Ben Grimm
Benjamin Jacob "Ben" Grimm, also known as the Thing, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. The Thing was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover-dated Nov. 1961).
| Ben Grimm | |
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Variant cover of Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1 (May 2009). Art by Marko Djurdjevic. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Benjamin Jacob "Ben" Grimm |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Place of origin | New York City |
| Team affiliations | Fantastic Four Avengers Future Foundation UCWF West Coast Avengers Thunderiders Yancy Street Gang New Avengers Guardians of the Galaxy The Worthy |
| Notable aliases | Thing Blackbeard the Pirate Angrir: Breaker of Souls Dr. Josiah Verpoorteen El Morrito |
| Abilities |
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Known for his trademark rocky appearance, he has superhuman strength, a sense of humor, and the battle cry and catchphrase "It's clobberin' time!" Thing's speech patterns are loosely based on Jimmy Durante. A key feature throughout his character arc has him struggling to accept his newfound powers, which often culminates in him returning to his old self before going back to his mutated form. Michael Bailey Smith played Ben Grimm in his human form, while Carl Ciarfalio played the Thing in The Fantastic Four film from 1994, Michael Chiklis portrayed the Thing in the 2005 film Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Jamie Bell portrayed The Thing in Fantastic Four (2015) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will portray the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2025's The Fantastic Four.