Fantastic Four: 10 Times The Thing Redefined The Word “Fantastic”

Ben Grimm warned his college friend and inventor Reed Richards that his experimental rocket ship didn’t have enough shielding against the intense cosmic rays that exist in the Van Allen Belt. As ever, Richards dismissed his concerns and assured Ben that he had thought of everything. Grimm was going to refuse to pilot the flight but Reed’s girlfriend Susan called him a coward. Because of his pride and his unrequited crush on Sue, Ben relented.

Grimm had been right. As soon as they reached the Van Allen Belt, the ship was bombarded with cosmic rays. Ben’s arms felt almost too heavy to lift but he managed to pilot the ship back to Earth safely. Once there, the quartet transformed, but the circumstances were not fair in Ben’s case.

While the others could seemingly turn their powers “off”, Ben was transformed into a rock-like super-strong monster. Initially drowning in self-pity, the Thing has come to terms with his transformation over the years and has taken a self-deprecating approach to it. All the while, his good heart kept him from becoming the monster on the inside that he might appear on the outside.