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Man-Thing

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Man-Thing
Man-Thing #1 (Jan. 1974). Cover art by Frank Brunner.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceSavage Tales #1 (May 1971)
Created byRoy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Gray Morrow
In-story information
Alter egoTheodore "Ted" Sallis
Team affiliationsNexus of All Realities (guardian), Daydreamers, Legion of Monsters
AbilitiesSuperhuman strength and durability,
Ability to secrete corrosive chemical agent

The Man-Thing is a fictional comic book muck-monster in the

, created by writers Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow in Savage Tales #1 (May 1971). He went on to be the protagonist of a feature in various titles and of his own series. The most prominent, Man-Thing vol. 1, written primarily by Steve Gerber, introduced the popular character Howard the Duck. Man-Thing was the star of a namesake 2005 TV-movie.

Man-Thing is a large, slow-moving, vaguely humanoid creature living in the Florida Everglades near the Seminole reservation.

Publication history

Following the Man-Thing's 11-page debut in the black-and-white adventure-fantasy magazine Savage Tales #1 (May 1971), the character next appeared as an antagonist of Marvel's jungle-lord hero Ka-Zar in a two-part story in Astonishing Tales #12-13 (June-Aug. 1972). Man-Thing received his own 10-page feature shortly thereafter, beginning in Adventure into Fear #10 (Oct. 1972), sharing that anthological title with reprinted 1950s horror/fantasy stories. Steve Gerber, who would become Man-Thing's most prominent writer, succeeded Conway the following issue. The feature expanded to 15 pages with #12, became 16 pages two issues later, and reached the standard 19-page length of Marvel superhero comics with issue #15. After issue #19 (Dec. 1973), Man-Thing received his own solo title, which ran 22 issues (Jan. 1974 - Oct. 1975). A sister publication was the quarterly Giant-Size Man-Thing #1-5 (Aug. 1974 - Aug. 1975), which featured 1950s horror-fantasy and 1960s science fiction/monster reprints as back-up stories, with a Howard the Duck feature added in the final two issues. Following Morrow, the main series' primary pencilers were, successively, Val Mayerik, Mike Ploog, and Jim Mooney.

In the final issue, writer Gerber appeared as a character in the story, claiming he had not been inventing the Man-Thing's adventures but simply reporting on them and that he had decided to move on. Gerber continued to write Man-Thing guest appearances in other Marvel titles, as well as the serialized, eight-page Man-Thing feature in the omnibus series Marvel Comics Presents #1-12 (Sept. 1988 - Feb. 1989).

A second Man-Thing series ran 11 issues (Nov. 1979 - Jan. 1981). Writer Michael Fleisher and penciler Mooney teamed for the first three issues, with the letters page of #3 noting that Fleischer's work had received a great deal of negative criticism and that he had been taken off the book. He was succeeded by, primarily, writer Chris Claremont and illustrators Don Perlin (breakdowns) and Bob Wiacek (finished pencils).

J.M. DeMatteis began writing the character in a backup story in Man-Thing vol. 2, #9, which opened with a fill-in by Dickie McKenzie. DeMatteis would go on to write Man-Thing stories in Marvel Team-Up, The Defenders, Marvel Fanfare, and the limited series, Daydreamers, as well as the eight-issue Man-Thing Volume 3 (Dec. 1997 - July 1998), illustrated by Liam Sharp. The two would team for the Man-Thing feature in the two-issue Strange Tales Volume 3 (Sept.-Oct. 1998).

In the 2000s, Man-Thing has starred in a handful of stories appearing in one-shots and limited series, including Marvel Knights Double Shot #2 (July 2002) and Legion of Monsters: Man-Thing #1 (May 2007).

Fictional character biography

Ted Sallis, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, is a biochemist who develops a "miracle drug" later defined as an attempt at recreating the "super-soldier serum" that created Captain America. Betrayed by his lover, Ellen Brandt, Sallis flees from agents from Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM), who covet his formula and research. He injects himself with the serum, but after crashing in a swamp and drowning is transformed into a swamp creature through a combination of his formula and (it was later explained) magical forces extant in the area. Sallis' mind was apparently extinguished, although it was later shown that he could briefly return to consciousness within his monstrous form,[1] and indeed he has been briefly returned to his human form several times.[2] Sallis' assistant, introduced later, was an elderly African-American scientist, Dr. Wilma Calvin. Also later, Man-Thing and Ka-Zar together destroy the local AIM base,

Gerber expanded on the notion of the swamp having mystical properties and in issue #14 made it the "Nexus of all Realities", thus supplying numerous demons, ghosts, time-travelling warriors, etc., to serve as the Man-Thing's antagonists—though he continued to encounter non-supernatural villains as well, including land developers, fascist vigilantes, and common criminals. The Fear stories introduced a large supporting cast, including the demon Thog the Nether-Spawn, the benevolent Dakimh the Enchanter, and several humans, including members of the Cult of Zhered-Na (led by Jennifer Kale's father, Joshua; Gerber would feature more of Zhered-Na, whom he named after then-girlfriend Edna, in his "Tales of Atlantis" stories in Sub-Mariner and in his Son of Satan stories for Marvel Spotlight), who became allies of Dakimh and the Man-Thing, thus circumventing the difficulty of having a protagonist with no mind and no goals. A major villain named Franklin Armstrong Schist (F.A. Schist) was introduced in issue 16, attempting to build an airport in Citrusville. The Man-Thing series in Fear ended in a cliffhanger to introduce Man-Thing's own series in issue #19, a bizarre story involving Thog with characters from all times and places (including, briefly, Daredevil and the Black Widow). In one particularly bizarre scene, Korrek, Warrior Prince of Katharta, emerges from a jar of peanut butter partially eaten by Andy Kale, with a knife that becomes his sword! After that, Gerber needing something even weirder to join the forces of good, a talking duck named Howard soon stepped onto the scene. Dakimh declares Man-Thing, Jennifer, Korrek, and Howard to be part of a chosen five need to defeat Thog, though Howard stumbles and disappears and Man-Thing does much of the task himself.

The first story arc after concluding the cliffhanger introduced us to Richard Rory and Ruth Hart, and the first concerted attempt by F.A. Schist to destroy the creature. In the following issue, we learnt Rory was fleeing the Foolkiller. Ruth, a nurse involved with a biker gang slain by the Foolkiller soon left for New York City without Rory,[3] who continued to deal with the strange forces in the swamp, and formed a bond with Man-Thing.

In Man-Thing #7, reality set in and the energy crisis prevented F.A. Schist from completing his airport. The reason for the airport was then revealed: Schist wanted to find the Fountain of Youth. Unfortunately, he learned the hard way that the desired effects of the fountain's water come from bathing in it, not drinking it, and with a newly fragile body, was done in by Man-Thing.

Gerber also wrote five longer issues of a parallel series, Giant-Size Man-Thing, whose apparently unintentional Double entendre title became a common joke among comics readers (a "giant-size" comic is one with more pages than a standard comic book). The first issue introduced the Cult of Entropy, who would later be foes of the Incredible Hulk and Howard the Duck, even reaching the latter's newspaper strip. In the second issue, Schist's widow and daughter arrange to have the Man-Thing captured, but he escapes and runs amok in Manhattan. The third issue featured the death of Dakimh's physical form, though his spirit would continue to appear, while the fourth began the solo adventures of Howard the Duck. In the fifth issue, we see that Ted Sallis had prior knowledge of his future as Man-Thing from a fortune teller, who outraged him rather than making him pay heed.

In one story (#13–14), an astral pirate ship headed by Captain Fate, ended up in the Nexus. A scientist, Dr. Maura Spinner, was the reincarnation of a pirate queen and both were linked with a satyr named Khordes. In a controversial ending which Gerber expressed regrets about having written, Spinner stayed with Khordes.

Soon, Gerber was delving into Ted Sallis's past. In a text story in Monsters Unleashed #8 and #9, Sallis was revealed to have slept with an underage girl, whose father sought to kill the current occupant of his shack. In Daredevil #108, Gerber introduced Foggy Nelson's sister Candace, who was being harassed over research she was doing at Empire State University. In issue #113, this was revealed to be the Sallis Papers, research that could have turned the human race into smog-breathing monsters and allow industry to proceed unchecked. In Man-Thing #15, we are introduced to Sainte-Cloud, a young woman who helped Sallis decide to abandon the project. Sometimes this has been erroneously cited as the project that created Man-Thing, though it is made clear in the stories that this is an earlier project.

The final arc of the Gerber series (16, GS4, 17-22) dealt with a hypermasculine laborer named Sorensen forced into retirement at age 65. He went on a rampage as a Mad Viking, killed his daughter Astrid's artist boyfriend, and allied himself with Olivia Selby, who led a bookburning riot at Citrusville High School, leading to the slaughter of several teachers. Man-Thing's involvement led to him being dumped in the local sewage treatment plant, which only increased his ability to leave the swamp, while Richard Rory got fired by the local radio station for speaking out against the book burning on air. Rory attempted to leave for Atlanta, and Man-Thing and Carol Selby, Olivia's daughter, demanded to go with him. In Atlanta, they met Robert Nicolle, a man with neither feeling nor physical sensation, who appeared as the costumed criminal the Scavenger, whose sister, Dani Nicolle, has her sensations on overload and must project them into objects called Nightmare Boxes.

A scientist, Dr. Oheimer, attempted to restore Ted Sallis's mind, now scattered about in ganglia throughout Man-Thing's body. A love triangle then took Man-Thing to the Himalayas. Chris Claremont, the writer by this point, introduced himself as a character in the final issue of Volume 2, as Steve Gerber had in the finale of Volume 1. Additionally, Claremont temporarily became the Man-Thing after being stabbed to death by a possessed Sheriff John Daltry. His and other characters' deaths were later resolved with the intervention of the War is Hell series lead, John Kowalski, now an aspect of Marvel Comics' manifestation of Death. Man-Thing later appeared briefly alongside the superhero team the X-Men, aiding them in a battle against the supernatural villain D'Spayre.

Powers and abilities

Man-Thing is a former scientist who became a nearly mindless mass of slime with no particular affinity to any living thing, but who nevertheless often becomes an accidental hero as it stumbles upon various crime and horror scenarios. It is able to sense human emotions, and is enraged by fear and automatically secretes a strong chemical corrosive; anyone feeling fear and clutched by the Man-Thing is prone to be burned (either chemically or mystically), hence the series' tag-line, "Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch." Though fear is understandably most people's response to the creature, typically only villains end up meeting an immolating death at its hands.

The Man-Thing possesses a variety of superhuman powers that are derived from the interaction of the scientific formula created by Ted Sallis and the mystical energies of the Nexus of Realities.

Man-Thing's superhuman strength varies considerably in his comic book appearances. Initially, the Man-Thing is only slightly stronger than Captain America, but in later appearances, the Man-Thing possesses sufficient superhuman strength to stand toe to toe with much stronger villains.

The Man-Thing's body is practically invulnerable to harm. Because his body is not entirely solid, but composed of the muck and vegetative matter of the swamp, fists, bullets, knives, energy blasts, etc. will either pass entirely through him or will harmlessly be lodged within his body. Even if a vast portion of the Man-Thing's body were to be ripped away or incinerated, he would be able to reorganize himself by drawing the necessary material from the surrounding vegetation.

The Man-Thing is also able to ooze his body through openings or around barriers that would seem too small for him to pass though. The smaller the opening, the longer it will take for him to reorganize his mass upon reaching the other side.

Unusual psychic and mystical forces react in what passes as the "brain" cells located throughout his body. These unique forces render the Man-Thing extremely sensitive to emotions. Emotions that are mild and generally considered positive arouse curiosity and the Man-Thing will sometimes observe from a distance. However, emotions that are often viewed as negative, such as violent emotions, rage, anger, hatred and fear, cause the Man-Thing great discomfort and might provoke him to attack. Once provoked into violent actions, his body secretes highly concentrated sulfuric acid that can burn human beings to ashes within a matter of seconds. Even individuals that have high levels of superhuman durability have proven unable to withstand this potent acid (except, perhaps the Hulk.) While the Man-Thing is devoid of violent emotions, his body produces a type of foamy, soapy mucus that neutralizes the acid.

The Man-Thing is dependent upon the swamp he inhabits for his continued survival. He is able to leave the swamp, and has done so on many occasions, sometimes for a considerable length of time. However, his body will slowly weaken and eventually lapse into dormancy if not returned to the swamp or exposed to clean water. His exposure to the Citrusville waste treatment plant (in Vol. 1, #17) greatly enhanced his ability to leave the swamp.

Comic book spin-offs

Gerber introduced Howard the Duck in a Man-Thing story in Adventure into Fear #19. Howard, who was displaced from a planet of anthropomorphics in another dimension via the swamp's Nexus of All Realities, later acquired his own series.

The Foolkiller, a vigilante who used a ray-gun to disintegrate not only criminals but anyone he considered foolish, was introduced in issue #3 of this series, bent on slaying disc jockey Richard Rory, introduced in the previous issue. When Rory served time for trumped-up kidnapping charges, he accidentally created another Foolkiller when he revealed too much detail about the previous incarnation and the whereabouts of his gear. This Foolkiller became an occasional villain in other Marvel comics. Both Rory and this second Foolkiller, along with nurse Ruth Hart (who appeared in Man-Thing # 2-5) were supporting characters in Gerber's Omega the Unknown, while David Anthony Kraft made Rory a potential love interest for She-Hulk. A third version of the character, who was in internet communication with the second, starred in Gerber's 1990 Foolkiller miniseries.

Other versions

Ultimate Man-Thing

In his first Ultimate Marvel appearance, Man-Thing teamed with Spider-Man in Ultimate Marvel Team Up #10, unwittingly saving the superhero from Ultimate Lizard. Additionally, in Ultimate Fantastic Four #7, during a flashback that transformed Reed and his colleagues into the Fantastic Four, the Man-Thing is shown for a moment. It has been hypothesized that Man-Thing and those effected by the N-Zone share some elemental bond, being as they are representations of earth (Thing), fire (Human Torch), water (Mr. Fantastic), air (Invisible Woman), and metal (Dr Doom).

Ultimate Man-Thing is similar to his traditional counterpart.

Mutant X

The Mutant X comic book series depicts a Marvel Universe in which characters' counterparts are vastly different. In the Mutant X '99 annual, Dr. Strange, the sorcerer supreme of Earth, reveals himself to be the Man-Thing.

Amalgam Comics

During the Amalgam Comics run, Man-Thing was combined with Man-Bat of DC Comics to create Bat-Thing.

Film

Man-Thing, a TV-movie written by directed by Brett Leonard and written by Hans Rodinoff, premiered on the U.S. Sci Fi Channel, under the Sci Fi Pictures label, on April 30, 2005.[4] [5] An uncut version appeared on DVD June 14, 2005.[4]. Produced by the studio Lionsgate, it is based loosely on a Steve Gerber storyline involving the unscrupulous land developer F.A. Schist.[citation needed] Three characters are named after some of the original comics' creators: Robert Mammone as "Mike Ploog", William Zappa as "Steve Gerber", and director Leonard himself as "Val Mayerik" (misspelled "Mayerick" in the credits).

Bibliography

Original stories

  • Savage Tales #1 (May 1971)
  • Adventure into Fear #10-19 (Oct. 1972 - Dec. 1973)
  • Man-Thing Vol. 1, #1-22 (Jan. 1974 - Oct. 1975)
  • Monsters Unleashed #5, 8-9 (April 1974)
  • Giant-Size Man-Thing #1-5 (Aug. 1974 - Aug. 1975)
  • Marvel Premiere #28 (Feb. 1976) As part of Legion of Monsters
  • The Rampaging Hulk, Vol. 1, #7 (Feb. 1978)
  • Man-Thing Vol. 2, #1-11 (Nov. 1979 - July 1981)
  • Marvel Fanfare Vol. 1, #9
  • Marvel Fanfare Vol. 1, #36
  • Marvel Comics Presents #1-12 (Sept. 1988 - Feb. 1989) "Elements of Terror" - 12 parts
  • Marvel Comics Presents #164-167 (early Oct. - early Nov. 1994) "Behold The Man" - 4 parts
  • Marvel Comics Presents #168 (late Nov. 1994) "Behold the Man-Thing" A retelling of his origin
  • Daydreamers 1-3 (team book)
  • Midnight Sons Unlimited #8
  • Shadows & Light #2
  • Man-Thing Vol. 3, #1-8 (Dec. 1997 - July 1998)
  • Strange Tales Vol. 5, #1-2 (Sept.-Oct. 1998)
  • Marvel Knights Double-Shot #2
  • Man-Thing (movie prequel) #1-3 (Sept.-Nov. 2004)
  • Legion of Monsters: Man-Thing/Tales of the Zombie #1 (July 2007)

Ultimate Man-Thing

Guest appearances

This list is complete through July 1981

Non-Continuity Appearances

Reprints

  • Monsters Unleashed #3 (Nov. 1973)
Reprints Savage Tales #1 story
  • Monsters Unleashed Annual #1 (1975)
Reprints Monsters Unleashed #5 story
Reprints Marvel Two-in-One #77.
  • Book of the Dead #1-4 (Dec. 1993)
Reprints stories from Savage Tales #1, Fear #11, Fear #12, and The Man-Thing Vol. 1, #11.
Reprints Man-Thing movie prequel #1-3, Savage Tales #1 & Adventure into Fear #16 stories
  • The Essential Marvel Two-in-One (2005)
Reprints Marvel Two-in-One #1 (and other issues).
Reprints Fear #16 with Tomb of Dracula #10 and the first Satana story from Vampire Tales #2
  • The Essential Man-Thing (2006)
Reprints Savage Tales #1, Astonishing Tales #12-13, Adventure Into Fear #10-19, Man-Thing #1-14; Giant-Size Man-Thing #1-2; Monsters Unleashed #5, 8-9.

References

  • Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
  • The Swamp (fan site)
  • Roots of the Swamp Thing - An extremely detailed timiline chronicling all the events of Swamp Thing (a title with a history strongly linked to Man-Thing), Hellblazer and related titles in chronological order
  1. ^ Doctor Strange vol. 2 #41
  2. ^ Fear #13, Marvel Two-in-One #1, Marvel Comics Presents #164
  3. ^ see Omega the Unknown
  4. ^ a b ComicBookMovie.com (March 8, 2005): "Man-Thing Web Page is Online", by Bob Gough
  5. ^ Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Man-Thing
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