The Thing

Ben Grimm, better known as the Thing, is the original quintessential tough-guy. But, because of his transformation, he's also the tragic member of the Fantastic Four.

Benjamin Jacob Grimm was born on Yancy Street in the heart of New York City into a poor Jewish family. When Ben was a young kid his older brother, Daniel Grimm, was the leader of the Yancy Street Gang, a group of young trouble-makers from the area. When he was old enough Ben joined this gang as well. He was inducted into the gang by being ‘beaten in.’ Growing up poor along with his gang affiliation and related activities made Ben street-smart, tough and 'hard' very early in life. All of these personality characteristics have served him well throughout his lifetime of brawling and adventuring.

During Ben's formative years tragedy struck his family hard; his older brother Daniel was killed in a gang fight when Ben was still a kid and his parents Daniel, Sr. and Elsie both died in an accident when he was a teenager. Ben was placed in the custody of his Uncle Jake (his father's brother) and Aunt Alyce (Jake's first wife) who took him from New York to Arizona. Unfortunately, Alyce died relatively young. After Alyce's death, Jake Grimm re-married. His second wife's name was Sophie, whom he also out-lived. Jake married yet a third time, this time to a much younger woman named Petunia (whom Ben speaks of quite often).

Now physically removed from his past troubles, Ben did well in high school, using his natural talent to his advantage becoming an excellent football player, Ben won an athletic scholarship to Empire State University where he met, roomed and became best friends with Reed Richards. While attending university Ben and Reed also meet Victor Von Doom who was studying there as well.

After college, Ben joined the US Air Force and became a fantastic pilot, often testing experimental aircraft and even flying top secret missions for the US government. His piloting skills eventually landed him a spot at NASA.

Ben was later contacted by his old friend Reed who wanted him to pilot his experimental rocket into space (as they joked about doing when they were in school together). Ben was reluctant to pilot the ship as he was unsure that it would be safe for them. Ben was persuaded to do so anyway and they took off with Susan Storm, who helped fund the project, and her younger brother Johnny.

Still not cleared for takeoff, Ben took off at the others request and they made their fateful trip into outer space. Unfortunately, Ben was right to assume the safety risks, and the ship was bombarded with cosmic rays. When the rocket ship eventually crash-landed back on Earth the crew saw Sue briefly disappear when as turned invisible. This caused Ben to get angry with and aggressive towards Reed which triggered a radical physical transformation causing Ben to suddenly changed into a monstrous "thing." Ben tried to attack Reed, but Reed transformed into Mr. Fantastic, using his lengthy arms to wrap them around Ben. Johnny then suddenly changed into the Human Torch. Reed gathered the group together and convinced them that they must use their powers to help mankind. Thus the Fantastic Four was formed, though Ben was somewhat reluctant.

Ben remained a reliable member of the team, but was constantly shunned and often dwelt on his monstrous appearance, usually trying to make jokes about it to keep his spirits high. Although he considered himself deformed, his transformation gave Ben incredible strength and durability, making him the physical powerhouse of the team. Reed blamed Ben’s appearance on himself and swore to cure Ben one way or the other. Ben would often wear a trench coat and hat to cover himself up to avoid scaring anyone or people gawking at his appearance. He soon started a love/hate relationship with Johnny storm, saying that at one time he could kill him for being annoying as heck, and other times seeing him as the best pal or the best younger brother a guy could have.

Ben developed a different point of view about his problem when he met the blind sculptress Alicia Masters. She loved Ben for Ben, not his appearance. This made Ben believe that she actually loved him not as a man but as a rocky hided monster and made him subconsciously averse to reverting to his original human form.

When Reed and Sue were married and had a son named Franklin, they asked Ben to become the child's Godfather. Ben was very honored that they choose him. He became known to Franklin as "Uncle Ben".

Ben is famous for a lot of his colorful catchphrases including; His battle cry - "It's Clobberin' Time!" - which he often yells when going into battle or at the decisive moment of a fight. Referring to himself as "The ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing" and also as the "Idol of millions". Ben often called both Thundra and Bill Foster (then known as Giant-Man) "High-pockets" due to their extremely tall height. He's also known for throwing a hay-maker (a devastating power-punch) and referring to it as his "Sunday Punch." More then just once he has preached the name of "his Aunt Petunia" (even referring to himself as " Aunt Petunia's favorite nephew."), who later turned out to be a surprisingly young, beautiful and quite real person! Another thing Ben is famous for in the superhero community is his long-running poker game/tournament. Many members, both prominent and not-so-prominent, of the superhero community will come play when one of these is held. Thing is also famous for quite often saying "What a Revoltin' Development!" when something bad happens.

Suiting his physical appearance and powers, Ben is strong-willed, gruff, stubborn and has a tough exterior. He is always ready for a fight, can at times be short-tempered and is often making wise-cracks.

Ben's strength has increased to much higher levels allowing him to now lift in excess of 100 tons. He has enhanced stamina which allows him to exert himself at maximum effort for at least up to an hour before he starts to fatigue. Ben's mutated epidermis is composed entirely of interlocking stones of irregular sizes and shapes, which are much more flexible and durable than normal rock.

He has an impressive level of quickness, agility and flexibility.

He is trained, experienced and highly skilled at piloting a multitude of varied aircraft; including many invented by his friend and teammate Reed Richards.

Ben has been trained in military hand-to-hand combat techniques, he has trained and competed as an amateur boxer, he is a very skilled wrestler and has years of street-fighting experience.

Despite this, Grimm has a heart of gold and is very likable and often optimistic.

The Baxter Building is a 35-story building located in Manhattan, New York City in the United States of America. It is home to the Fantastic Four.

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