By [ad_1]
With his loveable nature and down-to-Earth personality, the Thing might just be the most popular member of the Fantastic Four. That being said, Ben Grimm hasn’t generally been well known for his good looks. After one of his worst defeats, the Thing’s appearance suffered so much that he had to wear a helmet for a while.
The Thing’s big turning point came in 1993’s Fantastic Four #374, by Tom DeFalco, Paul Ryan, Danny Bulanadi, Gina Going and Jack Morelli. In this issue, the Fantastic Four were in a pitched battle with the New Fantastic Four. During this fight, the Thing came in the path of Wolverine. In the heat of the moment, Wolverine cut the Thing’s face with his adamantium claws, leaving a nasty scar.
This wound horribly disfigure the Thing, and it also left Ben feeling vulnerable. Shortly afterward, Ben found a metal helmet, which he used for a short period. This helmet was very similar to one he wore briefly when the Fantastic Four first donned their costumes back in 1962’s Fantastic Four #3, by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Sol Brodsky, Stan Goldberg and Artie Simek.
The Thing chose to wear this helmet for a number of reasons. For one thing, the helmet served to protect him in battle, at least to a small extent. Additionally, even though he wouldn’t admit it to others, Ben did want to hide his scarred visage while it healed.
Of course, by 1994’s Fantastic Four #385, by Tom DeFalco, Paul Ryan, Danny Bulanadi, Gina Going and Dave Sharpe, the Thing abandoned this helmet. By this point, Ben’s wounds had healed enough so he could discard this piece of protective gear.
Still, the Thing had a big scar on the right side of his face, which remained there for a while. At this point, at least, the Thing wasn’t hiding anymore. Ben also made peace with Wolverine in 1994’s Fantastic Four #395, by Tom DeFalco, Paul Ryan, Danny Bulanadi, John Kalisz and Steve Dutro.
Although it took a rather heated discussion, the Thing managed to forgive Wolverine and move on from their whole ordeal. The duo even worked with Ant-Man to fight off the Mad Thinker’s henchmen and one of his androids. The Thing still maintained his physical scars all the way until 1996’s Fantastic Four #409, by Paul Ryan, Tom DeFalco, Dan Bulanadi, John Kalisz and Malibu. In this issue, the villain Hyperstorm used his powers to heal Ben’s face completely, returning him to his earlier rocky form as the Thing.
This brief period in the Thing’s history parallels the origin of Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four’s greatest enemy. Both men wore metal masks to hide their scarred faces, and both felt insecure about their appearances. Interestingly enough, in 1993’s Fantastic Four #380, by Tom DeFalco, Paul Ryan, Danny Bulanadi, Gina Going and Jack Morelli, Doctor Doom offered to heal Ben’s face.
While Doom was looking to gain the Thing’s loyalty, he also admitted that he felt sympathy for someone with a plight similar to his. There is a similar sense of vulnerability that came out of both Doctor Doom’s accident and the Thing’s incident with Wolverine. This vulnerability led both men to hide their faces behind cold metal helmets, closing themselves off from the world’s eyes. One big difference between Doom and the Thing, however, is that the Thing didn’t actively look for a way to fix his face.
Ever since he became the Thing, Ben spent a lot of time struggling with his monstrous appearance. By this point, one more scar didn’t make a huge difference to him. Ben eventually removed his helmet, even though he maintained a scar on his face. Doom, on the other hand, would never dream of removing his mask and exposing his scars to others. Ultimately, although they experienced similar journeys, the Thing and Doctor Doom had different outcomes.
About The Author
[ad_2]
