Dr. K's Waiting Room

Story Title: “…Man-Thing!”
Published: May 1971
Writer: Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway
Artist: Gray Morrow

The Background:
Following widespread public concern over gory and horrific comic-book content, New York magistrate Charles F. Murphy established the Comics Code Authority (CCA) in 1954 to protect vulnerable child readers from such horrors as violence, supernatural threats, and sexual content. This posed a problem for comic book publishers like Marvel, who had to dance around these nonsensical rules, and any comics not baring the CCA seal of approval were often seen as taboo. This, as much as anything, led to publisher Martin Goodman cancelling Savage Tales after just one issue; the series wouldn’t return to publication until Goodman left Marvel some three years later and the CCA was eventually (thankfully) phased out over time. Still, while Savage Tales was burdened by this tumultuous edict, readers were introduced to Doctor Theodore “Ted” Sallis/Man-Thing in this issue; created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, and artist Gray Morrow, Man-Thing attracted some controversy due to resembling a similar swamp-based monster hero, Alec Holland/Swamp Thing, over in DC Comics. After guest starring in other comic books, Man-Thing eventually graduated to a solo title, with writer Steve Gerber having the most significant impact with his distinctive second-person text boxes, establishing much of the character’s early lore and coining the tagline, “Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing’s touch!” Despite being one of Marvel’s more obscure monster characters, the Man-Thing has had a not insignificant impact since his debut and has even been a part of superhero teams, despite his monstrous appearance. The character also popped up in small roles in Marvel cartoons and videogames over the years, and even got his own poorly received live-action adaptation in the years prior to the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) before finally debuting in the MCU, after many sly allusions, in the Werewolf by Night special (Giacchino, 2022).

The Review:
Man-Thing is another obscure Marvel character who, in all my years of reading comics, I have basically never encountered in any story except for a Howard the Duck special I had as a kid. This isn’t that difficult to believe, however; over here in the United Kingdom, we were lucky to get yearly annuals and a few black and white pocketbooks and reprint comics and even those tended to focus on Marvel’s biggest names rather than obscure swamp creatures. Still, I was somewhat aware of the character prior to seeing his live-action debut, mainly because of the many obvious and hilarious jokes that can be made from his most memorable title, Giant-Size Man-Thing, but, similar to with the Swamp Thing, I remain largely unfamiliar with the character and continue to mix up their lore even now so I was somewhat intrigued to reas Man-Thing’s debut story. Our tale begins, fittingly enough, in a dark, fetid swamp were alligators (…or crocodiles, I don’t know the difference) exist as the apex predator…or they would, were it not for the monstrous, tortured soul that is the Man-Thing. Struggling to even remember its time as a man, the Man-Thing easily bests the ravenous lizards with its enormous strength, acting more on a predatory instinct than anything else, before venturing through the swamp with only the vaguest desire for food and drink.

Although these concepts are quickly growing alien to the swamp monster, its feral mind is haunted by dim memories of a man, Ted Sallis, and his scantily-clad beauty, Ellen Brandt. Ellen is frustrated at being cooped up in Ted’s swamp-based laboratory, but Ted is a desperate man who’s been forced to flee to the ass-end of the world out of guilt. His research into some vaguely-defined chemical was perverted into weapons of mass destruction and he’s burdened by the many deaths these caused, which is enough to stop Ellen’s whining and for her to show her emotional (and physical) support to her man. It’s all very vague but basically Ted is waiting for a government agent, Hamilton, to meet him at his lab and take the last vial of whatever this dangerous chemical solution is. Although Ted doesn’t have the guts to destroy it (why this is I’m not quite sure), he burns the written formula and heads out into the swamp with Ellen and is startled to find Hamilton dead in his house. His horror quickly turns to dismay as Ellen betrays him, siding with the two gun-toting brutes who killed Hamilton and demanding that Ted hand over his mysterious vial so she can continue living the life of luxury she’s grown accustomed to. Enraged, Ted fights off gunmen by playing possum and speeds into the spawn overgrowth; however, with nowhere left to run and no hope left, Ted chooses to drive his car right the swamp and expose himself to his chemical solution.

As Ted flails around in the swamp water, the narrative finally touches upon what this chemical is; apparently, he was developing some kind of solution to turn ordinary soldiers into indestructible warriors. However, the swamp waters cause an unforeseen side effect, turning the chemical into a high unstable and volatile compound that horrifically twists and mutates Ted’s body into the lumbering, feral monstrosity that is the Man-Thing! His grotesque body unwieldy, his senses dulled, and his rational mind rapidly degrading, the Man-Thing acts only on instinct and vague memory. It attacks the gunmen ferociously, apparently choking one to death and then snapping the other’s spine across its hulking knee. Upon seeing Ellen’s screaming, terrified, trembling form, the Man-Thing hesitates; unable to explain why it chose not to simply kill her, or the feelings it felt at seeing her, the Man-Thing is equally baffled when the slightest touch of its swamp-like hands causes Ellen’s face to burn and a blistering scar to be left as a permanent reminder of her betrayal. Confused and seeking refuge in the murky depths of the swamp, the Man-Thing shuffles away, its former life as a guilt-ridden scientist fading, and with little realisation (or interest) in the fact that Ted Sallis’ dream of creating the ultimate, indestructible super solider has come true in most grotesque way imaginable.

The Summary:
“…Man-Thing!” is quite the harrowing monster story. Told entirely in black and white and featuring an omniscient narrator who conveys the hopeless tragedy of the titular swamp beast, the story is an exploration of the feral instincts and primal rage of nature unleashed on one forsaken scientist. The Man-Thing itself is largely devoid of any real character; capable only of a few strained groans, its thoughts are primarily on survival and sustenance. It haunts the swamps that provided its ghastly appearance and incredible strength and is similarly haunted by fading memories of its time as a human being. Interestingly, the narration makes a point to explain that the creature’s vision and hearing are dulled and that it senses approaching threats and reacts purely on savage impulse rather than out of a real malicious intent. Its memories of being hurt and betrayed drive it to attack, kill, and wound its would-be murderers but it’s left perplexed by these feelings, and by its burning touch, and is more akin to a child or wild animal than a rational human being.

I find the time spent with the Man-Thing to be the most compelling, despite its lack of characterisation and personality, simply because it’s very visually appealing and a tragic, lumbering monster. In comparison, Ted Sallis is a bit of a shady bloke; we don’t really get any real insight into what he’s been up to, but his research has definitely been used to cause a great deal of death and destruction and seems to be linked to the neutron bomb. He carries a great deal of guilt and shame regarding this, but it’s not entirely clear if he was developing his super soldier formula as a means to atone for that or if he was simply trying to keep that from falling into the wrong hands as well. His emotional fragility means he’s easily manipulated by Ellen, who seduces and betrays him to try and steal his mysterious vial for herself, her motivation purely being for selfish, financial gain rather than being an outright villain or a Russian spy or something. Her betrayal was shocking, even though she’s designed to look every bit like an alluring femme fatale, and I’m glad the story avoided the cliché of her being murdered and Sallis left for dead by those seeking to pervert his vague vial of chemicals. Sallis’ transformation into the Man-Thing is as sudden and violent as it is unexpected; it’s not clear why Sallis didn’t just drink or inject the vial into himself, but the result is a terrifying swamp creature that snaps men like twigs and burns with a touch. In the end, “…Man-Thing!” isn’t really changing the formula too much; it’s a tragic tale of betrayal and science gone wrong and of a repentant scientist becoming a grotesque monstrosity, but there’s a visual and awful appeal to the Man-Thing and its plight that does inspire my curiosity to see what else it’s capable of in further stories.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to the Man-Thing’s debut appearance? Did you ever read Savage Tales back in the day or did you discover Man-Thing in a different way? What did you think Ted Sallis was developing and did you see Ellen’s betrayal coming? Are you a fan on Man-Thing’s monstrous appearance and characterisation? What are some of your favourite Man-Thing stories and moments? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Man-Thing so drop them below or leave a comment on my social media.