Working under Project Sulfur, Dr Ted Sallis creates a new Super-Soldier Serum. When AIM agents and his own wife try to steal the SO-2 Serum from him in the Everglades, he escapes and injects it before falling into the swamp. Transformed in a muck-monster dubbed the Man-Thing, the mindless creature that was once Ted Sallis becomes the guardian of the Nexus of All Realities – the gateway to the multiverse – fending off any who attempt to use it for ill by turning their fear against the. For whatever knows fear burns at the touch of the Man-Thing…
SCROLL DOWN to the bottom for the KEY COLLECTED EDITIONS for this event!
Must Reads : Story arcs marked with a ✔ are must-read Man-Thing stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
Anthology Issues: When an issue contains multiple stories, the relevant story is denoted with square brackets. For example, [2/5] refers to the second story of the five stories in that issue, so you don’t need to read the other four.
Want to keep it simple? A version of this reading order without story descriptions, page-by-page breakdowns or less non-essential guest appearances – just the primary Man-Thing stories:
- Giant-Size Man-Thing #5
- ✔ Savage Tales (1973) #1 [3/5]
- Marvel Comics Presents #165-167 [Man-Thing stories]
- ✔ Astonishing Tales (1970) #12-13
- ✔ Monsters Unleashed (1975) #5 [1/6]
- ✔ Adventure into Fear (1972) #10-17
- Avengers #118
- ✔ Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #1
- ✔ Adventure into Fear (1972) #18-19
- ✔ Man-Thing (1974) #1-8
- ✔ Giant-Size Man-Thing #1
- Master of Kung Fu #19
- ✔ Daredevil #113-114
- Giant-Size Man-Thing #2
- Man-Thing (1974) #9-14
- Giant-Size Man-Thing #3
- Man-Thing (1974) #15
- Web of Spider-Man (2009) #6 [1/2]
- GIant-Size Man-Thing #5
- Man-Thing (1974) #16
- Giant-Size Man-Thing #4
- Man-Thing (1974) #17-22
- Amazing Spider-Man: Back in Quack #1 [2/2]
- Marvel Premiere #28
- ✔ Incredible Hulk #197-198
- Iron Man Annual #3
- Rampaging Hulk (1977) #7 [2/2]
- ✔ Howard the Duck (1976) #22-23
- Howard the Duck (1976) #24
- ✔ Marvel Team-Up #68
- ✔ Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #43
- ✔ Micronauts (1979) #7
- ✔ Man-Thing (1979) #1-4
- ✔ Doctor Strange (1974) #41
- ✔ Tomb of Terror (2010) #1 [1/4]
- Man-Thing (1979) #5
- Howard the Duck Magazine (1979) #6 [1/2]
- ✔ Howard the Duck Magazine (1979) #7
- ✔ Savage She-Hulk #8
- Man-Thing (1979) #6-10
- ✔ Uncanny X-Men #144
- Man-Thing #11
- Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #77
- ✔ Defenders #97-98
- Thor #316-317
- ✔ Marvel Team-Up #122
- Marvel Fanfare #9 [1/2]
- ✔ Marvel Fanfare #36 [2/2]
- ✔ Marvel Comics Presents #1-12 [Man-Thing stories]
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| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis and First Appearances | Crossover / Event |
| Giant-Size Man-Thing #5 [1/3] (1975) Ted Sallis and Ellen Brandt see fortune teller Madam Swabada at the Cirtusville Fairground; Swabada predicts Ted will encounter the demon Erthold, two doomed runaways and the vengeful Jackson Hunter, all while he’s in the monstrous form of a Man-Thing; Ted is enraged by her far-fetched stories. | ||
| ✔ | Savage Tales #1 [3/5] (1971) Scientist Ted Sallis is betrayed by his wife, Ellen Brandt, for the super-soldier serum he’s been working on (later revealed to be Project Gladiator/Project Sulpher/Weapon IV – part of the Weapon Plus Program); Ted avoids capture by Ellen and the agents of the organisation she works for by injecting himself with it, only to be transformed into a monstrous Man-Thing; the Man-Thing kills his would-be assassins and leaves Ellen scared by his burning touch. 1st appearance: Man-Thing/Ted Sallis, Ellen Brandt, the SO-2 Serum | |
| Marvel Comics Presents #165 [1/4] (1994) Marvel Comics Presents #166 [1/4] (1994) Marvel Comics Presents #167 [1/4] (1994) A man known only as the Writer casts an illusion conving the Man-Thing that he and Ted Sallis had become to separate beings, though the illusion breaks when the Writer dies. | ||
| ✔ | Astonishing Tales #12-13 (1972) Ka-Zar & Zab encounter the Man-Thing in the Everglades; it’s revealed that Bobbi Morse was working with Ted Sallis on Project Gladiator and that Ellen Brandt was working for AIM when she turned against Ted. 1st appearance: Dr Wilma Calvin | |
| ✔ | Monsters Unleashed #5 [1/6] (1974) Ellen Brandt returns to the Everglades to face the Man-Thing without fear, revealing her face has fully healed. | |
| ✔ | Adventure into Fear #10 [1/3] (1972) Adventure into Fear #11 [1/2] (1972) Adventure into Fear #12 [1/2] (1973) Adventure into Fear #13[1/2] (1973) The Man-Thing confronts a man who tries to murder his own infant son; young witch Jennifer Kale accidentally opens a portal in the Everglades that unleashes the Nether-Spawn on Earth; Man-Thing brings justice to a racist Sheriff. 1st appearance: Andrew Kale, Jennifer Kale, Joshua Kale, Thog the Netherspawn, the Tome of Zhered-Na, the Nexus of All Realities, Sominus the Land of Eternal Shadow | |
| ✔ | Adventure into Fear #14 [1/2] (1973) Adventure into Fear #15-17 (1973) A demon offers the Man-Thing the chance to become human again; Man-Thing battles Mongu the Gladiator; Dakimh the Enchanter reveals the Man-Thing’s purpose as the protector of the Nexus of All Realities; Man-Thing and the Kales defend Earth from a demonic invasion; Man-Thing defends the swamp from industrialist FA Schist; the alien Wundarr clashes with the Man-Thing when he crash-lands on Earth. 1st appearance: Dakimh the Enchanter, Franklin Armstrong Schist, Wundarr | |
| Avengers #118 (1973) Man-Thing cameo; the Man-Thing is among those who join the fight when Dormammu unleashes his demon horde on Earth | AVENGERS/ DEFENDERS WAR | |
| ✔ | Marvel Two-in-One #1 (1974) The Thing and the Man-Thing are both transformed to the human forms by an artificial construct that believes itself to be the son of the Molecule Man; Ted Sallis and Ben Grimm allow themselves to be transformed back to their monstrous forms in order to defeat this new ‘Molecule Man’. | |
| Adventure into Fear #18 (1973) The survivors of a bus crash make their way through the Man-Thing’s swamp as the monster comes to their aid. | ||
| ✔ | Adventure into Fear #19 (1973) Man-Thing #1 (1974) Thog convinces the Congress of Realities to merge all realities when the Nexus of All Realities is damaged; Man-Thing, Korrek, Howard the Duck, Jennifer Kale form the unlikely band of heroes who oppose them. 1st appearance: Howard the Duck, Korrek the Barbarian | BATTLE FOR THE PALACE OF THE GODS |
| ✔ | Man-Thing #2-8 (1974) Unlucky DJ Richard Rory befriends the Man-Thing and helps Ruth Hart escape membership in the Skull-Crushers biker gang; FA Schist hires scientist Professor Slaughter to find a way to kill the Man-Thing; the Foolkiller tries to kill Richard Rory and the Man-Thing; the spirit of a clown who committed suicide forces those responsible for his death to watch one lst show with the Man-Thing’s help; FA Schist’s feud with the Man-Thing comes to a deadly conclusion. 1st appearance: Foolkiller/Ross Everbest, Ruth Hart, Professor Slaughter/Hargood Wickham, Richard Rory, the Fathers | |
| ✔ | Giant-Size Man-Thing #1 [1/4] (1974) Cult leader Yagzan takes control of the Glob to use as a weapon against the Man-Thing, destroying much of the self-sufficient city experiment Omegaville. 1st appearance: Yagzan, Cult of Entropy | |
| Master of Kung Fu #19 (1974) Shang-Chi washes up in the Everglades where he faces the Man-Thing and assumes him to be a threat. | ||
| ✔ | Daredevil #113-114 (1974) Daredevil investigates the disappearance of Ted Sallis in the Everglades, meeting Richard Rory; Death-Stalker and Gladiator search for information on Operation: Sulphur and attempt to kill Daredevil to get it, but the Man-Thing comes to his aid. 1st appearance: Exterminator/Phillip Sterling as Death-Stalker | |
| Giant-Size Man-Thing #2 [1/4] (1974) The Schist family capture Man-Thing, blaming him for the disappearance of FA Schist. | ||
| Man-Thing #9-14 (1974-1975) Man-Thing helps free a woman from demonic possession, opposes the Demons of Liberation gang, fends off evil spirits in pursuit of a writer and meets the cursed pirate Captain Fate. 1st appearance: Captain Jebediah Fate, Khordes, Maura Spinner | ||
| Giant-Size Man-Thing #3 [1/5] (1975) Man-Thing joins forces with Jennifer Kale, Korrek the Barbarian and Dakimh the Enchanter to defend Korrek’s realm from invasion by Mortak & Klonus. | ||
| Man-Thing #15 (1975) Man-Thing behind-the-scenes only; Ted Sallis‘ ex-girlfriend and her new love interest see visions of the Man-Thing. | ||
| Web of Spider-Man #6 [1/3] (2010) The Lizard (Curt Conners) seeks out the Man-Thing. | THE GAUNTLET | |
| Giant-Size Spider-Man #5 [1/2] (1975) Spider-Man is caught in-between the Man-Thing and the Lizard when he heads to Florida in search of Curt Conners. | THE DELUSION CONSPIRACY. | |
| Giant-Size Man-Thing #5 [1/3] (pp.3-13) (1975) The demon Erthold is summoned by an occult group; Man-Thing rescues the baby they attempt to sacrifice, preventing Erthold’s arrival. | ||
| Man-Thing #16 (1975) Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 [1/4] (1975) Man-Thing #17-18 (1975) A man dubbing himself the Mad Viking threatens the life of his own granddaughter in his fight against ‘wussy men’; Alice Rimes tries to call attention to bullying when her school gym teacher’s actions lead to the death of a student; the Man-Thing is drawn to the negative emotions from these events, causing Citrusville to go into lockdown and the creature is hunted; the Mad Viking is seen as a hero for opposing the Man-Thing; Richard Rory, Carol Selby and Man-Thing leave town. 1st appearance: Carol Selby | SCHOOL’S OUT! | |
| Man-Thing #19-22 (1975) Man-Thing and his friends arrive in Atlanta, where he saves a woman who’s trying to leave her aggressive husband; he’s opposed by the Scavenger who’s in league with Thog the Nether-Spawn; a Nightmare Box causes Man-Thing to believe he’s fighting costumed heroes and unleashes Thog’s demons in Atlanta; Man-Thing defeats Thog with help from writer Steve Gerber. 1st appearance: Scavenger/Robert Nicolle | ||
| Giant-Size Man-Thing #5 [1/3] (pp.14-34) (1975) Man-Thing tries to help two doomed runaways; Jackson Hunter seeks out the Man-Thing for revenge. | ||
| Iron Man Annual #3 (pp.1-8) (1976) Tony Stark is watched by the Man-Thing as he agrees to fund the rebuilding of Omegaville. | ||
| Amazing Spider-Man: Back in Quack #1 [2/2] (2010) A man crashes his car on purpose when his wife tells him she’s going to leave him; Man-Thing is drawn to his guilt. |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis and First Appearances | Crossover / Event |
| Marvel Premiere #28 (1976) Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, Morbius & Werewolf by Night join forces to face the Starseed – an ancient human empowered by alien forces. 1st appearance: Legion of Monsters | ||
| ✔ | Incredible Hulk #197-198 (1976) A clash between the Hulk, the Man-Thing and the Glob threatens to destroy what’s left of Omegaville when the Collector manipulates both creatures into fighting the Green Goliath; Hulk and Man-Thing team-up to bring about the Collectors ultimate defeat. | |
| Iron Man Annual #3 (pp.9-36) (1976) Tony Stark funds the rebuilding of Omegaville; the child who recently gained the Molecule Man‘s wand gives the Molecule Man the chance to reform his physical body, possess a Molecule Person and a turn a snake into a humanoid Molecule Man until he’s defeated by Iron Man and his consciousness fails to find a mind to control in the Man-Thing | ||
| Shadows & Light #2 [2/4] (pp.1-4) (1998) The Man-Thing witnesses a woman being pursued through the swamp. | ||
| Rampaging Hulk #7 [2/2] (1978) Man-Thing helps a woman regain control of her fragmented psyche. | ||
| ✔ | Howard the Duck #22-23 (1978) Howard the Duck, Jennifer Kale, Korrek, the Man-Thing & the spirit of Dakimh the Enchanter team-up once again, this time to save the multiverse from Bzzk’Joh and the Imperium Emporium. | |
| Howard the Duck #24 (1978) Man-Thing cameo; Man-Thing returns to the Everglades. | ||
| ✔ | Marvel Team-Up #68 (1978) Spider-Man takes it upon himself to save the Man-Thing when he ends up as an exhibit in Amos Jardine‘s circus; together they discover the demon D’Spayre‘s plan to corrupt Jennifer Kale & the spirit of Dakimh. 1st appearances: D’Spayre, Amos Jardine | |
| ✔ | Marvel Two-in-One #43 (1978) Victorius, the newly-resurrected Yagzan – now called Jude the Entropic Man – and the Cult of Entropy attempt to start a new world order, but are opposed by Captain America, the Thing and the Man-Thing. | |
| ✔ | Micronauts #7 (1979) The Micronauts narrowly avoid being killed by the curious Man-Thing when the diminutive warriors find themselves in the Everglades. | |
| Shadows & Light #2[2/4] (pp.5-6) (1998) Man-Thing‘s appearance terrifies a young couple lost in the Everglades. | ||
| ✔ | Man-Thing #1(1979) Dr Karl Oheimer is kidnapped by agents who want to use his cerebral generation therapy to restore Ted Sallis’ mind in the Man-Thing’s body and learn the secret of his super-soldier serum; Sallis’ mind is only briefly restored when a firefight interrupts the process. | |
| ✔ | Man-Thing #2-4 (1980) Doctor Strange #41 (1980) Man-Thing is teleported to the Himalayas by scientists testing a teleportation ray; Man-Thing saves Elaine Simpson from the salacious Roger Grafton, stumbles across a society of Yetis and is used by Baron Mordo as a pawn to kill Doctor Strange and open the Chaos Gates; Ted Sallis’ consciousness gains control of the Man-Thing’s body. 1st appearance: Sheriff John Daltry | DEATH-KNELL |
| ✔ | Tomb of Terror #1 [1/4] (2010) Ted Sallis’ consciousness remains in check long enough for him to save a man from racist hunters in the Everglades; Sallis’ consciousness fades once more. | |
| Man-Thing #5 (1980) Man-Thing rescues Barbie Bannister when her family’s boat is boarded by pirates. | ||
| Howard the Duck Magazine #6 [1/2] (1980) Man-Thing cameo; Howard the Duck and Beverly Switzler return from Earth-791021 via the Nexus of All Realities in land in front of the Man-Thing. | ||
| ✔ | Howard the Duck Magazine #7 (1980) Man-Thing, Howard the Duck and Beverly Switzler venture into Swamp City where they face Kong Lomorate. | |
| ✔ | Savage She-Hulk #8 (1980) Professor Slaughter reveals the fate of FA Schist to Richard Rory; Rory turns to the Man-Thing to help him track down the missing She-Hulk whos being held prisoner by the Fathers. | |
| Man-Thing #6-10 (1980-1981) Man-Thing is drawn to the rage of the Georgia College Fraternity; he clashes with Captain Fate, losing John Daltry to the Serpent’s Crown; Man-Thing rescues an orphaned baby; Death‘s agent John Kowalski meets the Man-Thing and offers Barbie Bannister the means to save John Daltry. | ||
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #144 (1981) D’Spayre manipulates Jock Forrester into taking his own life; Cyclops helps Lee Forrester investigate her father’s death; the Man-Thing is drawn into the fight with D’Spayre but is burned by his own fear of the demon. | |
| Man-Thing #11 (1981) Doctor Strange is murdered by John Daltry; John Kowalski transforms Barbie Bannister into an agent of Death; Daltry is revealed to have become a pawn of Thog; Man-Thing is briefly turned back into Ted Sallis, with writer Chris Claremont becoming a Man-Thing and defeating Thog; Sallis is transformed back into Man-Thing by the restored Doctor Strange who also returns Claremont to human form. | ||
| Marvel Two-in-One #77 (1981) The Thing tests out a new super-jet for Nick Fury, but an engine fails and it crashes into the Everglades; feat induced by the Thing’s vivid dream of his experiences in World War II attract the attention of the Man-Thing. | ||
| ✔ | Defenders #97-98 (1981) The Six-Fingered Hand possess the Man-Thing who transform him into their own monstrous weapon; Man-Thing is freed by Doctor Strange who knows to tap into the consciousness of Ted Sallis. 1st appearance: Luann Bloom/Time-Buoy Number 6-C | |
| Thor #316-317 (1982) Man-Thing observes Iron Man & Thor as they clash with the Bi-Beast and Man-Beast; Man-Thing drags the Man-Beast’s body into the swamp, then points Thor in his direction so he can take the Man-Beast to his destiny. | ||
| ✔ | Marvel Team-Up #122 (1982) Magic user Ian Fate brings the Man-Thing to the Daily Bugle offices; Spider-Man gets the Man-Thing out of the building and he’s teleported back to the swamp by Fate. | |
| Marvel Fanfare #9 [1/2] (1983) The Bronx Bombers are signed by Nicholas Eblis, not realising he’s an agent of Satan; the band become Brimstone and begin sacrificing groupies until they run into the Man-Thing. | ||
| ✔ | Marvel Fanfare #36 [2/2] (1988) The Man-Thing rescues a young girl from a group of kidnappers. |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis and First Appearances | Crossover / Event |
| ✔ | Marvel Comics Presents #1[2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #2 [2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #3 [2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #4 [2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #5 [2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #6 [2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #7 [2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #8 [2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #9 [2/4] (1988) Marvel Comics Presents #10 [2/4] (1989) Marvel Comics Presents #11 [2/4] (1989) Marvel Comics Presents #12 [2/4] (1989) Cult leader Demon (Marea) helps secret US military faction Project: Glamor track down the Ted Sallis’ formula to create agents capable of killing a notable foreign leader; some members of Project: Glamor are subjected to a serum that gives them monstrous forms; Demon sides with the Man-Thing against the soldiers. | |
| Web of Spider-Man Annual #4 [1/3] (1988) The High Evolutionary‘s Eliminators track down the Nexus of All Realities and rip a hole in reality, destroying the Man-Thing; when the Nexus is repaired, Man-Thing is restored and attacks the Eliminators. 1st appearance: Poison/Cecilia Cardinal | THE EVOLUTIONARY WAR | |
| ✔ | Marvel Comics Presents #29 [4/4] (1989) Quasar‘s search for the impending and unknown threat to the universe leads him to the Everglades where he and Jennifer Kale assist a ‘pregnant’ Man-Thing; the creature gives ‘birth to Quagmire who has made the jump from Earth-712 after escaping the Squadron Supreme. | |
| Shadows & Light #2 [2/4] (pp.7-12) (1998) Man-Thing rescues the daughter of a woman he saved years earlier. |
The Man-Thing‘s reading order continues:
- 1991-Present: The Infernal
Notable versions of the Man-Thing from around the multiverse:
| Universe | Title, Issue Number & Synopsis | Event / Crossover |
| Earth-8130 | What If? #26 [2/3] (1981) Dr Karl Oheimer captures the Man-Thing and restores Ted Sallis’ keen scientific mind, though the results are disastrous. | |
| Earth-12919 | Infernal Man-Thing #1-3 (2012) A screen-writer’s thoughts start driving the Man-Thing mad (the lost Steve Gerber Man-Thing story). |
| Collected Edition Title | Includes… |
| Man-Thing – The Complete Collection vol.1 | Adventure into Fear #10-19 Astonishing Tales #12-13 Man-Thing (1974) #1-8 Marvel Two-in-One #1 Monsters Unleashed #5 Savage Tales #1 |
| Man-Thing – The Complete Collection vol.2 | Daredevil #113-114 Giant-Size Man-Thing #1-5 Man-Thing (1974) #9-18 |
| Man-Thing – The Complete Collection vol.3 | Howard the Duck #22-23 Infernal Man-Thing #1 Iron Man Annual #3 Man-Thing (1974) #19-22 Marvel Comics Presents #1-12 Rampaging Hulk #7 Web of Spider-Man Annual #4 |
| Collected Edition Title | Includes… |
| Man-Thing Omnibus | Adventure into Fear #10-19 Astonishing Tales #12-13 Doctor Strange #41 Giant-Size Man-Thing #1-5 Incredible Hulk #197-198 Man-Thing (1974) #1-22 Man-Thing (1979) #1-11 Marvel Team-Up #68 Marvel Two-in-One #43 Monsters Unleashed #5, 8-9 Rampaging Hulk #7 Savage Tales #1 |
Reading Order ©OmniverseComicsGuide 2023
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