*Ben Grimm grew up on the mean streets of New York and looked for any way possible to get out. Thanks to a football scholarship to a leading university, he succeeded. In college, Ben befriended the brilliant Reed Richards. He protected his new best friend from the local bullies, and Reed helped him in his studies. Ben's life is forever altered as co-pilot on Reed's experimental space mission, where he was accidentally turned into the Thing; a superhuman, super strong creature with an irreversible orange-colored rocky exterior. After many tests, Reed has been unable to turn Ben back into his human form, nor find a limit to the weight The Thing can lift! Ben is Johnny Storm's choice target for jokes and pranks, but he manages to maintain his sense of humor and honor because under that tough exterior lies an ever-lovin' heart of gold! *Source: Back of card