WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Immortal Hulk #41 by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Paul Mounts & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.

The Fantastic Four are, above all else, a family. This superheroic family would do anything for one another, especially Ben Grimm, the Thing. Ben is the rock of the Fantastic Four, keeping them together through good times and bad.

The Thing is so important to the Fantastic Four that Marvel's First Family once set out to free him from Heaven.

Ben was killed when Doctor Doom transferred his consciousness into the Thing's body. Doom was prepared to use Ben to kill the Human Torch. Breaking free of Doom's control for a mere moment, the Thing begged Reed Richards to kill him. Ben's death sent the whole team on a downward spiral, splitting up for weeks. Johnny went back to fixing up cars, spending most of this time reminiscing about his good memories with Ben.

The Thing's longtime love, Alicia Masters, took his death particularly hard, leaving Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, to comfort her.  Meanwhile, Reed obsessed over the prospect of reviving Ben, isolating himself in the lab. After a while, Reed realized that energy could not be created or destroyed, only transferred, so Ben's soul would likely be in Heaven. Reed stole Ben's body from the military, detecting a spark of consciousness. Contacting Sue and Johnny, Reed set out to save Ben from Heaven.

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The Thing Mike Wieringo

Seeing this journey as a new frontier, the surviving trio traveled to Heaven in search of the Thing's soul. Immediately, the FF were faced with trials and tribulations. Marvel's First Family was viciously attacked by a group of angels, after which they had to create and travel across a bridge made of the Thing's stones and move past their respective visions of the perfect life.

While the FF journeyed across this new realm, Ben watched on with his brother, Daniel Grimm. Ben was forced not to intervene in the FF's travels until he finally saved them from a cave full of deadly angels. Speaking with Ben, the FF discovered that they were only on the outskirts of heaven. As it turned out, the doorway was barred by a creation of Reed's design, as Reed was keeping Ben's body on life support. This discovery devastated Reed, realizing he was preventing his best friend from moving on to paradise.

Moreover, the FF got into a massive fight, causing their emotions to literally shake the heavens. Ben tried to stop this conflict by opening the doorway and entering Heaven. Yet when he got past Reed's devices, he saw a wall made of the same stones that comprise his body as the Thing. Realizing his time had not yet come, Ben lifted Reed and the others out of their emotional despair, promising never to leave his family again.

Daniel asked the FF to stay in Heaven, but they declined, explaining that they're more interested in the journey than the destination. Satisfied with their answer, Daniel allowed the FF to explore Heaven. The team met Good, who bore a striking resemblance to their co-creator, Jack Kirby. After a pleasant meeting, God turned Ben back into the Thing and sent the FF back to Earth.

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In the Immortal Hulk #41, by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett, the Thing compared his time in Heaven with Banner's frequent trips to the Below-Place. Joe Fixit understandably pointed out how vastly different the Thing's experience was than Banner's. Ben went to Heaven, a bright paradise where he was to live in eternal peace. The Hulk, meanwhile, constantly visits the hellish Below-Place, tormenting him each time he enters.

These respective realms represent the key difference between the Hulk and the Thing. Ben Grimm is more at peace with who he is, suffering far fewer inner demons than Banner. It's due to Ben's family, the Fantastic Four, that he has become so well-adjusted. Without the FF, Ben might have lived an isolated life on the run, much like the Hulk.

Banner, meanwhile, struggles with the many personas inside of himself, suffering a lonely existence of inner turmoil. The Below-Place embodies this turmoil, illustrating the pain and hardship of being the Hulk. Indeed, Banner has no friends or family to help him through in the same way the FF helped the Thing when he first gained his powers.

Even though he could have been in paradise, Ben Grimm's true place was beside his family all along.

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