Thing (comics)

This article is about the comic book character. For other meanings of thing, see Thing.

The Thing (Benjamin Jacob "Ben" Grimm) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, a founding member of the superhero team The Fantastic Four. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961). His trademark battle cry, "It's clobberin' time!" is one of comics' most recognizable catchphrases.

Character biography

Born on Yancy Street in New York City's Lower East Side, Benjamin J. Grimm's early life was one of poverty and hardship, shaping young Grimm into a tough, streetwise scrapper. His older brother Daniel, who Ben idolized, was killed in a street gang fight when Ben was eight years old. Following the death of his parents, Ben was raised by his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Jake.

Excelling in football as a high school student, Ben received a full scholarship to Empire State University, where he first met his eventual life-long friend Reed Richards. Science student Richards described his dream to one day build a space rocket and Grimm jokingly agreed to fly that rocket.

Following college, Grimm joined the United States Army Air Force as a test pilot. (His exploits as a military aviator were chronicled to a limited extent in issue #7 of the "Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders" comic, in a story entitled "Objective: Ben Grimm!")

Some years later, Reed Richards once again made contact with Grimm. Richards had built his spaceship, and reminded Grimm of his promise to fly the ship. After the government denied him permission to fly the spaceship himself, Richards plotted a clandestine flight piloted by Grimm and accompanied by Richards' future wife Susan Storm and her brother Johnny Storm. During this unauthorized ride into the upper atmosphere of Earth, they were pelted by a cosmic ray storm and exposed to radiation against which the ship's shields were no protection. Upon crashing down to Earth each of the four learned that they had developed fantastic superhuman abilities. Grimm's skin had been transformed into a thick, orange hide, which gradually evolved into his now-familiar covering of large rocky plates. Richards proposed the quartet band together to use their new abilities for the betterment of humanity, and Grimm, in a moment of understandable self-pity, adopted the superheroic sobriquet The Thing.

Trapped in his monstrous form, Grimm was an unhappy yet reliable member of the team. He trusted in his friend Reed Richards to one day develop a cure for his condition. However, when he encountered blind sculptress Alicia Masters, Grimm developed a subconscious resistance to being transformed back to his human form. Fearing that Masters preferred him to remain in the monstrous form of the Thing, Grimm's body rejected various attempts by Richards to restore his human form lest he lose the love of Masters. His subconscious fear kept him in his rocky form and Grimm remained a stalwart member of the Fantastic Four for years.

He left the team when he opted to remain on an alien planet where he could control his transformation to and from his rocky superpowered form. Upon returning to Earth he learned that Alicia had become romantically involved with his team mate Johnny Storm while he was absent. Grimm wallowed in self-pity for a time but eventually returned to his surrogate family. (The relationship between Alicia and Johnny was vehemently disliked by many fans, and was later retconned and explained that the Alicia that Johnny fell in love with was actually Lyja, a member of the shape-changing Skrull.) The real Alicia, who was in suspended animation was soon rescued by the Fantastic Four and reunited with the Thing.

Ben became the leader of the Fantastic Four for a time when the Richards took a sabbatical.

After being further mutated into a more monstrous rocky form and briefly being changed back to his human form, Grimm has once more returned to his traditional orange rocky form. He remains a steadfast member of the Fantastic Four and one of the most easily recognizable characters of the Marvel Universe.

In a Fantastic Four comic published in 2005, Ben learned he was entitled to a large sum of money, his share of the Fantastic Four fortune (which Reed Richards had never touched over the years to pay off various costs and debts of the group, unlike the shares of the other teammates, who were family members). The following year, the Thing, under writer Dan Slott, began starring in his first solo title in more than 20 years. Slott's series, a critical success, suffered from low sales, and was cancelled after the eighth issue.

Some personality traits of the cantankerously lovable, occasionally cigar-smoking, Jewish native of the Lower East Side are popularly recognized as having been inspired by those of co-creator Kirby, who in interviews said he'd intended Grimm to be an alter ego of himself. However, as was usual for comic-book characters of that era, no religion was publicly mentioned. Grimm has since been revealed to be Jewish, like Kirby, in Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #56, published in August 2002, in a story titled "Remembrance of Things Past".

Powers and abilities

The Thing possesses vast superhuman strength, endurance, and durability. The cosmic ray bombardment caused his musculature, bone structure, internal organ composition, soft-tissue structure and skin to greatly increase in toughness and density as a rock like substance.

The Thing can exert himself at high levels for about a day before being significantly weakened by the effort. The Thing's lungs are of greater volume and efficiency than a normal man, enabling him to hold his breath underwater for several times longer than a normal human. The Thing's five senses can withstand greater amounts of sensory stimuli than he could when he was a normal human being, with no reduced sensitivity save in his sense of touch. The Thing's body is able to withstand temperature extremes for some time before feeling the effects. He can withstand the effects of armor-piercing shells against his skin with no injury. He is still susceptible to colds, disease, and emotional stress.

Unlike the Hulk, the Thing has suffered no loss in intelligence nor change in personality in his transformation to his monstrous form, possibly because he does not suffer from Banner's multiple personality disorder (which predates Banner becoming the hulk)

The Thing's strength has increased since his initial exposure to cosmic rays. Originally, the Thing possessed superhuman strength sufficient to lift about 5 tons. His strength increase is due to the unique exercise equipment designed for him by Reed Richards, and further mutation. He is now capable of lifting roughly 85 tons over his head. Canonically considered one of the Marvel Universe's true bruisers and physical heavy hitters (barring beings of greater orders of magnitude, e.g. Thor, Hercules, the Champion). Despite his great strength, his strength is still inferior to beings such as Hulk, Thor, Gladiator, Juggernaut and also lately resurrected Colossus, whose strength has increased from the previous 70 ton range to the 100 ton range.

The Thing is typically able to hold his own amongst the strongest superhumans due to his indominitable resolve, tough rocky hide, and exceptional fighting skills he learned as a normal human. Grimm has admitted to spending "countless" hours in his campus' boxing ring while in college, and has demonstrated advanced knowledge and skill with that style of fighting. Characters with superhuman strength tend to lack real fighting skills, having always had the luxury of relying on brute force alone. He also retains the athletic agility he enjoyed as a football superstar, whereas most characters with vast superhuman strength are physically bulky and awkward. These facts were seminally displayed when the Champion (of the Elders of the Universe who embodies physical competition) came to earth to face the greatest warrrior and combatant. Other characters like Thor, Hulk, and Sub-Mariner participated but were disqualified for various reasons leaving only the skill, strength and resolve of the Thing to defend earth. Ultimately, he was outclassed physically but was acknowledged as the victor by the Champion himself by virtue of his gladiator's will and warrior's soul.

Aside from his great physical advantages, the Thing is an excellent pilot, although aircraft have to be specially designed for him to fly them. Originally a test pilot for the Air Force, he's flown many types of aircraft in his career. His agility and reflexes, despite his enormous bulk, are those of an athlete. Ben's gruff mannerisms and his tendency to do the major physical labor of Reed Richards' projects hide the fact that he is actually an intelligent and well-educated man. As he was once a member of a street gang, the Thing is an excellent street fighter and also has experience with wrestling. His appearance and speech pattern belie his intellect and his agility as a fighter, leading foes to underestimate him.

Alternate versions

Ultimate Thing

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Ben is Reed's childhood friend. When they were in school together, Ben would protect Reed from bullies and Reed would help Ben with his homework. Ben moved on to college and was invited to watch Reed's teleportation experiment. The experiment gave Ben a rocky hide which boosts his strength so much that, according to the Ultimate Marvel strength chart, Ultimate Thing is second only to Ultimate Hulk and stronger than the Thing of the original Marvel Universe (also known as "Earth-616"). The Ultimate version of the Thing is nigh-invulnerable to physical damage and physiologically stressful conditions (such as a toxic breathing environment). However, this Thing has taken his transformation even worse than his 616 counterpart, recently revealing that he has tried to commit suicide, and has at least once attacked Reed and still carries some resentment towards himsince Reed is admittedly responsible for his condition. However it is hinted that now his life might get better, as in issue 29, he met the ultimate version of Alicia Masters.

MC2

In the alternate timeline of the Marvel universe published under the MC2 imprint, a possible future of Ben is shown. In this future, he was married to Sharon Ventura and had two children by her, though they are now divorced. Much of the left half of his body has been replaced with cybernetic parts, although no explanation is given for when, or why, this happened.

Marvel 1602

In Neil Gaiman's 1602, his power is associated with the classical element of earth.

Portrayal in other media

Although The Thing has always been closely identified with the Fantastic Four, he did appear as a solo character in a bizarre and short-lived 1979 spinoff of the animated series The Flintstones, entitled Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. For this series, Grimm became a gangly underweight teenager named "Benjy" Grimm as a result of a failed attempt to cure his Thing form. Since further work using this method could make him physically even younger, he has to live with this form as the best he can have for now. However when he needs it, he is able to change himself into The Thing by striking together two special rings and the saying "Thing Ring! Do your thing!". The only other Marvel characters who were recurring in the series were the Yancy Street Gang (remade into "TV-friendly" practical jokers, rather than a violent street gang), who served as Benjy's principal antagonists. Despite the title of the series, The Thing hardly ever encountered the Flintstones characters.

The Thing appears in the unreleased 1994 Fantastic Four movie produced by Roger Corman. He was portrayed by Michael Bailey Smith (as Ben) and Carl Ciarfalio (as the Thing).

The Thing also appeared in the 2005 film released by 20th Century Fox, in which he was portrayed by Michael Chiklis. General consensus holds his to be the most comic-accurate portrayal in the film.

In addition, he has been a regular in the various incarnations of Fantastic Four cartoons.

Catchphrases

"It's clobberin' time!"
"Wotta revoltin' development!"
"I'm just the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing."
"... my Aunt Petunia."

Trivia

Jack Kirby, the original artist behind the Fantastic Four, drew the Thing such that he was shorter than Reed Richards, at a height of approximately 5'9". Over time, his appearance has grown increasingly exaggerated, and while his height cannot presently be pinpointed to one single number, it had remained at 6' for a long time, and is now close to the 7' range as, along with his strength and durability, over time, his size has also increased.
The Thing's alias as Blackbeard the Pirate originates with one of the early issues of the Fantastic Four comic book, in which Doctor Doom (making his debut appearance) sends The Thing, Mr. Fantastic and Human Torch back in time to retrieve Blackbeard's treasure. Through misadventure, however, it is The Thing who actually becomes known as Blackbeard.
Thing is also the traditional host of a poker game held regularly that is open to most of the superhero community. This gathering is shown every few years, and attendees have included Nick Fury, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, and many members of the X-Men and Avengers.
Stan Lee has stated that Thing's speech patterns are loosely based on those of Jimmy Durante.
Is Jewish.

Bibliography

See also bibliography of Fantastic Four titles

Solo titles and lead features

Strange Tales (1951 series) #124-134 (Sept. 1964 – July 1965)
Marvel Two-in-One #1-100 (Jan. 1974 – June 1983)
Marvel Two-in-One Annual #1-7 (1976 – 1982)
The Thing #1-36 (July 1983 – June 1986)
Marvel Graphic Novel #29 (Nov. 1987)
Thing and She-Hulk: The Long Night one-shot (May 2005)
The Thing: Freakshow #1-4 (Aug.–Nov. 2002)
''Startling Stories: The Thing #1-5 (June–Oct. 2003)
Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks #1-4 (Nov. 2004 – Feb. 2005; reprinted as trade paperback, 2005)
What if Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing? one-shot (Feb. 2005)
Marvel Adventures: Tales of the Thing one-shot (May 2005)
The Thing #1-8 (Jan.–Aug. 2006)

Reprints

Warlock #6 (May, 1983, also collected with #1-5 in 1992 trade paperback; reprints MTIO Annual #2)
The Thing: The Project Pegasus Saga trade paperback (1988; reprints MTIO #53-58, 60)
Adventures of the Thing #1-4 (April, 1992 – July, 1992; reprints MTIO #50, 80, 51, 77)
Marvel's Greatest Super Battles trade paperback (1994; includes reprints MTIO Annual #7)
Marvel Super-Heroes Megazine #5 (February, 1995; includes reprint of MTIO #50)
Thunderbolts: Marvel's Most Wanted trade paperback (1998; includes reprints of MTIO #54 (partial), 56)

References

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Thing (comics)