Hero Profile: The Thing

Day Four of our Fantastic Four Theme Week leads us to the least lucky member of the quintet, Benjamin Grimm. Before we get started with the meat of this one I would like to point out an interesting bit of trivia that connects Ben Grimm to his original artist and one of the two men that made Marvel great, Jack Kirby. Over the years it has been revealed that Benjamin Jacob Grimm was born on Yancy Street on the Lower East Side of New York, and that he is in fact of Jewish ancestry. The character shares his name with Benjamin Kurtzberg, Kirby’s father, and Kirby himself, who’s birth name was Jacob. Kirby grew up on Delancey Street, a name oddly similar to Ben’s home turf. And can you guess what religion Jacob Kurtzberg aka Jack Kirby was raised? Yep, Judaism.  It’s weird to see where writers and artists draw their inspiration from, isn’t it? Enough set up, It’s Clobberin’ Time.

He's basically a smarter, orange Hulk.

As stated above, Ben Grimm grew up on the Lower East Side of New York on Yancy Street. Times were tough for young Ben, as his family was dirt poor, and to make matters worse, the older brother Daniel was killed in a street fight when he was very young. This hard knock life lead to Ben being a rough tumbler himself. Basically, most of the wannabe thugs of New York knew to stay off Yancy Street. Ben plays hardball. In High School, Ben excelled in sports, particularly football, which landed him a full scholarship to Empire State University. It was there that he met two egg heads that would eventually cause him all kinds of trouble, Reed Richards and Victor von Doom. Despite their radically different histories, interests, and intelligence, Reed and Ben became fast friends. Ben even jokingly volunteered to pilot the rocket that Reed was dreaming up. While in school, Ben showed an aptitude for engineering, earning several advanced degrees in the subject. He turned these skills to practical use when he joined the US Marine Corps as a test pilot. He even crossed paths with future super pals like Logan, before he became Wolverine, and Carol Danvers, before she started going by Ms. Marvel. He flew them out on a secret mission once to spy on the Ruskis, no big deal.  After that he joined NASA, getting the credentials he need to fly Reed’s ship.

A few years later, Reed looks him up and asks him to fly the spaceship for him. Ben agrees, but then the Government pulled the plug on the project. Being as bullheaded as he is smart, Reed plans an “unscheduled” test. He brings Ben to fly it, and Susan and Johnny Storm because Sue has him wrapped around her finger. Ben’s a little apprehensive to be doing something so…treasonous, but he’s convinced by Reed and to a greater extent Sue, who he had a soft spot for. Not romantically, at least I don’t think. I’ve always read their relationship as the tough as nails older brother, and the little sister that he just can’t say no to. Any who, they fly up into the upper atmosphere, get smacked down to Earth by intense Cosmic Rays, and wake up physically changed. The other three we’ve covered in detail, stretching, invisibility, and flames. Ben got the short end of the stick, which kind of sums up his life now that I think about it. His body was morphed into a giant lump of living orange stone. Worst of all, unlike the others, he couldn’t turn his powers on and off. Obviously he’s the least happy of the group, and in an unusually intense moment of self-pity calls himself the Thing. Which I never really got. I mean, he’s a Jewish rock monster, wouldn’t Golem have been a much more accurate name? A thought for another time. Ben became the powerhouse of the team, being their physically strongest and most durable member. And while he isn’t all that happy with being a rock, he is a reliable teammate and friend. He starts seeing a bling sculptor named Alicia Masters, whom helps Ben learn to cope with his new rocky look. He was eventually cured, but opted to revert back into the Thing to help the team take down Doctor Doom. I guess it was a onetime use sort of cure, as they didn’t change him back, again.

As bad as these movies are, Michael Chiklis' make up is
still fantastic.

Ben drops off the team for a short time after the first Secret Wars, where various heroes and villains were kidnapped to fight in gladiatorial style matches for the Beyonder. He opted to stay on the Beyonder’s planet because on that world he was capable of transforming back and forth between his rocky and normal form. When he finally returns to Earth, he found out that Johnny and Alicia had started seeing each other. Dick move Johnny. I mean, they later learn that this “Alicia” is actually a Skrull imposter named Lyja, but seriously, Johnny, never go after a friend’s ex. Bro Code. Ben wallows in self-pity for a while, but picks things back up again after moving out to LA and joining the West Coast Avengers. A change of scenery can do wonders. He eventually returned to the FF after Reed and Sue took a leave of absence to raise their son. To fill their spots he invited Johnny’s flavor of the month er-I mean girlfriend Crystal of the Inhumans, and Sharon Ventura, who was the second generation Ms. Marvel. A short while later, he and Sharon are hit with more cosmic rays, which turned Sharon into a feminized version of Ben’s original orange form, and mutated Ben into an even rockier monstery look. This is eventually reversed.

A few years later, Ben learns that Reed had entitled him to a large, unspecific amount of money. His share of the Fantastic Four fortune, generated by Reed’s inventions and discoveries. Rather than use it on himself, Ben went back to his old stomping grounds, Yancy Street, and built the Grimm Youth Center. The Yancy Street Gang, a group of teens and adults that are something of a comedic enemy of Ben’s, planned to graffiti the building, but forwent those plans when they learned that the Grimm the building was named after was Ben’s deceased brother, Daniel, their former boss. So they just graffiti Ben instead. It’s also around this time that Ben reconnects with his Jewish roots, and even has a Bar Mitzvah ceremony celebrating his “rebirth” as the Thing. He was finally in a good place. Then it hit the fan.

Not a bad back up team, but I still think having Luke Cage
and the Thing is a little redundant.

During the Superhero Civil War, Ben sided with the Registration side. Probably because Reed and the others were on it more than anything else. A battle takes place on Yancy Street, Captain America and his team attacked an armored transport to rescue some of their allies. During the fighting old FF foes Mad Thinker and Puppet Master used mind control to force a civilian to deliver a bomb in the middle of the fight. That was the final straw for Ben. The big orange bruiser loudly and angrily chastises both sides for not caring about the innocent folks being hurt by their fighting. He announced to everyone that he is against the Registration, but he’s also against physically fighting the government, so he goes for option 3. He quit and moved to Paris. He returns just before the big fight breaks out, he doesn’t take a side, instead opting to protect the civilians from becoming collateral damage. When the fighting died down, he and the rest of the team celebrated the 11^th anniversary of the Fantastic Four, where Reed and Sue announced to the team that they’d be taking a little break to work on their relationship, and have Black Panther and Storm take their places.

During the World War Hulk event, where the Hulk leads his Alien Warbound in an attempt to punish his so-called friends for launching him into space, Ben goes toe to toe with the big green brute. While very close in strength, Ben is eventually overpowered and held prisoner for a time. He breaks free to help finish off Hulk’s crew. He’s with the Fantastic Four when Lyja, posing as Invisible Woman, traps them in the Negative Zone. He puts it upon himself to protect Reed and Sue’s kids while Reed figured out how to get them back home. After that, he helps Reed found the Future Foundation after Johnny’s supposed death during another trip to the Negative Zone. Ben’s always been about helping folks, so this is probably the best sport for him to date.

Ben Grimm’s mutation after being hit with the Cosmic Rays is the most problematic of his team. While his stony hide is nearly impervious to damage, and grants him greater speed, strength and stamina, he’s unable to revert to a human form. Which makes life in general more difficult. Duh. He’s had training in basic hand to hand combat in the Marines, but it’s kind of hard to utilize such skills when you punch hard enough to break through walls. He’s a skilled pilot, provided that the controls and seat are designed to handle his size and weight.

The Thing has appeared in a number of Marvel series. As a matter of fact, he’s probably the most popular member of the Fantastic Four, having appeared in several different shows without the rest of his team. This kind of fits with the comics, as Ben has been shown to be on really friendly turns with just about every Marvel superhero.

This could take a while... I'll be on
the Moon's Blue Zone until they finish.

He appears in a few episodes of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. He has cameo appearances in “The Man Who Stole Tomorrow” and “The Casket of Ancient Winters.” His first major appearance was in “The Private War of Doctor Doom.” He and Johnny join several Avenger’s in a friendly poker game while Iron Man and Wasp visit Reed and Sue. There’s a pretty funny bit where he and the Hulk start brawling at the drop of a hat. The fun ends when they learn that Invisible Woman and Wasp were kidnapped by Doctor Doom. He, Johnny and Reed joined the Avengers to help rescue them. They leave without learning that the Invisible Woman with them is a Skrull imposter. The team is trapped in the Negative Zone during the events of “Secret Invasion” but return at the end of the episode. In “New Avengers” the Thing is recruited alongside Spider-Man, War Machine, Wolverine, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage to be the New Avengers when the main team is captured by Kang the Conqueror. They’re able to free the main team and re-imprison Kang. He joins the expanded Avengers in “Avengers Assemble” when Earth’s heroes are recruited to stop Galactus and his Heralds. He’s assigned to the same team as Johnny, to battle the water elemental Stardust. Honestly you’d think they’d send him after one he could punch. The Thing in this series was voiced by Fred Tatasciore, whom also voiced the Hulk. Just a weird fact for you.

The Thing has appeared in a number of episodes in all three of Disney’s Animated Universe. (Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.) Best example I can think of was on Avengers Assemble, “Hulk’s Day Out.” The episode isn’t that great, Hulk gets amnesia and the team needs to figure out what happened, but it’s revealed that Hulk and the Thing are part of a bowling league on Yancy Street, which I just find hilarious. All three shows are kind of meh, but check them out if, like me, you need an occasional superhero fix. What? That’s just me. Drat.

Ben Grimm and the Thing were portrayed by Michael Chiklis in 2005’s Fantastic Four. In it, he’s portrayed as Reed’s lifelong friend and sort-of bodyguard. The movie tries to explain the…severity of his mutation. This story had him outside the protective space station when the Cosmic Ray’s hit, thus ensuring he got a much stronger dose of it. He’s very upset about being left as a giant rock, a frustration that Doctor Doom exploits. Doom “helps” Ben revert to normal by tinkering with a machine that Reed had been working on to mimic the Cosmic Rays. This was actually a ploy to remove the Thing as a threat, and augment Doom’s own powers. After being temporarily subdued, Ben reenters the machine, mutates again and helps the Four take Doom down.

I like Chiklis' look more.

Chiklis reprised his role in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. At this point, Ben is more or less okay with his Rocky look, but is still pretty giddy when Johnny develops the power-switching ability. Seeing one’s own face again after at least a year is kind of awesome. He is gives his powers to Johnny so he can face Doom. He also helps out by hitting Doom with a wrecking ball, breaking his connection to the Silver Surfer’s board, once Johnny has him stunned. Both these movies are bad, but I’d say Chiklis is at least trying to salvage something out of it.

Jamie Bell will be portraying Ben Grimm in the Fantastic Four reboot. From what I’ve seen, the Thing will be portrayed by special effects. I don’t know much about this version of Ben Grimm, but the bit I know is… well, upsetting. By my understanding, this Ben Grimm learned is iconic catch phrase “It’s Clobberin’ Time” from his elder brother, who used to shout it, right before beating him. So we go from a loving role model of a sibling tragically killed in his youth, having a profound effect on his surviving little brother, to a disturbed possible sociopath. This is why I stress that people read the source material before making major changes. Again, not all that hopeful for this movie.

Of the four members of the Fantastic Four, Ben is the one I like the most. But, given where the other’s fall on my list, that’s not too hard. He does the pretty standard “don’t judge a book by its cover” story, and much like DC’s Cyborg, his powers are as much a disability as they are a gift. Baring a few instances of understandable depression about being a rock monster, he does still try to remain upbeat about his situation. He also represents a big part of the core value of the Fantastic Four, family. Sue and Johnny represent the family that one is born with, Reed represents the family that you draw in, and Ben is the family you choose. There’s no blood or marital ties to someone like that, but in many cases the person that fills this spot is closer than a lot of blood relatives. Maybe I’m getting a little too in depth hear with comic book messages, but hey, that’s kind of my thing. He’s the old school Yanky, the big orange bruiser, the colossal clobberer, the Thing. Next time, we finally see if my fears are legitimate, my review of Fantastic Four. Or is it Fant4stic? How would you even pronounce that? 

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