Before DC's Swamp Thing there was Marvel's Man-Thing and he may enter the MCU through 'Adventure into Fear'
Audiences will be introduced to the terrifying side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe when ‘Ghost Rider’ and ‘Helstrom’ start airing on Hulu, kicking off Marvel’s brand new "Adventure into Fear." The shows will reportedly be linked and Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb has revealed more characters and shows may be on the way.
“It’s terror because when you say horror, it means so many different things,” he explained. “There’s everything from 'Saw,' which is the last thing that we want to do, gore-fest kind of thing to there’s a monster running around. What we love is the notion of how we can present a Marvel hero who was truly feared and truly believed that they were a monster, but that, as the stories go on, they realize, oh, I’m the hero of the story, I’m not the villain of the story. That’s not something we’ve ever done before. So we started with Ghost Rider, we went out and managed to get Gabriel Luna to come back and reproduce the role he played on S.H.I.E.L.D. Then we’re going to do Helstrom, and then there’s a couple more that we haven’t yet revealed to the world.”
While there are more than a few characters who fit the sort of narrative Loeb has laid out, one, in particular, seems like the perfect man-monster to bring into the MCU -- the Man-Thing was introduced in 'Savage Tales #1' in May 1971. The character’s origin story is eerily similar to DC’s Swamp Thing.
They’re both scientists who end up dying and being transformed by an elemental force to become a horrifying swamp monster who serves as a guardian spirit. Man-Thing actually made it into publication a year and a half before Swamp Thing but legal action was never pursued.
The characters have since evolved very differently, though the similarity in their names stuck through the years. The Swamp Thing was most recently seen in a now-canceled series on DC Universe where the monster's human side Alec Holland is portrayed by Andy Bean and Swamp Thing himself is performed by Derek Mears in a physical costume while also voicing him.
In 2005, Brett Leonard directed a film adaptation of the Marvel character titled 'Man-Thing', starring Mark "Conan" Stevens as the titular monster/hero. The character has since appeared in various shows and movies in cameos and supporting roles.
While a full ‘Man-Thing’ series cannot be completely ruled out in the future of "Adventure into Fear," the character is interesting enough to be a recurring character on one of the shows at the very least. The Man-Thing is a semi-sentient being composed of vegetable matter with powerful magical and chemical abilities who serves as a guardian to the Nexus of Realities, a mystical point from which every point in the Multiverse can be accessed.
Besides being able to sense people’s emotions, Man-Thing’s touch can burn those who feel fear. This monstrous being still retains some resemblance of intelligence, though the accident that transformed Dr. Theodore “Teddy” Sallis into the Man-Thing did, for all intents and purposes, end his life.
While Man-Thing has had a significant number of adventures with Howard the Duck, who will be appearing in his own upcoming adult animated series (also called ‘Howard the Duck’) on Hulu, he has also had run-ins with both Ghost Rider and Daimon Hellstrom.
Gabriel Luna will be reprising his MCU role as the Robbie Reyes version of the Spirit of Vengeance in Hulu’s ‘Ghost Rider’. Hellstrom also has his own show, Hulu’s ‘Helstrom’, coming to screens soon but the actor who will play the titular Son of Satan is yet to be revealed.
‘Ghost Rider’ and ‘Helstrom’ will be available for streaming on Hulu starting in 2020.