6. Ben Grimm Weighs So Much He Should Hardly Be Able To Move
The closest the Fantastic Four has to an X-Men-style allegory is Ben Grimm's plight as the Thing. With the X-Men, obviously, the allegory uses mutants to represent an outcast section of society being persecuted: with the FF, the Thing represents the "other" being judged unfairly. However, in the films, this interesting story idea is usually ignored in favour of making Ben a genuine grotesque, with the prejudice he suffers being glossed over or not mentioned at all. Once the audience is told to regard Ben as a monster rather than as a genuinely sympathetic figure, the focus shifts to what's on the outside rather than what's on the inside. In other words, presenting the rocky facade as the most important aspect of Ben's character causes viewers to ask questions about that very facade. The first and most urgent question being, "How heavy must this guy be? He's made outta rocks!" It's a good question and, according to the comics, he only weighs about 500 lbs despite looking like a collection of orange boulders. This surprisingly light number is due to the fact that he's only covered with a "rock-like" substance. Nonetheless, even a thin layer must weigh much more than even a bodybuilder could lift. It's a good job that super-strength came along with that rock-like coating, otherwise poor old Ben wouldn't even be able to move. He'd be grunting with exertion just to move an arm or a leg.