This is a tough match to breakdown. At first glance, the Rock-Eater eats rocks, and this should give him a huge edge! The Thing's exterior is made of delicious orange-flavoured rocks in the eyes of a massive creature who sustains his life exclusively by the consumption of said materials.
But don't count Thing out just yet. For starters, he isn't some immobile hunk of metamorphic rock. This rock hits back. Hard. The Thing has never backed down from a fight and has gone toe-to-toe with some of the finest. He has heart, a good chin, and a sense of humor to boot.
This fight is a little different though. Rock-Eater merely wants to pick him up and consume him. A little different from trading punches in a back-alley. Plus the size factor. Thing has got a huge obstacle to overcome in dealing with this foe.
On the plus side, if Rock-Eater does in fact consume him, his soft, fleshy insides might give the big bastard a serious case of indigestion.
Results: It was a very close hard-fought battle with the Thing managing to stay one step ahead of the eating machine. In the end, Ben Grimm, ended up in the Rock-Eater's mouth, but in an explosive escape, he broke his opponent's massive jaw, and proceeded to pummel the big stone behemoth until he ran away, praying to find someone who could wire his jaw shut. I wonder if it's possible to make rock smoothies if your jaw is wired shut.