Warning: That "character analysis" post missed the whole point of The Thing

I keep seeing people online saying Ben Grimm is just the strong dumb guy, but his whole arc in the original Lee/Kirby run is about accepting himself as a monster (you know, the ultimate metaphor). It drives me crazy because they're literally ignoring the panel where he says "It's clobberin' time" with tears in his eyes. Has anyone else noticed fans glossing over the emotional depth just to make memes?

3 comments

3 Comments

juliaa6511d ago

And @theacooper you're dead right, it flips the whole "he's a monster" thing on its head when she's the one wrestling with herself. I see this same pattern at work and in my friend group where people project their own insecurities onto someone else's struggle and call it empathy. Folks just want the surface level story because digging deeper means facing their own messy feelings too.

theacooper12d ago

Does the panel where Alicia sees his face and calls him beautiful ever factor into those hot takes?

milesbarnes12d ago

Bring up something I never see talked about: that moment is actually more about Alicia's own self-doubt than it is about his looks. Everyone zooms in on her calling him beautiful, but the real gut punch is what happens right after when she kind of pulls away. @theacooper, have you ever noticed how she almost seems embarrassed by her own reaction? It flips the whole scene from a simple compliment into this raw, uncomfortable thing where she's not sure she deserves to see him that way. That layer makes it way more complex than just a shallow "omg he's hot" take.