"It's Clobberin' Time!" - The Ben "Thing" Grimm Thread - Part 1

[Deaths Head II]

Is it true that Ben has zero sense of humor?

Ben with no sense of humor and 43 kills and a Reed who abandons his friends seems as unlike the FF as anyone could imagine.

If Josh Trank and Simon Kinberg made a Batman Vs. Superman film, Superman would be a pimp, and Batman would be a pu$$y who just wanted to "talk it out".

Ben is basically pure tragedy in this movie. Even the 43 kills thing is there to show that Reed turned Ben into a monster both outward and inward. It's so bleak that when they try to tack on a Ben/Johnny moment near the end, it just seems so needlessly cruel of Johnny to mock the broken mess of a man that is this film's Ben Grimm.

 

[wobbly]

Does Ben ever kill in the comics? Although he's a bruiser, I think he's one of the most non-violent superheroes with a heart of gold.

Afaik, the 616 Thing has not killed. If he has it a very rare event, and it won't be someone/something that couldn't hurt him back.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Yeah it's true. Not one humorous moment for him or from him. He literally feels like a tacked on character.

Spoiler

What about the fact that Ben gets his iconic "it's clobberin time" catchphrase from his brother, who's an abusive a-hole who says it before beating the crap out of Ben? WTF!!

Ben is basically pure tragedy in this movie. Even the 43 kills thing is there to show that Reed turned Ben into a monster both outward and inward. It's so bleak that when they try to tack on a Ben/Johnny moment near the end, it just seems so needlessly cruel of Johnny to mock the broken mess of a man that is this film's Ben Grimm.

This just all sounds so bad. It's incomprehensible that anyone would think any of this was a good idea.

 

[Orba]

Afaik, the 616 Thing has not killed. If he has it a very rare event, and it won't be someone/something that couldn't hurt him back.

At the same time he is ex-military so its not impossible that he took lives before becoming the Thing, but then Ben and Reed's history originally goes back to them fighting in WWII. Thats not to say that I think he is a character that should be a killer, its the sort of thing that just seems to go against his character.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

At the same time he is ex-military so its not impossible that he took lives before becoming the Thing, but then Ben and Reed's history originally goes back to them fighting in WWII.

But that's when he was a human fighting other humans and following the rules of engagement. That's not him as The Thing using super-powers to kill humans.

 

[Ragnaroknroll]

Ben is basically pure tragedy in this movie. Even the 43 kills thing is there to show that Reed turned Ben into a monster both outward and inward. It's so bleak that when they try to tack on a Ben/Johnny moment near the end, it just seems so needlessly cruel of Johnny to mock the broken mess of a man that is this film's Ben Grimm.

Apparently, Kinberg thought that was a "more interesting character than the guy who started as a football player and just ended up being 4 inches taller."

*****e.

 

[Orba]

But that's when he was a human fighting other humans and following the rules of engagement. That's not him as The Thing using super-powers to kill humans.

Agreed.

 

[Lencho01]

All this bad news is making me want to watch the film more than before when I thought it might be interesting.

 

[Jason Kane]

Apparently, Kinberg thought that was a "more interesting character than the guy who started as a football player and just ended up being 4 inches taller."

*****e.

What a plonker...

 

[Jason Kane]

All this bad news is making me want to watch the film more than before when I thought it might be interesting.

Bootleg

 

[samsnee]

Apparently, Kinberg thought that was a "more interesting character than the guy who started as a football player and just ended up being 4 inches taller."

*****e.

4 inches taller and turns into a grotesque appearance while his friends get powers but also look the same.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I wonder if Kinberg ever had the balls to go up to Stan Lee and tell him Kinberg's version of Ben Grim was "more interesting" than a version he created that has stood the test of time.

 

[Zarex]

But that's when he was a human fighting other humans and following the rules of engagement. That's not him as The Thing using super-powers to kill humans.

Yeah, Ben has a temper, but he's the type to brawl with someone in his own weight class and then buy the guy a beer afterwards. He's always been depicted as the most likable Marvel character, so the fact that he is stripped of his infectious personality is as insulting as stripping him of his Johnson.

 

[Dark Raven]

Yeah he definitely had no personality or any like his amiable self, that's for sure. If FF is ever rebooted into the MCU, they should just skip over the first year where he's all bitter and get straight to the ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing who is a wisecracker and could give Spidey a run for his money in the humour department.

 

[Spidey's Curse]

I wonder if Kinberg ever had the balls to go up to Stan Lee and tell him Kinberg's version of Ben Grim was "more interesting" than a version he created that has stood the test of time.

Hey Stan, you know the thing? Well, he's just not that interesting. I've got some pointers for you. Get rid of all the football and pilot background and make him 17 or 18, start fresh. Dont make him from the lower eastside, dont give him an accent, and dont have him smoke or play poker. Make ben really boring before he turns into the thing. Like, he hardly ever says or does anything and just follows reed around like a lost puppy. That way once he does became the thing he'll be more memorable. He can sit in dark rooms and cry alot, maybe not wear pants, or work for the government, no, better yet he kills people, lots of people! Like 40 or 50! Kind of like an assassin or something.

 

[Zarex]

I'm finding it hard to understand why this INO version of Ben has any kills. The guy could walk up to an enemy combatant, snap their weapon in two and take his prisoner back in one piece to an Army prison. He doesn't have to kill anyone. But apparently that wasn't gritty enough for Trank and Kinberg.

 

[Dark Raven]

Wouldn't he have crushed Reed's skull when he head butted him? Instead he just knocked him out. Unless they're trying to say that Reed's head was elastic and he absorbed the shock, but then if it were, he shouldn't have been rendered unconscious.

 

[Eddie]

I'm finding it hard to understand why this INO version of Ben has any kills. The guy could walk up to an enemy combatant, snap their weapon in two and take his prisoner back in one piece to an Army prison. He doesn't have to kill anyone. But apparently that wasn't gritty enough for Trank and Kinberg.

This Ben is mad at the world because his brother beat him, though.

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

Wouldn't he have crushed Reed's skull when he head butted him? Instead he just knocked him out. Unless they're trying to say that Reed's head was elastic and he absorbed the shock, but then if it were, he shouldn't have been rendered unconscious.

And I thought reed didn't actually stretch?

 

[Joe Rockhead]

Ben is basically pure tragedy in this movie. Even the 43 kills thing is there to show that Reed turned Ben into a monster both outward and inward. It's so bleak that when they try to tack on a Ben/Johnny moment near the end, it just seems so needlessly cruel of Johnny to mock the broken mess of a man that is this film's Ben Grimm.

Pretty much this. I can't say Jamie Bell did a bad job portraying Ben, it's just not a well written character at all. There's really nothing there to indicate the brotherly bond between him and Reed, their relationship before the accident comes across like Ben playing Igor to Reed's Doctor Frankenstein.

Then to be left alone after the accident in his rocky condition, I don't see any reason for him to cooperate with the others. There's just no believable connection established between Ben and Reed, a brief encounter before the accident between Ben and Johnny, and the only interaction visible between Ben and Sue is as bystanders to Reed's introduction to Dr. Storm at the science fair.

The design of the Thing didn't bother me that much, and I could see that being refined in the future - hopefully with pants, but that's not likely going to happen.

 

[Majik1387]

I actually liked the design of Thing, and I didn't mind his voice. I feel like the deep, gravelly(no pun intended), heavy NY accent is a tired stereotype, and was happy to not hear it.

 

[BatsDC]

Yeah he definitely had no personality or any like his amiable self, that's for sure. If FF is ever rebooted into the MCU, they should just skip over the first year where he's all bitter and get straight to the ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing who is a wisecracker and could give Spidey a run for his money in the humour department.

All the defenders of this movie would then claim it was just another Marvel comedy.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

The Thing was one of the better if not, the best part of the movie in my opinion.

 

[Dark Raven]

So since Ben kept hearing the phrase "It's clobbering time" from his abusive older brother everytime he was about to be hit, and he said this when he was about to hit Doom at the end, does this make him as if he's acting out some abuser tendencies?

Often the abused becomes the abuser and they subconsciously act out the same behaviour they've learnt all these years. Why would Ben choose to say that otherwise, since it's associated with such negative experiences? Surely he'd pick a better turn of phrase at that moment? Unless he didn't even think about it and said it as if it were second nature.

Which then does raise the question whether this version of Ben, who has been abused, seems to possibly be on his way to becoming an abuser as well.

Why couldn't they go for something simpler, in that "it's clobbering time" is just a fun catchphrase? Why on earth would Trank think that it being an abusive catchphrase would be so much better?

 

[BeserkerHilf]

So since Ben kept hearing the phrase "It's clobbering time" from his abusive older brother everytime he was about to be hit, and he said this when he was about to hit Doom at the end, does this make him as if he's acting out some abuser tendencies?

Often the abused becomes the abuser and they subconsciously act out the same behaviour they've learnt all these years. Why would Ben choose to say that otherwise, since it's associated with such negative experiences? Surely he'd pick a better turn of phrase at that moment? Unless he didn't even think about it and said it as if it were second nature.

Which then does raise the question whether this version of Ben, who has been abused, seems to possibly be on his way to becoming an abuser as well.

Why couldn't they go for something simpler, in that "it's clobbering time" is just a fun catchphrase? Why on earth would Trank think that it being an abusive catchphrase would be so much better?

It's because it's the apologist mentality that everyone involved brought to the table. This is no different than how TMNT skirted around Cowabunga and actually using the name "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and how the upcoming Ghostbusters movie is going to grammar-nazi "Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts".