In anticipation of the new live-action Fantastic Four movie, set to premiere this weekend, I figured a series of articles about each one of the Four heroes would be in order. Each day a new write-up will be posted, highlighting a certain aspect that has been present just about every time the characters have been animated. These threads are meant to hopefully provide some more discussion about Marvel's First Family in a time when the characters are pretty much ignored by the current animated universe.
Ben Grimm - the Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing, one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, with an easily recognizable appearance and a pretty charming personality, has often went up against some other heavy-hitters - and has usually come out on top. His catchphrase is "It's Clobberin' Time!", and with good reason. Here are what I think some of Ben's greatest animated fights, in chronological order. Keep in mind this is only my opinion; feel free to disagree with it, but please do so in a civilized manner.
Image courtesy of Marvel Animation Age
Ben Grimm versus Doctor Doom
Show: Fantastic Four: TAS (1994-1996)
Episode: And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them
Winner: Ben won the fight; he lost his temper and wanted to kill Doom.
Plot: After Ben is turned back to human form as a result of the team loosing their super-powers, he chooses to become the Thing again - apparently with no way of changing back ever again - to stop Doom.
Random thoughts:
- Great and intense fight - loved the way Ben squished Doom's hands.
- The episode also guest-stars Daredevil, but he's the more "cheerful" version, not the grim and dark one we know (and love?).
- A great start to the second season - especially nice when compared to the lackluster first season. The animation, character designs and pretty much everything else has improved.
Ben Grimm versus Ronan the Accuser
Show: Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes (2006-2007)
Episode: Contest of Champions
Winner: Ben, because Ronan requested "fair and honorable combat", and then he cheated.
Plot: Ronan the Accuser convinces the Grandmaster to force the Fantastic Four into competing in the Contest of Champions. Wanting to settle his score with Thing, Ronan cheats and gains super-strength to beat him with his bare hands.
Random thoughts:
- A pretty entertaining fight and kind of brutal at times as well. Seeing Ben getting beat up by an all-powerful Ronan was unexpected. And it worked great in contrast with the other challenges in the competition, some which were very amusing.
- Great moments, like Ben refusing to back down from Ronan with augmented strength, and how he refuses to get his greatest wish - to be human again, in order to save his friends and the rest of the world.
- It was kind of weird seeing Ronan as Ben's arch-nemesis in this episode since in his previous appearances it was implied that Johnny Storm/Human Torch was the one he mainly wanted revenge on.
Ben Grimm versus Hulk versus Spider-Man
Show: Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-present)
Episode: The Incredible Spider-Hulk
Winner(s): All three of them - well, maybe except Hulk, who was still a fugitive from SHIELD at the end of the story.
Plot: Thanks to Mesmero's powers Spidey and Hulk have changed bodies - Ben is called in to help stop the rampaging Hulk not knowing any of this. Ben is eventually also hypnotized by Mesmero, into fighting the other two heroes.
Random thoughts:
- It was pretty neat how Ben acted when he thought he was fighting the Hulk - you could tell he was enjoying the battle.
- The action scenes are actually pretty good. The three-way battle is entertaining enough, but it still doesn't really make up for the rather lame plot and jokes.
- This was actually the second time Mesmero switched Spidey's mind with another hero's on this show (the first time he did it with Wolverine). Similarly, this wouldn't be the last mind-switch story the show would attempt, either...
Honorable mention(s) - Just about EVERY Thing versus Hulk fight that has been animated so far. Each one had some pretty great stuff in it. My favorites are probably "Nightmare in Green" (Fantastic Four: TAS) and "Hard Knocks" (Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes). To be fair, I probably could have written an article entirely about Thing's battles with Hulk, but I wanted some more diversity and didn't really want to rely only on their decades old rivalry.
Which one of Ben's fights from past cartoons did you like the most? Is there a fight from the comics Ben participated in you'd like to see adapted, either in animation or live-action, someday?
Leave a comment below and discuss!
Related threads:
Fantastic Four Week: Reed Richards - Renaissance Man
Fantastic Four Week: Sue Storm - More than Meets the Eye
Fantastic Four Week: The Many Loves of Johnny Storm
Ben Grimm - the Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing, one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, with an easily recognizable appearance and a pretty charming personality, has often went up against some other heavy-hitters - and has usually come out on top. His catchphrase is "It's Clobberin' Time!", and with good reason. Here are what I think some of Ben's greatest animated fights, in chronological order. Keep in mind this is only my opinion; feel free to disagree with it, but please do so in a civilized manner.
Image courtesy of Marvel Animation Age
Ben Grimm versus Doctor Doom
Show: Fantastic Four: TAS (1994-1996)
Episode: And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them
Winner: Ben won the fight; he lost his temper and wanted to kill Doom.
Plot: After Ben is turned back to human form as a result of the team loosing their super-powers, he chooses to become the Thing again - apparently with no way of changing back ever again - to stop Doom.
Random thoughts:
- Great and intense fight - loved the way Ben squished Doom's hands.
- The episode also guest-stars Daredevil, but he's the more "cheerful" version, not the grim and dark one we know (and love?).
- A great start to the second season - especially nice when compared to the lackluster first season. The animation, character designs and pretty much everything else has improved.
Ben Grimm versus Ronan the Accuser
Show: Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes (2006-2007)
Episode: Contest of Champions
Winner: Ben, because Ronan requested "fair and honorable combat", and then he cheated.
Plot: Ronan the Accuser convinces the Grandmaster to force the Fantastic Four into competing in the Contest of Champions. Wanting to settle his score with Thing, Ronan cheats and gains super-strength to beat him with his bare hands.
Random thoughts:
- A pretty entertaining fight and kind of brutal at times as well. Seeing Ben getting beat up by an all-powerful Ronan was unexpected. And it worked great in contrast with the other challenges in the competition, some which were very amusing.
- Great moments, like Ben refusing to back down from Ronan with augmented strength, and how he refuses to get his greatest wish - to be human again, in order to save his friends and the rest of the world.
- It was kind of weird seeing Ronan as Ben's arch-nemesis in this episode since in his previous appearances it was implied that Johnny Storm/Human Torch was the one he mainly wanted revenge on.
Ben Grimm versus Hulk versus Spider-Man
Show: Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-present)
Episode: The Incredible Spider-Hulk
Winner(s): All three of them - well, maybe except Hulk, who was still a fugitive from SHIELD at the end of the story.
Plot: Thanks to Mesmero's powers Spidey and Hulk have changed bodies - Ben is called in to help stop the rampaging Hulk not knowing any of this. Ben is eventually also hypnotized by Mesmero, into fighting the other two heroes.
Random thoughts:
- It was pretty neat how Ben acted when he thought he was fighting the Hulk - you could tell he was enjoying the battle.
- The action scenes are actually pretty good. The three-way battle is entertaining enough, but it still doesn't really make up for the rather lame plot and jokes.
- This was actually the second time Mesmero switched Spidey's mind with another hero's on this show (the first time he did it with Wolverine). Similarly, this wouldn't be the last mind-switch story the show would attempt, either...
Honorable mention(s) - Just about EVERY Thing versus Hulk fight that has been animated so far. Each one had some pretty great stuff in it. My favorites are probably "Nightmare in Green" (Fantastic Four: TAS) and "Hard Knocks" (Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes). To be fair, I probably could have written an article entirely about Thing's battles with Hulk, but I wanted some more diversity and didn't really want to rely only on their decades old rivalry.
Which one of Ben's fights from past cartoons did you like the most? Is there a fight from the comics Ben participated in you'd like to see adapted, either in animation or live-action, someday?
Leave a comment below and discuss!
Related threads:
Fantastic Four Week: Reed Richards - Renaissance Man
Fantastic Four Week: Sue Storm - More than Meets the Eye
Fantastic Four Week: The Many Loves of Johnny Storm
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