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Real name Theodore « Ted » Sallis, , Le Dieu des marais, le Gardien des illusions, l’Homme de la Lignée, K’Ad-Mon des Étoiles Chues, Vorgornus Koth, Mr. Salad, Walking Mulch Heap
The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional monster 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, which introduced the character Howard the Duck.
Steve Gerber's 39-issue run on the series is a cult classic that was influential on such writers as Neil Gaiman.
Man-Thing is a large, slow-moving, empathic, humanoid creature living in the Florida Everglades near the Seminole reservation and the fictitious town of Citrusville. He was portrayed by Mark Stevens in the 2005 made-for-TV film Man-Thing.
Biography
Young biochemist Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, is working in the Everglades as part of Dr. Wilma Calvin's Project: Gladiator team, which includes Dr. Barbara Morse and her fiancé Dr. Paul Allen. A Dr. Wendell is later cited as being on the staff after Dr. Calvin is shot. The group is attempting to recreate the "Super-Soldier Serum" that had created Captain America. Web of Spider-Man vol. 2, #6 revealed that Sallis at one point treated and worked alongside Dr. Curt Connors shortly after Connors' arm was amputated, driving the research that would eventually transform Connors into the Spider-Man foe the Lizard.Though warned that the technological terrorist group Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) has been operating in the area, Sallis breaches security by bringing with him his lover, Ellen Brandt (referred to here as "Miss Brandt", but later retconned to be his wife). He destroys his notes to his formula, which he has memorized. Later, he is ambushed and learns Brandt has betrayed him. Fleeing with the only sample of his serum, he injects himself with it in hopes of saving himself. However, he crashes his car into the swamp where chemical and, as Man-Thing #1 later explained, magical forces instantly transform him into a slow-moving plant-matter creature with large, solid red eyes, Unable to speak, and with dim memories, he attacks the ambushers and Brandt, burning and scarring part of her face with an acid he now secretes in the presence of violent emotions. The Man-Thing then wanders away into the swamp.
Sallis' mind was apparently extinguished, although on rare occasions he could briefly return to consciousness within his monstrous form, as in Doctor Strange vol. 2, #41 (June 1980) and Peter Parker: Spider-Man Annual '99, and even to his human form, as in Adventure into Fear #13 (April 1973), Marvel Two-in-One #1 (Jan. 1974), Marvel Comics Presents #164 (Oct. 1994), and Man-Thing vol. 3, #5, 7, 8 (April, June–July 1998).
Under writer Steve Gerber, the Man-Thing encounters the sorceress Jennifer Kale, with whom he briefly shared a psychic link and who knew his true identity, in a story arc in Fear #11-13 — the final issue of which established that the swamp had mystical properties as the Nexus of All Realities. Through an interdimensional portal in Fear #19, he meets Howard the Duck, who becomes stranded in this reality. Man-Thing became the guardian of the nexus, and found himself facing demons, ghosts, and time-traveling warriors, while continuing to encounter such non-supernatural antagonists as rapacious land developers, fascist vigilantes, and common criminals. He formed a bond with young radio DJ Richard Rory and nurse Ruth Hart. Issue #12's "Song-Cry of the Living Dead Man", about institutionalized writer named Brian Lazarus, spawned Gerber's posthumously published 2012 sequel, "The Screenplay of the Living Dead Man", in three-issue miniseries The Infernal Man-Thing.
In Man-Thing vol. 2 (Nov. 1979 - July 1981), writer Chris Claremont introduced himself as a character in the final issue, as Gerber had in the finale of the first series. Additionally, Claremont temporarily became the Man-Thing after being stabbed to death. 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. In vol. 3 (Dec. 1997 - July 1998), Ellen Brandt Sallis returns to the Citrusville area, still half-scarred from the Man-Thing's touch. (The existence of the scars contradicts the story in Monsters Unleashed #5 in which her second husband, Leonard, a plastic surgeon, fixes her.) The Nexus of All Realities has shattered and the Man-Thing must reassemble the pieces with Ellen as his guide. In issue #4, they encounter a little boy, Job Burke, who is actually the Sallis' son, who had been put up for adoption. Following this series, the story continued in Strange Tales vol. 4, #2, and was projected to continue in the unpublished issues #3-4. Summaries based on DeMatteis' unillustrated scripts appear on the K'Ad-mon and Ellen Brandt pages on Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe. The Sallises eventually save the multiverse by merging fully with the Nexus.
During the Civil War storyline, two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are sent to the Everglades to register the Man-Thing with the Superhuman Registration Act. As the Man-Thing is mentally unfit to sign documents, this is actually a cover for a corrupt S.H.I.E.L.D. boss to take out one disreputable member and put another in his place while he retires on stolen gold. The attempt to destroy Man-Thing fails.
In Thunderbolts #144, Captain America, operating as Captain Steve Rogers, has the Man-Thing serve as the transportation for the titular team of supervillains attempting to reform. Later, after traveling to the beginning of time and being exposed to the primordial waters, his physical form is restored, and he is now able to speak the Universal Language, which is heard in a comprehensible form by all who hear him.
Phil Coulson later recruited Man-Thing to join his incarnation of the Howling Commandos.
As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, Man-Thing appears as a member of S.T.A.K.E.'s Howling Commandos.
Played by the actor
Filmography of Man-Thing (1 films)
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Man-Thing (2005)
, 1h37Directed by Brett Leonard
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Horror
Themes Films about animals, Films about education, Environmental films, Films about racism, Natural horror films, Giant monster films, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Disaster films
Actors Matthew Le Nevez, Rachael Taylor, Jack Thompson, Conan Stevens, Rawiri Paratene, Alex O'Loughlin
Rating41%
At Dark Waters, a Native American sacred land containing an enigmatic swamp spirit, a teenager is murdered by a plant-like monster. The following day, young replacement sheriff Kyle Williams reaches Bywater and meets with deputy sheriff Fraser, who tells him the previous sheriff is among 47 missing persons since oil tycoon Fred Schist bought the ancient tribal lands from shaman and Seminole chieftain Ted Sallis, the first to disappear. Schist claimed Sallis had sold legally and escaped with the money, and asked the sheriff for help: Local protestors opposed his perfectly legal activities, and mestizo scoundrel Renee Laroque was sabotaging his facilities. Williams investigated this while trying to find an explanation for the missing people, some of which were found brutally murdered with plants growing from inside their bodies. Photographer Mike Ploog and shaman Pete Horn tell Williams local legends about the guardian spirit, suggesting that it could be real.