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

Young Ben Grimm had been a member and eventual leader of the Yancy Street Gang. And despite being a good-hearted kid, he had committed his share of crimes against the businesses of the area. Also, being associated with The Thing of the Fantastic Four had brought the area some undue attention from the supervillain community over the years. There were those occasions that Ben went on a tear after the Yancy Street Gang pulled a prank on him, which more often than not was actually Johnny Storm’s doing.

When Ben found out that he was a multi-millionaire - thanks to some stocks that Reed had bought him in the early days and never touched to pay the FF’s debts - one of the first things he did was to build the “Grimm Youth Center”. The Yancy Street Gang was about to spray it with graffiti until they realized it was named for Daniel Grimm, Ben’s deceased brother and beloved former gang leader. So, they spray-painted Ben instead when they caught him sleeping at a bus stop.

Ben also made amends to a former store clerk he wronged and repaid him by working shifts in his grocery store. The owner of the market talked to the Rabbis of the neighborhood synagogue and asked that Ben be barmitzvahed again as he had lived 13 years as the Thing. Ben studied and, after the ceremony, he and many members of the superhero community had a huge poker tournament to celebrate.