Every Marvel fan knows that the Fantastic Four's Thing has had his fair share of multi-colored transformations. From blue to yellow to green, Ben Grimm's rocky superhero has even gained stunning extra powers thanks to his various redesigns.

The Thing's orange rocks are an iconic part of the character, but over 64 years there have been plenty of opportunities for Ben Grimm to change his look. Ahead of the Thing's MCU debut in 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, here are the times that the FF's powerhouse took on a totally different hue, including the transformation that made him even more powerful than Galactus.

The Thing turned blue after messing around with alchemy, but Marvel wasted the opportunity.

11 Blue Thing - Transformed by Alchemy

In Ultimate Fantastic Four #41 from Mike Carey, Scott Kolins and Mark Brooks

Marvel's 2000s-era Ultimate Universe rebooted Marvel continuity, introducing its most iconic heroes in the modern day. In Ultimate Fantastic Four, Reed and his family were far younger when they transformed, and Reed ultimately became a supervillain known as the Maker. Before that point, the quartet faced a variety of villains including Mendendez Flores, aka Diablo. Diablo was a villainous alchemist who captured and destroyed the Thing, hoping to siphon the powers of Reed Richards' sister Enid.

Thankfully, Diablo's enemy Andrea Vecchiato was able to provide the Fantastic Four with an alchemical solution that healed the Thing, with the surprising drawback of turning him blue. Thing couldn't believe the side-effect when he woke up but - sadly for fans of the design - the color faded by the next issue. On waking up, Ben Grimm exclaimed, "I look like that Nightnurse guy out of the freakin' X-Men," referencing Kurt Wagner's teleporting hero Nightcrawler.

Merging with the Infinity Stones granted the Thing new powers even greater than Galactus.

Ironically, the Thing literally became Nightcrawler in 2024, as Marvel's The Thing! variant cover initiative saw Javier Garron redesign Kurt with the Thing's powers, appearing on select copies of Uncanny X-Men #5.

10 Angrir Thing - Possessed by a Dark God

It Happened in Fear Itself #3 by Matt Fraction & Stuart Immonen

In Marvel's epic Fear Itself event, the dark god known as the Serpent brought a set of Asgardian hammers to Earth, each possessed by a demonic force of destruction. Sadly for Ben Grimm, he was chosen 'worthy' of being possessed by Angrir, the ancient "Breaker of Souls." Being possessed by the demon transformed the Thing, blackening his rocks into a volcanic form, while also draping disturbing, octopus-like parasites over Ben's torso.

A dose of gamma radiation turned the Thing into a rocky answer to the Hulk, with Ben Grimm taking the new codename 'Brute.'

Overwhelmed by the demon's influence, the Thing unleashed his power against New York, battling Spider-Man, the Red Hulk and Thor, who finally struck down the Thing, blasting a hole through Ben Grimm to end his threat (thankfully, the Fantastic Four's reality-warper son Franklin was able to heal him.) As Angrir, the Thing's power was vastly increased, and he beat Red Hulk almost to death during their fight. Ben Grimm experienced immense trauma and guilt because of his actions as Angrir, compounded by his belief that he'd failed to save the Human Torch's life in a separate adventure.

9 Green Thing, aka the Brute - Exposed to Gamma Radiation

Debuted in Spider-Girl #57 from Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz

Hulk isn't Marvel's only Jade Giant, at least not with this green version of the Thing out there in the multiverse. This version of Ben Grimm uses the codename 'Brute' and is from an alternate reality where Reed Richards is a fascistic ruler. Reed holds powers thanks to the Fatal Force, made up of alternate versions of the Fantastic Four:

• Dr. Reed Richards
• Ben Grimm's the Brute
• Johnny Storm's Blowtorch
• Franklin Richards' Psi-Slayer
• Peter Parker's Spider-Man

These villains had been empowered by Reed Richards' experiments with gamma radiation - the same force that turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk. Gamma mutates tend to be green, explaining why Ben Grimm has such a different hue in this world. Thankfully, Spider-Girl was able to take down the Fatal Force with help from Thunderstrike and American Dream.

8 Black and Blue Thing - Warped by Dormammu

Appeared in Defenders Volume 3 #5 from Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire

In Defenders Volume 3, the eldritch being known as Dormammu finally gets his wish, taking over Earth. Dormammu uses magic to totally transform the entire planet, turning its former heroes into dark mockeries of their former selves. Only a few rebel heroes remain, with Dormammu asg a twisted version of Doctor Strange to torture and dispose of his enemies. The Thing is one of the soldiers this version of Strange uses to do Dormammu's bidding, even cutting out the tongue of Dormammu's sorceress niece Clea on Strange's orders.

7 Infinity Thing - Merged with the Infinity Stones

Introduced in Avengers: Forever Volume 2 #1 by Jason Aaron & Aaron Kuder

In Avengers: Forever, the Avengers assemble a cross-multiversal team of heroes to stand against Mephisto's Council of Red and Doom Supreme - villains who have crushed countless worlds, and now have their sights set on Marvel's mainstream Earth-616. The story introduces a version of Ben Grimm who merged with the Infinity Stones, taking on a shimmering, multi-colored appearance. This version of Ben gained his powers after traveling to space, looking for some way to fight against the tyrannical Black Skull (one of Doom Supreme's powerful minions.)

This version of the Thing was slightly disconnected from reality, struggling with the Cosmic Awareness granted to him by his new form. Following the defeat of Mephisto and Doom, the Infinity Thing ed the Multiversal Avengers, serving alongside other ultra-powerful heroes including Tony Stark's Ant-Man, Thor's God of Fists and Loki's Avenger Prime, based out of the Quarry of Creation.

In the Ultimate Universe, Thing's carapace 'hatched,' revealing his powerful new form.

While the Infinity Stones only work within their home reality, they give their bearer limitless power - even more than cosmic gods like Eternity and Galactus. Indeed, when Thanos claimed the Infinity Stones in Infinity Gauntlet, he turned Galactus into a statue after the godlike entity tried to stop him.

6 Yellow Thing - Infected by the Transmode Virus

Glimpsed in Exiles #20 by Judd Winick & Jim Calafiore

In Exiles, a group of heroes travel the multiverse, fixing alternate realities where things have gone badly wrong. In one adventure, the team go up against the Vi-Locks - zombie-like innocents transformed by the alien Transmode Virus. The virus converts biological matter into machinery and connects its victims into a hive mind, which is commanded by a corrupted version of the mutant hero Forge. Forge uses several of Marvel's strongest heroes as his enforcers, commanding Transmode-infected versions of Hulk, Abomination and the Thing against the remnants of humanity,

As a Vi-Lock, the Thing was converted into a yellow, circuit-covered form, while still possessing his superpowers and human intellect. He fought Luke Cage's Power Fist in the final battle for the fate of their world, with the Exiles ultimately discovering that Asgardian blood could be used to fight back the virus.

5 Purple Thing - Ben Grimm Becomes Wonder Man

He Hatched In Ultimate Enemy #4 by Rafa Sandoval and Brian Michael Bendis

Marvel's Ultimate Universe wasn't just about modernizing Marvel lore - it was also intended to give creators a chance to take huge, unexpected creative swings that weren't possible in Marvel's mainstream continuity. One such swing occurred in Ultimate Enemy, where it was revealed that - at least in this reality - the Thing's rocky carapace was actually a temporary cocoon. Ben Grimm eventually 'hatched,' back in a more human form but now composed of glowing purple energy.

Generally understood by fans to be the Ultimate Universe's version of Wonder Man, this new form maintained Ben's durability and strength, while also granting him energy powers. Ben was able to summon his rock form when his energy was depleted, and ultimately embarked on a relationship with Sue Storm's Invisible Woman. The two were instrumental in fighting against Reed Richards' Maker once the genius adventurer turned to evil.

4 Red Thing - Merged With Mephisto

In Avengers Volume 8 #55 by Jason Aaron & Javier Garrón

In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, the Thing got his own 'Red Hulk' form, but with a very dark twist. Leading up to Avengers Forever, Marvel fans encountered the Council of Red - a group of Mephistos from different realities who were united in their goal of spreading evil and remaking all of existence in their image. Many of these Mephistos took familiar forms, with a Thing-like version spotted among the Council in Red in Avengers #55. Somewhere out there, there's a world where the sweet-hearted Ben Grimm is the literal devil incarnate.

Fans also got to see a red thing as part of The Thing! variant cover initiative - Andrei Bressan merged the Thing and Daredevil in a cover for Daredevil #15, showing the Thing leaping between New York's rooftops (and destroying them in the process.)

The Thing almost had very different powers, with Ben Grimm sprouting giant purple wings!

3 Pink Wings - Ben Grimm's Weirdest Redesign

From What If..? #6 by a Range of Writers and Artists

In this bizarre story, Marvel retells the Fantastic Four's origin, but this time giving them different powers. In this timeline, the heroes' abilities are dictated by their personalities, leading to very different forms:

• Reed Richards becomes Big Brain, gaining psionic powers due to his faith in pure intellect.
• Sue Storm becomes Ultra Woman, with her pliant personality turning her into a stretchy, shapeshifting form.
• Johnny Storm becomes the metallic Mandroid, due to his fascination with machinery.
• Ben Grimm becomes Dragonfly, due to his love of flying (having been a pilot before he gained superpowers.)

In this form, Ben becomes a celebrity superhero, reversing how his original mutation distanced him from his humanity. Ultimately, the team still end up as heroes, defeating Doctor Doom and obtaining a human body for Reed.

2 Dark Orange - The Thing Doubles His Power

It Happened In Fantastic Four #310 by Steve Englehart and Keith Pollard

In 1987, the Thing went through a second transformation. After defeating the villainous Farouk Al-Fasaud aboard his space station, the Thing was exposed to a second dose of the Cosmic Rays that originally gave the Fantastic Four their powers. The radiation transformed Ben, making him even stronger while mutating his rocky form into a darker, spikier appearance. While the Thing eventually turned back, he took full advantage of this upgrade by finally winning a fight against the Hulk - albeit in his weaker Gray Hulk form.