Ben Grimm’s new design in The Fantastic Four: First Steps calls back to a wild issue of Marvel Comics that put one of the Thing’s most tragic superpowers in the spotlight. In July, Ebon Moss-Bachrach will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ben Grimm, the pilot who becomes the rock-like superhero, the Thing, after being exposed to cosmic radiation alongside the other members of the Fantastic Four. The Thing has previously been played in live-action by Michael Chiklis and Jamie Bell, but Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm will explore a story neither of them touched.
The most recent trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps saw Johnny Storm’s Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) flying while carrying Ben Grimm, but the rock-like hero is almost unrecognizable. In this scene and others, the Thing sports a full-grown rock beard, which has never been seen before in live-action. The Thing’s rock beard, while unorthodox for live-action, is actually taken straight from the pages of Marvel Comics, specifically an issue that confirms that Ben Grimm’s abilities give him an elongated lifespan – far longer than the other heroes in the Fantastic Four team, tragically.
After he was shot by a Celestial in 2012’s Fantastic Four #603, Reed Richards wanted to check on his fate and enlisted his father’s help in creating a time-travel device, jumping forward 1000 years at a time. When he gets to 5012, Richards finds Ben Grimm, living alone hundreds of years after the deaths of the other Fantastic Four members. This version of the Thing has a rock beard. This suggests that Fantastic Four #605 could form some inspiration behind First Steps’ story, which means one of the Thing’s previously-unseen powers could be addressed.
In Marvel Comics, the children of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, Franklin and Valeria, created a formula that allowed the Thing to turn human for one week each year. Ben Grimm only ages during this one-week period, and doesn’t age while he’s in rock form. This allows him to survive for millennia into the future, eventually passing away before Reed Richards arrives in the year 6012. Ben Grimm’s near-agelessness has never been addressed onscreen before, but The Fantastic Four: First Steps can change this, and the inclusion of the Thing’s beard hints that it may be the case.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is expected to completely revitalize Marvel’s First Family, giving them a comic-accurate MCU makeover. Ben Grimm’s superpowers were trivialized and simplified in previous live-action adaptations, so it will be great to see the Thing finally get some rejuvenation in the MCU. Ebon Moss-Bachrach has already been confirmed to be appearing alongside Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Joseph Quinn in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, and will surely return in Avengers: Secret Wars and possible sequels to The Fantastic Four: First Steps, so we’ll get to see the Thing change and grow for several years to come.
What do you think of Ben Grimm’s beard in the trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps? Let us know in the comments!
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