Man-Thing (Comic Book): Difference between revisions

Savage Tales was a one-shot publication, though it would be revived as a regular series in 1973. In the meantime Man-Thing gained a regular series in the [[Horror]] anthology 'Adventure Into Fear'. He became an unlikely hit for writer [[Steve Gerber]], who pushed genre boundaries with the character, providing inspiration for later writers like [[Neil Gaiman]].

 

 

Unlike [[Swamp Thing]], Man-Thing was a mindless creature living mostly by instinct, hardly aware of his former life. An empathic creature, he often came to the aid of the weak and confronted those who expressed strong negative emotions, since, due to latent psychic empathy, strong negative emotions caused him great pain. Man-Thing has a particular loathing for fear, which comes up often throughout the series, since it is the emotion a giant swamp monster is most likely to elicit. Writing stories around a mindless, unchanging character proved difficult, but Gerber showed remarkable variance in the types of stories and characters he was able to fit into this rather limited concept. As usual, he tried to bring a sense of realism and psychological depth to the series, and fans responded.

Man-Thing is currently a member (of sorts) of the [[Thunderbolts]], Marvel's team of redemptive villains. Initially intended to be just the team's transportation, thanks to Hank Pym hacking into the Nexus of All Realities, he's since become one of the team's strongest and most unpredictable members.

 

 

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* [[Achilles Heel]]: Man-Thing's is being dried out.

* [[All Bikers Are Hells Angels]]: At one point, Richard Rory has the misfortune to encounter a pack of them in the swamp. Subverted though as they become friends with him.

* [[The Archmage]]: Dakimh the Enchanter.

* [[Ascended Meme]]: In ''Thunderbolts'', the events of ''[[Fear Itself (Comic Book)|Fear Itself]]'' have turned Man-Thing into a literal "Giant Size Man-Thing"; he is even called such by Songbird.

* [[Empty Shell]]: What Dr. Sallis becomes after his transformation into Man-Thing.

* [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones]]: As much as a monster he is, F.A. Schist has a wife and a daughter that deeply care for him. It is also what triggers Schist's wife to attempt an (unsuccessful) vendetta against Man-Thing after {{spoiler|Man-Thing kills Schist}}.

* [[Failure Hero]]: [[Author Avatar]] Richard Rory.

* [[Freak Lab Accident]]: While working in a swamp trying to recreate [[Captain America]]'s super-soldier serum, Dr. Ted Sallis is betrayed and injects himself in an attempt to escape, but crashes into the swamp where he is transformed . . .

* [[Have a Gay Old Time]]: ''Giant-Size Man-Thing''.

* [[Healing Factor]]: as long as he is in the presence of moisture.

* [[I Thought It Meant]]: Made worse by the occasional issue of ''Giant Size Man-Thing''.

* [[Knight Templar]]: The Foolkiller.

** The creature is basically a slightly modified version of a D&D monster called a Shambling Mound, which is obviously derived from Man-Thing, Swamp Thing and The Heap.

* [[The Legions of Hell]]: Thog the Nether-Spawn.

* [[Silent Protagonist]]: Out of necessity, seeing as how Man-Thing has no mouth.

* [[Star-Crossed Lovers]]: One had issue had a pair with obvious ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' parallels-

* [[Steven Ulysses Perhero]]: See [[Meaningful Name]] above.

* [[Stripperiffic]]: Jennifer Kale when she becomes Dakimh's apprentice.