(Earth-28371)
THE THING
(Earth-28371)
Real Name: Benjamin "Ben" Grimm
Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-28371) human mutate
Occupation: Adventurer
former astronaut
Group Membership: Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Girl/Susan Storm, Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards)
Affiliations: S.H.I.E.L.D. (Director Nick Fury, Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan, Gabe Jones, others)
Enemies: Galactus (Galan), Punisher (Galactus' robot), Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Baxter Builing, New York City
First Appearance: Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher#1 (May, 2022)
Powers/Abilities: The Thing possesses
superhuman strength, durability, and stamina.
His orange skin is a mosaic of
irregularly shaped stones. During the battle with the Punisher robot
the Thing lost some of those segments, exposing his human tissue
underneath, and they never grew back.
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 500 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: None
History: (Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher#1) - The history of this Thing diverged from that of his Earth-616 counterpart when Uatu the Watcher decided not to interfere during Galactus' arrival to Earth. The Fantastic Four were informed about something approaching the planet by Nick Fury instead, and Reed Richards used his advanced technology to take readings of the Surfer, attracting him to the Baxter Building. The Fantastic Four gathered to meet him, but the Surfer insulted their intellect and significance, and Thing punched Silver Surfer all the way to Brooklyn in anger.
Surfer's master Galactus arrived and declared his intent to consume Earth. The Thing and Human Torch attacked him, but Galactus effortlessly swept the Fantastic Four off the roof of their building. The Thing, Invisible Girl, and Human Torch then focused on keeping Galactus busy to give Mister Fantastic time to figure out how to stop Galactus. The Thing battled the Punisher robot set at him by Galactus and managed to take it out. Galactus activated the Elemental Converter, but Reed Richards, though disfigured by the heat inside, discovered a way to reverse its function, creating energy that was poisonous to Galactus instead of nourishing. After Galactus declined the one chance for surrender, Richards fired his new Ultimate Nullification Ray and killed the World Devourer.
The Fantastic Four were left disfigured by the battle, with the Thing permanently missing some pieces of his rocky skin. They were honored at the United Nations for saving the world, where Mister Fantastic announced that the zero energy used to defeat Galactus could help the world. Within a year, he used it to irrigate the deserts, remove all pollutants, and create endless free energy, turning Earth into a paradise.
(Fantastic Four VI#43) - However, the zero energy proved impossible to contain, and Richards' generator had become unstable. The unchecked release of zero energy destroyed the Earth and, without any force to oppose it, proceeded to unmake the rest of the universe.
(Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher#1 - BTS) - During the Reckoning War, reality-616 Watchers forced Uatu to watch these events on repeat, omitting the tragic ending to make him believe that his decision to intervene in the crucial moment was wrong.
Comments: Created by Dan Slott and Javier Rodriguez.
This profile was completed 04/22/2026 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by HBK123.CLARIFICATIONS:
The Thing of Earth-28371 should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher#1, p13, pan2 (main image)
Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher#1, p28, pan3 (damaged appearance)
First Posted: 09/07/2026
Last updated: 04/22/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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