Man-Thing Supernatural
Real Name: Theodore "Ted" Sallis.
Occupation: Guardian of the Nexus of All Realities; former biochemist.
Identity: The Man-Thing's existence is public knowledge, although widely disbelieved outside Florida. Very few are aware it was once Ted Sallis.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no known criminal record, missing and presumed deceased (Ted Sallis); wild animal given special protected status in the State of Florida (Man-Thing).
Other Aliases: "Manny"
Place of Birth: Omaha, Nebraska (Ted Sallis).
Place of Death/Transformation: The swamp outside Citrusville, Florida.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: None.
Group Affiliation: None.
Base of Operations: Florida Everglades surrounding the Nexus of All Realities, outside Citrusville, Florida.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: DOCTOR STRANGE: SORCERER SUPREME ANNUAL #2.
History: Very few people living in and around the small town of Citrusville, Florida, have not heard of the swamp creature they call the Man-Thing. Most have seen photographs and video footage of it in the local Man-Thing Museum. Many residents claim to have seen it in the swamp, sometimes standing passively at the side of the road, sometimes seeing it move through the marshland. There are even those that claim to have seen it walking through town. Everyone knows someone who has a tale of encountering it, and some of these tales seem outlandish on the surface, if it wasn't for the fact that weird things happen in the swamps outside Citrusville that are difficult to otherwise explain. All residents know one thing, though: if one encounters the Man-Thing, do not be afraid, for those that feel fear burn at the Man-Thing's touch! As a result, and because of their familiarity with the swamp monster, most treat it with a respectful wariness; some have even said they find the creature comforting.
Yet even though the Man-Thing is part of the local color of Citrusville, no one really knows how it came to be. The museum has a listing of the top five theories: that it was formed by the swamp, that it was created by toxic dumping, that it was created in a lab and broke free, that it's an alien, and that it has always been there.
All of them are wrong, yet some of them have a grain of truth.
It was the Summer of Love, the summer of '69, and a brilliant young biochemistry grad student named Ted Sallis had two great loves: his graduate project for his Master's degree, recreating the lost super-soldier serum that three decades before had created Captain America, and his girlfriend Ellen Brandt. To get away from distractions, Ted and Ellen used their savings to buy a plot of land and a shack in the swamp outside Citrusville so that Ted could work in isolation. Then one day at the end of August, Ted exclaimed with excitement that he had cracked the secret as three of his test rats had successfully been mutated with a serum that replicated nearly all of the original super-soldier serum's effects. Ted only had one more dose, which he planned to exhibit with the rats to earn his Master's degree. Furthermore, through Ellen he had been in contact with officials from the US Army's Bio-Force Enhancement program, who were planning on human testing for the serum.
Unknown to Sallis, however, Ellen worked for the subversive organization known as AIM; all of her contact she claimed was with the Army was really with one of AIM's branch offices. The day after Ted told her the good news, AIM's mercenaries moved in on the shack under her direction, intending to claim the serum for themselves. Brandt confronted Sallis and claimed she never loved him, that she was only using him to further AIM's goals. Taking the only sample he had of the serum, Sallis fled the shack, only to be gunned down by Brandt. Hoping to save his own life, he injected himself with the serum. (During the shootout, two of the rats were killed and the third fled into the swamp.)
Whether the serum actually did save Sallis's life is a matter of debate. Sallis lost consciousness, satisfied that at least AIM would not pervert his work, even if his life was to end then and there. However, the swamp outside Citrusville, Florida, is no ordinary section of the Everglades. Not far from Sallis's shack, the walls between worlds are extremely thin to the point of overlapping, creating a multiversal nexus. This nexus is responsible for much of the weirdness attributed to the swamp by the Citrusville residents. Where Sallis's body had fallen, the muck and vegetation of the swamp mingled with the super-soldier serum and the energies of the multidimensional nexus to give life to something completely different and unique, a creature driven by the emotions of others and faded memories, and lacking all but the most rudimentary animal intelligence.
Ellen Brandt was the first to discover the Man-Thing as she and the AIM soldiers scoured the swamps for any sign of Ted Sallis or the escaped rat. Somehow, she recognized the Man-Thing as Sallis; frightened of the creature, she tried to destroy it, only to be disfigured by its burning touch. Yet unlike other victims of the Man-Thing's touch, Brandt was left alive, suffering second and third degree burns covering the right side of her face. Why she survived may never be known.
Months later, as rumors grew about the swamp monster, Citrusville was visited by famed monster hunters Ulysses Bloodstone and Dr. Anthony Druid, who were investigating the rumors. While the full details of the investigation have never come to light, Bloodstone and Druid first fought and then somehow communicated with the monster. Bloodstone and Druid apparently discovered Sallis's shack and pieced together what happened from Sallis's and Brandt's journals, then fought beside the Man-Thing against an apparent demonic invasion from the Nexus. They left the town with a warning, stating the creature was no threat unless provoked, and that it was in many ways a blessing, a protector for the swamp and the town.
(Bloodstone's encounter with the Man-Thing was later turned into a movie by Mallet Studios, a studio that made Hammer Studios (the drive-in B-movie studio famed for its Dracula films starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing) look like a modern big budget summer blockbuster studio. Ulysses Bloodstone and the Swamp Monster of the Everglades – along with most of the other Mallet Studios' Bloodstone films – would later go on to be featured on Mystery Science Threater 3000.)
Recently, the Man-Thing encountered a demon called Thog the Netherspawn who was attempting to invade Earth through the nexus. At the same time, Thog's incursion was detected by both Doctor Strange, the current Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, and the ancient antediluvian Atlantean sorcerer Dakimh, who maintains a home near the nexus. Strange, Dakimh, the Man-Thing, and Dakimh's apprentice Jennifer Kale, who seemed to have a psychic link with the Man-Thing, drove Thog back to his demonic realm.
The Man-Thing continues to act as a silent guardian of the nexus and the surrounding swamp. Dakimh has indicated that both Jennifer and the Man-Thing have a greater part to play in events to come.
Age: 68.
Height: 7'.
Weight: 500 lbs. (approximation).
Eyes: Red.
Hair: None.
Other Distinguishing Features: The Man-Thing is a living, semi-sentient creature patterned after the form of a large primate such as a human or gorilla, but composed of vegetable matter rather than the flesh of a vertebrate animal. It has two large lidless eyes but no mouth, nose, or ears; it has a small pseudo-organ in its forehead which apparently enables it to hear. Its face has long tendrils hanging from between and above the eyes, giving it the appearance of a nose and eyebrows. Its hands and feet are claw-like.
Uniform: None. Its mind cannot even comprehend the concept of clothing.
Strength Level: The Man-Thing is superhumanly strong, enabling it to lift (press) just over three tons.
Known Superhuman Powers: The Man-Thing's body is composed of equal parts vegetable matter and swamp muck. It lacks anything resembling a nervous system, making it impervious to physical pain. Because its body is not entirely solid, fists or bullets will either pass harmlessly through it or get lodged harmlessly in its body. Even if blown apart with high explosives, it will reform, drawing substance from the swamp as needed. Due to the nature of the Man-Thing's body, it can ooze through or around openings that would appear too small for it to pass. It has gone through wire mesh and flowed around steel bars.
Despite its lack of intellect, the Man-Thing is highly empathic. Through some unknown manner, the Man-Thing's consciousness is housed throughout its body, and the psychic imprints of emotions resonate through it. Mild emotions arouse "curiosity" and lead the Man-Thing to silently "observe" events from a distance. Violent emotions – such as fear, anger, and hatred – and the sensation of supernatural evil cause it extreme discomfort and may provoke it to attack. The sensation of intense panic-inducing fear causes the Man-Thing to excrete a sulfuric substance which causes anything it touches – usually the source of the fear – to suffer acid burns; some folks have even caught fire in the Man-Thing's grip.
Limitations: The Man-Thing is barely self-aware, reacting primarily on instinct and the emotions it feels from every living thing around it.
In addition, dehydration from fire and intense heat cause it to enter a dormant state, as does removing it from the swamp for extended periods of time. Returning it to the swamp will help it recover quickly. In the event the Man-Thing visits other worlds, those with higher than normal levels of magic energy will sustain him the same as his swamp.
1,078 points
| ST: 63 [477*] | HP: 63 [0] | Speed:6.75 [0] |
| DX: 7 [-60] | Will: 13 [55] | Move: 4 [-10] |
| IQ: 2 [-160] | Per: 13 [55] | |
| HT: 20 [100] | FP: 20 [0] | SM: +1 |
| Dmg: 7d+1/9d+2 | BL: 794 lbs. | |
| Dodge: 9 | Parry: 9 | DR: 0 |
Languages: None.
Cultural Familiarities: No Cultural Familiarity [-1].
Advantages: Absolute Direction [5]; Binding (Sticky Hide) 12 (Aura, +80%; Melee Attack: Reach C, -30%; Sticky, +20%; Unbreakable, +40%) [51]; Burning Attack (Sulfuric Touch) 3d (Follow-Up: Brawling, Sumo, or Wrestling, +0%; Persistent, +40%; Uncontrollable Trigger (Presence of Panicking Fear), -10%) [20]; Claws (Blunt Claws) [3]; Constriction Attack (Bear Hug) [15]; Detect Emotions (Long-Range 1 (Long Distance Modifiers), +50%; Reflexive, +40%) [57]; Doesn't Breathe [20]; Doesn't Eat or Drink [10]; Doesn't Sleep [20]; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards [30]; Immunity to Pain [30]; Indomitable [15]; Injury Tolerance (Diffuse) (Infiltration, +40%) [140]; Slippery 5 [10]; Special Rapport (Jennifer Kale) [5]; Supernatural Durability [150]; Unaging [15]; Unfazeable [15]; Unkillable 3 [150]; Very Fit [15].
Perks: Brotherhood (Residents of Citrusville, FL) [1]; Extended Hearing (High) [1]; Extended Hearing (Low) [1]; Natural Pockets [1]; No Visible Damage [1].
Disadvantages: Bestial [-10]; Berserk (6) (Uncontrollable Trigger: Presence of Panicky Fear or Supernatural Evil, -10%) [-18]; Cannot Learn [-30]; Dependency (Magical Energy; Weekly) [-10]; Hidebound [-5]; Mute [-25]; Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]; Short Attention Span (9) [-15]; Social Stigma (Monster) [-15]; Vulnerability to Dehydration ×4 (Fatigue Only, -50%) [-20]; Vulnerability to Heat/Fire ×2 [-30]; Wealth (Dead Broke) [-25].
Quirks: Residual Memories [-1]; Sexless [-1].
Skills: Brawling (E) DX+5 [16] – 12; Sumo Wrestling (A) DX+5 [20] – 12; Wrestling (A) DX+5 [20] – 12.
Features: Fixed IQ [0].
Starting Spending Money: $0.
* Adjusted with "Size, -10%".
Role-Playing Notes:
The Man-Thing acts entirely on bestial instinct and reacts to external stimuli based on the emotions of those nearby. Fear and the sensation of supernatural evil cause it intense pain, which causes it to lash out in an attempt to destroy the source.
To be fair, the Man-Thing is not normally suitable as a PC; most of the Man-Thing's stories had it more akin to a force of nature or at best an Ally with others in the story as the protagonists.
| BRAWLING | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| – | Brawling Punch | 7d+14 cr | C | 9 | – | – | 63 | |
| – | Brawling Kick | 7d+15 cr | C, 1 | n/a | – | – | 63 | |
Design Notes:
1. Detect Emotions is different from Empathy in the following ways. First, there is no skill bonus such as that given by Empathy. Empathy also permits an IQ roll for spotting impostors, possession, true loyalties, etc, none of which is tied to "he's radiating love/hate/fear". (Not that Man-Thing with its IQ 2 could even tell such things to begin with...). Detect is more of a Per-based extra sense similar to Hearing, Vision, Touch, etc., which is closer to how its ability is written to work in the comics. It was just sheer luck that it ended up costing the same.
2. In the comics, Man-Thing is usually referred to as "he" rather than "it", because of its origin as Ted Sallis. I've taken to calling the Man-Thing using the non-gendered "it" because the thing defies most definitions of gender.