Man-Thing Project In Development At Marvel, Our Scoop Confirmed?
A Giant Freakin Robot exclusive from our trusted source has been confirmed and it looks like a Man-Thing special is in the works from Marvel.
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When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I think at this point we have a certain vision of the characters and stories. They’ve developed something of a brand around the Avengers and now a new set of folks introduced into the mix. But the comic book house’s catalog runs deep and you know they are mining every single property for a potential movie or series. And Giant Freakin Robot had it from a trusted source that a Man-Thing project was in the works for the studio. ScreenGeek is confirming that exclusive and has some more details on what this project might look like.
Originally, we have the scoop that the Man-Thing was getting a solo project from Marvel though it wasn’t totally clear if that was going to be a movie or a series, in theaters or on Disney+ (or somewhere else). Now, according to ScreenGeek, it looks like the plan is to bring on a Halloween special to the streamer with the plan to lean much more into the horror vibe around the character and the story. It’s an interesting avenue for Disney+ to go considering the streamer has been kid-friendly since the jump, but there’s been a marked shift over the last year to begin adding more mature content, geared towards adults, in their offerings. A prime example is the recent addition of the previous Marvel catalog from Netflix.
It looks like the Halloween special for Man-Thing will continue on that arc, and that’s good news for this character whose story definitely trends darker and scarier than some others in the Marvel universe. The character was first introduced in 1971 in Savage Tales #1 and then eventually got his own solo title a couple of years later. Like many comic book origin stories, Man-Thing started off as your standard human, a scientist Dr. Ted Sallis who was experimenting with super serums similar to those used on Steve Rogers’ Captain America. But, of course, things go wrong and he’s turned into a hideous, moss-covered swamp creature.
One thing different about Man-Thing that sets him apart from many other Marvel Characters (besides just the demonic swampy veneer) is that his stories are mostly confined to the Florida Everglades. This means that the times he’s come into contact with other Marvel characters are often on his own turf. He doesn’t venture out of the swamp really, so this is more of a bottle story than other projects. That’s helpful in creating the proposed special because it can act (if they want) as a one-off.
Man-Thing has a variety of superhuman powers that he pulls from the swamp including secreting a chemical acid he secretes when confronted by danger. It has the ability to burn those he comes into contact with when need be. And because he’s mostly made up of swampy vegetation and growth, he’s basically indestructible in a conventional sense. But unlike other characters, he does not have an alter ego. There is no Dr. Sallis coming back here. He’s confined to this state.
We are sure to get more word soon on this Man-Thing special coming from Marvel. It will almost definitely be a different kind of project for the studio and considering it’s coming out at Halloween, will likely dial up a scarier vibe than we’ve seen from the studio.
