Thor: Ragnarok Confirmed Man-Thing Exists In The MCU

Thor: Ragnarok subtly confirmed that Man-Thing does exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Among all the Jack Kirby embracing that Taika Waititi did in his movie, Thor: Ragnarok also included an Easter egg for the fan-favorite creation from Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway. Although he doesn’t make a physical appearance in the film, the history of Theodore Sallis’ swamp monster is confirmed.

A big portion of Thor: Ragnarok takes place on the planet of Sakarr, which is surrounded by cosmic gateways. They are how Thor and Loki found their way to the Grandmaster’s planet. But, Thor and Loki weren’t the only MCU characters to be transported to Sakarr, as it is revealed that this is where Hulk ended up after Avengers: Age of Ultron. Once he arrived, Grandmaster turned him into the planet’s latest Contest of Champions winner. His popularity grows to the point where merchandise is being sold and his face is carved into the side of a big statue, which is briefly shown in the movie and holds the confirmation of Man-Thing in the MCU.

Although it is a quick moment, Man-Thing’s face is the lowest carving in the tower. This didn’t lead to Man-Thing making an appearance in Thor: Ragnarok, but it does confirm that he was a previous victor on the planet. In fact, his placement at the bottom (compared to Hulk at the top) could mean that he was the first champion. As for how he arrived there, him being the guardian of the Nexus of All Realities could potentially provide also provide a gateway to Sakarr. Regardless, this Easter egg does raise one fairly significant question pertaining to Man-Thing’s role in the MCU though: is he still alive?

Thor: Ragnarok makes it fairly clear that the Grandmaster’s games can result in a fight to the death. As a previous champion, there is a real possibility that Man-Thing died in combat and, as a result, relinquished his crown to either Beta Ray Bill, Ares, Bi-Beast, or even potentially Hulk. As a character with a rich Marvel history going all the way back to 1971 though, it would be odd for Marvel Studios to include him in the MCU in that capacity only – unless they had no plans to use him otherwise. Some believe he could even be in the possession of The Collector now.

While just two years ago, the idea of Man-Thing being given a significant role in the MCU may have seemed far-fetched, it doesn’t feel that way now. Marvel Studios is gearing up to dive into weirder and more mystical characters in Phase 4 and beyond. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is described as being the MCU’s first horror movie, while Marvel’s also cast Mahershala Ali as Blade for his own solo film. More recently, they’ve confirmed that Moon Knight is on the way, with rumors claiming that Ghost Rider and Werewolf by Night could also join the MCU before too long.

All of this could be used to build a Midnight Sons roster in the MCU and Man-Thing could be part of that future team. His actual status would need to be cleared up in order for this to happen, but with the advancements in motion and performance capture or great practical effects used for a similar design in Swamp Thing, it isn’t too difficult now to bring Man-Thing into the MCU. The only question is whether Marvel Studios has plans to do just that or if this reference in Thor: Ragnarok is all we’ll get of the character in the MCU.