The Thing is back with his own series, the main character of a story carefully crafted by Walter Mosley and Tom Reilly. After spending some time fishing on the coasts of South America, Ben has returned to the Baxter Building only to find out that his teammates, the other three members of the Fantastic Four are all out of town.
With no extra responsibilities on his shoulders, Ben decides to go out there and enjoy his life, but a misunderstanding with his longtime girlfriend, Alicia Masters, ends up with him single and incarcerated. This leads him to revaluates his life. This six-issue comic series tells the story of the Thing, not as a part of the Fantastic Four, but as his own person.
10 It Comes Directly From Walter Mosley's Pen
The author for The Thing is Walter Mosley, who is better known for his work as a crime fiction novelist and especially for his series featuring Easy Rawlins, an African-American private investigator and WWII veteran that works in Watts, LA.
Although this is Mosley's first comic book, there's no doubt he will do a great job. After all, the 69-year-old man has been writing for 35 years. Besides, as a long-time fan, Mosley understands the legacy of the Fantastic Four, especially Ben Grimm's.
9 The Artist Behind It Is Tom Reilly
Although he is way younger than Mosley, Tom Reilly has been working in comics for a while already. Some of his most famous works include Marvel Snapshots, the Fantastic Four Anniversary Tribute, and The Immortal Hulk. He is considered to be one of Marvel's most recent big talents.
Of course, since they are both partly new to comics, Mosley and Reilly have never worked together before. Regardless, they seem to be attuned to each other and fans are very excited to read what they have in store for Yancy Street's favorite son.
8 It Is A Six Issues Story
The Thing is scheduled to be a short series with only 6 issues that will run from November 2021 to April 2022. While it is a shame to know this comic will be only a limited series, it is also a treat for fans that have been waiting to see Ben Grimm as the star in his own book again.
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Mosley has stated that, even though he cannot go through the whole of Grimm's story in half a dozen issues, he will make sure to prioritize any narrative that may work as an homage to the character.
7 This Is Not The Thing's First Solo Comic
It has been a while since Thing starred as the main character of a comic book. In general, it is more common to see him along with the rest of the Fantastic Four. However, Mosley's comic is not the first solo comic for the Thing.
One of the comics that cemented the Thing's story in the Marvel Universe is 1983's The Thing, created by John Byrne and Ron Wilson. Fans may also remember The Thing by Dan Slott, Andrea DiVito, and Laura Villari, which ran for 9 issues, between 2005 and 2006.
6 There Is One Major Modification To The Thing's Continuity
Since Mosley has been a Fantastic Four fan for a long time, he is very interested in crafting a story that will respect Ben's origins, and that will highlight all of those things that make him a lovable character. Because of this, he made sure to avoid introducing any major changes in the narrative.
However, there is one important change in Ben's life: while Fantastic Four Return gave the fans a happily married Ben who is starting a family with Alicia Masters, Mosley's arc does not take this into consideration. In fact, Alicia is shown to be dating a different man in the first issue.
5 It Starts With Ben Grimm Having A Very Bad Day
Unfortunately for Ben, his 2021 tale begins with this hero in a very poor condition. After breaking up with his girlfriend Alicia Masters, Ben finds himself in a dark moment in life. During a public and violent altercation, he gets pepper-sprayed and ends up in jail.
Once he is set free, Thing re-evaluates the life he's been living and decides to try the dating world. This sets the story on its way because the woman he starts seeing has a violent and dangerous stalker that soon becomes the villain of the story. Now it is up to Ben to make sure nothing happens to her.
4 The Villain Of The Story Is A New Character
Since the first issue of The Thing was released recently, there is not much information about Brusque, the villain of the story. All fans know so far is that he is obsessed with Amaryllis DeJure, the woman that Ben has been seeing. Luckily for her, Ben is more than capable of rescuing her.
It is certainly weird that Mosley chose to create a new villain for The Thing while there are so many canonical foes he could have used for this narrative. However, the comic has been around for only two issues and many other familiar enemies may appear in the upcoming issues.
3 This Comic Will Show A Relatable Ben Grimm
What makes a character lovable is their familiarity. As long as the public can relate to a character, they will remain in the fans' hearts, and Mosley knows this is the main reason he has always loved Benjamin Grimm: because he represents people. While he is a very powerful being, the Thing is also human.
This duality has always been a part of his character: the fear he causes in ignorant people mixed with the pain of knowing he is different. Mosley, of African-American descent, feels that he can relate to that. Because of this, the author's goal with this story is to showcase Ben as a complicated character.
2 It Features Mot, The Death God
Even though Brusque appears as the main villain of the story so far, the comic also features Mot The Death God, an obscure entity who shows Ben Grimm a dark future with many dead superheroes. This mysterious character seems to be too strong for Thing to defeat himself.
Mot's presence in Grimm's life will probably become more important as the story moves forward. Since the author has promised the story will go from small to big, there are reasons to believe this god will become the real villain of the book.
1 Mosley Promises To Give The Fans A Fantastic Four-Inspired Book
One of the most important characteristics of any Fantastic Four book is its versatility. This superheroic team does not have a preference when it comes to villains and these four heroes can be seen battling pedestrian foes as much as cosmic and superpowerful threats.
Walter Mosley has stated that he expects to check all of the boxes when it comes to Fantastic Four traditions. This means he is taking into consideration all the different types of stories that Ben Grimm's is usually in. So, even if so far the only menace The Thing has encountered is small, soon, he will be facing threats that are way bigger than Earth itself.