourists (only appearance)(miscellaneous speaking)
- Ed and Edwina (only appearance)
Locations[]
- Hawks, Nevada
- Mountains near Hawks
Objects[]
Vehicles[]
- Tour bus
- Mystery Machine
- Wooley West's car
Suspects[]
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Wooley West | About to buy land for an amusement park. Thought the worms were good publicity. |
| Dagwood Fenster | He wanted to keep the uranium in the mines for himself. |
| Harley Woods | Claimed he had never seen signs of the worms, when there were obvious traces around. |
Culprits[]
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Harley Woods operating a digging machine he invented made to look like the giant worms | Trying to find silver, but his machine destroyed precious minerals. |
Notes/trivia[]
Miscellaneous[]
- Disguises: None.
- Traps: None.
- Clues: Wormholes and radioactive slime trails.
Cultural references[]
- This may be a spoof of the movie Tremors.
Reprints[]
- Scooby-Doo! Where Are You? #14 (October 2011).
- Scooby-Doo versus Them! (2011).
Coloring mistakes[]
- None known.
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]
- None known.