Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.A Marvel Cinematic Universe star has returned to the franchise in The Fantastic Four: First Steps as a new character, and while his original role was good, the MCU hero the actor plays is an improvement. The MCU’s 2025 movies introduced many exciting new heroes and villains to the franchise. That is important, as Avengers: Doomsday is right around the corner.

The MCU will pull from all its different franchises for the big event movie, which is still being written as filming rages on. The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Marvel Comics connections include several classic characters from the comics. An important player from the Fantastic Four movie’s cast is one of them, and he was played by a returning MCU star.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach Plays A Stellar Version Of The Thing

The MCU Debuts The Definitive Versions Of The Fantastic Four

There have been good and bad adaptations of The Thing. Michael Chiklis’ The Thing from the 2000s Fantastic Four movies is a fan-favorite, with the practical suit a pitch-perfect representation of the character. While I liked Jamie Bell’s acting as Ben Grimm in 2015’s Fantastic Four reboot, that version of The Thing was a killer for the military, not the best.

Now, the MCU has introduced its own versions of the Fantastic Four, and Marvel’s First Family could not be better served. After his role in The Bear made him a fan-favorite worldwide, Ebon Moss-Bachrach took on the role of The Thing, and he has an emotional arc in the film that made me feel for the hero like in the 2000s movies.

Ben Grimm is also quite capable, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps making him the team’s pilot and showing how he is more than just an incredibly strong character. I loved how the MCU movie struck a balance between the multiple sides of Ben, even giving The Thing a love interest. There was more than just “It’s Clobberin’ Time.”

Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Marvel Debut Predates The Fantastic Four: First Steps By A Fair Few Years

Netflix’s The Defenders Saga Is Now MCU Canon

While Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s The Thing performance makes it clear that he was born to play the hero, the actor did not make his MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The Bear star is an MCU veteran, with Moss-Bachrach having played a key and entertaining role in The Punisher season 1, which was released in 2017.

Before they got together again on The Bear, Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal teamed up in the MCU as Micro and the Punisher, respectively. Micro ᴀssisted the anti-hero with technology. Since the character did not appear in The Punisher season 2, Moss-Bachrach has since left the role behind, with The Thing becoming a better MCU future after The Fantastic Four: First Steps.