Over the past few weeks, as I’ve been writing about each member of the Fantastic Four, I’ve been looking forward to this one the most: Benjamin J. Grimm (The Thing). What truly cements his place in the hearts of fans everywhere is that he’s so tragically misunderstood: the poor guy is constantly hated just because of his appearance, yet his kind heart still drives him to do the right thing despite it. However, most people still tend to view him as simply the strong rock man of the group. But if there’s anything to be learned from my previous articles, it’s that there’s always more to these characters than meets the eye.
Origins
The thing about Ben—what some people don’t realize—is that he was already a tank long before he got his powers. After losing his parents and older brother at a very young age, Ben joined a street gang in his home of Yancy Street. However, his Uncle Jake wasn’t about to let his nephew throw his life away like that, so he took him in and made sure to raise him the right way. Marvel sure knew how to write their uncle characters, because Jake taught Ben how to fight smart, be loyal, stay responsible, basically serving as the father figure and mentor that Ben desperately needed after all that trauma. And all that work would pay off, as Ben would eventually go to college on a football scholarship, where he would become roommates and best friends with one Reed Richards.
When Reed told Ben that he wanted to build a spacecraft, Ben joked that he would fly the thing. And ironically enough, Ben would actually join the Air Force after graduating from college, which immediately made him Reed’s first choice to pilot his completed ship. Despite government threats to cancel the project and Ben’s concerns about Reed’s shielding for the ship, Ben agreed to pilot a secret test flight. The ship would also be crewed by Reed, his fiancée, Susan Storm, and Susan’s brother Johnny. Unfortunately, though, Ben’s previous concerns were validated after they encountered cosmic rays that altered the group’s DNA. But unlike everyone else, whose appearances didn’t really change, Ben was stuck looking like an orange rock monster with no way to change back into his human form.
Reed would create an elixir that allowed Ben to become human every once in a while, but this struggle would remain Ben’s identity for a long time. It doesn’t help that the elixir never lasted long—only a few hours to a whole day—and couldn’t be used too often, at the risk of Ben’s health. Either way, Ben’s rocky appearance would cause many people to avoid him out of fear or disgust. And even when he was human, he either felt like he no longer fit in or already accepted his identity and role as the Thing, depending on the timeline. Not everything would go downhill for Ben, though, as he would eventually marry a blind woman named Alicia Masters (though not before going through many complicated events and heartbreaks). Yet despite his insecurities about himself and how everyone treats him, Ben ALWAYS endures and pushes through out of love for his family and friends.
Powers and Abilities
The biggest misconception about Ben is that he’s “just a strong rock guy.” But the cosmic rays did way more to him than that; they rebuilt him into an actual living tank! For instance, his skin isn’t made of actual rocks but of a composite of dense mineral plates. Many comics have emphasized how incredibly durable these plates are, as they have helped Ben shrug off anything from gunshots to explosions and even Hulk-level blows without so much as a scratch. This doesn’t mean he’s 100% indestructible, though, as he can still feel pain, bleed, or get knocked out after enough hits. Regardless, he can still take a ridiculous amount of punishment because the plates spread the force of each impact across a larger surface area, thus reducing internal shock damage. But of course, having only armor-like skin isn’t always enough to make the cut, especially if you don’t have the same strength as whatever’s hitting you to back it up. Thankfully, the cosmic rays also strengthened his muscles and skeleton by densifying them, while also reinforcing his connective tissues, tendons, and ligaments. Basically, this allows Ben to lift 80-100 tons without his body collapsing from the intense force. Further, this also makes Ben heavy and durable enough to trade blows with beings like the aforementioned Hulk, since he’d be harder to knock back or take down without a lot of effort. But even if Ben does get knocked back, his densified muscles help him quickly charge back into the fight, or leap across vast distances for another round. Finally, there’s the underrated ability of Ben’s grip strength. This is especially important because Ben will be able to do more than hold a bad guy in place; Ben can dig his reinforced stone fingers into armored opponents or monsters, exerting a masterful amount of control to pin them down or toss them around. Couple that with his Air Force training, and that makes Ben all the more terrifying in a fight.
And yet, as terrifying as Ben is, there’s a catch. Like I briefly mentioned before, Ben isn’t 100% indestructible. Again, enough hits with enough force can either crack through Ben’s skin, wear him down, or even knock him out. This is because, while his skin is made of dense material, it’s still skin. It’s not like fighting the Hulk with the Hulkbuster Armor; it’s flesh that can bruise or bleed. Basically, despite Ben’s altered state, he’s still just as human as anyone and can fall like one given enough time. Also, Ben’s skin can’t protect or withstand everything thrown at him. For example, Ben is mainly built for physical confrontations, so high-level energy attacks, intense radiation, extreme temperatures, and especially magic can still affect him. In the recent “One World Under Doom” storyline of comics, this is demonstrated when Dr. Doom forcibly transforms Ben back into his human form. If someone with similar powers (if not greater) could easily do that to Ben on a whim, the whole team is in trouble. But it’s not just these kinds of attacks that can affect Ben, as sometimes his own body can turn against him. Due to his already unstable DNA, mixed with years of forced reversion or other mutations, Ben’s body constantly has to make up the difference to stabilize itself, which makes Ben’s abilities unreliable if he isn’t careful. The final and greatest weakness, though, takes place in his mind. Years of being feared and treated like a monster made Ben severely insecure about his appearance and himself as a person. Even when he gets turned back into a human, he’ll have grown so dependent on The Thing that it becomes his identity, and he’ll even go out of his way to turn back into The Thing. This mental and emotional state can have detrimental consequences in battle, such as villains taking advantage of him by offering “cures” or attacking his heart, or also lead Ben into making rash decisions that could potentially fail.
But even with all these limitations, all these heavy hits, Ben’s greatest strength lies in how he endures it all. Ben’s stamina is seriously underrated, as even the heaviest hitters tire themselves out or falter after a while. Ben is no exception, but he still pushes back anyway. No matter how much punishment he takes, no matter how long the fight is, even if he’s on his last dregs of strength, Ben endures and keeps fighting until he has no strength left. So, even when his powers aren’t always reliable, Ben is. For a family like the Fantastic 4, that’s all anyone could ever want.
Greatest Feats
At this point, we’ve gone over why each member of the Fantastic Four more than deserved their spot on the team. While Ben might not be able to rebuild the multiverse, cover a planet with an impenetrable force field, or “go supernova,” that doesn’t make him any less valuable to the group. For instance, back in the ’80s, there were a few comics where the Fantastic Four once teamed up with Galactus to defeat his former Herald: Terrax the Tamer. However, the fight severely weakened Galactus, so he decided to consume the Earth for sustenance (which is an odd way of saying “thanks for helping me beat this guy”). Anyway, the Four step in to stop him alongside the Avengers and Dr. Strange, but none of their attacks do anything. But that’s when Reed turned himself into basically a slingshot and then sent Ben catapulting into Galactus like a cannonball! Apparently, the impact was enough to knock Galactus out cold! Granted, Galactus was nowhere near top form, but he’s still an insanely powerful and ancient cosmic being, so he’s tough to beat no matter what state he’s in. So to see someone like the Thing, who is not even on the Hulk’s level of strength, knock out a being older than the universe in one hit? That’s absolutely insane!
What’s equally insane, however, is how the Thing’s own honeymoon led to a knock-down, drag-out brawl with the Hulk. Back in 2018, Ben finally married Alicia Masters and was about to become human again, thanks to Reed’s aforementioned serum. But there was just one problem: Alicia’s dad, a supervillain known as the Puppet Master, wasn’t happy about this union. Therefore, like any unhappy in-law, he takes control of the Hulk and sends him to fight the Hulk at the worst possible timing: with Ben only having about an hour before he becomes human. The stakes are already high enough, but the Hulk is already beating the absolute crap out of Ben, and the fight even puts innocents in danger. So, motivated by an inspirational speech from Alicia and the desire to protect everyone, he channels ALL of his strength and emotion into one punch. Once the Hulk got right where Ben wanted him, Ben punched the Hulk so hard that ALL the rocks on his arm shattered and fell off! Thankfully, the hit was enough to not only break Puppet Master’s control, but also to knock the Hulk out COLD! This wasn’t one-sided, though, as Ben also got knocked out from the impact, and he had to have his arm in a vibranium cast to heal. Anyway, this doesn’t mean the Thing suddenly became stronger than the Hulk, because that simply isn’t possible. The Hulk literally has infinite strength, and Ben is very strong, but will never reach that level. Still, the ability to one-shot (another) one of the strongest beings in the Marvel universe more than deserves recognition.
Despite these amazing feats of strength, there’s still one that blows the previous two completely out of the water! Way back in 1975, one of the Elders of the Universe—known as the Champion of the Universe—came to Earth and challenged some of the strongest Marvel characters: Thor, Hulk, Doc Samson, Colossus, Sasquatch, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Wonder Man, and, of course, The Thing. Thankfully, the world wasn’t at risk this time, since the Champion simply wanted to test his strength against the people he selected. Long-story-short, everyone is either disqualified or beaten to a pulp in his arena, except for Ben. Now, the greatest part of this whole fight isn’t the fact that Ben emerges victorious or anything, because the Champion beats the living daylights out of this guy. Ben does get some pretty good hits in, but since we’re talking about a cosmic being with infinite levels of strength (which we later find out comes from the Power Stone), Ben’s streaks never lasted long. Finally, with Ben broken and bleeding on the floor, Champion thinks he’s won and holds up the title belt. BUT THEN Ben calls out, saying he’s not done yet, and gets back up! Moved by Ben’s spirit and determination, Champion acknowledges Ben as the most honorable fighter he’s come across and even yields just to get Ben to stop fighting. Again, Ben didn’t “win” in the sense you would think of, but he showed something more important: his undying spirit and the strength of his heart. Ben CAN go the distance, even if he knows he can’t win!
Conclusion
Benjamin J. Grimm was always feared and mocked as a monster, when he’s really a gentle giant and not afraid to square up if he needs to. His powers might not sound as awesome as the other members of the group, but his endurance and strength make him just as essential to the team. And although I wish they showed more of his insecurities and struggles in “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal of the character was great, and I can’t wait to see what his role will be in “Avengers: Doomsday!” (And I also wanna find out how he came to meet Shuri and the Wakandans lol)
