Those Who Know Fear: Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore Sallis) Appreciation 2019

[Silvermoth]

Oh cool man thing has a thread! I love him! I wish RL Stine had more time with him

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Man-Thing #5 May 1974
"Night of the Laughing Dead!"
Depressed and suicidal, former clown Darrel Daniel has come to the swamp, and commits suicide, shooting himself in the head.
Hearing the noise, the Man-Thing finds the body of Darrel, along with his suicide note, and decides to carry off the body.

Elsewhere, Richard and Ruth try to get a room for the night following their encounter with the Fool-Killer.
However they find all the hotels booked up. At one hotel, they notice that a carnival is in town.
However when the Carnival owner -- Garvey -- strikes high-wire acrobat Ayla Prentiss (worried about Darrel's disappearance),
Richard intervenes, however is struck down by Tragg the circus strong man. Richard and Ruth agree to help Ayla find Darrel,
but not before they get a good nights sleep. However, on the road Ayla spots Darrel's car, and when they see what appears to be Darrel,
they follow him into the swamp. Meanwhile, Garvey and Tragg have been following Ayla and the others to get her back,
when they too see what appears to be Darrel, who makes them crash. Garvey and Tragg then follow Darrel into the swamp as well.

Richard, Ruth and Ayla end up finding the real Darrel, who is being put to his final rest by the Man-Thing.

Believing that the Man-Thing killed Darrel, Richard shouts at the creature to go away.

However, when Tragg and Garvey track them down, they attack and the Man-Thing comes to their rescue to save them.

With everyone present, the spirit of Darrel rises, and tells them all that he is going
to force them to act out the story of his life, to put on one last show for his critics.

Written by Steve Gerber. Art by Mike Ploog and Frank Chiaramonte.

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Man-Thing #6 Jun 1974
"And When I Died... !"
Richard Rory, Ruth Hart, Ayla Prentis, Tragg, Garvey and the Man-Thing have all been selected to become actors in a play
being put on by the spirit of Darrel Daniel for the Critics: Creatures representing Heaven, Hell and the Realm In Between.
The play is on the life of Darrel Daniel, this is for that the Critics can determine where Darrel's soul belongs.

The first act of his play takes place during his childhood in the year 1944, transforming all the actors into
his parents, the local bully, young Darrel and the young girl whom he was friends with as a child.
He then presents how his parents ruled over his life and the spineless Darrel was unable to defend himself against the local bully.

Continuing at the Critics behest, he then reenacts the events of his sixteenth year:
How the teenage Darrel found his fathers funeral the height of comedy and his subsequent visit to a psychiatrist who diagnosed him with Culteral Mileu.

The final act is his time as a clown for Garvey's Carnival, how he found his voice as a clown and developing a relationship with Ayla.
However, his act would take on a more macabre bent when he suspects that Ayla is only with him for his vast wealth.

This would eventually lead him to committing suicide. The Critics decide that Darrel made a failure of his life
and blamed others, and are about to destroy his soul deeming it has no place where it is welcome.

However, the Man-Thing intervenes and fights the Critics.

When Ayla finally vocalizes her inner guilt, feeling responsible for Darrel's death and her genuine love of Darrel, the Critics overturn their decision
and allow Darrel to enter paradise before leaving themselves. All witnessing are surprised to find that Darrel's corpse now
has a smile on it's face, and the Man-Thing -- as always -- indifferently returns to the swamp once all the action is over.

Written by Steve Gerber. Art by Mike Ploog and Frank Chiaramonte.

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Man-Thing #7 Jul 1974
"The Old Die Young"
With a looming energy crisis, F.A. Schist is forced to cancel his plans to build an airport in the Florida everglades,
and decides to take up his old hobby of trying to find the fountain of youth.
Preparing a group of men (with Hargood in tow) they begin exploring the swamps of the Everglades.

Meanwhile, the Man-Thing is attacked by a group of Conquistadors, who are trying to capture the muck-monster
when it wanders too close to their village the long hidden town of La Hacienda, home of the fountain of youth.
While back in town, Richard gets a job at the local radio station, and Ruth and Ayla bid him farewell, leaving to find their own destinies.

While back in the swamps, the Capitan of La Hacienda tries to gun down the creature, but this has no effect.
When they are unable to stop the Man-Thing from entering into the village, the Capitan orders it doused with water from the fountain of youth.
This causes the Man-Thing to burn, and it slowly shambles back out into the swamp where it's destroyed.

Rising up from the mire, Man-Thing spots Schist and his men heading towards the entrance to La Hacienda and prepares to halt them.

Written by Steve Gerber. Art by Mike Ploog.

[Jabare]

I feel like Man-Thing is due for a big event in the future. Marvel's already set the stage with the Shadow Colonel and Boy-thing, so will see. I wonder if Boy-thing will ever remerge with Man-Thing or if they are going to be seperate entities now.


Marvel already gave him his own wiki page: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Boy-Thing_(Earth-616)




One thing I appreciated on re-reading the Avengers issues is the artistic detail with Boy-Thing. It is clear now that Boy-Thing didn't appreciate being used by the Shadow Colonel, and it explains why, every time we saw him in prior issues, his eyes had a sadness to them. Then we saw how his look changed when he delivered the killing blow to him

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Man-Thing #8 Aug 1974
"The Gift of Death"
Continued from last issue... Crashing their hovercraft into the Man-Thing,
F.A. Schist and Hargood Wickham find themselves stranded in the swamps.
However they follow the Man-Thing into La Hacienda, and learn that it is the location of the Fountain of Youth.
The Man-Thing however, is taken back in by Lorena and the Capitan.

The two take the Man-Thing to the Fathers, who agree to allow them to find a way to restore the Man-Thing to a normal human.
They devise a process to filter out the swamp-muck that comprises the base of the Man-Thing's bulk,
while infusing the body with waters from the fountain, causing the Man-Thing to slowly change back into a human.
They are confronted by Schist and Wickham who offer them a business proposal.
However, the Man-Thing breaks free and tries to attack them, causing Wickham to flee in fear and seemingly plummet to his death.

Calming the Man-Thing, Lorena and the Capitan take Schist to see the Fathers.
The Father's appear interested in Schist's plans to market and sell the water from the fountain of youth.
They agree to give Schist a bottle of the water in good faith.
However when Schist drinks the water he becomes a withered creature just like the Fathers.
The Fathers tell Schist that his own greed caused him to do the same thing they did many life-times ago:
Drink the waters from the fountain, instead of bathing in them.

Enraged, Schist takes Lorena as his prisoner, prompting the Man-Thing to defend her.
However, its partially human form is not as strong as it used to be and has lost the power to burn at the touch of things that fear.
During the fight, Schist knocks the Man-Thing into the globe which was holding the muck that was being siphoned from the Man-Thing's body.
Contact with this muck causes the Man-Thing to be restored to it's former appearance and abilities.
Now fearful of the restored Man-Thing, Schist is incinerated when the Man-Thing touches him.
With all those who know the secret of La Hacienda seemingly destroyed,
the Fathers allow the Man-Thing to leave and return to the swamps from which it came.

Written by Steve Gerber. Art by Mike Ploog.

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Giant-Size Man-Thing #1 Aug 1974
"How Will We Keep Warm When the Last Flame Dies?"
The Man-Thing stumbles upon an altercation between two scientists, Paul Benton and Professor Marshall,
who are looking for new renewable energy sources and the Cult of Entropy. The Cult threatens the two scientists with their Golden Brain.
When the globe is exposed from it's carrying case, it causes the Man-Thing pain, and so the Man-Thing attempts to attack them.
In defense, the Cult members command the brain to create a monster which battles the Man-Thing.

During the fight, the Man-Thing impales the glob with a tree causing it to explode.
The feedback causes the globe which contains the Golden Brain to explode and land in the swamps muck.
With the Cult trying to collect the brain back, the scientists are able to get away and continue on their mission.

As the Brain is washed away, it recalls the events that led it to being where it is, as it turns out the brain is really Joseph Timms,
the man who was mutated into the Glob and battled the Hulk, his brain surviving the conflict and getting into the hands of the Cult of Entropy.
The Brain eventually washes ashore, where it uses it's powers to transform the muck around it into a new human body, and the reborn Timms.

With no memory of his previous lives, the being once known as Timms, wanders the swamp.

While in Miami, the Cult members report back to their leader Yagzan, who is not impressed
and demands that they go back to the swamps near Citrusville and get the Golden Brain back, at any cost.
While back in Citrusville, Benton and Marshall begin building their latest scientific creation: Omegaville, a completely energy self sufficient city.
The construction is being silently watched by the Man-Thing. While the construction continues, the two scientists find Timms,
and take him in, clothing him and giving him a job on the site, with no name of his own, they call him Joe.
The operations are later explained to Richard Rory, who has come to the site to get the story for the radio station he works for.

That night, the Cult of Entropy returns to the swamps, and Yagzan begins tracking the Golden Brain, when they find it in the form of "Joe".
Yagzan takes control of Joe and he transforms into the Glob once more. They set Glob on a rampage which destroys much of Omegaville.
This prompts the Man-Thing to enter the fray, and to battle the Glob,

beating it until it loses it's corporal form and crumbles into a pile of muck.
When Yagzan tries to get control of the creature again, the clay then engulfs his body killing him.
With the threat made by the Cult over, the Man-Thing leaves for it's home in the swamp,
leaving all the witnesses to figure the aftermath out for themselves.

Written by Steve Gerber, pencils by Mike Ploog, inks by Frank Chiaramonte

[Captain Craig]

Man-Things best modern update was during his 20 issue+ run as a regular on OG Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers title before it was cancelled.
He had an ability to speak but the person heard his voice in a unique manner to their personality.
Marvel sadly abandoned that when he was on the Howling Commandoes and subsequent books.
Only the R.L.Stein mini played it up but I didn't really enjoy Stein's tale sadly.

A well structured Man-Thing as a cast member in a team book would get me on board. I thought that might be Champions but it wasn't.

[HipHopAvenger]

Man-Things best modern update was during his 20 issue+ run as a regular on OG Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers title before it was cancelled.
He had an ability to speak but the person heard his voice in a unique manner to their personality.
Marvel sadly abandoned that when he was on the Howling Commandoes and subsequent books.
Only the R.L.Stein mini played it up but I didn't really enjoy Stein's tale sadly.

A well structured Man-Thing as a cast member in a team book would get me on board. I thought that might be Champions but it wasn't.

Maybe in Aaron's Avengers as he's in the splash page of 700 with Man-Thing picking up a hammer similar to Thors just with a Triquetra

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Man-Thing #9 Sep 1974
"Deathwatch!"
Ezekiel and Maybelle Tork are a couple who have lived in seclusion in the swamps for years,
although Maybelle believes that Zeke neglects her and favors his pet, Dawg a dog naturally enough.
When the curious Man-Thing approaches Maybelle one day, the appearance of the muck-monster startles her enough to have a heart attack.

When Zeke arrives to check out what the commotion is, he scares away the Man-Thing with his rifle.
He then leaves to get a doctor, leaving his wife behind with Dawg, however she tells the Dawg to go away, having another fainting spell doing so.
Dawg, joins up with Zeke who is being observed by the Man-Thing
when suddenly, Zeke is attacked by the very trees in the swamp.

The Man-Thing comes to Zeke's rescue, saving him from the killer trees, alligators and snakes.
Getting to the mainland, Zeke is suddenly attacked by the bones of people who had long died in the swamps.
Although the Man-Thing once more saves Zeke, it fails to save him from being harmed,
when one of the zombies strangles him until he passes out.

With all the corpses smashed, the Man-Thing picks up Zeke and begins carrying him the rest of the way.

Written by Steve Gerber http://www.jmdematteis.com/2017/09/gerber-day.html, Art by Mike Ploog

[Captain Craig]

Love these OG Man-Thing stories. The dialogue in them is pure camp at times and this page shines in that area!

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Man-Thing Special Moves Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6teze2XOIsU

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Man-Thing #10 Oct 1974
"Nobody Dies Forever"
Carrying the unconscious body of Ezekiel Tork through the swamp so that Zeke can get medical help for his ailing wife,
the Man-Thing must battle snakes and an apparition of Zeke's wife in the form of Medusa that block their path to the mainland.

When the creature is destroyed by Man-Thing, Zeke's wife Maybelle revives briefly thinking that Zeke abandoned her once more.

Zeke revives and tells the Man-Thing the story of his relationship with Maybelle
and how they decided to live in the swamp away from others, and how Maybelle never liked his dog.
Travelling to the mainland, Zeke and Man-Thing end up at a diner where Zeke
tries to get the people inside to spare a nickel so that he can call for help.
When they start to rough up Zeke for being a yokel swampie, the Man-Thing enters and fights off the attackers.
Frightened, the owner gives Zeke the nickle he requires to make a phone call.

Returning to his home with the Man-Thing, they are attacked by
a ghostly apperation of his wife which represents all her resentment towards him.

The Man-Thing destroys the creature,

however the resulting explosion knocks the muck-monster out.
When Zeke goes to check on his wife, they are attacked by a demon who has come to take her soul away.
However, Dawg gives it's life so that it's masters may live.
With Dawg's sacrifice the demon departs, and Maybelle realizes how important Dawg was to Zeke.
When the doctor finally arrives to see Maybelle, the Man-Thing revives and returns to the swamp.

Written by Steve Gerber, Art by Mike Ploog

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Man-Thing #11 Nov 1974
"Dance to the Murder"
Richard Rory is spending a night in the solitude of the Florida swamps, when he's visited by the Man-Thing.
Rory talks about his recent adventures and losses, further lamenting about his life as a total loser.
Finishing his story, Richard spies a woman bolting through the swamps.

Going after her, he literally trips over her, and she tries to attack him until the Man-Thing stops her.

After Richard stops the Man-Thing from burning her by quelling her fear, they are attacked by a man in a mask.
He grazes the woman (Sybil) but the Man-Thing makes short work of him.

On the run, she tells Richard that she was kidnapped, while waiting for her brother to pick her up after her dance lessons,
by masked men who called themselves the Demons of Liberation. Finding a hotel,
they try to get a room when they are suddenly cornered by the Demons of Liberation, and their leader.


When they try to attack, the Man-Thing destroys all their weapons.

Written by Steve Gerber, Art by Mike Ploog and Frank Chiaramonte

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Man-Thing #12 Dec 1974
"Song-Cry... of the Living Dead Man!"
Brian Lazarus is tormented as he busily tries to write something with substance, he finds himself attacked by
the spirits of people who want him to pay an unbalanced debt, resorting to violence to try and beat him out of it.
His tormented emotions are picked up by the Man-Thing, that comes and rescues him.
Each person he pulls off Lazarus turning into a wisp of immaterial smoke.

Afterward Lazarus wanders around until he is found by Sybil Mills, who has just
been set up in a motel by Richard Rory waiting for her folks to pick her up from Miami.

Taking Brian in, she too witnesses his mania with writing something with substance,
and when the spirits appear to whip Brian once more, the Man-Thing appears again to help fight them off.
They finally disappear when Sybil dispels Brian's assertion that he's a dead man,
by treating him and calling him for what he really is: A living human being.

With the danger past, the Man-Thing shambles off into the swamps once more.

Story by Steve Gerber. Art by John Buscema (layouts) and Klaus Janson (finished art).