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FORWARD : FastForward:
"Trembling and defeated, the comic book villain waits in the arms of a superhero for the police. 'Are you really Jewish?' the villain asks.

'There a problem with that?'

'No! No, it's just... you don't look Jewish.'

The villain is Powderkeg, a muscular, green-and-orange costumed character whose skin exudes nitroglycerine. The superhero is the Thing, the 6-foot-tall, 500-pound crime-fighter known for his craggy, orange skin made out of stone.

Yes, Marvel Comics has made it official with a recent issue of the 'Fantastic Four': It's a Jewish Thing.

Created by Stan Lee (father of Spider-man) and Jack Kirby, the Thing made his comic-book debut in 1961. But it was not until the recent June issue of 'Fantastic Four' (number 56, 'Remembrance of Things Past') that the rockman's Jewish bonafides were firmly established for the first time.

The recent issue explores the Thing's rough-and-tumble childhood on New York's Lower East Side. Born Benjamin Jacob Grimm, he navigated the tough corners of Yancy Street. The Thing's father was an alcoholic, and his brother and idol Daniel was a member of the local Yancy Street Gang. After his brother and his parents died when Grimm was still a teenager, he escaped the Lower East Side to the comforts of his Uncle Jake's house. He wound up heading off to college, and eventually became a pilot. On a mission to outer space, Grimm and his three fellow crewmen were drenched with cosmic radiation that mutated them, giving them each superpowers. The four became Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, Invisible Woman and the Thing "

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