Ben Grimm is usually one of the most respected superheroes in the world of Marvel Comics. As the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing, Grimm lends an earthy perspective to the Fantastic Four. However, the world will turn on Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew in a new miniseries.
Written by Tony Fleecs, with art by Justin Mason, the new The Thing miniseries will take Ben Grimm out of his comfort zone. The story centers around Ben revisiting his roots on Yancy Street, independent of the rest of the Fantastic Four. When a local child goes missing, Grimm is the first to volunteer to help find them. This leads to false accusations and every bounty hunter and supervillain with a grudge showing up to bring down Ben Grimm.
Three preview pages from The Thing #1 may be viewed below.
(Image Source: Marvel / Nick Bradshaw)
“What I love about Ben Grimm is that he’s just a regular hardworking guy–who happens to have super powers,” Fleecs shared. “He’s Jack Kirby. He’s not easily impressed by all of the outlandish, cosmic stuff constantly going on around him.”
This raises an interesting challenge for Fleecs as a writer. How do you truly test a seasoned hero like Ben Grimm, who has seen almost everything and survived? The answer is to throw everything at him all at once.
“What would surprise The Thing? What would catch him off-guard?” Fleecs teased. “In that spirit, we’re throwing every villain in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe at him. Trying to pit him against some opponents that you wouldn’t expect.”
The Thing #1 arrives in comic shops everywhere on May 21, 2025.