It's Clobbering Time!
A superhero created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and published by Marvel Comics. The
Thing first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 in 1961.
Benjamin Jacob Grimm grew up on the lower east side of New York on Yancy
Street. His older brother was the leader of the local gang called the Yancy
Street Gang and the family survived off of the money that the gang stole, because
Grimm's father was an out of work alcoholic. When Grimm was eight, his
brother was killed in a gang fight, but Grimm replaced him as leader of the gang
two years later.
Grimm's parents both died over the next few years and Grimm was taken in by
his aunt and uncle. His uncle was a successful doctor and the family made
a loving environment for young Ben. Ben excelled at sports particularly football,
eventually earning a scholarship to Empire State University.
At ESU, Grimm roomed with brilliant science student Reed Richards. The two
became fast friends and Richards eventually confided in his new friend his intention
to create a space craft capable of interstellar flight. Grimm laughed at his
friend's dream, making Richards promise that if he ever built the craft that
Grimm would fly it. Grimm's joke would eventually change his life.
After college, Grimm joined the airforce where he became a top fighter pilot.
Grimm's natural confidence and strength served him well in his new role and he
served with distinction. Grimm served his tour with the military and on the
day he got out, he was contacted by his old roommate, Reed Richards.
Richards had successfully constructed his spaceship and wanted Grimm to fly
it. Grimm examined the ship, warning Richards that the radiation shielding would
not withstand an intense radiation storm, but Richards disregarded Grimm's
comments. Stealing onto the base where the ship was housed, Richards and Grimm
along with Richards' fiance, Susan Storm, and Storm's teenage brother , Johnny,
launched the ship.
The flight performed well, until it was caught in an intense cosmic storm. The
crew was exposed to cosmic rays and the ship crashed back on Earth. The
cosmic rays affected each of the crew in a unique way. Grimm's exposure
created one of the most radical effects. His skin became thick an lumpy with
an orange color. His hands and feet transformed causing him to have four toes
and four fingers. Most significantly, Grimm's strength increased greatly. Horrified
by what he had become, Grimm began to refer to himself as a thing and that
became his new moniker. Richards proposed that the four use their new
abilities to help others and they became known as the Fantastic Four.
Over the years, Grimm's appearance has changed. The lumpy texture of his
skin has given way to skin that appears to be a series of interlocking rocks. Grimm
has experienced difficulty in adjusting to his appearance and only through the
love of blind artist Alicia Masters did Grimm come to accept his new appearance.
Grimm has occasionally transformed back into his original appearance but with no
seeming control. Reed Richards has conjectured that Grimm actually has control
of the transformations, but believed that Masters only loved him as the Thing and
therefore, would not allow himself to change.
When the Beyonder transported a group of heroes and villains to a created world,
Grimm gained some measure of control over his transformations. He elected
to stay on this new world after the crisis was over, believing that the world itself
allowed this ability. He adventured there for a while, eventually returning to
Earth.
When Grimm returned to Earth, he found that Masters and his teammate Johnny
Storm, the Human Torch, had fallen in love. That along with the betrayal
he felt when he learned that Richards knew that he could tranform at will, caused
him to quit the Fantastic Four. He traveled the country for a time, participating
in the Unlimited Wrestling circuit, which was professional wrestling for the
super strong. He also teamed with the West Coast Avengers for at time.
He eventually returned to the Fantastic Four and even lead the team for a time.
His abilites have swung the gambit over time, from having no powers at all to having
incredible strength above his normal abilities for a time, when he was exposed
to cosmic rays for a second time.