THE LIVING TRIBUNAL

ORIGINS/EMERGENCE AND HISTORY

The Living Tribunal was a vastly powerful conceptual being, one who had existed since the multiverse came into exsistene. The Living Tribunal's only superior was the One-Above-All (not to be confused with the Celestial that was known as the One Above All), an entity which was apparently responsible for all life in the multiverse, and possibly beyond, (this includes the Earth-616 Universe, Earth X, the Ultimate Universe, and all other alternate and potential realities).

NOTE: A universe is a single-dimension reality, such as Earth-616. The Multiverse is the collection of alternate dimensions with a similar nature and universal hierarchy. Earth-616 and alternate Earths seen in the MU (which include beings like the Watcher, Eternity, etc.) are within the same Multiverse. Realms lacking this hierarchy of power are outside of the Multiverse, but within the larger Omniverse. Further, the realms with a Multiverse are divided into divergent earths, who share a common history and diverge at a specific point, and alternate Earths, who are similar, but possess many inherent differences. The Ominiverse is the collection of every single universe, dimension, etc. Everything is in the Ominiverse, and there is only one Ominiverse. Within the Ominiverse, collections of associated realms from different Multiverses are referred to as Megaverses.

The Living Tribunal often interacted with other conceptual beings, serving as their arbiter and judge. The Living Tribunal appeared as a giant golden humanoid (using a M-Body, created in the Dimension of Manifestations), with three cloaked faces, each representing a different personality. It has a blank space where a fourth face could be exhibited. The Living Tribunal has suggested that the fourth face became the enigmatic Stranger. The three faces made up the Tribunal’s head. They were: Equity, Necessity, and Vengeance. These represented the trinity of aspects of each universe. For example, in the main universe they were represented by Galactus (Equity), Eternity (Necessity), and Death (Vengeance).

Even beings such as Eternity, Infinity, Death and Oblivion were subject to the Living Tribunals authority. Unlike other conceptual beings, the Living Tribunal had no counterpart in other realities; only one Living Tribunal existed in the Multiverse, and it was responsible for all judgments. The Living Tribunal's apparent base of operations was a dimension known as the Star Chamber, and it was served by lesser creatures called the Magistrati, who assisted in judging matters where the Living Tribunal could not intervene. The living Tribunal also helped fashion the twin cosmic entities the Brothers, each who became the guardian of a different Megaverse, within the larger Omniverse but encompassing more than a single Multiverse.

The Living Tribunal was not guided by any personal motivation or desires, but was entirely impartial, acting only in what was determined to be the greater interest of the universe. The Living Tribunal was more than willing to sacrifice millions of lives for the sake of billions more, or even billions for the sake of trillions, and would not deign to address the concerns of any lesser beings without first establishing a plaintiff's importance.

When the Earth-616 sorcerer Doctor Strange brought the creature Zom to Earth in order to help drive off the sorceress Umar, the Living Tribunal was forced to intervene and banished Zom from Earth before he could destroy humanity. However, Zom's mere presence on Earth had tainted all life with the creature’s evil, and the Living Tribunal informed Dr. Strange that the Earth would be destroyed for the greater good. After convincing the Living Tribunal that he was a powerful sorcerer, Dr. Strange won the right for a reprieve, gaining time to try and eliminate Zom's contamination. Dr. Strange received the Staff of Polar Power from the creature Nebulos to absorb the evil magic, most of which was contained within Baron Mordo, but once the staff took Mordo's excess power, Nebulos claimed it for himself. The Living Tribunal intervened to face Nebulos, and Dr. Strange helped the Living Tribunal who obliterated the planet Perilous, and Nebulos was buried in the rubble, he was presumed dead. The Living Tribunal destroyed the staff rather than destroying the Earth, eliminating the threat.

When Dr. Strange next encountered the Living Tribunal, he was informed that due to his works and heroes like him, the balance between good and evil on Earth had been tipped to good's favor, and that the Tribunal would have to release the In-Betweener to balance the two sides in the interest of the cosmic entities Lord Chaos and Master Order. Opposing the In-Betweener Dr. Strange was defeated. However, the spaceknight Rom argued on behalf of his mission to destroy the Dire Wraiths, stating that the Wraiths might have tipped the scales on Earth to evil's benefit. Rom observed that his presence on Earth would act as a balance to the Wraiths' evil, and the Living Tribunal agreed with him, and withdrew the In-Betweener.

The Korvac of Earth-82432 accumulated such power that the Living Tribunal sealed that reality to prevent it from affecting others, removing the barrier only after that Korvac had used the Ultimate Nullifier to destroy himself and the entire universe. When Earth--616's omnipotent Beyonder threatened to eradicate Death itself, the living Tribunal joined other cosmic entities in manifesting before the Beyonder to halt him. Although the Beyonder succeeded in destroying Death, he soon realized that the universe needed Death, and his friend Dave sacrificed himself to become the new Death. When the Living Tribunal first encountered the Silver Surfer, it submitted to him the concept that he was Galactus' opposite number, and allowed the Surfer to become one with the universe for a moment. The Surfer was awestruck by the experience. Later when Earth-89112's reality was overrun with demons, the Living Tribunal nearly destroyed it, but that Earth was redeemed by its counterpart of the Phoenix Force, which eradicated all of the demons. The Living Tribunal then had the Phoenix Force depart from Earth.

Shortly after the funeral of the Earth-616 reality's cosmic entity Eon, the living Tribunal was petitioned by many of reality's conceptual beings, who were threatened by the Thanos' ascendance to godhood after claiming the six Infinity Gems and conforming them into a weapon capable of universal destruction. The weapon would come to be known as the Infinity Gauntlet. Although Eternity argued that Thanos was seeking to supplant its role in the universe, the Living Tribunal simply observed that it was the nature of all life, and it was allowed to be played out. However, when the gems wounded up in the custody of Adam Warlock, the Living Tribunal ordered that the gems be divided among six caretakers and never be allowed to act in unison, as Warlock was deemed to unstable to retain such power. In doing so, the Living Tribunal demonstrated that his power surpassed that of the gems. Warlock would go onto form the Infinity Watch, to safeguard the gems.

When Warlock's evil side, the Magus rendered Eternity comatose, Galactus argued for the Living Tribunal to remove its ban on the gems so that Warlock could use them to defeat the Magus. Although the Magus obtained the gems himself, he was soundly beaten because he lacked the Reality Gem; Infinity and Eternity defeated him, then had the restriction placed on the gems again. Eternity held a private hearing with the Living Tribunal to argue against the Infinity Watch's continued custodianship of the gems, but the Living Tribunal judged against Eternity. However, the Living Tribunal did confide to Eternity that because the Infinity Watch was within him, yet not under his control, he had obtained a gift of unpredictability which he should treasure.

When the powerful Star Brand of Earth-148611 (New Universe) was inadvertently brought into the Earth-616 dimension by Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), it was wielded by his girlfriend Kayla Ballantine, then seized by Erishkigal, a Deviant. She attempted to conquer the Nexus of all Realities, and challenged the Living Tribunal. To determine the fate of the multiverse, they chose as champions Quasar and the Silver Surfer. When Quasar realized he was Erishkigal's champion, he allowed himself to lose, and the Living Tribunal claimed the Star Brand, returning it to Kayla for safe keeping. After the Stranger took the Star Brand from Kayla and used it to bring Earth-148611 into the 616 dimension, the Living Tribunal placed a barrier around the planet to keep the Star Brand energies from further contaminating the 616 reality. Kayla was left behind on that world because she had wielded the brand.

When the formerly heroic mystic Doctor Druid summoned fourth the demon Slorioth in order to prematurely advance the War of the Seven Spheres which the mystical Vishanti were engaged in, the Vishanti summoned the Living Tribunal and it judged against Slorioth, banishing it from the Earth. When Thanos gained vast power again through the Heart of the Infinite, the Living Tribunal joined champions from across realities to challenge him. Thanos destroyed all that existed with his power, but subsequently had a change of heart and restored reality, ridding himself of his power; the re-created universe lacked the terminal flaw which Thanos had sought to cure.

Recently, the Magistrati employed Earth-616's She-Hulk to serve in the Star Chamber and assist them in judging cases from throughout the universe. During her time in the Star Chamber, She-Hulk earned the enmity of Zoma the Watcher for forcing his brother Qyre to be stricken silent. She also met the challenge of the Champion of the Universe when he lorded over the population of Skardon with his Power Gem, and ultimately bested him in combat. In the 31st century of Earth-691, the Living Tribunal was nearly usurped by the Protégé, whose abilities to duplicate the powers of others allowed him to manifest the Living Tribunal's own power. Although the Guardians of the Galaxy struggled futilely against Protégé, it was Scathan the Celestial who saved reality by judging against him, and the Living Tribunal absorbed the Protégé into itself to prevent him from endangering reality again.

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contributors: Rage Bocor, SpiderCyde, cvanroekel, Malithorn, ohitsme

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FUNDAMENTALS

Universe
All Realities and Universes

Real Name
The Living Tribunal

Aliases
None

Identity
Known to other cosmic entities

Occupation
Judges everything

Citizenship
Inapplicable

Place of Birth
Universe

Known Relatives
The Stranger (previous face)

Group Affiliation
None

Education
Inapplicable

Height
Variable

Weight
Variable

Eyes
Inapplicable

Hair
Inapplicable

Powers
Omnipotent and Omniscient, possessing virtually limitless power the Living Tribunal can survey the entire multiverse at once, obliterate planets or suns at will, and form impenetrable barriers around worlds or even whole universes. The Living Tribunal manifests itself in a three-headed form, each head representing a different facet of its personality: the fully visible face represents equity; the fully hooded face represents necessity; and the half hooded face represents revenge. The face which addressed a plaintiff identifies which personality is guiding the Living Tribunal's decisions.

First Appearance
Strange Tales #157

Origin
Unrevealed

From

http://www.marvel.com/universe/Living_Tribunal

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Significant Issues:

First Appearance: Strange Tales #157 (1967)
Significant Issues: Creation of the Brothers (Adventures of the X-Men #12, 1997);

threatened to destroy Earth unless Doctor Strange put an end to the evil Zom had caused (Strange Tales #157-158, 1967);

with Doctor Strange, vs Nebulos, spared the Earth (Strange Tales #163, 1967);

threatened Doctor Strange with In-Betweener to balance abundance of good, called off actions after appeal from Rom (Rom #41, 1983);

witnessed destruction of Earth-82432 (What If..? #32, 1982);

confronted the Beyonder with other entities (Secret Wars II #6, 1985);

confronted Stranger & Silver Surfer (Silver Surfer #31, 1989); allowed Earth-89112 to continue existing (What If..? #6, 1989);

attended Eon's funeral (Quasar #26, 1991);

withheld judgment on Infinity Gauntlet (Infinity Gauntlet #3, 1991);

judged that the Infinity Gems be dispersed (Warlock and The Infinity Watch #1, 1992);

temporarily allowed Infinity Gems to work together (Infinity War #3-5, 1992);

advised Eternity on dealing with the Infinity Watch (Warlock and The Infinity Watch #11, 1992);

took Starbrand from Erishkigal (Quasar #50, 1993);

sealed the New Universe from Earth-616 interference (Quasar #57-58, 1994);

drove out Slorioth (Secret Defenders #25, 1995);

witnessed creation of Eurth (Avataars: Covenant of the Shield #1, 2000);

learned of Odin's demise (Thor #41, 2001);

participated in assault upon Thanos (Marvel Universe: The End #4-6, 2003);

appointed She-Hulk to the Magistrati (She-Hulk #7, 2004);

judged Protégé (Guardians of the Galaxy #45-50, 1994)

From

http://www.marvel.com/universe/OHOTMU:Bibliography-AZ6#Living_Tribunal

THE MAN-THING

Allegedly, before Earth was formed, a creator being from before time spawned the Fallen Stars, each an embodiment of one of its thoughts. On Earth, the creator made a woman, Cleito, representing the nature of reality. Cleito spawned Adam K'ad-Mon, the first Man of Lineage, and their birth site became the Nexus of Reality, a focal point uniting all dimensions. Descendants of K'ad-Mon served as Nexus guardians, but over time the Men of Lineage became less concerned with this mission, until eventually one man abandoned it completely: Ted Sallis.

A biochemistry professor at Empire State University, the sheltered Sallis had no knowledge of his destiny and preferred books to people. The United States Army recruited him into "Project Sulfur," which sought a means to survive bio-chemical warfare. Sallis developed "Serum SO-2," which granted immunity to all known toxic biochemicals, but its mutagenic effects would have transformed people into monsters. Ted's friend, the free-spirited girl Sainte-Cloud, convinced him to denounce the Project, shutting it down before any serum was produced. Ted proposed to Sainte-Cloud, but she refused due to their many differences. Returning to teaching, Sallis fell in love with one of his students, Ellen Brandt, a naive and impassioned girl of nineteen; the two eloped following a secret affair.

After their honeymoon, they visited the fortune teller Madame Swabada, who foretold a catastrophic change. Sallis was then reassigned to "Project Gladiator," a S.H.I.E.L.D. research program based in the Florida Everglades and aimed at re-creating the lost "Super-Soldier" serum that had created Captain America. Working separately from his colleagues, including Drs. Wilma Calvin and Barbara Morse (later Mockingbird), Sallis modified his SO-2 formula as the basis for a new Super-Soldier serum. The subversive organization A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) wanted the serum and conspired with a bitter Ellen, whom Ted had neglected since their honeymoon. Upon completing his new serum, Ted committed its formula to memory and burnt his records. When Ellen led Ted into an A.I.M. ambush, he fled and injected the only existing sample of the serum into himself just before his car crashed into the swamp. He should have died, but the magical energies of the swamp (containing the Nexus of Reality) combined with the serum to transform him into the hideous creature later known as the Man-Thing. His intelligence rapidly fading, he slew the A.I.M. agents and horribly burned half of Ellen's face.

Unknown to Sallis, Ellen had been pregnant. Recovered by Project Gladiator agents, she underwent surgery that repaired her face, but it proved temporary. She gave her son up for adoption and began punishing herself for her crimes by surrendering to alcohol, drugs, and carnal indulgence. Maddened by the face she saw in the mirror, Ellen ended up in Massachusetts' Rosewell Mental Hospital, eventually restored to sanity by the enigmatic mystic Sorrow.

A.I.M. again tried to obtain Sallis' formula, but was foiled by the Man-Thing and Ka-Zar. Man-Thing made the swamps his home and became the guardian of the Nexus of Reality. Its magic made the swamps a focal point of bizarre activity, attracting super-beings such as Wundarr and the Molecule Man. Alongside Dakimh the Enchanter, Jennifer Kale, Howard the Duck, and Korrek, warrior of Katharta, the Man-Thing foiled a series of plots to use the Nexus to merge all realities by Thog, demonlord of the realm of Sominus, and the Congress of Realities.

The Man-Thing in some sense befriended Richard Rory, Ezekiel Tork, and his pet Dawg, and fought Franklin Armstrong Schist (F. A. Schist), who sought to drain the swamp in search of the Fountain of Youth; Professor Slaughter; the religious zealot Foolkiller (Ross Everbest); the Critics, afterlife agents seeking to judge the fate of suicide victim and clown Darrel Daniel; the natives of la Hacienda, home of the Fountain of Youth, whose waters nearly cured the Man-Thing and horribly mutated Schist before his death; the Glob, Yagzan, and the Cult of Entropy; the Si-Fan, alongside Shang-Chi; and the Gladiator (Melvin Potter), sent to recover Sallis' formula by Death-Stalker.

Schist's wife, Vivian, hired Dr. Dane Gavin to capture or kill the Man-Thing; he chose the former, placing Man-Thing on display in the New York Museum of Nature History, where visitors' fears sent the Man-Thing on a berserk rampage through the city until Dr. Gavin and Schist's daughter, Carolyn, took him back to the swamp. Man-Thing later faced the manifested hate of Maybell Tork, the Demons of Liberation (embittered scarred war veterans), and the reality-altering Brian Lazarus. Wandering into the Port Everglades, the Man-Thing was trapped on the Marietta cargo ship and caught up in a two-century-old curse involving the satyr Khordes, the immortal crew of the pirate Captain Fate, and oceanographer Dr. Maura Spinner. Maura was a reincarnation of the former captain of Fate's crew, whom Fate had traded to Khordes in exchange for his treasure. Mistaking the satyr's benevolent intent, Maura had slain Khordes, who cursed them all. After helping convince Spinner to accept her destiny by the resurrected satyr's side, Man-Thing returned to the Everglades. The bog beast then joined old allies Korrek, Dakimh, and Jennifer Kale against the extradimensional sorcerer Klonus and warrior Mortak.

In a weird twist of fate, a Man-Thing-shaped candle (created after his New York rampage) was drugged and given to Sainte-Cloud by her jilted lover Chuck, causing her to see Man-Thing hallucinations; exposed to the drug himself, a terrified Chuck badly burnt his face on the candle.

After surviving an assault from his one-time victim Jackson Hunter, the Man-Thing halted the Mad Viking (Josefson)'s rampage. He then heeded the tortured spirit of student Edmond Windshed, taking vengeance on Edmond's former tormenters. Captured by townspeople and thrown into a sewage treatment plant, Man-Thing escaped and slew the Mad Viking, ending a violent book-burning crusade by the Viking and Olivia Selby. Now able to survive longer away from the swamp, the Man-Thing was brought by Richard Rory to Georgia, where he escaped. He fought the demon Erthold, the soul-stealing Scavenger, and Thog, whose Nightmare Boxes threatened to plunge all reality into madness until the positive wills of Ted Sallis and Steve Gerber contaminated the boxes, foiling Thog, whom Man-Thing incinerated.

Alongside Ghost Rider (John Blaze), Morbius, and the Werewolf (Jack Russell) in a one-time "Legion of Monsters" alliance, Man-Thing helped destroy the enigmatic Starseed, actually a would-be savior of humanity. After again fighting the Molecule Man, the Man-Thing was captured along with the Glob by the Collector, who pitted them against the Hulk before they rebelled and escaped. Man-Thing later helped psychic Andrea Rodgers restore her fragmented personality, helped thwart the inane cosmic menace Bzzk'Joh, drove off D'Spayre, destroyed Jude the Entropic Man and Victorius, allied with the Cult of Entropy (narrowly missing a chance to regain his humanity), and encountered the extradimensional Micronauts.

Sallis's mind was nearly restored by Dr. Karl Oheimer's cerebral regeneration therapy for a CIA project; but the army suspected enemy involvement and tried to protect Sallis's serum by attempting to rescue Oheimer, who was slain in the process. The sentient Man-Thing slaughtered all others involved, but once back in the swamp his mind faded. Another experimental project briefly transported him to the Himalayas, where he encountered a Yeti race descended from Cro-Magnons. The sorcerer Baron (Karl) Mordo returned him to the swamp, restored Sallis's mind and used him as a pawn against Dr. Strange in a plot to destroy Earth, but Jennifer Kale helped the Man-Thing throw off Mordo's control and foil the plot, though Sallis's mind again faded.

After aiding Howard the Duck against the mad monopoly of Kong Lomerate, the Man-Thing befriended Sheriff John Daltry and Barbara Bannister, alongside whom he again met Captain Fate and opposed yet another Thog plot. This time, Sallis was cured and writer Chris Claremont took his place as the Man-Thing, destroying Thog. Dr. Strange restored Claremont, but Sallis's curse returned and proved irreversible. The Man-Thing was possessed by Unnthinnk, one of the demon coven called the Six Fingered Hand, who battled the Defenders in a massive plot to take over Earth; the Hand turned out to be pawns of the Hell-lords (Mephisto, Satannish, Thog, Satan [Marduk Kurios]) in a scheme to use the Nexus in an aborted attempt to merge Hell and Earth. Alongside Thor he opposed the Man-Beast and Bi-Beast, then briefly served as a pawn of the mad sorcerer Ian Fate, leading to another rampage through New York. Back in the swamps, Sallis refused an offer from the demon Eblis to become human in exchange for his mortal soul. The government's Project: Glamor developed a version of Sallis's formula, planning to attack Russia with super-soldiers, but these warriors were destroyed by the Man-Thing and others. Another Sallis serum derivation, SS-8, was used by Daemian Wainscroft, mutating his son Deke into a powerful form until being functionally lobotomized by the Punisher.

Alongside the Hulk, the Man-Thing encountered a new Glob (Sumner Beckwith), and was later nearly destroyed by the Deviant Ereshkigal when she used the Star Brand to access the Nexus in an effort to rule all reality. Another writer with reality-warping powers used the Man-Thing to complete his final story in the last seconds of his life. Shortly thereafter, the Man-Thing was one of the "Daydreamers" joining Franklin Richards on a surreal journey to accept Onslaught's seeming destruction of Franklin's parents, who had actually survived in the Counter-Earth of a pocket realm created by Franklin; however, Ashema the Listener--a Celestial who would help Franklin retrieve Onslaught's victims and establish Counter-Earth as a real planet orbiting opposite Earth--obliterated the Man-Thing in order to stop him from blocking access to the pocket realm. Re-created via the combined energies of an Asgardian Norn stone and the recent breaching of the dimensional barriers, the Man-Thing's form was briefly usurped by mailroom employee Carl Schuffler, who was removed by Spider-Man using instructions from the virtually omniscient Authority.

Recent dimensional travel had shattered the Nexus of Realities, and Dr. Strange recruited Ellen Brandt to help Man-Thing restore it. In the process, the Man-Thing was possessed by K'ad-Mon, the history of the Men of Lineage was revealed, and Sallis learned that his relation with Ellen was predestined to restore his hereditary mission. Ellen, the Man-Thing, and K'ad-Mon recovered Nexus fragments from within the maddened Devil-Slayer (Eric Simon Payne), from Howard the Duck (despite the opposition of Mahapralaya and a revived Cult of Entropy), from Cleito herself in ancient Atlantis, and from a Nexus-created planet that Ellen had to destroy to save reality.

Their efforts to restore the Nexus were opposed by the Fallen Star Mr. Amodeus Q. Termineus, the embodiment of finality, who had visited the young Ted Sallis over the years. Termineus had captured Ellen's long-lost son Job Burke and trained him as his disciple in a plot to destroy all existence. Devil-Slayer united the remaining Fallen Stars-including K'ad-Mon and Sorrow-to stop Termineus. Using the power of the final Nexus fragment, Termineus succeeded in shattering the healing Nexus, wiping out all reality. However, Sallis' nature as the Man of Lineage (combined with his love of Ellen) allowed him to briefly maintain the dream of existence; he joined forces with Job, who rebelled against his mentor to re-imagine the creator's dream that had formed reality. All existence was restored, with Ted and Ellen inhabiting the Nexus itself, while K'ad-Mon retained control of the Man-Thing. Job returned home with his adoptive parents to live his life and prepare for his future destiny. Termineus began to plot anew to bring about the endgame, but as it was he who had involved K'ad-Mon in this struggle, he had to deal with bringing about his own failure, due to his inability to relinquish the love in his heart for his former wife, Sorrow. Shortly thereafter, the ancient Scrier mutated one of his cabal into the Outrider to seize the Nexus. Spider-Man helped foil this plot, and Ted and Ellen drew the consciousness of the Nexus down into the Man-Thing, merging into a powerful collective being.

This merged being left the earthly sphere, becoming the new Nexus, and the magic of the swamp re-formed the Man-Thing's original form, apparently instilling it with the residual memory of Sallis's consciousness. Continuing its subconscious mission to defend the swamp and Nexus, it incinerated botanist Owen Candler, creator of the Salavation Seed and the Union, which had threatened to replace humanity with plant simuloids; slew a mad scientist who tried to use the Man-Thing in experimental emotion therapy; and even opposed a universe-menacing, virtually omnipotent Thanos enhanced by the Heart of the Infinite. Eternally cursed with a monstrous form, barely aware of its past or surroundings, the Man-Thing remains the most startling slime creature of all.

Retrieved from "http://www.marvel.com/universe/Man-Thing"

contributors: Lonesome Pinky, GMYT5PPD, mimicx35

FUNDAMENTALS

Universe
Marvel Universe

Real Name
Theodore "Ted" Sallis

Aliases
K'ad-Mon of the Fallen Stars, the Man of Lineage, the Swamp God, the Keeper of Illusion

Identity
Secret

Occupation
Guardian of the Nexus of Realities; former research scientist, university professor

Citizenship
U.S.A.; legally dead

Place of Birth
Omaha, Nebraska

Known Relatives
Ellen Brandt Sallis (wife); Cleito, Adam K'ad-Mon, and their descendants (ancestors)

Group Affiliation
Formerly the Daydreamers, Legion of Monsters, United States Army, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division)

Education
PhD in biochemistry

Height
7'

Weight
500 lbs.

Eyes
Red

Hair
None, though hair-like green strands of vegetable matter cover much of his body

Powers
The Man-Thing can lift 1000 lbs. and is very durable. Punches or projectiles tend to pass entirely through him or lodge harmlessly in the porous muck of his body. Even after losing much of his physical mass, his body will rebuild itself, drawing new material as needed from the surrounding swamp. Similarly, he can ooze through or around openings or barriers, such as wire mesh or steel bars.

The Man-Thing is extremely sensitive to emotion, which can affect his behavior and physiology. Mild emotions arouse "curiosity," and lead the Man-Thing to observe events from a distance. Violent emotions, such as fear, anger, and hatred, cause him extreme discomfort, often provoking him to attack. Fear in particular causes him to secrete a chemical similar to fuming sulfuric acid, such that whatever knows fear burns at the touch of the Man-Thing.

The Man-Thing's unique mystical-chemical physiology makes him dependent on swamp environments, particularly the Florida Everglades near Citrusville. While he is ageless and immune to disease, prolonged separation from the swamp could render him dormant or dead. Exposure to the chemicals of a sewage treatment plant has slowed the rate at which he weakens, and he recovers rapidly when returned to the swamp.

Abilities
Except on rare occasions, the Man-Thing is virtually non-sentient. He reacts to emotion and other magical phenomena, but otherwise lacks decision-making capacity or memory; however, he does "remember" emotional patterns, enabling him to sometimes "recognize" people he's met before. On occasion, mystic and/or chemical forces have temporarily restored Sallis's mind, but this has always proved temporary.

First Appearance
Savage Tales Vol. 1 #1 (1971)