Ben Grimm

This page is similar in name or subject to other pages. See also Thing for a complete list of references to clarify differences between these closely named or closely related articles.

The Thing
Aliases:	Benjamin Jacob Grimm; Benjamin J. Grimm; The Thing
Continuity:	Fantastic Four
Notability:	Main character
Type:	Superhero
Gender:	Male
Race:	Altered human
Location:	Manhattan, New York City, New York
Relatives:	See Family members
Status:	Alive
First:	Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 #1

Biography

Ben Grimm was leaving a Broadway play with Alicia Masters when he was attacked by a water elemental - one of four such creatures created by Diablo. The being encased Ben inside a sphere of water and he began to drown. His strength could not punch through the fluid material, so he raced into a sporting goods store, where a clerk named Jan saved him by feeding an air hose from a SCUBA tank into the water sphere. Free of the creature's hold, Ben then had to return the favor by repeating the same gestures to the clerk as the water elemental attacked her. He then ended up fighting the earth elemental outside and dispersed it by soaking it down with water from an underground pipe.

Further mutation

Still reeling from his recent break-up with whom he thought was Alicia Masters (in truth it was the Skrull spy known as Lyja), Ben grew closer to FF teammate Sharon Ventura. Ben and Sharon traveled to the Arab nation of Aqiria, where they were captured by an energy being known as Farouk Al-Fasaud. After escaping from Farouk, they escaped from Aqiria by stealing a shuttlecraft. As they entered the Earth's atmosphere, they passed through another swatch of cosmic rays. The Thing mutated even further, with his rocky hide forming sharp protrusions, as well as increasing his already impressive strength and durability. Sharon Ventura took on a molten rock-like appearance similar to the Thing's original shape.

Powers

• Body conversion
• Superhuman strength
• Superhuman stamina
• Superhuman durability

Equipment

• Exoskeleton: For a while, the Thing reverted back to his human form of Ben Grimm. However, in order to remain active on the team and to keep the group's enemies from learning about his vulnerability, Reed constructed an exoskeleton armor that mimicked the appearance and abilities of the Thing. The suit compensated for Grimm's diminished strength levels and also provided him a high degree of resistance to physical damage as well as thermal and radiation damage. Grimm could even survive in the vacuum of space for limited periods of time while wearing this suit.

Family members

• Daniel Grimm - Father, deceased
• Elsie Grimm - Mother, deceased
• Daniel Grimm, Jr. - Brother, deceased
• Jake Grimm - Paternal uncle and former legal guardian
• Petunia Grimm - Paternal aunt-in-law.
• Alyce Grimm - Paternal aunt and former legal guardian.
• Sophie Grimm - Paternal aunt, deceased.
• Franklin Richards - Godson
• Valeria Richards - Goddaughter

Nicknames

• Bashful Benjy
• Ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing
• Mama Grimm's favorite boy
• Mister Grimm (usually by Willie Lumpkin)
• Uncle Ben (by Franklin & Valeria)
• The Idol of Millions
• Big Ben
• Numerous uncomplimentary names given to him by Johnny Storm over the years.

Other versions

• The Thing, Michael Chiklis character from Fantastic Four film series.
• The Thing, Ben Grimm from the 1978 Fantastic Four cartoon series and The Thing cartoon series.
• The Thing, Ben Grimm from the 1994 Fantastic Four cartoon series.
• The Thing, Ben Grimm from the 1994 Fantastic Four live-action film.
• The Thing, Ben Grimm from the 2006 Fantastic Four cartoon series.
• The Thing, Ben Grimm from the Heroes Reborn universe.
• The Thing, Ben Grimm from the Ultimate Universe.
• The Thing, Ben Grimm from the Marvel Zombies Universe.

Notes & Trivia

• The character of Ben Grimm was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.
• The Eternal known as Sersi once used her powers to temporarily transform college student Arnold Radisch's head to resemble the Thing's head after Radisch questioned the Eternals' power as nothing more than Gimmickry.

OHOTMU profiles

• OHOTMU 11

Appearances

• Marvel Universe
• Alternate continuity
• Alternate media

• Amazing Spider-Man 5
• Amazing Spider-Man 300
• Amazing Spider-Man Annual 16
• Civil War 1
• Fantastic Four 5
• Fantastic Four 48
• Fantastic Four 175
• Fantastic Four 176
• Fantastic Four 177
• Fantastic Four 178
• Fantastic Four 179
• Fantastic Four 237
• Fantastic Four 247
• Man-Thing Vol 3 2 (Cameo appearance only)
• Marvel Team-Up 100
• Marvel Two-In-One 3
• Marvel Two-In-One 30
• Marvel Two-In-One 31
• Marvel Two-In-One 42
• Marvel Two-In-One 50
• Marvel Two-In-One 54
• Marvel Two-In-One 55
• Marvel Two-In-One 100
• Uncanny X-Men 135

Earth-7940

• Marvel Two-In-One 50
• Marvel Two-In-One 100

What If...?

• What If? 1

Fantastic Four (1978)

• Fantastic Four: A Monster Among Us
• Fantastic Four: The Phantom of Film City
• Fantastic Four: The Mole Man
• Fantastic Four: The Olympics of Space

Films

• Fantastic 4
• Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
• Fantastic Four (2015)

See also

Fantastic Four Fantastic Four films Fantastic Four comics Fantastic Four programs Fantastic Four characters

Fantastic Four villains Fantastic Four images Fantastic Four creators Fantastic Four cast & crew Fantastic Four miscellaneous

Recommended Reading

Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 Fantastic Four, Vol. 2 Fantastic Four, Vol. 3 Fantastic Four 2099 Fantastic Four Unlimited Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising

Fantastic Four Unplugged Fantastic Four: WGCM Ultimate Fantastic Four FF Fantastic Four Collections Fantastic Four One-Shots

External Links

The Thing at MDP The Thing at IMDB The Thing at Wikipedia The Thing at Comic Vine

The Thing at the Marvel Universe The Thing at the Marvel Directory The Thing at Hasbro Heroes Wiki The Thing at the Marvel Movies Wiki