Benjamin Jacob Grimm, also known as The Thing, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. Thing was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover-dated Nov. 1961).
The character is known for his trademark rocky appearance. He possesses the ability to perform superhuman feats of strength and had a sense of humor and a famous battle cry, "It's clobberin' time!" Thing's speech patterns are loosely based on those of Jimmy Durante.
Powers and Abilities[]
The Thing's primary superhuman power is his great physical strength. Over the years, as a result of further mutation and rigorous training on machines designed by Reed Richards, his strength has increased dramatically.
He is capable of surviving impacts of great force without sustaining injury, as his body is covered with an orange, flexible, rock-like hide. He is also able to withstand gunfire from high-caliber weapons as well as armor-piercing rounds. It is possible to breach his exterior, however, and he does bleed as a result. One such instance involved Wolverine's adamantium claws scarring The Thing's face.
The Thing's highly advanced musculature generates fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity, granting him superhuman levels of stamina. When in his Thing form, he has only four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot. The loss of one digit of each hand and foot, aside from the increase in volume of the remainder, does not affect his manual dexterity. However, he has been shown doing things like holding a pencil and using it to dial a phone (even with rotary dials), or to push buttons on a keypad, to use devices that would ordinarily be too small for him.
Aside from his physical attributes, the Thing's senses can withstand higher levels of sensory stimulation than an ordinary human, with the exception of his sense of touch. His lungs are possessed of greater efficiency and volume than those of an ordinary human. As a result, the Thing is capable of holding his breath for much longer periods of time.
The Thing is an exceptionally skilled pilot, due to his time spent as a test pilot in the United States Marine Corps and as a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is also a formidable and relentless hand-to-hand combatant. His fighting style incorporates elements of boxing, wrestling, judo, jujitsu, and street-fighting techniques, as well as hand-to-hand combat training from the military.
On occasion, when Ben Grimm regained his human form and lost his Thing powers, he used a suit of powered battle armor designed by Reed Richards that simulated the strength and durability of his mutated body, albeit to a weaker degree. Wearing the suit, which was designed to physically resemble his rocky form, Ben continued to participate in the Fantastic Four's adventures. The first exo-skeletal Thing suit was destroyed after Galactus restored Ben's natural powers and form. A second suit was built (presumably by Richards) and used sporadically when Ben had been returned to his human form again.
Reed has failed many times to restore Ben permanently to human form. When Doom reverses Sharon Ventura's similar cosmic-ray transformation, he uses both science and magic. Ben is almost immortal when in his Thing form, as he only ages when he is human. After Franklin and Valeria create a formula that allows Ben to become human for one week each year, Reed and Nathaniel traveled over 3,000 years into the future to see Ben still alive after all that time.