The Thing’siconic cliffhanger ending was secretly answered over thirty years ago without many fans knowing. Arguably one of John Carpenter’s greatest films,The Thing’sstory of an alien taking the form of a human has haunted moviegoers for years. Its nail-biting, ambiguous ending made audiences question what would happen next. However, what some may not know is that this finale did get an answer in the comics.
In the original film, the two remaining survivors, MacReady and Childs, are left in the ruins of Outpost 13. A lot of suspicion is thrown on Childs as being taken over by the Thing, but the film ends before any answers can be given. However, inThe Thing from Another World,a comic two-shot by Chuck Pfarrer, John Higgins and Steven Birch, McReady and Childs are discovered by Argentinian soldiers who take them back to their base. There, they conduct a blood test similar to the one done in the film. Surprisingly,neither Childs nor MacReady tested positive for being The Thing.
While this new ending would again berevised years later whenThe Thingvideo gamecame around, this comic story was the first major answer to the film’s ending.
The Thing from Another WorldConfirmed That Childs Wasn’t the Thing at the End of the Movie
Did This Question Need to Be Answered?
ThatDark Horse Comicsanswered this long-debated question aboutThe Thingin the early 1990s is absolutely huge. It’s certainly not common knowledge for many horror fans, as it would be brought up readily to settle the debate about the ending once-and for all. However, this begs thequestion of whether fans even want to acknowledge this answer.After all, what makesThe Thingso beloved is how it plays with the audience’s trust, making them question every single action that the characters take.
1 Terrifying THE THING Fact Will Change How You See the Movie’s Ending
John Carpenter’s cult classic sci-fi film, The Thing has one of cinema’s most ambiguous endings, but a Dark Horse Comics miniseries helped explain it.
In the case ofThe Thing’s ending, the speculation was likely more enjoyable for fans than the actual answer given by the comics. The way Carpenter kept the suspense in the final scene going, leaving viewers in a state of ambiguity, is absolutely genius. The ending has been hailed by critics and fans alike asone of the best endings to a horror moviebecause of how much it challenges the viewer to come to their own conclusions about who was really the Thing. Perhapsit’s best that the film leaves things ambiguous, as the mystery surrounding the ending can be more fun than the answer itself.
Childs Eventually Did Become the Thing, But Not During the Movie’s Ending
One of the Biggest Theories Came True in the Comics
Turning back to the comics, one of the biggest theories surroundingThe Thing’s ending actually does eventually come to fruition. In the sequel comic,The Thing from Another World: Climate of Fearby John Arcudi, Jim Sommerville, Brian Garvey and Matt Webb,Childs does eventually succumb to the Thing.He hunts down MacReady in the Argentinian jungle, creepily calling out his name in a vicious hunt. This outcome was by far the biggest theory aboutThe Thing’s ending, and seeing it actually play out in a sequel is a nice acknowledgment of what fans have come to interpret about it.
The comic completely undoes the ambiguity of the original film…
Even if it was best to leave the ambiguity, it’s hard to deny that it is nice to have a sense of finality to the long-argued question about the ending toThe Thing. In the end, neither Childs nor MacReady turn into the alien adversary. However, it’s understandable why this comic has likely been forgotten for the most part. It completely undoes the ambiguity of the original film, and while it’s nice to get some closure,The Thing’sclassic ending is one that benefits more from not having an answer.
The Thing from Another Worldis available now from Dark Horse Comics.
The Thing
Cast
A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter’s 1982 film is a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.
