Line #6 Franchise/TheThing


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thinglogo.png]]
2	->''I can't wait to see their faces when I spring\
3	Yes, sir!\
4	'Cause they think that I'm a dog\
5	But I'm The Thing!''
6	-->--'''Creator/JonAndAlKaplan'''
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8	A franchise about an alien shapeshifter hunting the personnel of an arctic base.
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10	[[index]]
11	* ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'', the original 1938 novella by Creator/JohnWCampbell.
12	** ''Literature/FrozenHell'', a novel-length version of the same story found in Campbell's papers after his death and published in 2019
13	* ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'', the 1951 horror film adapted from the novel.
14	* ''Film/TheThing1982'', another horror film that was also adapted from ''Who Goes There''
15	** ''Film/TheThing2011'', a {{prequel}} to the 1982 film.
16	** ''VideoGame/TheThing2002'', a video game sequel to the 1982 film.
17	** ''ComicBook/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'', the comic book continuation of the 1982 film.
18	** ''TabletopGame/TheThingInfectionAtOutpost31'', a board game based on the 1982 film.
19	* ''TabletopGame/WhoGoesThere'', a 2018 TabletopGame based on the novella.
20	[[/index]]
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22	Not to be mistaken for ComicBook/TheThing, member of the Creator/MarvelComics superhero team ComicBook/FantasticFour nor does it have anything to do with the 1979 cartoon also known as ''WesternAnimation/TheThing''.
23	----
24	!!This Franchise Shares These Tropes:
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26	* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: Could happen to anyone.
27	* AntagonistTitle: The Thing is the alien creature trying to take over the protagonists.
28	* TheAssimilator: Let's face it, almost any villain in any medium that can absorb or infect people to replicate them draws some inspiration from Carpenter's The Thing. It's a monster that's best described as a living virus as each part of its body can live and act autonomously from the main body and all it needs to do is [[ViralTransformation infect a person]] with even a small piece of itself for its tissue to spread, grow, replicate, and consume the host. It has the ability to [[ShapeShifting partially or completely assume the form]] of any creature it has previously infected and absorbed and can use the knowledge and skills of the people it has copied.
29	* BodyHorror: What happens when The Thing reveals itself, ripping its way out of its host.
30	* EerieArcticResearchStation: The original is set at an Arctic scientific outpost, while the remake was set in Antarctica. There are two Antarctic research stations seen in the remake. One is the Norwegian post which discovered the alien spacecraft embedded in the ice crust. The other is the American post which adopts a sled dog that had been fleeing Norwegian commandos. The dog later turns out to be an evil, pleomorphic alien. While trying to learn more about their foe, the Americans visit the Norwegian post, which is found to be a thoroughly burnt and ravaged ruins.
31	* ParanoiaFuel: InUniverse and out, the fact that anyone may be The Thing.
32	* ParasiticHorror: The titular villain is an extraterrestrial single-celled organism that infects its victims just by mere touch, and hides inside of them. If its cover is blown, the Thing creates a [[BodyHorror horrific mish-mash of meat, tentacles, and mouths]] ''out of its host's body''. To make hiding and hunting easier, the Thing creates and spreads paranoia to the heroes, causing them to accuse each other for being the titular monster.
33	* TenLittleMurderVictims: The bulk of the films essentially boil down to the cast wanting to kill the Thing, but not knowing who is or isn't infected.
34	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Most terrifying of all is the fact that The Thing can change shape, infecting a person on a molecular level and then relentlessly absorbing and duplicating their cells, imitating them from the inside out until there is nothing human left. The only exception is the 1951 film.
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Context Franchise / TheThing