The MCU’s upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps is slowly shaping up for its release in 2025, and the fanbase is eagerly awaiting the movie, anticipating it will meet its lofty expectations. One of those expectations is tied to Ben Grimm (AKA the Thing) and his memorable “It’s clobberin’ time!” catchphrase, which now stands as one of the most famous and iconic catchphrases Marvel has ever bestowed upon a superhero.
The first two attempts to make a successful Fantastic Four franchise were a massive bust. The first attempt includes the 2005 Fantastic Four movie and its sequel, which didn’t treat its characters right; it outright mistreated its villains, and it provided us with a rather goofy story. All things considered, it was an okay superhero movie. The second movie, well, we’d rather not talk about that particular disaster. It received even more backlash from basically everyone who ever saw the movie.
Among the film’s contentious points was the origin of the Thing’s catchphrase. Admittedly, while the catchphrase was used in all three Fantastic Four movies that sullied the silver screen, the latest among them, released in 2015, gave the Thing’s catchphrase a much darker origin story — the one that fans hope the MCU deletes. Namely, the movie played with Ben Grimm’s background, changing the relationship he had with his abusive brother, who would say “It’s clobbering time” before hitting him.
According to the film, these words stuck with Ben and continue to remind him about his traumatic upbringing. In the comics, however, Ben did grow up in an impoverished neighborhood in New York, but he had a great relationship with his brother, who was later killed in a gang fight. Ben’s iconic catchphrase also doesn’t have an origin story behind it in comics. But it does have a specific point of origin — the Thing first used his iconic catchphrase during a battle with a Mole Man and his Moloids in Fantastic Four #22 comic book that was released in 1964.
Surprisingly, the Thing didn’t even use the term “clobber” for Fantastic Four’s first dozen or so issues. He later mentions clobbering people in a few panels, but those mentions were more conversational in nature. But then, in issue #22, Marvel’s First Family had a re-match with the Mole Man, and the Thing finally used his catchphrase. As soon as Stan Lee stumbled upon this phrase, he made sure to use it regularly from that particular issue onward. It was also the same issue in which he called the Human Torch a “matchstick.”
Though inherently silly, the catchphrase stuck with the character throughout the comics, and the MCU now has the opportunity to do Ben Grimm justice by using the catchphrase correctly for maximum impact — the fans would most certainly appreciate it. Despite numerous difficulties the MCU is currently struggling with, fortunately for the fans of Fantastic Four, catchphrases are something that the MCU does reasonably well. Hulk’s “Hulk Smash!” is perhaps the best example of how well-executed that catchphrase is.
The Hulk first used it in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, during the final battle with Abomination, which is a perfect moment for the catchphrase to make maximum impact on the audience. It later comes full circle in The Avengers when Captain America tells Hulk to smash during the New York battle. Thus, the MCU now has a mission to establish the Thing’s catchphrase in an epic way in the upcoming movie so that it becomes a part of his character that can be used in the future.
On top of the upcoming movie, the Thing will also honor us in his own comic book, titled Clobberin’ Time, during which he will be paired with a different Marvel hero. These heroes (and antiheroes) include but aren’t limited to the Hulk, Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, and the Silver Surfer, among many. So, not only did the catchphrase become iconic, but it’s now the title of a limited-run comic book series focusing on the Thing. But that’s not the end of it.
The catchphrase became a symbol of Ben’s readiness to charge into a fight — an attitude that was clearly adopted by the former WWE wrestler CM Punk, who yelled the iconic catchphrase during his entrances inside the arena to pump up audiences. Sadly, we’ll have to wait for Fantastic Four: First Steps to launch on July 25, 2025, to learn more about whether or not the Thing uses his legendary phrase. In the meantime, we’re likely to learn more about the movie itself.
Marvel keeps the plot under tight wraps (which isn’t so surprising) and filming is supposed to wrap up by the end of November. We also know that actor John Malkovich is set to portray Ivan Kragoff, an esteemed Soviet scientist, also known as the Red Ghost. With that said, it’s still unknown whether or not he’s the main villain of the story or if this movie finally introduces RDJ’s Victor von Doom.