The Thing

Ben Grimm a.k.a. The Thing was an astronaut and former USAF test pilot. Grimm was exposed to high levels of cosmic radiation when his best friend, scientist Dr. Reed Richards took him and his friends Sue Storm and her younger brother Johnny Storm, into space in the stolen rocket; Marvel-1. The radiation mutated him and his friends, turning him into a super-strong rock like monster with a "Heart of Gold". Together they became the Fantastic Four, a team of adventurers who explored space, time, and alternate dimensions and saved the world along the way from science-based threats.
== History ==
Benjamin J. Grimm was born on Yancy Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side, where he grew up in poverty. His father, an alcoholic, was unable to hold a job. Much of the family's income came from Grimm's older brother, Daniel, who obtained funds illegally as leader of the Yancy Street Gang. Grimm, who idolized his brother, became embittered against the world when Daniel was killed in a battle between rival gangs. Grimm was only eight years old at the time. Within ten years, he had succeeded his brother as leader of the Yancy Street Gang. After his parents died, Grimm was taken in by his Uncle Jake, who had risen from poverty to become a successful physician. At first, Grimm resisted his new guardians' kindness toward him. But eventually, he came to return their love. He left his life with the Yancy Street Gang behind, entered high school, and became a football star there. While he was a senior at Stuyvesant High School, Ben received a football scholarship to State University in Hegeman, New York. On the football field, Ben received the nickname "Grimm Reaper."
Grimm's freshman year roommate was the brilliant science student Reed Richards, who became his closest friend. During their first meeting, Richards confided in Grimm his intention someday to build a starship for interstellar travel. Grimm jokingly promised that he would pilot the starship for Richards if he ever built it.
Upon graduating, Grimm went into the U.S. Air Force and became a highly skilled fighter pilot, as well as a test pilot and an astronaut. In the meantime, Richards went ahead with his project to build a starship, using both his own fortune and funding from the federal government. On the day that Grimm left the military, Richards came to him to remind him of his promise to pilot the starship.
Richards' project was based in Central City, California. When the federal government threatened to withdraw its funding from Richards' project, Richards decided to take the starship on a test flight himself as soon as possible. Grimm was opposed to the idea, warning that the starship's shielding might prove to be inadequate protection from intense radiation storms. Nevertheless, Grimm was persuaded to serve as the pilot, and Richards' future wife Sue Storm and her teenage brother Johnny insisted on accompanying Richards' as passengers. The four friends stole into the launch facility, entered the starship, and launched it. They intended to travel through hyperspace to another solar system and back. However, when the ship passed through a cosmic ray storm, they were met with an unexpected intensity. Since the ship was designed to shield against ordinary levels of radiation, the cabin interior was subject to intense cosmic ray bombardment which irradiated the four passengers and wrought havoc on the ship's controls. Pilot Grimm was forced to abort the flight and return to Earth.
Once back on Earth, the four passengers discovered that the cosmic radiation had triggered mutagenic changes in their bodies. Grimm was transformed into an orange-colored, thick-skinned, heavily-muscled, and superhumanly strong "thing." Richards convinced the three others that the four of them should use their new powers for the good of humanity as members of a team named the Fantastic Four. Richards called himself Mister Fantastic, Susan and Johnny Storm took the names of the Invisible Girl (later Invisible Woman) and the Human Torch, and Grimm, morose over his new grotesque appearance, named himself the Thing. Under Richards' leadership the Fantastic Four has become Earth's most honored team of superhuman adventurers and has saved the world from conquest or destruction many times. Their incorporation heralded the modern age of superheroes.
== Personality ==
The Thing is often depicted with a gruff, tough exterior and can appear grim, but is actually very kind-hearted and often well liked among other heroes. Stubborn and sometimes hot tempered, although that often turns out to make him very determined, enthusiastic and brave, rarely, if ever, gives up a fight.
Despite his tough and gruff attitude and personality, he has at times, although seldom, shown to lightly tear up during extremely touching moments, proving he does have a sensitive side beneath his hard disposition. He is also often sarcastic, quick to throw a wise crack.
== Powers and Abilities ==
* Rock-Like Skin: The Thing possesses a smooth, orange, rock-like hide as a result of exposure to cosmic rays. The mutagenic process caused his musculature, bone structure, internal organ composition, soft tissue structure, and skin to greatly increase in toughness and density. After being subjected to a serum, he now reverts to human form once a year, which is now the only time he ages.
* Superhuman Strength: The Thing's primary superhuman power is his great physical strength. Initially, he was only strong enough to rate as a class 5. Over the years, through rigorous training and further mutation, his strength dramatically increased to the point where he rated as a class 85 (the rating system is only for comparing characters with each other and should not remotely be taken literally). His latest rating put him as class 100. His feats include successfully holding back a giant alien spacecraft from jettisoning from Earth, lifting an oil rig and also stopping a multiple story building (weighing roughly 30,000 tons) from falling over and lifting it back into place.
* Superhuman Stamina: The Thing's advanced musculature produces considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a normal human. At his peak, he can exert himself for about 24 hours before the buildup of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to affect him. Incidentally, The Thing's lungs are of greater volume and efficiency than a normal man's, enabling him to hold his breath underwater for up to 9 minutes, despite the fact that he used to smoke.
* Superhuman Durability: The rock-like composition of the Thing's body renders him highly resistant to physical injury. The Thing's body can resist extremely powerful impact forces, such as the force of the Hulk's punches (the Hulk is far above class 100, which makes his punches devastatingly strong). He can also withstand exposure to high levels of explosives, such as being struck with bazooka shells or being shot point-blank with a high-caliber firearm without sustaining injury.
== Appearances ==
* Fantastic Four: Transformania
Category:Characters