Ben Grimm, also known as The Thing, is a member of the Fantastic Four.
Biography[]
The Fantastic Four[]
During Reed Richards' college years, Ben Grimm is one of his best friends and a popular athlete in the college. When Reed and his best friend Victor try a dangerous experiment for using the comet Colossus' energy, and an accident occurs, Ben rushes in their lab and saves Victor for certain death.
Years later, Ben is Reed's best friend, and assists him in a second attempt of the same experiment, this time set directly in space, where Colossus should pass again. Along with them there are other two members of the experiment's crew, the son and daughter to Mary Storm, the woman who gave Reed a boarding house to hers to live and study in. Some moments prior to the space travel, Ben meets a blind artist, Alicia Masters, and despite accidentally breaking her last statue, the two fall in love with each other.
The experiment goes well at the beginning, but ends up in catastrophe, since the diamond used as a cathalizer of the comet's energy has been exchanged with an imitation by the thief The Jeweler. The space craft is completely destroyed, but its four occupants seem perfectly in shape. Reed, Susan and Johnny soon discover that they have been granted with special powers after the accident, but Ben seems unaffected. They decide to spend the night in the desert waiting for rescuers, but, when they wake up, Ben discovers that the comet's emissions have transformed him in a hideous rock monster. The four of them are taken in a lab for analysis, but the men they think are Government's agents are in reality Latverian scientists, studying them on Dr. Doom's account. Ben is quite humiliated realizing that he cannot even sit properly, breaking every chair he's brought. When the four realize that the scientists are in reality taking them captive, they decide to escape, and Ben easily knocks out three guards, who are later dressed as the prisoners.
Back in the Baxter Building, Ben complains about his appearance, confronting his powers to his friends' ones. Full of anger, he leaves the building, only to have a confirm, walking in the streets, that he'll always be unable to have a normal life again. Deeply sad, he's found by the Jewler's men, who bring him in the sewers, promising him a "kingdom" in which he'll feel like home. Ben decides to join, and is welcome by everyone in the Jewler's gang. A brief later, Doom attacks the Jewler's lair, looking for the diamond the thief has stolen. Ben easily disposes of Doom's guards, but when the monarch takes Alicia, kidnapped by the thief, as a hostage, he suddenly turns back to his human form and is forced to flee. Wanting to save Alicia, Ben comes back to his friends, once again in his rocky form.
The Fantastic Four arrive to Latveria, where they are easily trapped by Doom. Freed by Richards, the team starts a battle with Doom's guards, and The Thing defeats the guards almost all by himself, managing to free Alicia. The two of them shares a brief, sweet moment, and then leaves Castle Doom.
Back in USA, Ben stands as Reed's Best man at his friend's wedding with Sue, and is accompanied by Alicia, now his girlfriend. After pushing away paparazzos, Ben wishes his friends a great Honeymoon, and watches them leaving.
Galery[]
- The Thing (Sassone series)/Gallery
External links[]
The Thing on the Marvel Wiki
The Thing on Wikipedia