I recently picked out my copy of Infinity Crusade #1 to read (I go back and re-read the back issues now and again...) and noticed the Thing was wearing some form of helmet.

As I wasn't a big Marvel reader back then, I have no idea of how or why.

Could anybody enlighten me? I'm just curious as to why he became the "Thing in the Iron Mask"...

If I remember correctly....

It was a big deal for a while because in some sort of crossover he and Wolverine fought. Wolverine sliced up his face very badly. The mask was to give protection while it healed and cover the hideous disfigurement

Tarnish

Ahhh...

Thanks for the quick response. Not nearly as cool as I expected the answer to be...

Stone faced man wears mask to cover up sliced rocks. News at 11!

it happened during a fight between the "new" FF , and the original FF. But i think Hulk was not part of the team. I remember reading it when it happened but that was so long ago .. good idea for a mod though

Wasn't this also supposed to have been made into an even bigger thing (heh) as it was sorta shown that Ben and Logan were really close friends before the incident happened. The Thing phyiscally resembling the monster Logan felt he was had sorted allowed them to bond as they were both outsiders. Logan hurting Ben was supposed to be the massive shocker as if he could lose control and do that, then what else might he be capable of? However, they kinda down played it after the response it got and I think that Logan was even later revealed to have been a Skrull after it was revealed that Logan had secretly been replaced and the real one had been serving Apocalypse as Death for an unknown amount of time.
Sounds good. May not be how the story currently goes as continuity at Marvel is worth less than a can of my farts.

Well, I suppose it all makes sense now.

Always wear protection on your Thing, or it will get a red ring!

Nah, Hulk was there, just not prominently featured.

The All-New FF(Spider-Man, Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch, The Hulk and Wolverine) vs. the FF. I think something happened to Johnny and he went nova above ESU Campus and they came to bring him in. Wolverine went into a beserker mode during the fight and slashed Thing's face. He immediately apologized after it and the Ben punched the crap outta him! The helmet was worn a few times by Ben back in the VERY early days of the book because he was ashamed of his looks.

One other thing to add: while reading some old reprints recently, I noticed that in Fantastic Four #3, waaaay back when Sue designed the original costumes for the group, Ben's outfit included a metal helmet which looks suspiciously like the one he wore after the Wolverine incident. He only wore it for a panel or two before discarding it, but it was interesting to note that the style of the helmet that showed up in the 90s apparently wasn't something they thought up on the spot at that time.

Either way, I've always wanted a HC Thing with a sculpt featuring that helmet.

At the time it was stated the reason the "maiming" was done was that Ben Grimm had turned into a happy-go-lucky character who was everyone's buddy and that they wanted him to return to the deformed self-loathing outcast that he was supposed to be from the beginning.

If I remember correctly, Thing had flesh beneath the rocky skin that looked even more hideous. It was a shock to everyone who knew him because they never considered what was underneath the rock.

That would just be a sculpt change though, right?

Its not like his powers were any different.

Yeah, just a sculpt change. Given that the Thing is such a high-profile character that should probably be redone every few sets, I'd like to see some variation in the sculpts - original ('lumpy') Thing, helmet Thing, etc.

Of course, we could probably use some Things that do require alternate team abilities, at the very least - a Thing from his post-Secret War solo days, and probably one as an Avenger (WCA, current New Avengers lineup).

I've always wanted the "Pineapple" version of Ben where he's all spiked out and his strength and toughness put him in Marvel's Class 100 rank!