Thing Hero
Real Name: Benjamin J. Grimm.
Occupation: Adventurer, starship pilot, former aircraft test pilot, former astronaut.
Identity: Publicly known.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record.
Other Aliases: None.
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: Petunia (aunt).
Group Affiliation: Fantastic Four; formerly the Yancy Street Gang, the United States Air Force, and NASA.
Base of Operations: The Fantastic, known space; the Baxter Building, Manhattan, New York City.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #1.
History: Ben Grimm grew up in the slums of Brooklyn, New York. As a youth, he fell in with the Yancy Street gang, committing petty thefts and harassing the police, although they were careful never to cross the line into outright criminal behavior.
Ben's dream from a young age was to become an astronaut. Realizing that this dream wasn't possible while a gang member, Grimm entered college on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. While in college, he was roommates with Reed Richards and Victor von Duum. Reed and Ben became close friends, and when Reed explained that he was working on a faster-than-light stardrive, Ben half-jokingly volunteered to fly the prototype, should Reed ever get one working.
After college, Ben Grimm became an officer in the United States Air Force, where he became one of their top test pilots. When the opportunity came for a transfer to NASA, to fly the space shuttle, Ben applied and was accepted for astronaut training.
While at NASA, Ben was surprised to find out that his old friend from college, Reed Richards, had in fact managed to design a faster-than-light stardrive. Ben was involved in the Fantastic project from the start, as Reed held Ben to his promise from college (truth be told, Reed couldn't keep Ben off the project if he tried). Ben was also instrumental in designing and building both the drive and the modifications to the space shuttle frame that would serve as the test bed.
During the maiden flight of the Fantastic, Ben, along with the others on the crew, was bombarded with unusual radiation that the ship's radiation shielding was unable to completely withstand. As a result of this, Ben found himself changing into something he called a "thing" (Johnny Storm, one of the others affected by the radiation, has pegged him with the superhero name of "The Thing" as a result).
Ben has not yet fully adjusted to being a "freak", as he puts it, and is working with Reed and others to try and reverse the transformation. Reed theorizes that Ben should be able to change back and forth from human to "Thing", but some unknown factor which he has not yet uncovered is preventing this change from happening. The Mole Man, who has also studied Ben's mutation (under Reed's close scrutiny), has theorized that the factor is purely mental.
Age: 32.
Height: 6'.
Weight: 500 lbs.
Eyes: Blue.
Hair: None.
Uniform: Black pants, black belt with a white 4 on the buckle, white boots, occasionally adds a black tank top.
Other Distinguishing Features: The Thing's entire body has been altered, giving him a stony exterior that resembles orange rocks. In addition, his hands only have four fingers (including the opposable thumb) instead of the standard five; during his initial transformation, his ring and pinkie fingers merged. He also lacks external ears.
Strength Level: The Thing possesses superhuman strength, enabling him to lift (press) 80 tons.
Known Superhuman Powers: Ben's Grimm possesses superhuman strength and a thick, rocky outer layer of skin that provides a tremendous amount of protection from damage, rendering him nearly invulnerable from most forms of damage.
Other Abilities: Ben Grimm is a trained astronaut and aircraft test pilot with several Masters of Engineering degrees.
1,284 points
Attributes: ST 33/320 [100*]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 13 [30].
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 3d+2/6d (33d/35d); BL 218 lbs. (20,480 lbs/10.25 tons); HP 33 [0]; Will 12 [0]; Per 13 [5]; FP 13 [0]; Basic Speed 6.25 [0]; Basic Move 5 [-5]; Dodge 10.
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: 3D Spatial Sense [10]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Damage Resistance 45 (Can't Wear Armor, -40%; Hardened +1, +20%) [180]; Hard to Kill 5 [10]; Hard to Subdue 5 [10]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Hot Pilot 2 [10]; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards [30]; Injury Tolerance (Damage Reduction: /10; Homogenous) [190]; Legal Enforcement Powers 2 (Informal, -10%) [5]; Pressure Support 3 [15]; Security Clearance (NASA) ("Need to Know" Access to a Narrow Range of Secrets) [5]; Super ST +13/+300 [520]; Super Throw 2 [20].
Perks: Alcohol Tolerance [1]; Courtesy Military Rank (USAF Major) 4 [4]; Non-Protective Clothing [1]; Penetrating Voice [1]; Sanitized Metabolism [1]; Striking Surface [1].
Disadvantages: Addiction (Tobacco) [-5]; Bad Temper (9) [-15]; Chronic Depression (12) [-15]; Code of Honor (Soldier's) [-10]; No Sense of Smell/Taste [-5]; On The Edge (9) [-22]; Social Stigma (Freak) [-10]; Stubbornness [-5].
Quirks: Dislikes Being "Different" [-1]; Expression ("IT'S CLOBBERING TIME!") [-1]; Likes Playing the Role of the "Big Dumb Brute" [-1].
Skills: Boxing (A) DX+4 [16] – 16; Breath Control (H) HT [4] – 13; Current Affairs/TL8 (Science & Technology) (E) IQ [1] – 12; Electronics Operation/TL8 (Sensors) (A) IQ+1 [4] – 13; Engineer/TL8 (Aerospace) (H) IQ+1 [8] – 13; Engineer/TL8 (High-Performance Aircraft) (H) IQ+1 [8] – 13; Engineer/TL8 (Low-Performance Spacecraft) (H) IQ+1 [8] – 13; Engineer/TL8 (Rockets) (H) IQ+1 [8] – 13; Forced Entry (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Free Fall (A) DX+3 [4] – 15†; Gunner/TL8 (Machine Gun) (E) DX+3 [2] – 15‡; Guns/TL8 (Rifle) (E) DX [1] – 12; Leadership (A) IQ-1 [1] – 11; Mathematics/TL8 (Applied) (H) IQ+3 [8] – 13; Navigation/TL8 (Air) (A) IQ+4 [8] – 18‡§; Navigation/TL8 (Space) (A) IQ+3 [3] – 17†‡; Piloting/TL8 (Aerospace) DX+4 [3] – 16‡#¥; Piloting/TL8 (High-Performance Airplane) DX+4 [4] – 16‡¥; Piloting/TL8 (Low-Performance Spacecraft) DX+4 [4] – 16‡¥; Shiphandling/TL8 (Spaceship) (H) IQ+1 [8] – 13; Soldier/TL8 (A) IQ+1 [4] – 13; Spacer/TL8 (E) IQ+2 [4] – 14; Streetwise (A) IQ+1 [4] – 13; Throwing (A) DX+1 [4] – 13; Urban Survival (A) Per+1 [4] – 14; Vacc Suit/TL8 (A) DX+1 [4] – 13.
Starting Spending Money: $4,000 (20% Starting Wealth).
* Includes +13/+300 from Super ST.
† Includes +2 from 3D Spatial Sense.
‡ Includes +2 from Hot Pilot.
§ Includes +3 from 3D Spatial Sense.
# Defaulted from Piloting (High-Performance Airplane).
¥ Includes +1 from 3D Spatial Sense.
Role-Playing Notes:
Ben Grimm is intensely loyal to his adopted family, the Fantastic Four. He's still coming to terms with his new form; this has led him to engage in actions which would have killed him long ago if it wasn't for his powers. However, do not threaten Reed, Sue, or Johnny, or "papa bear gets angry" and "it's clobbering time!"