10 Things Marvel Wants You To Forget About The Thing

10. He Had A Cartoon Block With The Flinstones

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing
Hanna-Barbera

By far one of the most bizarre cartoon blocks out there, Fred and Barney Meet the Thing was an animated series that aired in the late seventies. The reason behind its creation? Marvel was actually working with Hanna-Barbera at the time, allowing for both companies' characters to share the small screen in some way or another.

Despite the title, Fred and Barn never actually ended up meeting Ben Grimm. Instead, they only shared a title sequence, with one half devoted to the Flinstones and the other to the Fantastic Four's premier character. Thing's segments weren't all that comic-accurate though, with the series focussing on Benjy Grimm - a young teenager - as he transforms into the Thing by pressing two magic rings together.

Needless to say, the show's catchphrase of 'Thing ring, do your thing' never really caught on, with the show lasting just shy of three months with thirteen episodes to its name.

Why not use the actual Thing? Who knows. At least the catchphrase never caught on...

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Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.