Thing (comics)

Thing
The Thing, as seen on the 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
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	Blackbeard the Pirate Angrir: Breaker of Souls Dr. Josiah Verpoorteen El Morrito
Abilities	Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability Immortality Skilled hand-to-hand combatant

The Thing (Benjamin Jacob "Ben" Grimm) 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).

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.^[1] A key feature throughout his character arc has him struggling to accept his newfound powers, which often culminates in his returning to his human form before going back to his mutated form.

The Thing notably appeared in other media, including live-action films, with Michael Bailey Smith and Carl Ciarfalio playing the character in his human and mutated forms respectively in the unreleased film The Fantastic Four. Michael Chiklis played the character in the 2005 Fantastic Four film and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Jamie Bell in the 2015 reboot.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach will portray the character in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), Avengers: Doomsday (2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).