Editing Thing (comics) (section)

===Background===
Born on Yancy Street in [[New York City]]'s [[Lower East Side]], to a [[Jew]]ish<ref name="Jewish">{{cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Thing.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060310021122/http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Thing.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 10, 2006 |title=The religion of The Thing (Ben Grimm) of the Fantastic Four |publisher=Adherents.com |access-date=2011-04-12}}</ref> family, '''Benjamin Jacob "Ben" Grimm''' has an early life of poverty and hardship, shaping him into a tough, streetwise scrapper. His older brother [[Daniel Grimm Jr.|Daniel]], whom Ben idolizes, is killed in a street gang fight when Ben is eight years old. This portion of his own life is modeled on that of [[Jack Kirby]], who grew up on tough [[Delancey Street]], whose brother died when he was young, whose father was named Benjamin, and who was named Jacob at birth.<ref>{{cite book|author=Packer, Sharon|title=Superheroes and Superegos: Analyzing the Minds Behind the Masks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1UopTvWYaYgC&pg=PA168|access-date=August 12, 2013|date=December 14, 2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-35537-0|page=168}}</ref> Following the death of his parents, Ben is raised by his Uncle Jake (who married a much younger wife, Petunia, who becomes a frequent reference used by the character until her death).<ref>"Doom's Master, Part Three". ''Fantastic Four'' #568 (August 2009)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/grimmpet.htm |title=Petunia Grimm (Thing's aunt) |publisher=Marvunapp.com |access-date=2011-04-12}}</ref> He comes to lead the Yancy Street gang at one point.<ref>''The Thing'' #1. Marvel Comics.</ref>

Excelling in football as a high school student, Ben receives a full scholarship to Empire State University, where he first meets his eventual lifelong friend in a teenaged genius named [[Mister Fantastic|Reed Richards]], as well as future enemy [[Doctor Doom|Victor von Doom]].<ref>''Fantastic Four'' Annual #2. Marvel Comics.</ref> Despite their being from radically different backgrounds, science student Richards describes to Grimm his dream of building a space rocket to explore the regions of space around Mars; Grimm jokingly agrees to fly that rocket when the day comes.

The details of his life story have been modified over the decades. Prior to the stories published in the 1970s, Grimm, after earning multiple advanced degrees in engineering,<ref>''Fantastic Four'' #367. Marvel Comics.</ref> serves in the [[United States Marine Corps]] as a [[test pilot]] during [[World War II]].<ref>''Fantastic Four'' #367. Marvel Comics.</ref> These exploits are chronicled to a limited extent in ''[[Leatherneck Raiders|Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders]]'' #7. While in the military, [[Nick Fury]] sends him, [[Wolverine (character)|Logan]], and [[Carol Danvers]] to [[Vladivostok]] on a secret surveillance mission.<ref>''Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan'' #1-3, July-Sept. 2000. Marvel Comics.</ref> Following this, he becomes an astronaut for [[NASA]],{{Volume needed|c=y|date=April 2009}} taking part in attempts to reach the Moon, occurring at a time before any crewed spaceship had escaped Earth's gravity.<ref name=FFV1#1>[[Lee, Stan]] (W), [[Kirby, Jack]] (p), [[George Klein (comics)|Klein, George]]; [[Rule, Christopher]] (i). "The Fantastic Four!", ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (Nov. 1961). Marvel Comics.</ref>

====Religion====
In keeping with an early taboo in the comic superhero world against revealing a character's religion,{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}} the fact that Grimm is Jewish was not explicitly revealed until four decades after his creation, in the story "Remembrance of Things Past" in ''Fantastic Four'' vol. 3, #56 (Aug. 2002). In this story, Grimm returns to his old neighborhood to find Mr. Sheckerberg, a pawn shop owner he knew as a child. Flashbacks during this story reveal Grimm's Jewish heritage. He recites the [[Shema]], an important and oft-recited Jewish prayer (which, translated to English, begins "Hear, O Israel") over the dying Sheckerberg, who eventually recovers.<ref name="Jewish"/> In a later story, Grimm celebrates his [[Bar and bat mitzvah|Bar Mitzvah]], since it has been 13 years, the age a Jewish boy celebrates his Bar Mitzvah, since he began his "second life" as the Thing. To celebrate the ceremony, he organizes a [[poker]] tournament and invites every available superhero.<ref>[[Slott, Dan]] (w), [[Kieron Dwyer|Dwyer, Kieron]] (a). "Last Hand", ''The Thing'' vol. 2, #8 (Marvel Comics, Sept. 2006).</ref>

In the 2004 ''Fantastic Four'' story "Hereafter Part 1: A Glimpse of God", the Thing is killed by an energy weapon wielded by Reed Richards, but is resurrected by God.<ref name="Jewish"/><ref>"Hereafter Part 1: A Glimpse of God", ''Fantastic Four'' #511 (May 2004). Marvel Comics.</ref>

Out of universe, Jack Kirby featured the Thing on his family's 1976 [[Hanukkah]] card.<ref name="Jack Kirby's 1976 Hanukkah card featuring The Thing">{{Cite tweet |number=940625085051875329 |user=saladinahmed |title=Jack Kirby's family Hanukkah card (1976). |author=Saladin Ahmed |date=2017-12-12}}</ref>