An awesome new Man-Thing cosplay makes the MCU hero’s impossible body a reality. One of Marvel’s more unique characters, Man-Thing is a shambling creature haunting the Everglades and patrolling the Nexus of All Realities – and whatever knows fear burns at his touch. Man-Thing’s character design is undeniably cool, but almost impossible to duplicate for cosplayers due to its size… that is, until now.
Photographer Pat Loika shared images of the Man-Thing cosplay in a post on the social media site X. Snapped at this year’s Dragon Con in Atlanta, the cosplay is comic-accurate, nailing Man-Thing’s size and inhuman body. The so-far unidentified cosplayer has lovingly recreated Man-Thing, and their costume features a number of neat flourishes, such as plastic leaves glued to the body, invoking the character’s half-plant, half-man nature. The cosplayer also perfectly recreated Man-Thing’s distinctive face, complete with the glowing red eyes.
Man-Thing Cosplay Perfectly Recreates a Horror Icon
Long regarded (wrongly) as “Marvel’s Swamp Thing”, Man-Thing has been haunting the woods and swamps since 1971’s Savage Tales #1. Created by Roy Thomas and Stan Lee, along with Gerry Conway and Gray Morrow, the Man-Thing was once researcher Ted Sallis, who was working to discover a derivative of the Super-Soldier Serum. His lab was attacked and in a panic, Sallis injected himself with the Serum. He then fled into the nearby swamp, where a combination of the Serum and the area’s supernatural qualities transformed him into Man-Thing. This transformation came at a huge price: Sallis lost his humanity, instead becoming a slow and lumbering monster. Man-Thing is empathic, and famously produces a supernatural acid when in the presence of fear, capable of burning any being alive – including the Hulk himself.
Man-Thing Costume Is an Epic Example of Cosplayer Ambition
Man-Thing, visually, is a distinctive character, and therefore one nearly impossible to duplicate in cosplay. He is large and green, composed of plant material, with enormous glowing red eyes. Man-Thing is a terrifying sight to see coming, and as a result, many have died during their encounter with him by burning to death. The Man-Thing is a unique being known as the Vorgornus Kot, capable of multiversal teleportation, total control of plant life, and growing into a huge, kaiju-sized form. While heroic in intent – Man-Thing protects the Earth from incursions by other dimensions – the Man-Thing is also unpredictable and deadly, meaning that most other heroes give the being a wide berth. Man-Thing entered the MCU in Werewolf by Night, though only in a brief cameo appearance.
The cosplay perfectly captures the dark irony of Man-Thing – a being which is defined by pathos and glimmers of humanity, but which is so alien that it induces terror in those who see it: an often fatal reaction. Nailing comic-accurate cosplays is one thing when it’s a complex superhero outfit, but recreating Marvel’s ultimate swamp monster is a cut above, and this Man-Thing cosplay is a true triumph.
