(Redirected from The Thing (comics))
:''This article is about the comic book character. For other meanings of ''thing'', see
Thing (disambiguation).''
'The Thing' ('Benjamin "Ben" Jacob Grimm') is a
fictional character, a founding member of the
superhero team
The Fantastic Four in the
Marvel Comics universe. He was created by
Jack Kirby and
Stan Lee in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (Nov. 1961). His trademark orange rocky appearance, sense of humor, blue eyes, and his famous
battle cry, "It's clobberin' time!" makes him one of comics' most recognizable and popular characters. The Thing's speech patterns are loosely based on those of
Jimmy Durante.
[1]
Publication history
Main articles: Fantastic Four#Publication history,
Publication history of the Fantastic Four
Cover to ''Startling Stories: The Thing: Night Falls on Yancy Street'' #1, May 2003. Art by
Dean Haspiel.
In addition to appearing in the Fantastic Four, the Thing has been the star of ''
Marvel Two-in-One'', ''
Strange Tales'' (with his fellow Fantastic Four member the
Human Torch) and two incarnations of his own eponymous series, not to mention many
miniseries and
one-shots.
Strange Tales
The Thing joined his Fantastic Four partner and frequent rival the
Human Torch with #124 (
1964) of ''
Strange Tales'', which then featured solo adventures of the
Human Torch and backup
Doctor Strange stories. The change was intended to liven the comic through the always humorous chemistry between the
Torch and the Thing. They were replaced with the "modern-day" version of
Nick Fury , Agent of
S.H.I.E.L.D, who was then already appearing in ''
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' in #135 (
1965).
Marvel Two-In-One (1974-1983)
After a 1973 two issue try-out in issues 11 and 12 of ''
Marvel Feature'', the Thing appeared in the long-running series ''
Marvel Two-In-One'', which lasted 100 issues with seven annuals. In each issue Ben Grimm would be paired with another character from the
Marvel Universe, frequently an obscure or colorful choice. The series was undoubtedly intended to introduce readers to new characters from Marvel's further reaches, by way of the more recognizable Thing's gruff, avuncular and pomposity-deflating humor. In 1992, Marvel reprinted four Two-in-One stories (#50, 51, 77 and 80) as a miniseries under the title ''The Adventures of the Thing''.
The Thing (1983-1986)
The cancellation of ''
Marvel Two-In-One'' led to the Thing's first completely solo series, which ran for thirty-six issues. It was originally written by
John Byrne and then later by
Mike Carlin, and drawn first by
Ron Wilson and later by
Paul Neary. It was notable for elaborating on Ben Grimm's poor childhood on
Yancy Street in its first issue, as well as chronicling the Thing's adventures as a
professional wrestler.
It also crossed over heavily with Marvel's
Secret Wars event, after which the Thing elects to remain on the
Beyonder's
Battleworld when he discovers that the planet enables him to return to human form at will. A full third of the series' stories (issues 10 through 22) take place on Battleworld.
The Thing: Freakshow (2002)
In 2002, Marvel released a four-issue miniseries starring the Thing, in which he takes time away from the
Fantastic Four to ride the rails across America, inadvertently stumbling on a deformed gypsy boy he once ridiculed as a teenager--now the super-strong main attraction of a troupe of traveling
circus freaks--and a town full of
Kree and
Skrull warriors fighting over a
Watcher infant. The series was written by
Geoff Johns and illustrated by
Scott Kolins.
The Thing: Night Falls on Yancy Street (2003)
In 2003, Marvel released another four-issue miniseries starring the Thing. The story was of a less action-oriented and more character-driven and analytical type than is usual for the Thing. Some reviewers considered the story a nostalgic homage to
Silver Age comics, while others found its noir-ish atmosphere "depressing".
[2][3] It was written by
Evan Dorkin and illustrated by
Dean Haspiel.
The Thing (2005-2006)
After the success of the ''
Fantastic Four'' feature film and events in the ''
Fantastic Four'' ongoing series which contrived to make Ben a millionaire, the Thing was once again given his own series, written by fan favorite
Dan Slott and penciled by
Andrea DiVito and, later,
Kieron Dwyer. Despite becoming a critically-acclaimed fan favorite, in the midst of large-scale, company-wide events from both
Marvel and
DC, ''The Thing'' met with low sales and was canceled with #8.
Fictional character biography
Background
Born on Yancy Street in
New York City's
Lower East Side, to a
Jewish[4] family, Benjamin Jacob Grimm has an early life that was one of poverty and hardship, shaping young Grimm into a tough, streetwise scrapper. His older brother Daniel, whom Ben idolizes, is killed in a street gang fight when Ben is eight years old. This portion of his own life is modeled on that of
Jack Kirby, who grew up on tough
Delancey Street, whose brother died when he was young, whose father was named Benjamin, and who was named Jacob at birth. Following the death of his parents, Ben is raised by his Uncle Jake (who at some point married a much younger wife, Petunia).
[5]
Excelling in football as a high school student, Ben receives a full scholarship to
Empire State University, where he first meets his eventual life-long friend
Reed Richards. Science student Richards describes his dream to one day build a space rocket and Grimm jokingly agrees to fly that rocket.
While in college, Ben becomes interested in a girl named Alynn Cambers. They briefly date, but after telling Ben to remember she loves him, she disappears. Ben finds her a few weeks later, and after walking through the park and telling her how much he cares about her, he proposes marriage. Reluctantly, she turns him down, stating she has to focus on an acting career. A heartbroken Ben flings the engagement ring into a pond and tried to forget about her. As the years passed, Alynn would become a movie star, and Ben would fall in love with Alicia Masters. Years later after he became the Thing, Ben would receive a letter from Alynn asking to meet with him. Ben is reluctant, due to his orange rocklike appearance, but does meet with her. To his surprise, she is permanently disfigured and barely able to walk due to a stroke she had suffered eighteen months earlier. She wants to ask him how he had coped with such a drastic change in appearance. Ben helps her realize she would still have a good life even with what she had gone through.
[6]
Following college, Grimm joins the
United States Army Air Force, where he is trained as a
test pilot. (His exploits as a
military aviator are chronicled to a limited extent in issue #7 of the "Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders" comic, in a story entitled "Objective: Ben Grimm!")
The Thing
''Fantastic Four'' #51 (June 1966).
Some years later, Reed Richards once again makes contact with Grimm. Richards has built his spaceship, and reminds Grimm of his promise to fly the ship. After the government denies him permission to fly the spaceship himself, Richards plots 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 are pelted by a
cosmic ray storm and exposed to radiation against which the ship's shields are no protection. Upon crashing down to Earth, each of the four learn that they had developed fantastic superhuman abilities. Grimm's skin had been transformed into a thick, orange hide, which gradually evolves 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 self-pity, adopted the superheroic sobriquet ''The Thing''.
[7]
While still human, Ben has been dating Dr. Linda McGill. Although they have only been seeing each other for a short time, Grimm cares deeply for her. The night before his big test flight, they go to a state fair, and he asks her if she would still care about him if he looked like one of the sideshow freaks. Linda says she cares about the man inside. After a night's sleep, he goes on the test flight which mutates him. He returns to his apartment. Linda, who had heard about the crash, shows up. Ben reaches out his hand, asking her not to be afraid, but she runs away. In anger, Ben destroys his apartment, then goes to the nearest bridge he can find so he can jump to his death. Linda appears, apologizes to him, and asks if they can have another chance together. Grimm, who does not want a relationship out of pity, yells at her, smashed part of the bridge, and run her off. Linda eventually goes on to marry and have children with another man, but Grimm was always grateful to her for giving him the strength to go on.
[8]
Trapped in his monstrous form, Grimm is an unhappy yet reliable member of the team. He trusts in his friend Reed Richards to one day develop a cure for his condition. However, when he encounters blind sculptress
Alicia Masters, Grimm develops an unconscious 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 rejects various attempts by Richards to restore his human form lest he lose the love of Masters. His unconscious fear kept him in his rocky form and Grimm remains a stalwart member of the Fantastic Four for years.
He leaves the team when he opts to remain on an alien planet where he can control his transformation to and from his rocky super-powered form. Upon returning to Earth he learns that Alicia had become romantically involved with his teammate Johnny Storm while he is absent. Grimm wallows in self-pity for a time but eventually returns to his surrogate family as leader of the Fantastic Four when Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman leave the team to raise their son Franklin. Ben would invite Crystal and Ms. Marvel II (Sharon Ventura) to fill their slots. Soon after Sharon and Ben are irradiated with cosmic rays, Sharon becomes a lumpy Thing much like Ben was in his first few appearances while Ben mutates into a new rocky form that has been often mocked by fans as resembling a pineapple.
After being further mutated into the 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.
The Thing has had a long-standing rivalry with the
Incredible Hulk. The two refer to each other as "Grimm" and "Banner", and their feud isn't completely resolved.
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.
''Fantastic Four'' #310 (January, 1988). The Thing gets rockier.
In a ''Fantastic Four'' comic published in 2005, Ben learns he is 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, spurred by the success of the ''
Fantastic Four'' feature film (of which much of the press was centered on the portrayal of the Thing
[9] ) under writer
Dan Slott, Ben began starring in his first solo title in more than 20 years. Slott's series, though a critical success, suffered from low sales, and was cancelled after the eighth issue.
The Thing uses his newfound wealth to build a community center in his old neighborhood on Yancy Street, the "Grimm Youth Center." Thinking the center is named after the Thing himself, the
Yancy Street Gang planned to graffiti the building exterior, but discovers the building was actually named after Daniel Grimm, the Thing's deceased older brother, who had been a former leader of the gang. The relationship between the Yancy Streeters and the Thing was then effectively reconciled, or at least changed to a more good-natured, playful rivalry (the comic ending with Yancy Streeters spray-painting the sleeping Thing).
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 has said he intended Grimm to be an alter ego of himself.
[10] 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'' v3, #56, published in August 2002, in a story titled "Remembrance of Things Past". In the final issue of his solo series, Ben even agrees to finally have his very own
Bar Mitzvah, it being 13 years since he began his "second life" as the Thing. To celebrate the ceremony, Ben organized a
poker tournament for every available superhero in the
Marvel Universe.
[11]
===
Civil War/The Initiative===
Initially in the Super Hero
Civil War Ben is a reluctant member of Iron Man's side, until the Thing witnesses a battle on Yancy Street where
Captain America's forces try to rescue captured allies held by
Iron Man's forces. Old FF foes the
Mad Thinker and the
Puppet Master try to escalate the battle, using a mind-controlled Yancy Streeter to deliver a bomb. The young man dies and the Thing verbally blasts both sides for not caring about the civilians caught in the conflict. He announces that while he thinks the registration is wrong, he is also not going to fight the government and is thus leaving the country for
France, while in France he meets ''
Les Héros de Paris'' (The Heroes of Paris).
[12][13]
Ben recently returned to New York as both sides of the SHRA battled in the city. Ben, oblivious to which side got in his way, made it his job to protect the civilians from harm.
[14] His current status in the aftermath is unknown.
In the latest issue (March, 2007) Ben celebrates the FF's 45th anniversary along with the Human Torch, and late-comers Reed and Sue. The aftermath of the Civil War is still being felt in this issue, as Ben and Johnny (and even
Franklin) consider the future of the team and Reed and Sue's marriage. When Reed and Sue arrive near issue's end they announce they are taking a break from the team and have found two replacement members:
Black Panther, and
Storm of the
X-Men. The title of the story in this issue is a quote from Ben, "Come on, Suzie, don't leave us hangin'."
[15]
Ben has been identified as Number 53 of the 142 registered superheroes who appear on the cover of the comic book #1.
[16]
World War Hulk
Ben once again tries to take on the Hulk within the events of
World War Hulk in order to buy Reed Richards the time he needs to complete his plans for the Hulk. He gives him his best shots, however the Hulk takes the punches and it does not even slow him down. The Hulk proceeds to knock out Ben by punching both sides of his head simultaneously and would have delivered a killing blow, if not for the timely arrival of the
Sentry; which turned out to be a hologram created by Reed in a failed attempt for calming the Hulk down.
Powers and abilities
As a result of exposure to cosmic rays, the Thing possesses high levels of superhuman strength, stamina, and resistance to physical injury. His strength has increased over the years due to a combination of further mutation and special exercise equipment designed for him by
Reed Richards; during a
Superman/Fantastic Four crossover, he even displayed enough power to actually hurt the
Cyborg Superman. He is capable of surviving impacts of great strength and force without sustaining injury. It has been stated that sustained fire from armor piercing rounds can penetrate his skin. The cyborg
Deathlok was able to pierce his skin and injure him with a high powered MASER pistol. Deathlok's analysis was that The Thing's epidermis was 2.25 centimeters. The Thing's highly advanced musculature generates fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity, granting him superhuman levels of stamina.
Aside from his physical attributes, The Thing's senses can withstand greater levels of sensory stimulation than an ordinary human, with the exception of his sense of touch. His lungs possess greater efficiency and volume than those of an ordinary human. As a result, the Thing is capable of holding his breath for much greater periods of time.
Despite his brutish, even monstrous form, the Thing suffers no change in his personality nor his level of intelligence. Despite his greatly increased size, the Thing's agility and reflexes remain at the same level they had been prior to his transformation.
The Thing is an exceptionally skilled pilot, due to his time spent as a test pilot in the
United States Air Force and as a member of the
Fantastic Four. He is also a formidable hand to hand combatant. His fighting style incorporates elements of boxing, wrestling, and street-fighting techniques, as well as hand-to-hand combat training from the military.
Other versions
1602
In
Neil Gaiman's ''
1602'', Benjamin Grimm is the captain of the ship ''The Fantastick'', before gaining his abilities from the Anomaly. His power is associated with the
classical element of
earth.
In the sequel ''1602: Fantastick Four'' Benjamin has found work as an actor with
William Shakespeare's troupe, where he can hide his monstrous form behind false whiskers as
Falstaff. He is soon forced to reveal himself, however, when Otto von Doom's
vulture soldiers kidnap Shakespeare.
Age of Apocalypse
In What If?:
Age of Apocalypse, Ben is a member of the Defenders, the AoA version of the Avengers/Ultimates. In this reality,
Legion kills both
Professor Xavier and
Magneto in the past, therefore the
X-Men never exist and the Defenders are mankind's only hope. At some point,
Apocalypse asked the Fantastic Four to become his
Horsemen of Apocalypse. When they refused, he sends his son,
Holocaust, to kill them. Thing is the only survivor from the attack, losing his right arm during the fight. Now using a metal prosthetic arm, he joins the Defenders to fight the forces of Apocalypse:
Captain Britain (using
Iron Man's armor),
Weapon X,
Brother Voodoo,
Nate Grey,
Colossus,
Molecule Man, and
Sauron, led by Captain America (who wields
Thor's hammer,
Mjolnir).
During the attack on Apocalypse's tower, Ben finds a street sign on the ground, which reads Yancy Street. He faces Holocaust once again, screaming out "Yer standing on Yancy Street! This Here's My Turf!" as he brings his fists down hard enough to fracture Holocaust's armor. Holocaust, however, overpowers and kills Ben, ripping the prosthetic from his body, then blasting Ben with the weapon on his arm.
''The End''
In this setting, where the entire Sol System is being colonized by humanity, with humanity undergoing a Golden Age because of the use of technology developed by Reed Richards in an effort to create a utopia, The Thing is married to Alicia Masters with 3 super-powered children, residing on Mars with the Inhumans. He is now capable of shifting between human form and 'Thing' form at will.
In this setting, the Fantastic Four are in a state of flux, with the Human Torch a member of the Avengers, Susan Storm an archaeologist, the Thing a contented house-husband and Reed Richards a reclusive scientific hermit.
Heroes Reborn
In this alternate universe, Ben and Johnny share a more dangerous adversarial relationship, knowing each other even before the ill-fated spaceflight. Traveling to the remote location of the spacecraft, the two play a game of chicken. Since neither had powers at this point, both could have easily died in the crash.
House of M
In the ''
House of M'', Ben Grimm was the pilot in Reed Richards' voyage to space, alongside Susan Storm and
John Jameson. Like the others, Grimm was mutated, though he was the only survivor of the rocket's explosion. Ben was transformed into a rock-skinned creature with superhuman strength and a diminished intellect. He was taken by Dr. Doom, who named him the It. The It became one of the Frightful Four, though he was treated like an animal and was often the victim of Doom's frustrations. Tired of being mistreated, the It betrayed Doom and sided with
Polaris after Doom tried to kill
Magneto and
Quicksilver. After Doom was defeated, the It ended up meeting Alicia Masters, who took him to the Human Resistance.
Marvel Mangaverse
In the
Marvel Mangaverse comics Benjamin (pronounced "Ben-ya-meen") Grimm is a member of the Megascale Metatalent Response Team Fantastic Four. The team uses powerpacks to boost their talents to manifest at
mecha-sized levels. Benjamin is a shy, intelligent, somewhat neurotic man with a stutter in his civilian identity; however, once he uses his metatalents, his "serious badass" side comes to the fore. His metatalent exoskeletal armature is subsumed from miscellaneous urban materials such as bricks, cars, steel rods, concrete, etc. The team fights giant
Godzilla-sized monsters from alien cultures that attack Earth for performing experiments which endanger all of reality. In ''New Mangaverse'', the Fantastic Four, with the exception of the Human Torch, are murdered by ninja assassins employed by the Hand.
MC2
In the alternate future timeline of the Marvel universe published under the
MC2 imprint, Ben is still a member of the Fantastic Four, whose roster has expanded to make them the
Fantastic 5. In this future, he was married to
Sharon Ventura and had a set of twin children by her (Jacob & Alyce), though they are now divorced. Much of the left half of his body has been replaced with cybernetic parts following a battle with
Terrax. He always appears alongside the F5 whenever they appear in the Spider-Girl series and related miniseries.
New Amsterdam
In ''Marvel Two-in-One'' #50, Reed Richards advises Ben that his mutation is ongoing, and tells him that the cure he has developed for his condition will no longer work. Ben decides to borrow a time machine from Reed and travel back in time to give himself the cure in the past. He ends up fighting "himself", then forcing "him" to take the cure, which returns "him" to normal. When he returns to the present, however, nothing has changed, and Reed advises him that he succeeded only in creating an alternate universe.
In ''Marvel Two-in-One'' #100, Reed examines records of that trip and determines that Ben did not create that reality after all, based on a newspaper that shows the name of the city as "
New Amsterdam" instead of "New York." Curious, Ben travels back to that reality, this time to its present. He arrives to find the city in ruins. He meets "himself" and learns that in this world, Spider-Man replaces The Thing in the Fantastic Four, and Ben Grimm settles down to a normal life as a bartender. Unfortunately,
Galactus arrives soon after, kills the planet's superheroes, and devours most of the life essence of the planet. Ben wonders if he is to blame, he learns that the
Silver Surfer did not come to Earth in this reality. The local version of Ben Grimm is the leader of the remaining humans in New Amsterdam.
Planetary
Warren Ellis'
Planetary features a villainous take on the FF known simply as
The Four. One of them, a covert-ops pilot called Jacob Greene, is granted superhuman powers during a top-secret spaceflight and transforms into a rocky-skinned engine of destruction. Described by one character as "inexhaustible cannon-fodder", Greene's role in The Four's conspiracy seems to be purely as a weapon, something to be unleashed when the job is simply requires the straightforward approach of killing everything standing between The Four and their goals. From his lack of dialogue Greene may no longer possess higher brain functions, but it's also possible that, given the revelation concerning the
Reed Richards analogue's powers (Randall Dowling) Ellis is hinting that Greene shared Ben Grimm's repressed fury towards his teammate for sticking him with a monster's body, Dowling however took action to provide an outlet for Greene's anger while still retaining the use of his superhuman capacity for violence.
Ruins
In Warren Ellis' ''Ruins'' mini-series, Ben Grimm refuses to fly Reed Richards' ship the Astraea because it needs Lateral Monitors on it in order to be ready to fly. As a result, Reed asks Victor von Doom be the ship's pilot. This results in the horrific mutation and subsequent deaths of all on-board. Grimm avoids becoming the Thing, but is left to live with the guilt of thinking he could have prevented the tragedy.
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. The Ultimate version of the Thing is highly durable to physical damage and physiologically stressful conditions, such as extreme temperatures and toxic breathing environments. He seems to weigh a lot more than the 616 version, requiring a special body suit to regulate his density. His physical strength is possibly greater than that of his 616 counterpart, as he could easily defeat The Hulk in physical combat; of course, the Hulk in question was from the
Marvel Zombies universe. 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 him, since Reed is admittedly responsible for his condition. Recently, after being revived after he was turned to glass and shattered by Diablo, Ben's normal orange color became blue for a while, changing back a few weeks later.
President Thor
In an alternate Ultimate Marvel universe where the teleportation experiment that created the Fantastic Four worked (Thanks to the actions of their future selves from the original timeline), Ben Grimm was one of the few non-powered humans left on Earth after mankind made contact with the Skrulls, who gave them the means to provide everyone on Earth with superpowers. When the Skrull show their true colors and kill every human on the planet using nanobots in the blood that were injected when they were given superpowers, Ben is coldly informed by the
Super-Skrull that he is the last man alive. However, the Super-Skrull- who here possesses a suit allowing him to duplicate all superpowers within a thousand-mile radius- realizes too late that, with Ben the only human left on Earth, he no longer has any superpowers to duplicate. Defeating the Super-Skrull, Ben steals his suit and travels back in time, allowing the accident to happen and saving Earth after a brief confrontation with his other self.
In other media
Film
Unreleased film
He 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).
2005 Film
The Thing also appeared in the
2005 film released by
20th Century Fox, in which he was portrayed by
Michael Chiklis.
In this film, a small explanation is given for why his physical alterations are the most severe, as he is exposed to the cosmic cloud with least amount of protection. However, after
Dr. Doom manipulates his relationship with Reed and Sue and into using an experimental machine to become Ben again, he went back into the machine and regained his powers to save Sue and Reed from being killed by
Dr. Doom. While he was battling him from the Von Doom Tower into the streets, Doom almost killed him; luckily, Sue and Reed were able to rescue him. He played an important role in defeating Doom when rapidly cooling his molten metal body by using of a broken fire hydrant.
''Rise of the Silver Surfer''
He returns in the sequel, '' where he is seen at Reed and Sue's wedding as Reed's best man. Ben takes pleasure in switching powers with Johnny as it turns him back to his human form and with Johnny's powers. In the forest, while he was setting up a pulse to capture the
Silver Surfer, he found a bear growling at him and when he roared back, the bear ran away. When
Dr. Doom stole the Silver Surfboard and blowing a hole in the wall, the debris crashed into Ben and Reed, but they survived thanks to Ben's tough skin and Reed's elastic abilities. While the
Silver Surfer was in captivity, Ben got him out. While in Shanghai, he gave his powers to Johnny to defeat
Dr. Doom. After Johnny had destroyed Doom's Silverboard controller, Ben operated a crane to send
Dr. Doom flying into the Shanghai River. He got his powers back after and then after the
Silver Surfer had destroyed
Galactus, he again was the best man in the final attempt for Sue and Reed's marriage.
Television
The Thing in the 2006 Animated Series
★ 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 must forced 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.
★ In addition, he has been a regular in the various incarnations of ''Fantastic Four'' cartoons, appearing in the
1967,
1978 and
1994 versions.
★ He later appears in the
90s Spider-Man cartoon (voiced by
Patrick Pinney) with the during the "Secret Wars" storyline, along with the rest of the Fantastic Four, and plays a major role in the final conflict with Doctor Doom. Doom captures Thing, only to turn him back into Ben Grimm, uses the information he gives him to steal the Beyonder's power, and is only defeated when he turns his own weapon on him.
★ The Thing also makes a single episode appearance in the
90s Incredible Hulk cartoon. The episode seems to place this show in the same continuity with the Fantastic Four cartoon of the same decade as this episode plays off the Hulk's appearance in the other show. He briefly falls for the
She-Hulk during the episode.
★ Most recently, Thing appears in with the Fantastic Four symbol spray painted onto his chest. He is voiced by
Brian Dobson
Video games
★ The Thing's very first video game appearance was in the
Questprobe ''featuring the Human Torch and the Thing'' game for the PC.
[17]
★ The Thing's first console appearance was a cameo in the ''
Spider-Man'' game based on the ''
Spider-Man 1994 animated series'' for
Sega Mega Drive and the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System. After reaching certain levels of the game, the player can call the Thing a limited number of times for assistance against enemies.
★ An evil doppelganger of the Thing appears as an enemy in for the SNES.
★ The Thing is a playable character in the ''
Fantastic Four'' game for the
PlayStation.
★ The Thing is also playable in
Fantastic Four (2005 video game) which is based on the 2005 film. The game was released on several consoles and the Thing was voiced by Michael Chiklis.
★ The Thing and the Human Torch are playable characters in the fighting game ''.
★ The Thing is also a playable hero in the game '' voiced by
Gregg Berger. He has special dialogue with
Karnak,
Lockjaw,
Crystal, and
Uatu. The costumes available for him are his Classic costume, his Ultimate costume, his Original costume, and his Modern costume. A simulation disk has Thing protecting Mr. Fantastic from
Rhino on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Omega Base.
★ The Thing is a playable character in for the various consoles.
Toys
★ The Thing has appeared several times in the
Marvel Legends line. He appeared in the second series (with a Trenchcoat Wearing Variant), the "First Appearance" in series 11 (Legendary Riders) (with a Pogo Bike), and in all the
Fantastic Four box sets. He also appeared in the
House of M box set as
the It
Popular culture
★ In ''
Family Guy'' episode "
Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey", the Thing is a victim of
Lorena Bobbit who cut off her husband's penis in 1993.
★ In ''
The Simpsons'' episode "
I Am Furious Yellow", a senile/insane version of Stan Lee (Comic Book Guy refers to this as Lee's brain no longer being in "near-mint" condition) tries to cram a Thing
action figure into a
Batmobile toy. Also in the
Treehouse of Horror XIV episode titled ''Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off'', there is a quick moment where the Simpsons are turned into members of the Fantastic Four. Homer is the Thing.
★ In ''
The Venture Brothers'', the character of "Ned" in the Impossible Family resembles the Thing. He is pale orange, lumpy, and described as "a giant callus." He is stronger than ordinary people, but not nearly as strong or impervious to harm as The Thing.
★ He is also mentioned in the movie ''
Reservoir Dogs'', where Mr. Orange in a conversation with Holdaway states that Joe Cabot "looks just like the Thing".
★ The Thing's genitalia, along with that of fellow Fantastic Four member
Mr. Fantastic, is discussed in the film
Mallrats in a scene guest-starring
Stan Lee
★ The Thing's famous catchphrase "It's Clobberin' time!" is twice spoofed on
Futurama, first in the episode '
Raging Bender' as "It's Bendering Time!" and later in '
The Luck of the Fryish' as "It's clovering time!"
★ In the
Moonlighting episode '
Between a Yuk and a Hard Place',
David Addison (
Bruce Willis) uses the Thing's catchphrase "Whatta revoltin' development..." when trapped atop a hot air balloon.
Catchphrases
★ "It's clobberin' time!" (first uttered in Fantastic Four 22, "The Return of the Mole Man")
★ "Wotta revoltin' development."
★ "I'm the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing."
★ "...Aunt Petunia's favorite nephew..."
★ "I'm the idol o' millions."
★ "... my Aunt Petunia." (also first mentioned in Fantastic Four 22)
★ "...As weak as one of 'em spineless
Yancy Streeters..."
★ "Here comes handsome Ben...!!!" (Used in the Spanish dubbed version of the Fantastic 4 animated TV series from 1967)
In addition, the Thing habitually refers to Reed Richards as "Stretcho","Stretch" and "Big Brain". He refers to the Human Torch as "Match-Head" or "Matchstick". The Thing calls Susan Richards "Susie-Q".
His catchphrase, "It's clobberin' time" was translated into
French when, during the
Marvel Civil War, Thing moved to
Paris - although he continually mispronounced it.
It was also borrowed by
Leonardo in "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" issue #3
It has also been used by professional wrestler
CM Punk on occasion.
Bibliography
Solo Titles and Lead Features
★ ''Strange Tales'' (joined ongoing Human Torch solo series) #124–134 (Sept. 1964 – July 1965)
★ ''Marvel Feature'' #11-12 (1973)
★ ''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'' (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?'' (Feb. 2005)
★ ''Marvel Adventures: Tales of the Thing'' (May 2005)
★ ''The Thing'' vol. 2, #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)
★ ''The Thing: Freakshow'' trade paperback (includes issues 1-4 and ''Thing & She-Hulk: The Long Night'' one-shot)
[18]
★ ''The Thing: Idol of Millions'' trade paperback (2006; reprints ''The Thing'' #1–8 (2006 series))
References
★
BeliefNet article on Ben Grimm and Jewish comic book writers
★
Website dedicated to the comic book series ''Marvel Two-in-One'', starring the Thing
★
The Greatest Thing on Earth - Fansite for The Thing.
★
The Thing biography at Marvel.com
★
Ultimate Thing on the Marvel Universe Character Biography Wiki
Footnotes
1. ''Stan's Soapbox, Bullpen Bulletins, September 1997''
2. http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/reviews/105591674076768.htm
3. http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/cr_reviews/3815/
4. http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Thing.html
5. http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/grimmpet.htm
6. Thing vol. 1 #2
7. ''Fantastic Four'' #1
8. ''Marvel Fanfare#46
9. ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Rock Star'' article, as well as many similar articles and reviews
10. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/113/story_11303_1.html
11. ''Thing'' v2, #8
12. Marvel Database: Les Héros de Paris
13. ''Fantastic Four'' #539
14. "Civil War" #7
15. ''Fantastic Four'' #543
16. Avengers: The Initiative #1 Character Map
17. http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/fantastic-four/screenshots/gameShotId,8272/
18. http://www.marvelmasterworks.com/marveltrades/thing_freak.html
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