MacReady learns that the Norwegians had dug something out of the ice and finds the burned remains of a monstrous deformed two-headed creature.
Returning to their base, they find the malamute, which has turned into a monster, in the process of assimilating the other dogs, leading to Childs torching it with a flamethrower.
The crew becomes increasingly paranoid and discovers that the remaining blood samples had been destroyed and Fuchs had committed suicide before The Thing could assimilate him fully.
After recovering Fuchs' body, MacReady is locked outside of the base during a blizzard due to suspicions by Childs after uncovering a torn piece of his coat in the snow.
Three of the remaining survivors (MacReady, Garry, and Nauls) head to the tool shed to check on Blair, only to find he has escaped and gone underground to construct a small flying vehicle.
MacReady is skeptical, but with no way to check if Childs is human or not, the two acknowledge their futility and share a drink as the cold closes in.
One interpretation is that MacReady was captured by bio-technology research company Gen Inc and held as a potential test subject only to escape and steal one of their helicopters.
[citation needed] The character appears in the final scene, revealing his identity to Captain Blake and flying his helicopter into the Antarctic horizon.
[2][3] Screenwriter Bill Lancaster had originally aimed for The Thing to have been an ensemble piece where one person eventually emerged as the protagonist, rather than having a "Doc Savage type hero" from the start.
[10][11][12][13][14] In April 2023, it was announced that The Thing and characters from the film would be featured in the upcoming video game, Funko Fusion, set to be released in 2024.