A Heart Made of Solid Rock

[It's Clobberin' Time Folks!]

Written by Kal-El

Ben Grimm was born in New York City to Daniel and Elsie Grimm. They were a Jewish family living in poverty. Ben’s older brother Daniel Jr. was killed in a gang fight when Ben was 8 years old. Eventually his parents would die and Ben would be raised by his Uncle Jake. In high school Ben was an excellent football player and earned himself a full scholarship to Empire State University. Ben would meet Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) who he would become his best friend. When Richards shared his dreams of building a space rocket, Ben jokingly said he would fly it.

After college, Ben joined the United States Air Force and trained as a test pilot. Years later Reed finally contacted Ben again, he tells Ben that he built a space ship and reminded Ben that he promised to fly it. The American Government denied Ben’s request to fly into outer space, and Reed would decide to just do it without telling the government. Along with Sue Storm (Invisible Woman) and Johnny Storm (Human Torch), the four of them blasted off into outer space. Upon entering the upper atmosphere they were hit by a cosmic ray storm and were exposed to the radiation. After they crash landed on Earth, they began to transform. Ben’s skin grew thicker and orange. Reed proposed that they use their powers for good and Ben adopts the code name The Thing.

[Batter up!!]

The Thing has immense superhuman strength. In his first appearance, he could only lift 5 tons. Over the years, he was steady at 85 tons but now can lift at least 100 tons. He has enhanced stamina and his body can withstand extreme environments and abuse. His skin can withstand 15 pounds of explosives. Despite his size, he still has a decent amount of agility and movement. He is trained to operate a number of aircrafts, including the many inventions created by Richards. He has some training in hand-to-hand combat and is a very skilled wrestler.

[Despite his looks, Ben still plays a major role in the Fantastic Four lineup]

Ben was trapped in that hideous form and was very unhappy because of it. However, Ben was always reliable when his team needed him. Reed promised Ben that he would find a cure for his condition. Ben eventually meets Alicia Masters and quickly fell in love with her. This would cause a problem because now Ben subconsciously believes that Alicia would only love him in his rock form and it prevented all attempts of Reed to change him back to human futile. Later Ben would decide to stay on an alien planet where he could control his powers by being able to transform into human or rock form. When Ben finally returns to Earth, he discovers that Johnny and Alicia had started dating. However due to the disapproval of many fans they retconned this and the Alicia that Johnny dated was actually Lyja, a shape-shifting Skrull. The real Alicia was kept in suspended animation until the Fantastic Four rescued her.

Reed would take a leave in the Fantastic Four and Ben becomes the new leader. Later Ben discovers that he is entitled to a large sum of money from the Fantastic Four fortune. He used his new money to build a community center in his old neighborhood. The gang that his brother was the leader of thought it was named after Ben and decided to go vandalize it. They discover that it was actually named after Daniel Grimm Jr. and they would reconcile with Ben.

During Civil War, Ben was on Iron Man’s pro-registration side. When Captain America tries to rescue a captured ally the battle took place at Yancy Street, Ben’s home street. One of the civilians die there and Ben yells at both sides for not caring about the casualties. Ben leaves America and moves to France for awhile. Ben would return right before the end of the Civil War.

After the Civil War Stories, Ben is now back in full force with The Fantastic Four, being the backbone for the team, backup and support at all cost, we can sure bet our lives on him as he sure does have a big heart made of solid Rock.

Thanks for reading!