The Disney+ Halloween special Werewolf by Night has the first MCU appearance of the Man-Thing, who was referenced in the Agents of SHIELD episode “Nothing Personal.” In Marvel Comics, the Man-Thing is Dr. Theodore “Ted” Sallis, who was a scientist who tried recreating the Super Soldier serum with the help of a demon. Yes, an actual demon, as opposed to a vulture capital firm. Events turn sideways and Ted ends up as the Man-Thing guarding the Nexus of All-Realities, somewhere in the Everglades of Florida.
In Werewolf by Night, Ted was captured by a cult of monster hunters as part of a ritualistic hunt to select a new leader after the death of Ulysses Bloodstone. The late Ulysses Bloodstone owned the Bloodstone relic, a mystic artifact that was used to hunt “monsters.” The Bloodstone relic was attached to Ted’s back and the hunt was “won” by whoever killed Ted in order to recover the relic and become the new leader of the hunter cult.
As a one swamp based poet once said, it is not easy being green. Dr. Sallis lived this maxim in being captured and hunted by the Bloodstone cult.
Hunting People is Murder
Somethings should not be need to be said, but hunting a human being for sport is murder if you succeed in the hunt, attempted murder if you try to kill the person, and a conspiracy to commit murder if you participate in the hunt with the objective of killing the person.
Murder is defined as the “unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.” Cal. Pen. Code § 187. First Degree Murder is all murder that is perpetrated with explosive devices, weapons of mass destruction, armor piercing ammunition, lying in wait, or any willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing that includes kidnapping. Cal. Pen. Code § 189. Furthermore, anyone who attempts to commit First Degree Murder, but fails to do so, shall be punished with life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. Cal. Pen. Code § 664(a).
But wait, some will say the Man-Thing is not a human being. Exhibit A to counter this claim is the name given to Ted by a cruel society: MAN-Thing. Not The Thing, because he is not orange; Not Swamp-Thing, because that is a different company. No, Ted is called Man-Thing in a recognition of his humanity.
Hunting Dr. Ted Sallis was done because of his physical condition of being a giant swamp creature whose touch burns those who know fear. These are physical disabilities. While normally in the employment context, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted because Congress identified a history of irrational employment discrimination where society isolated and segregated individuals with disabilities. Board of Trustees of Univ. of Alabama v Garrett, 531 U.S. 356 (2001), citing 42 U.S.C. 12101(a)(2).
The ADA states that no “entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.” 42 U.S.C. § 12112. A “Qualified individual” is someone who, with or without reasonable accommodation, “can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires. ” 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8).
A “disability” is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. 42 U.S.C. § 12102(1)(A). “Major life activities” can include any of the following, but are not an exhaustive list: caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(A). Major life activities also include bodily functions, such as normal cell growth, neurological, and other bodily functions. 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(B).
Ted appears unemployed and homeless. He cannot speak and has difficulty communicating. Moreover, he does not have normal cell growth, as evidenced by the swamp growing from his body and physical contact causes others to burst into flames if they experience fear. “Man-Thing” would be considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Dr. Sallis was targeted by a cult because of his status as a “monster.” He was kidnapped from a swamp and brought to the Bloodstone compound, possibly across state lines, in order to be hunted. The real monsters in this story were those wearing cloaks and masks, not ones covered in moss or fur.
