One of the latest installments of The Immortal Hulk reveals that the Thing can never beat Hulk’s greatest villain. The Hulk and the Thing have always had their differences, and when those differences clash, it consistently makes for an epic fight between the two brutes, with the Thing coming out on top after their last two showdowns. But following their latest battle in The Immortal Hulk #41, Hulk and Thing ended their fight not with one towering over the other in victory, but with mutual respect and understanding. Once the two superhumans discuss their similarities and their differences, it is made clear to fans that although the Thing can best Hulk from time to time, he wouldn’t stand a chance against Hulk’s newly found arch enemy, a being a pure evil which lingers below all.
In The Immortal Hulk #41, the Hulk just escaped from Alpha Flight's space station so drained of gamma that he could barely stand. In response to his escape, Alpha Flight called down to Earth to see if any available heroes could pick up the Hulk once he landed. As it turned out, the Fantastic Four weren’t too busy that night and the Thing was there to greet the weakened Hulk after he crash landed in New York. The Thing, who has been itching for a rematch ever since their last fight in Fantastic Four Vol. 6 #12-13. Now, after the Thing clobbered the weakened Avenger, Hulk changed into Joe Fixit, at which point the epic comic rematch ended.
After the Hulk changed into Fixit and Ben Grimm let up with the clobberin’, the two heroes decided to grab a quick bite to eat and have a conversation that didn’t include any haymakers. During their dinner, the Thing gives Fixit some advice on his current situation. Grimm offers the advice as a man speaking from personal experiences, including his own death. When Fixit asks Ben if he went “upstairs” or “downstairs” when he died, the Thing replies with “upstairs.” Unfortunately, Ben earning his way through the pearly gates makes him unqualified to offer Fixit any insight into how he should respond to his current situation. The Hulk has died many times throughout The Immortal Hulk storyline and every time he didn’t go to heaven but a place of only misery and suffering, a place below all.
The Thing being unable to relate to the Hulk in terms of the post mortem locations of their immortal souls isn’t a bad thing as it means Grimm shouldn’t be concerned with his afterlife, but it is for that reason he would lose in a battle between himself and Hulk’s arch enemy. The true greatest villain of the Hulk is a being of pure hatred known as the One Below All. The Thing could not even comprehend the evil Hulk is faced against, even in death Ben Grimm found paradise while the Hulk endured only more pain. The Thing is not capable of battling the One Below All not because he lacks the strength or willpower to get the job done, in fact his greatest weakness against the entity is arguably his greatest strength in life.
The Thing lacks the darkness, the connection with the One Below All that the Hulk possesses, which leaves Ben incapable of defeating it. Evidence given to fans throughout The Immortal Hulk suggests the only way to challenge the One Below All is to do so in the Below-Place. The connection with the being of darkness is necessary in challenging it, and the Thing proved he has no connection to the One Below All as made clear by his trip to heaven after his death, which is why the Thing can never beat the Hulk’s greatest villain.
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December 27, 2020 at 05:10AM
