The Thing aka Ben Grimm has always been one of my favorite superhero characters. Though I will admit I am not as much of a comic book buff as many people in the class, I have seen most of the recent movies and really enjoyed the Fantastic Four movies. The things we learned about Ben Grimm's Jewish background was pretty cool to me. In the movies I don't realize the depth that each of these characters has. The Thing is clearly a representitive of minorities in America at that time. He has distinct, features that set him apart from the "norm".
The life history of The Thing really took me by surprise. The depth that Stan Lee created in each of these characters was astonishing to me. On this site, you can track some of the history of the Thing. I think what attracts people to the Thing are his very humanistic characteristics despite his super strength and superhuman attributes. He remains similar to all of us in that aspect. The Thing's Jewish background was very interesting, and makes me view the Fantastic Four's member in a different light.
Grimm's religious background has been outlined since the beginning of the comic books, but did not come clear until 2002 in "Remembrance of Things Past". Grimm has also died in the comic books only to be resurrected by God himself. This notes the first time in comic book history a superhero has been brought back to life by god and not a more comic book-like resurrection. The Thing also breaks many Jewish stereotypes such as passiveness, studiousness, and intelligence. Breaking these stereotypes makes a statement to society as well as to the comic book community.
I agree with you that it was pretty interesting to learn about The Thing's background. I knew hardly anything about comics let alone the The Thing before this class and the fact that he is more humanistic than a lot of the other characters makes me much more interested in him than the other super heroes.
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