The Thingis a Marvel Comics hero who boasts physical strength and durability, acting as theFantastic Four’s ‘muscle’. However, the Marvel Universe has no shortage of characters who are physically strong, not to mention powerful in ways that go well beyond physical strength. In other words, Ben Grimm has never really measured up. That is, until he unlocked his maximum power level, which finally turnedthe Thing into Marvel’s strongest hero.
InFantastic Four#310 by Steve Englehart and Keith Pollard, the Thing is captured by a villain named Fasaud, who has seemingly found a way to kill Grimm once and for all. When the Thing investigates Fasaud’s schemes to launch a satellite space station that would allow him to attack any location on Earth in mere seconds, the Thing is captured and chained beneath the rocket booster. When the rocket blasts off, the Thing will be vaporized. However, he manages to escape, board the rocket, and destroy the space station, saving himself while thwarting Fasaud’s evil plans in the process.
However, after the space station is destroyed, the rocket loses power, and the Thing crashes into Earth. But, before falling through the atmosphere, the rocket passes through a cloud of cosmic radiation, just like the original Fantastic Four experienced when they got their powers. This added radiation further mutated the Thing, as his body sprouted more jagged stones through his rocky skin, his physical form got a bit larger, and he became even stronger than he already was. In other words, this second trip through cosmic rays made the Thing more powerful than he’s ever been.
The Thing Confirms His Maximum Power Level by Easily Defeating the Hulk
Fantastic Four#320 by Steve Englehart and Keith Pollard
After learning of the Thing’s new upgrade, Doctor Doom immediately starts planning to take him down, which leads him directly to the Hulk. During this time in Marvel Comics, the Hulk’s prime personality is Joe Fixit, who acts as an enforcer in Las Vegas. While admittedly the weakest version of the Hulk, Fixit still boasts incredible strength that would otherwise be more than enough to take down the Thing. That’s why Doctor Doom goads him into challenging the Thing, hoping that the Hulk will live up to his reputation for Doom’s benefit. Unfortunately for Doom, he was mistaken.
Joe Fixit is a version of the Hulk with a decidedly compromised moral compass, meaning he wouldn’t hesitate to kill the Thing in a fight. Doom saw that as just another reason why the Hulk was the perfect person to use in his scheme to take down the Thing and ultimately defeat the Fantastic Four. However, when Fixit challenged the Thing, Grimm flexed his new upgrade, and brutally put Grey Hulk in his place.
While Fixit got a few good licks in,the Thing pummeled the Hulkinto the ground while suffering next to no damage from any of Grey Hulk’s attacks. The Thing even nearly rips Joe Fixit’s head off before the fight is interrupted by another Hulk (which turns out to just be a robot). While he didn’t kill him, the Thing soundly beat the Hulk, something he was never able to do before, which cements this as the Thing’s ultimate form.
Fear Itself&Secret WarsFeature Some of the Thing’s Most Powerful Forms
The version of the Thing introduced inFantastic Four#310 is, indeed, one of the character’s strongest forms, proven true by his sound victory over the Hulk as well as the level of concern expressed by Doctor Doom himself in light of the Thing’s upgrade. However, that’s far from the only time the Thing has taken an ‘ultimate form’, as he’s done so in a number of stories that have all succeeded in taking this classic Fantastic Four member to the next level.
Fantastic Four’s Thing Steals Black Panther’s Vibranium Armor in Jaw-Dropping Redesign
What would happen if cosmic rays bombarded Wakanda’s great protector? A new variant cover reveals Black Panther as Fantastic Four’s “The Thing.”
One such example of the Thing reaching new levels of power was in Fear Itself, when Ben Grimm found one of the enchanted hammers cast down to Earth by the Serpent, and received a dark, god-tier upgrade. The Thing wielded the Hammer of Angrir, Breaker of Souls. Readers witness the horrors of the Thing’s destruction inFear Itself: FF, as he rampages through New York City, with no one strong enough to stop him.
The Thing was granted another upgrade in 2015’sSecret Wars, though that one was admittedly more of a curse. WhenGod Emperor Doom created Battleworldfrom the remains of ruined universes, he turned the Thing into a giant wall surrounding his Citadel, though the Thing remained sentient. Eventually, the Thing was able to reconstitute his body, becoming a kaiju-sized version of his former self that was strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Galactus.
In his base form, the Thing may not be the strongest Marvel Comics character there is (even though he’s still a major force to be reckoned with), but Marvel has proven time and again that he has the potential for true greatness. With the right upgrade and circumstances, theFantastic Fourmember can tangle with the strongest heroes/villains in existence, including and especially the Hulk, proven true whenthe Thing’s maximum power level turned him into Marvel’s strongest hero.
Fantastic Four (2022)
“WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE FANTASTIC FOUR?” It’s the start of a new era for the Fantastic Four…and they’re already in a ton of trouble. Something has gone terribly wrong in New York, and the Thing and Alicia are traveling across America to escape it! But when they stop in a small town for the night and wake up the morning before they arrived, they find themselves caught in a time loop that’s been going on since before they were born… That’s been going on since before they were born…
