The Thing (1979)

'The Thing' or 'Fred and Barney Meet the Thing' created by Hanna Barbera was a segment of 'The New Fred and Barney Show',  a revival of The Flintstones. Lasting for one season, it was based on the Marvel character, The Thing/Ben Grimm; a member of The Fantastic Four. 

In the Hanna Barbera version, co-produced by Marvel Comics,  The Thing/Ben Grimm attempts to become human again, with the help of Professor Harkness but the experiment fails;  de-ageing into a teenage boy, instead of a man. Ben or 'Benjy'  is given a pair of  'Thing Rings' which turn him into The Thing whenever his help is needed; chanting the words... "Thing Ring, Do Your Thing!"  His catchphrase was mostly  "What a revolting development!" than "It's clobbering time!"

The only people who knew his secret identity were Professor Harkness and his younger daughter, Kelly who became close friends with Benjy. The cartoon is more comedic than The Fantastic Four series, along with a laugh track and the main villains were the Yancy Street Gang, who were more of pranksters than criminals. Other main characters were Kelly's vain sister Betty (who had a crush on The Thing), Betty's even vainer and snobbish millionaire boyfriend, Ronald Redford III (yuck) and their high school principal Miss Twilly (who constantly stumbled over her words). 

Between September 8th to December 1st, 13 episodes were aired.