The Exact Moment Each Person Became Assimilated In The Thing

9. Vance Norris

Oh Vance, we hardly knew ye.

The geologist for U.S Outpost 31 is one of the least developed characters in the film, but what we can glean from discussions from the group and his interactions with them is that he was Garry's first pick to take over command once his leadership began to falter which implies they had a good relationship, and the fact that he had a weak heart, the latter of which inadvertently leads the viewer to find out that he has indeed been assimilated (and gives us that gruesome defibrillator scene).

However, the question of WHEN he was infected is something that has been debated for years thanks to a conflicting silhouette that's seen when the Dog-Thing is exploring the Outpost. Fans speculate that this image could only be that of either Palmer or Norris (Windows is also a candidate but we all know what happens to him), and while Stuart Cohen stated that this was originally meant to be Palmer, that collar matches Norris's clothing almost perfectly.

However, here's the thing: that was the ORIGINAL plan, meaning that it has to be Norris in the final version who becomes patient zero.