Thing

Thing's backstory varies across different iterations of The Addams Family: in the original comics, Thing was an extradimensional creature from a box; in the 1960s TV series, he was a loyal hand-servant, possibly an old friend of Gomez's; and in the Netflix series Wednesday, Thing is revealed to be the severed right hand of a Da Vinci student named Isaac Night, who became sentient after a disastrous experiment and now serves the Addams family. In Charles Addams' original New Yorker cartoons, Thing was an otherworldly, shapeless creature whose presence was only hinted at by its hand, forearm, or being hidden in a box. Thing was adapted for the 1960s television show as a fully mobile, severed hand, played by actor Ted Cassidy. In this version, it was presented as a loyal servant who had been with the family since Gomez was a child. The Wednesday series revealed a specific backstory: Thing is the reanimated, severed right hand of Isaac Night, a former Nevermore Academy student. Isaac's hand was severed during an explosion that also killed him. The energy from the explosion animated the hand, and the Addamses took the hand in, believing it to be the only "good" thing left from Isaac's genius. In the season 2 finale, Isaac tries to reclaim Thing and use him to restore his powers. Thing ultimately chooses his loyalty to the Addams family, destroys Isaac, and is confirmed to be one of them.