For eight years, Marvel Studios has teased its fandom with direct references to the mysterious Man-Thing. As revealed during the D23 Expo’s Werewolf By Night trailer, we will finally see the swamp monster in all his mossy glory on Oct. 7.
The black-and-white footage showcased a classic horror-themed romp for the titular Werewolf By Night. Among the chilling screams and numerous The Wolf Man-style tropes, eagle-eyed fans caught a glimpse of a familiar creature.
Man-Thing has been one of the MCU’s longest lingering threads, but fans never gave up hope of seeing him. He was originally alluded to in the 2014 episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., “Nothing Personal,” when Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) quoted members of Congress, who asked, “Who or what is a Man-Thing?”
In 2017, fans thought they were getting closer to seeing Man-Thing in the flesh after a Thor: Ragnarok Easter egg. As the camera panned by the Grandmaster’s Tower, his arena champions’ faces were etched onto the building’s facade. Unmistakably, there was Man-Thing and his face tentacles.
Last year, it appeared that Man-Thing was ready to burst onto the MCU scene. As seen in a mock-commercial for Nexus, the cartoon image of Marvel’s monster was spotted in the artwork. Of course, fans drew connections to Man-Thing’s comic stylings, as he is a guardian of the Nexus of Reality.
Once talk of the Marvel Halloween special began to take flight, the whispers soon turned to Man-Thing. Who better to fit into a horror MCU entry (albeit likely a very PG horror entry) than one of the publisher’s most famous monsters? While there were plenty of disappointments at Marvel’s D23 panel, at least Man-Thing fans walked away happy.
