Reviews 

“Spider-Man: Curse of the Man-Thing” #1

By | April 30th, 2021
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

As the ‘Curse of the Man-Thing’ spreads throughout the Earth, Spider-Man and co. join the fight to assist The Avengers. Some Mild Spoilers

Cover by Daniel Acuña
Written by Steve Orlando
Illustrated by Marco Failla with Minkyu Jung
Colored by Guru-eFX
Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles

Picking right up where we left off, The Avengers are having little luck against Harrower’s hordes of drones and exploding plant towers. As we see each set of heroes, positioned around the world only having the smallest of victories in their fights, the Spider-Men and various other spider-heroes leap into the fight in New York as the Black Panther and She-Hulk are getting overwhelmed defending the encased Captain America.

The scope that both of these issues have had, pulling in the various members of the latest Avengers roster and sending them all over the globe to face a massive threat is a lot of fun. While the external threat is massive, writer Steve Orlando (“Gotham Academy”) keeps most of the story on an incredibly intimate level. There are plenty of nice action set pieces throughout, but as he did in the previous “The Avengers” issue, we spend a lot of time within the realm of Man-Thing/Dr. Ted Sallis’s mind-scape. Book-ending this issue with those larger fight scenes was the best way to pull in readers looking for action, and leave them dying to read the next book.

Normally in a Marvel comic that focuses so heavily on one of their horror characters, we’d see a character like Ghost Rider or Blade taking the threat on, front and center. Those guys are in this, but working as part of the team, no solo in a swamp or the underworld. Those stories are usually focusing on the horrific and lean into the lesser seen corner of Earth-616. And as great as those tales are, there’s something wonderful about seeing the big names taking on this kind of fight as well. It’s like seeing a horror movie nominated for an Academy Award. They initially feel out of place, but you’re just happy they are finally getting their moment in the spotlight.

As the fighting continues around the world, Steve Rogers is still encased in the Man-Thing’s shell. Trying to get through to Dr. Sallis, Steve is giving him some of that tough inspiration he likes to throw around. It seems to be working on Ted, but he drops a piece of info that changes the very foundation of all we know about Sallis/Man-Thing: he did not perfect the new super soldier serum that led to turning him into the swampy creature. Dr. Curt Connors is actually the mastermind behind cracking that code. Sallis tells Cap to go get Connors and he will be able to help the Avengers stop all the destruction. The scenes inside Sallis’s mind are excellent straight through. I’ve always found Cap to be the most interesting when he’s helping to crack a problem. He isn’t a genius-level character, we won’t see him creating a cure with the likes of Bruce Banner, but he has an intellect that is usually pushed aside for punching Nazis/Hydra agents. With these scenes we see him looking to appeal to Sallis’s best parts, which is perfect for him. Cap brings the Man-Thing’s husk to Dr. Connors and this is where some truths come to light. The inclusion of Connors makes sense and Orlando weaves in some fun surprises.

Although this is issue is under the “Spider-Man” title, halfway through it is still focusing heavily on the greater Avengers moments. Miles is hopping around helping T’Challa, Peter has some huge moments saving a bunch of lives around the city, but they feel like side characters, and mostly are, until this point. Peter takes control of a big chunk of the story from here, but unfortunately Miles and the other spider-people fall to the wayside. I get it, there are a ton of characters in this book already and there is a lot of story to tell, but it would have been nice to see Miles have some real impact on this story. He has a few nice moments at least. The other characters, Madame Web, Silk, Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl, etc all have a scene in a room together just a couple panels of action. It was nice to have them all in the issue, but their usage goes nowhere. Fingers crossed for the next issue, but with the X-Men getting pulled into the fight, I doubt there will be room for them.

Continued below

The rest of the issue really leans into getting into Ted Sallis’s head, making him realize that he can’t just live his life within the realm of the Man-Thing. He and the creature are one and the same. He’s been dealt his hand, but rather than sitting like a prisoner within the mind of the monster, he needs to become the monster. Take control and have agency over this life and fate. Why let Man-Thing just be a monster? Be the hero. Both Dr. Connors and Peter speak to him, they both get through to him in their own way, but let’s just say that Peter’s discussion goes a lot better.

While there are things to criticize about the lack of usage of some characters, the way Orlando manages this many characters and this much story in an issue that is really only a couple pages longer than a typical release, is pretty great. He gives the Avengers their shining moments at the beginning wrapping up the last issue, shifting to more Cap-centric material, before shifting again to Spider-Man and Curt Connors. Overall the issue is a real page-turner. From start to finish it is exciting, sad, and somewhat creepy. There is only so much to complain about when you have some of Marvel’s greatest characters all in one issue together doing what they do best. Between fights the look at humanity and pulling that humanity out of someone who has been lost for so long is the DNA of so many amazing superhero stories, and it is great to see it used here.

And believe it or not, even with all this going on, new problems rise up, the story expands, and we get a good amount of Harrower action. Just enough to keep her part of the story going, but Orlando treats her character as he should, like a petulant child with plans for mass extinction. I don’t find her to be terribly interesting, and his writing keeps her in the book just long enough honor as the catalyst of all this, but she is not the focus. The main heroes and Sallis are the best thing about this issue.

As any comic reader knows, art styles can change drastically in a Marvel comic. Some of the greatest artists to ever do it have been on Marvel books, and some not so great. With a title like this it’s a total coin toss as to what you will get. Thankfully we got the talented duo of Marco Failla (“Harley Quinn”) and Minkyu Jung. Both artists are still relatively new to the comics game, having only a few titles under their names. Failla brings a classic superhero style to his work. Classic, but with a beautiful, modern appeal to it. He knows exactly how to put his touch on all of these characters, (And boy does he get a lot to play with) but they are the heroes fans know. No odd choices made here. And hey, its Marvel, you probably don’t get a lot of chances to do something weird. However, his beautiful work is on full display. It isn’t clear exactly what responsibilities he and Jung shared, but Jung’s work on books like “Ms. Marvel” showcase his sleek character designs and perfect inking. A lot of the dynamic fight scenes feel like they have his fingers in them. Either way, this art team made a gorgeous book to go with an already solid story. Every page is a delight to look over.

Comics’s mainstay Guru-eFX, brings his coloring talents to this book. He has a lot of really varied and interesting places to play with in this book. New York exteriors, various interiors, and the Man-Thing’s mind-scape. His work on the big action and fight scenes make for some incredible pages. Every panel pops and is an absolute joy to pour into your eyeballs. While I think he had the hardest time making the mind-scape palette really engrossing – everything is dim and shadowy – the panels and transition of Curt Connors SPOILER turning into The Lizard within the mind-scape are so creepy and delightful. And as that scene brings Lizard back into the real world, the change in palette is so incredible. Between the color change and whiplash of the action of it all is fantastic. This art team really didn’t let anything fall apart or through the cracks. Every page is something to behold and process over time.

As a whole the book is more Avengers than Spider-Man, but Peter gets his moment to shine. I just wish the other Spiders had more to do; especially the women characters. Whether this was the case or not, they feel intentionally left out after their introduction. As I said before, this issue is a real page turner. It balances a lot of aspects of a superhero issue that will appeal to readers of most ages. Little kids won’t understand the bulk of it, but tweens to adults will appreciate the huge battles and the more emotional sequences.

Final Verdict: 8.0, Excellent storytelling, and a crack art team make for an exciting Avengers and Spider-Man adventure with action, twists, horror, and great character moments.


Christopher Egan

Chris lives in New Jersey with his wife, daughter, two cats, and ever-growing comic book and film collection. He is an occasional guest on various podcasts, writes movie reviews on his own time, and enjoys trying new foods. He can be found on Instagram. if you want to see pictures of all that and more!

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