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Curse of the Man-Thing #1-3
Curse Of The Man-Thing
Celebrating fifty years of strange and thought-provoking storytelling! The macabre Man-Thing rises from his swamp and returns to center stage! Overnight, vegetative pillars arise across the world. Atop them sit ominous bulbs, growing ever more repulsive. As the sun beats down, the bulbs swell, threatening to burst — and all who come into contact with them will burn! The signature curse of the Man-Thing has gone global! NEW VILLAIN HARROWER is trying to scorch humanity from the face of the planet — and when she discovers the Nexus of All Realities, her twisted mission becomes all the more apocalyptic!
Unless Earth’s greatest heroes can somehow rejuvenate the Man-Thing and help him reclaim his power, the whole world will be made to know fear — and to burn at its touch!
COLLECTING: Avengers: Curse Of The Man-Thing (2021) 1, Spider-Man: Curse Of The Man-Thing (2021) 1, X-Men: Curse Of The Man-Thing (2021) 1
Unless Earth’s greatest heroes can somehow rejuvenate the Man-Thing and help him reclaim his power, the whole world will be made to know fear — and to burn at its touch!
COLLECTING: Avengers: Curse Of The Man-Thing (2021) 1, Spider-Man: Curse Of The Man-Thing (2021) 1, X-Men: Curse Of The Man-Thing (2021) 1
112 pages, Paperback
Published August 3, 2021
11 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 12, 2021
This fiftieth anniversary Man-Thing miniseries started off really well. I liked the initial set-up and liked how they took their time bringing the Avengers into the story. Bringing Spider-Man (and his amazing friends) into the second issue and then the X-Men into the third just felt contrived, though, and really drove home how slapping the guest-stars' names on the covers really was just a marketing ploy.
I'm not overly keen on the retcons they've made to the Man-Thing's origin, either, mainly because there was nothing wrong with it in the first place. Still, the story was a fun, little romp and I'd rather have less-than-ideal Man-Thing than no Man-Thing at all. (I'd be lost without my Man-Thing.)
Each of the three issues was illustrated by a different artist. I really liked the art in the first issue, didn't go a bundle on the art in issue two and quite liked the art in the final issue. The change of artists was jarring, though, so I have to knock off half a star for the inconsistency alone.
My next book: The Fort
I'm not overly keen on the retcons they've made to the Man-Thing's origin, either, mainly because there was nothing wrong with it in the first place. Still, the story was a fun, little romp and I'd rather have less-than-ideal Man-Thing than no Man-Thing at all. (I'd be lost without my Man-Thing.)
Each of the three issues was illustrated by a different artist. I really liked the art in the first issue, didn't go a bundle on the art in issue two and quite liked the art in the final issue. The change of artists was jarring, though, so I have to knock off half a star for the inconsistency alone.
My next book: The Fort
May 30, 2022
Not so much a Man-Thing story but a story about someone who steals Man-Thing's powers to unleash Hell on Earth, releasing spores in cities across the globe that set people on fire when they inhale them and feel fear. It's fine, but I think Marvel could have done better for Man-Thing's 50th anniversary.
July 30, 2021
Every now and then Marvel remembers that Man-Thing is a thing, and we get stories like this that attempt to make him relevant as something other than just a horror movie monster. It's a shame that they won't let him be Marvel's Swamp Thing, because a) he's one of my favourite DC characters and b) there's so much story potential there.
Instead, we get Man-Thing as the victim, when a spin-off from Jonathan Hickman's X-Men goes rogue and starts using his powers of fear and ferns to take over the world. Enter the X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Avengers, who all try their best to put an end to it. There's a delve into Man-Thing's mind that attempts to rewrite his origin story that I wasn't a huge fan of, but the action's pretty blockbustery, and the art's surprisingly cohesive across the three issues despite a different artist on each one.
Steve Orlando doesn't do a bad job with this Man-Thing story, but it doesn't really feel like a Man-Thing story so much as a story that the Man-Thing is in. It could be worse. It could be better. I feel like Man-Thing deserves better, but I'm probably in the minority there.
Instead, we get Man-Thing as the victim, when a spin-off from Jonathan Hickman's X-Men goes rogue and starts using his powers of fear and ferns to take over the world. Enter the X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Avengers, who all try their best to put an end to it. There's a delve into Man-Thing's mind that attempts to rewrite his origin story that I wasn't a huge fan of, but the action's pretty blockbustery, and the art's surprisingly cohesive across the three issues despite a different artist on each one.
Steve Orlando doesn't do a bad job with this Man-Thing story, but it doesn't really feel like a Man-Thing story so much as a story that the Man-Thing is in. It could be worse. It could be better. I feel like Man-Thing deserves better, but I'm probably in the minority there.
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August 30, 2021Poison Ivy 2.0 tries to burn humanity to the ground using Man-Thing’s husk while Ted Sallis sits in Swamp Limbo as a series of guest stars get sucked into the green to listen to him whine about what a total loser he is.
May 26, 2023
I read both a Swamp Thing and a Man-Thing volume during the merry month of May this year. Oh, happy life!
Storywise this was fine, and the art was better than expected. Worth picking up!
Storywise this was fine, and the art was better than expected. Worth picking up!
May 11, 2021
Honestly pretty cool. I like the added lore and powers to Man-thing. And they gave him something to differentiate him further from Swamp-thing. A big complaint though is that the art is pretty inconsistent.
August 28, 2021
Something new with Man-Thing? Thanks, I hate it.
Marvel never knew what to do with Man-Thing after the Conway years. Here, Orlando basically treats him like another Hulk for a shameless crossover event. "Oh, did we at one point mention Ted Sallis worked with Curt Conners? We can leverage that to force people to buy a Spiderman title!"
A bunch of different characters that are supposed to represent the "history" of Man-Thing go into his mind to try and talk Ted Sallis into being a hero or some such nonsense. Like I said, very much a Hulk thing. Also Majik because why not, we can use that as an excuse to push some more X-Men issues.
Nothing happens either. The bad guy does a thing, heroes fight impatiently against it while doing nothing to seek put and stop said bad guy, then it ends.
Thet try to do something with the whole fear angle but man is it lazy. It's just, oh people are scared of the monsters, and that's it. Seriously? In the times that we currently live in you could have had something seriously relatable, making the story that much more impactful. But no. You went the lazy route because let's face it...no one at Marvel gives a damn about Man-Thing.
Well, I do and he deserves better.
Marvel never knew what to do with Man-Thing after the Conway years. Here, Orlando basically treats him like another Hulk for a shameless crossover event. "Oh, did we at one point mention Ted Sallis worked with Curt Conners? We can leverage that to force people to buy a Spiderman title!"
A bunch of different characters that are supposed to represent the "history" of Man-Thing go into his mind to try and talk Ted Sallis into being a hero or some such nonsense. Like I said, very much a Hulk thing. Also Majik because why not, we can use that as an excuse to push some more X-Men issues.
Nothing happens either. The bad guy does a thing, heroes fight impatiently against it while doing nothing to seek put and stop said bad guy, then it ends.
Thet try to do something with the whole fear angle but man is it lazy. It's just, oh people are scared of the monsters, and that's it. Seriously? In the times that we currently live in you could have had something seriously relatable, making the story that much more impactful. But no. You went the lazy route because let's face it...no one at Marvel gives a damn about Man-Thing.
Well, I do and he deserves better.
January 26, 2022
I don’t mind the adjustments to Man-Thing’s origin story if it means we get new Man-Thing stories, honestly. This feels a little different than when he shows up with his son in Strange Academy but that’s fine, the more modern Man-Things the merrier.
I also didn’t mind so many other players showing up, except maybe the X-Men thrown in at the end. Magik and Storm make sense, but why not have them show up a little sooner, especially Storm to help Thor block out the sun, something the Avengers figure out in like the second issue. Does T’Challa not have her number, anymore?
Overall, a fun read with very little consequence for the universe at large.
I also didn’t mind so many other players showing up, except maybe the X-Men thrown in at the end. Magik and Storm make sense, but why not have them show up a little sooner, especially Storm to help Thor block out the sun, something the Avengers figure out in like the second issue. Does T’Challa not have her number, anymore?
Overall, a fun read with very little consequence for the universe at large.
August 27, 2022
Fun attempt to jump start new interest in the Man-Thing and tweak his status quo.
some nice attempts to tie the Man-thing to other bits of marvel history and the reveal of what demon gets summoned by the mystic ritual is clever.
Not sure if there's any follow up planned , but this was a fun mini-event.
some nice attempts to tie the Man-thing to other bits of marvel history and the reveal of what demon gets summoned by the mystic ritual is clever.
Not sure if there's any follow up planned , but this was a fun mini-event.
April 28, 2024
Another day, another tortured comic book scientist to fall in love with.
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September 27, 2021Much like Shang-Chi, Man-Thing is a character whose original seventies run now feels very much of its time – but also one that nobody has quite been able to make work since. I've really enjoyed some of Steve Orlando's work, though, so hoped this might serve as a reworking which made the character fit for a new era. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time a promising young writer did something like that with a half-forgotten swamp beast character. Sadly, if unsurprisingly, Curse Of The Man-Thing is no Anatomy Lesson. The ostensible lead plot is that the firebrand great-niece of one of the mad science old ladies from Hickman's X-Men gets magic tattoos (the world 'spellification' gets used entirely too much regarding this), sort-of-kills Man-Thing with a single blow, and steals his body in order to weaponise it and wipe out humanity. Superhero comics, especially ones involving lots of characters with different powers, are always at risk of feeling like just one damn thing after another, and this strand of the story falls right in. Meanwhile, it turns out that the consciousness of Ted Sallis, the man who became Man-Thing, is still alive within the shambling creature, and various twists on the origin are revealed, none of which add anything, and half of which immediately turn out to be lies, so that was particularly pointless. It can't even glide by on character stuff, because half the time the characters are saying things which make no sense. "Magic is unreliable. Science is predictable. We like that" is a weird thing for a Marvel Universe mad scientist to say, but then Spider-Man responds to his name with "The one, friendly neighborhood and only" which would be a weird thing for anyone to say. I mean...those words just don't go in that order, do they? Most baffling of all, Steve Orlando, a writer whose past work has been notable for its gay themes, here writes a character called Man-Thing, who has appeared in comics called Giant-Sized Man-Thing, and makes nothing of that whatsoever! Things pick up very slightly once Magik takes the lead, but then don't they always. Really, the best one can say is that some of the covers were gorgeous.
February 28, 2023
Being that Man Thing got a big push in the Werewolf by Night movie, I expected this to be a lot better.
The basic premise is someone has skinned Man Thing and the rest of his husk is absorbing people to have a chat, to try and figure out a solution to beat the baddie. He talks to Captain America, Spider-Man and Curt Connor, out of all of them Spider-Man makes the most impact. Marvel actually makes he seem like an adult with a slew of history, pretty rare for them.
We don't get any character development in this which is odd because of all the talking, Man Thing is mostly Ted in this so you don't get to see the creature communicate. Then towards the end he just has enough and beats the villain with ease, so there isn't even substance in the fighting. If you want to start reading the character because of Werewolf by Night, maybe read something else, Savage Tales #1 has a really good Man Thing story but if anyone's got any suggestions for me, please let me know!
The basic premise is someone has skinned Man Thing and the rest of his husk is absorbing people to have a chat, to try and figure out a solution to beat the baddie. He talks to Captain America, Spider-Man and Curt Connor, out of all of them Spider-Man makes the most impact. Marvel actually makes he seem like an adult with a slew of history, pretty rare for them.
We don't get any character development in this which is odd because of all the talking, Man Thing is mostly Ted in this so you don't get to see the creature communicate. Then towards the end he just has enough and beats the villain with ease, so there isn't even substance in the fighting. If you want to start reading the character because of Werewolf by Night, maybe read something else, Savage Tales #1 has a really good Man Thing story but if anyone's got any suggestions for me, please let me know!
October 19, 2022
I appreciate that there was an attempt to bring Man-Thing back as a character, but this didn't quite hit the mark. The problem is really that the story isn't really about Man-Thing so much as it's about somebody else stealing his powers, with a bunch of unnecessary guest stars to boot. I adore Illyana, but she and the mutant misfits she brings along feel really out of place in what should be a horror story at heart.
May 20, 2021
46/100
August 20, 2021
I am a Man-Thing novice, but that didn't hinder in this self-contained crossover. This could have been twice as long, but didn't need to be.
April 20, 2022
A great concept ruined by a terminal case of over-egging the pudding. Did I say over-egging? Because what I meant to say was, “carpet-bombing the plot with so many characters that it’s barely recognisable under the wreckage of the Marvel brand’s own strangulated continuity.”
The phrase that kept popping irresistibly to mind while I was reading this was, “who are you people and what are you doing in my bedroom?”
Did that cameo from Captain Wankspanner or Mistress Kittywire or any of the other of the multitude of interminable costumed bores who dog the plot really add anything to this book?
Nope. Absolutely not.
In fact, all it did was remind me why I used to feel like I’d been gypped whenever I read a Marvel comic from the late seventies onwards - because frankly who had the time, inclination or money to read fifteen other bloody titles just in order to work out who any of the supporting characters were? Certainly not this kid.
If they’d drastically pared down the cast, cut out the extraneous costumed filler, and just focused on a couple of characters from Manny’s past (preferably from the Steve Gerber years) such as Jennifer Kale, Rick Rory, Bereet etc. returning to the swamp to discover why homicidal iterations of Manny’s abilities had suddenly begun running amok in the outside world, this could have been a classic. Instead we got a convoluted mess. Boo.
The phrase that kept popping irresistibly to mind while I was reading this was, “who are you people and what are you doing in my bedroom?”
Did that cameo from Captain Wankspanner or Mistress Kittywire or any of the other of the multitude of interminable costumed bores who dog the plot really add anything to this book?
Nope. Absolutely not.
In fact, all it did was remind me why I used to feel like I’d been gypped whenever I read a Marvel comic from the late seventies onwards - because frankly who had the time, inclination or money to read fifteen other bloody titles just in order to work out who any of the supporting characters were? Certainly not this kid.
If they’d drastically pared down the cast, cut out the extraneous costumed filler, and just focused on a couple of characters from Manny’s past (preferably from the Steve Gerber years) such as Jennifer Kale, Rick Rory, Bereet etc. returning to the swamp to discover why homicidal iterations of Manny’s abilities had suddenly begun running amok in the outside world, this could have been a classic. Instead we got a convoluted mess. Boo.
February 10, 2024
2.5 stars
This is billed as a Man-Thing story, so I expected some horror vibes from it. Instead, there's a lot of Avengers, Spider-man and some X-men showing up to defeat a villain who wants to burn the world. There are some nice parts, especially about how different characters deal with their fear, but overall it fell rather bland -something I'd read in an Avengers story perhaps, and very little actual Man-Thing (although there is a lot of Ted Sallis)
The art varies which each of the 3 one-shots within, and it's ok without feeling too special. Overall, this is not a badly written book or anything but I felt it's very skippable and I probably won't remember much about it in a few weeks.
This is billed as a Man-Thing story, so I expected some horror vibes from it. Instead, there's a lot of Avengers, Spider-man and some X-men showing up to defeat a villain who wants to burn the world. There are some nice parts, especially about how different characters deal with their fear, but overall it fell rather bland -something I'd read in an Avengers story perhaps, and very little actual Man-Thing (although there is a lot of Ted Sallis)
The art varies which each of the 3 one-shots within, and it's ok without feeling too special. Overall, this is not a badly written book or anything but I felt it's very skippable and I probably won't remember much about it in a few weeks.
January 5, 2025
So, this was better than I expected. If it wasn't for the lackluster final chapter, it would have been rated even higher. Man-Thing has always been an afterthought character as most writers think they have big ideas for but they rarely pan out. Here, Steve Orlando creates a decent scenario that brings the Avengers, Spider-Man, and X-Men into the mix. The X-Men's chapter is by far the most random and unsatisfying. I enjoyed Orlando tying into Marvel history while making an interesting new antagonist. The had three different artists and they all did a good job. Overall, a surprising entertaining read.
September 7, 2021
This was okay, but nothing terribly special. I hope Magik gets to keep her Monster Squad (hello again, Marrow and Shark Girl!) and I got a bit of Hordeculture (who I hadn’t seen since their introduction in Hickman’s third X-Men issue). The Man-Thing has never been a particularly interesting character to me, but I respect their position in Marvel lore, and these newly revealed connections coupled with reminders of old connections make them even more intertwined.
November 4, 2021
A fun little story that basically exists to have Man-Thing interact with the rest of the Marvel Universe and introduce the character to new readers. I've not read many Man-Thing stories but I am a sucker for a swamp monster. There's equal space given to character exploring conversations and fighting flaming hordes.
April 27, 2023
the cover is amazing and there should be more man thing comics
With that being said, this comic was pretty boring. Lots of characters who show up and get their cheap pop and leave while the titular character feels like a secondary concern. I’m not sure what makes man thing tick- but for a comic focused on horror and fear this felt so schlocky.
With that being said, this comic was pretty boring. Lots of characters who show up and get their cheap pop and leave while the titular character feels like a secondary concern. I’m not sure what makes man thing tick- but for a comic focused on horror and fear this felt so schlocky.
October 13, 2022
Honestly some really great artwork at play here, but I just couldn’t get in to the story at all, and I found myself bored through all of it. I love the character though! Bits of read of him in other stories and his fun adaptation in Werewolf by Night have always sold me on him!
January 6, 2023
A really fun 50th anniversary celebration of one of the more obscure characters who inhabit the marvel universe. The art is very pretty and my copy also featured Strange Tales #1 and Man Thing #12, two frankly excellent reads from the 70’s which really enhanced the whole thing.
July 29, 2023
With a somewhat lackluster knockoff Poison Ivy as a principal antagonist, Curse of the Man-Thing has plenty of fun moments that retcons early Man-Thing stories but it never manages to say anything move thematically or deliver on a story that transcends the entertainment it provides.
June 3, 2021
A nice little tale for the character, not quite as epic for a 50th anniversary as anything Swamp Thing has gone through--but I'll take it.
November 5, 2021
Wish it had been more focused on the actual Man-Thing itself rather than the big superhero cross-over angle
January 14, 2022
Maybe my favorite Man-Thing story I’ve ever read.
A big crossover event where I appreciated the X-men past plots being built on in a logical way with Those lovely golden girls poison Ivy’s.
A big crossover event where I appreciated the X-men past plots being built on in a logical way with Those lovely golden girls poison Ivy’s.
August 5, 2022
2.5
Like 100 pages of people convincing someone to stop by being pathetic.
Like 100 pages of people convincing someone to stop by being pathetic.
February 3, 2023
More fun than I expected.
March 20, 2023
Read as Marvel Select Curse of the Man-Thing reprinting Avengers Curse of the Man-Thing, The Amazing Spider-Man Curse of the Man-Thin, X-Men Curse of the Man-Thing, Savage Tales #1 & Man-Thing #12.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews