Published Sep 30, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT
Since 2019, Kevin Erdmann has been one of Screen Rant’s Senior Staff Writers, covering all kinds of Superhero and Star Wars media with Easter egg breakdowns, theory pieces, breaking news, and more. A huge Star Wars & MCU fan, Kevin also loves Batman (because he’s Batman), but could talk for hours about why Nightwing is DC’s greatest hero.
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Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Fantastic Four: First Foes - Dragon Man #1
We’re just a few months away from the release of Avengers: Doomsday in theaters, the next big MCU crossover set to bring together the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and more heroes for a major multiversal epic like never before. However, Marvel has just revealed a surprising redesign for one of the movie’s strongest members.
As seen in Marvel Comics’ new and canonical-to-the-MCU series Fantastic Four: First Foes, the latest issue reveals that Ben Grimm’s The Thing once had a very different MCU look before the events of 2025’s Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday.
Featuring all the villains whom The First Family fought in the four years before Galactus’ arrival, it seems one of these foes almost gave Ben Grimm a very different look compared to his usual rocky and comics-inspired appearance. As seen in the new Fantastic Four: First Foes - Dragon Man #1 by Greg Pak and Mark Buckingham, Ben Grimm briefly looked a lot more human in the MCU’s Earth-828.
Visiting Dr. Damien Albo at Columbia University, it’s revealed that the scientist/alchemist has seemingly devised a way to siphon the cosmic radiation from Ben Grimm, with The First Family hoping to revert The Thing back to “normal”. Tired of being feared and avoided for his large and rocky exterior, Ben agrees to the procedure. While he doesn’t fully turn all the way back to his human form, Ben does get a more human look and can sit down without breaking chairs.
However, the catch is that Dr. Albo takes the siphoned energy to animate his synthetic android creation known as Dragon Man, bringing the beast to life and ordering it to kill The Fantastic Four, seeing the heroes and their cosmic powers as dangerous aberrations. As a result, Ben’s new transformation in the MCU doesn’t last very long, as he’s forced to have Reed Richards’ Mister Fantastic reverse the procedure and reclaim the cosmic energy, allowing him to take the creature down after it incapacitates Reed, Sue, and Johnny.
After reverting to his typical appearance as The Thing (and his cells adapting to prevent future attempts), Ben is adamant that The Fantastic Four not shut down Dragon Man. Instead, he wants to take the android in after Dr. Albo vanishes, unwilling to see Dragon Man as “a thing.” As such, the issue ends with Dragon Man flying alongside the FF (with Dr. Albo preparing his revenge as Diablo).
However, the issue doesn’t explain what happens to Dragon Man in the future nor why he wasn’t featured in Fantastic Four: First Steps outside of the in-universe cartoon about the heroes’ various adventures. Perhaps his fate will be revealed in a future issue of First Foes?
At any rate, it’s pretty exciting to see this new Ben Grimm-focused story in the MCU canon. Likewise, using comics for this prequel story is the perfect vehicle to explore Ben’s comics-accurate struggles with his appearance early in his life as The Thing. After all, featuring an arc like this on-screen likely would have been seen as derivative, considering The Fantastic Four movies of the early 2000s as well as the divisive 2015 version with their more origin-story-heavy narratives.
To that end, the fact that Fantastic Four: First Steps is set four years after their origins is one of the MCU movie’s biggest strengths, as it feels fresher and more unique in comparison. However, the chance to see that Ben Grimm did indeed grapple with his most classic inner conflict beforehand is pretty cool all the same, especially with his upcoming appearance later this year in Avengers: Doomsday, where he’ll likely have to deal with new heroes encountering him for the first time.
Fantastic Four: First Foes - Dragon Man #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps ](/db/movie/the-fantastic-four-2025/)
Science Fiction
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Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
The Fantastic 4: First Steps features Marvel’s First Family navigating their dual roles as superheroes and family members in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world. They defend Earth from a formidable space god, Galactus, and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer, testing their familial bonds and heroic resolve.
Avengers: Doomsday ](/db/movie/avengers-5/)
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Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
Avengers: Doomsday is the fifth Avengers film and kicks off Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A stacked cast of heroes both new and old to the MCU — including members of the X-Men — will face off against Victor von Doom, revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024 to be played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.