The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 (May 1971), and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including Adventure into Fear.
Steve Gerber's 39-issue run on the series is considered to be a cult classic.
The Man-Thing is a large, slow-moving, empathic, humanoid swamp monster living in the Florida Everglades near a Seminole reservation and the fictitious town of Citrusville in Cypress County, Florida.
Powers and Abilities[]
The Man-Thing is a former scientist who was transformed into a creature composed of vegetable matter through the synergistic interaction of mystical energy and swamp mutagens. Though the beast now lacks a normal human intellect and has shed any desire to communicate with human society, it nevertheless often becomes an accidental hero as it stumbles upon various crime and horror scenarios.
In the pages of The Thunderbolts, Dr. Henry Pym has expressed the view that the Man-Thing is sentient, though difficult to communicate with. For example, he once rescued an infant and left the child with a doctor (which would require an understanding of the function of a doctor and the ability to navigate to a specific address). He is shown to understand concepts such as how to ring a doorbell, how to put an arm in a sling, and even how to flip an auto-destruct switch. The change in the Man-Thing's intellect can partly be explained by fact that its brain, sensory organs, and central nervous system are now organized in a completely different fashion than a human's; for instance, the Man-Thing's auditory receptors are in his forehead. Regardless of what level of humanity the creature still possesses, it can discern when a person's motivations are evil, which causes it pain and motivates it to lash out.
The Man-Thing possesses a variety of superhuman powers, described below, that are derived from the combined interaction of the scientific formula created by Ted Sallis and the mystical energies of the Nexus of All Realities.
It is able to sense human emotions, and is enraged by fear and automatically secretes a powerful corrosive; anyone feeling fear and clutched by the Man-Thing is prone to be burned (either chemically or mystically), hence the series' tagline: "Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch!" Though fear is understandably most people's response to the creature, both for his monstrous appearance and the physical danger of his touch, typically only villains end up meeting an immolating death at its hands. Many survive being burned, notably Ellen Brandt, Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner (whom he does not even scar), and Mongu, whose hand he permanently attaches to his axe, either due to intervention or dissipation. 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 like 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 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. While the Man-Thing is devoid of violent emotions, his body produces a type of foamy, soapy mucus that neutralizes the acid.
Although the Man-Thing's superhuman strength, speed, intelligence, durability, and immortality, give the monster his powers it is his spiritual ability that makes him immune to any other disease, it has been established that the creature possesses physical stamina beyond the limitations of any human athlete. 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. He is able to lift a 2,000 pound automobile when sufficiently moved to do so.
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 Devil-Slayer once sliced him nearly in half, and he has survived being incinerated by a Celestial, although his healing from the latter has been the longest and most complex in his lifetime.
Due to the construction of his body, the Man-Thing is able to ooze his body through openings or around barriers that would seem too small for him to pass through. The smaller the opening, the longer it will take for him to reorganize his mass upon reaching the other side. This ability can be defeated mystically.
The Man-Thing was once dependent upon the swamp he inhabits for his continued survival; his body would slowly weaken and eventually lapse into dormancy if not returned to the swamp or would be greatly damaged if exposed to clean water. His exposure to the Citrusville waste treatment plant greatly enhanced his ability to leave the swamp, as he became a self-contained ecosystem, feeding off of his own waste products. He generally leaves the swamp of his own accord only if he senses a mystical disturbance. The Man-Thing has also demonstrated himself susceptible to possession by other entities. Although the Man-Thing lacks a normal human intellect, in his life as Ted Sallis, he possessed a Ph.D. in biochemistry. Sallis is legally dead, but his identity is known to numerous living people, including Wilma Calvin, Ellen Brandt, Stephen Strange, Owen Reece, Ben Grimm, Thog the Nether-Spawn, Jennifer Kale, and anyone they may have told or written to about it. His identity as the Man-Thing could not be considered secret, but his existence is generally believed to be a hoax, and an obscure one at that. In-universe, knowledge of his existence is rarely tied to the experiments of Sallis, as are speculations as to any human identity he may have had. Despite having appeared in Citrusville many times, many there still believe him to be a rumor.
In other media[]
- The Man-Thing appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "This Man-Thing, This Monster!", voiced by Dave Boat. He joins forces with the Werewolf by Night and a dimensionally-displaced Iron Man to rescue the former's girlfriend, Ellen, from Dracula. After Man-Thing uses his powers to repel the vampire, the show's producers made the power of the Man-Thing a funny thing by saying that in the fight Dracula broke his teeth and refused to go to the dentist, and then jumped on Man-Thing's lap saying he's afraid of the dentist, Iron Man reminds him not to do it out of fear, and Dracula's ass catches fire and he runs away. He, Werewolf by Night, and Ellen (turned into a vampire by Dracula) become inspired by Iron Man to form the Supernatural Hero Squad to defend their town from future monster attacks.
- The Man-Thing appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "Hulking Commandos". This version is a member of the Howling Commandos.
- The Man-Thing appears in Guardians of The Galaxy. In the episode "Rocket! Groot! Man-Thing!", the Man-Thing invades the Guardians' crashed ship, the Milano, and fights Rocket and Groot. In the episode "Guardians Unite", the Man-Thing attacks the ship again after it leaks oil into its swamp.
- The Man-Thing appeared as an unlockable playable character in Marvel Avengers Academy. He could be first recruited during the event "Avengers Halloween Event 2017".
- The Man-Thing appears as a boss and an unlockable playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. He guards the Nexus of All Realities that Kang the Conqueror requires to create his inter-dimensional city, Chronopolis. In a bonus mission, the Man-Thing, Morbius, the Living Vampire, and N'Kantu, the Living Mummy make a parade float for the HYDRA Empire's Red Skull Honorary Parade so that they can get people to stop fearing them.
- The Man-Thing appears as an unlockable playable character Marvel Contest of Champions.