R.J. MacReady or "Mac" is the main protagonist in John Carpenter's 1982 horror film The Thing. He is played by Kurt Russell. John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, film score composer and occasional actor. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... This article is about the 1982 film. ... Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is an American actor. ...

R.J. MacReady is a helicopter pilot stationed by the US government at a research base (Outpost #31) in the depths of the Antartican snowfield. Among his team is a doctor, a couple of computer experts and a bunch of basic researchers. A Captain "Garry" seems to be in charge, but it appears as though the group respect Mac as their leader instead. Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, each having two or more rotor blades. ...

When the events in The Thing take place, Mac is the first to take charge. He keeps the group relatively calm and is elected the leader after Garry admits he is not up to the task. He tries to keep his team together, but the virus begins to spread and after one person is infected, it is hard to stop it from getting somebody else. Eventually, the team suspect MacReady of being "The Thing", and they try to toss him out into the cold Antarctic night. Mac refuses and demands he is to be trusted, holding a stick of dynamite to threaten them. A rivalry with team member Childs develops through this and it is apparent that they dislike each other (but share a mutual respect). This article is about the 1982 film. ... Groups I: dsDNA viruses II: ssDNA viruses III: dsRNA viruses IV: (+)ssRNA viruses V: (-)ssRNA viruses VI: ssRNA-RT viruses VII: dsDNA-RT viruses A virus (Latin, poison) is a microscopic particle that can infect the cells of a biological organism. ... An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. ... Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin using diatomaceous earth (Kieselguhr) as an adsorbent. ...

Dr. Copper reveals a means of "testing" to work out who may or may not be infected. Mac, telling everyone he is not infected, ties them all up and admits the test. When it turns out he is not infected, the group falls back behind him and follows his orders once more. With only a few team members left, Mac launches a full-scale attack on "The Thing." He orders that they destroy the base with explosives, and head into the basement to take care of the monster once and for all. Doing so, his remaining team members are killed, but Mac destroys the creature in its physical form. This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Escaping from the exploding base, Mac takes a seat outside in an old shack and is joined by Childs, who has apparently survived. Together they share a bottle of whiskey. Mac is suggested to have continued his battle against "The Thing" after the credits roll. The official video game (which serves as a sequel) sees him rescuing the player at the end, proving that he did indeed survive. Others write off the game as an official sequel and believe Childs was infected, thus infecting Mac with the virus through their sharing of the whiskey bottle. Whisky (or whiskey) is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain, often including malt, which has then been aged in wooden barrels. ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a cultural phenomenon. ... A sequel is a work of fiction in literature, film, and other creative works that is produced after a completed work, and is set in the same universe but at a later time. ...