THE GREEN THING
Real Name: None
Identity/Class: Plant-life
Occupation: Would-be conqueror
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Ignatius Rex, its creator
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: An island off the coast of Australia
First Appearance: Tales Of Suspense I#19/1 (July, 1961)
Powers/Abilities: The Green Thing was an animated weed which possessed human-level intelligence, the ability to move, superhuman strength, and the ability to command
other forms of plant life.
History: (Tales Of Suspense I#19 - (fb)) - A botanist who had developed a serum which could bestow intelligence upon plant life came to an island off the coast of Australia,
hoping to find a specimen of Ignatius Rex, a highly developed plant. Unable
to do so, he decided to test his serum upon a weed he found there. The weed became a massive, human-shaped
creature, and learned to speak. After teaching itself to talk and walk, it decided that it would conquer Earth using the botanist's formula on other plant-life.
The botanist refused and ran, destroying the motor of his boat so that the Green Thing could not escape the island.
After fighting off a shark, the Green Thing continued to
chase him, summoning aid from nearby trees against the botanist. Finally, just as the Green Thing was about to close in on him, the botanist found a specimen of Ignatius Rex,
and injected it with his formula. The second plant attacked the Green Thing and destroyed it, realizing that the Green Thing was an evil plant.
Comments: The Green Thing, Ignatius Rex, and the botanist were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
I don't think the weed's mutation was accidental, at all. I
think--just as they did with Samuel Smithers--the H'lythri plant people of Kun-Lun
psionically manipulated that other gardener [the botanist] into developing that
experimental plant-growth formula. Why? To create a host body for
the astrally-projected mind of a pre-invasion scout, of course! What about
the rare plant known as Ignatious Rex? Simple: it was mutated to serve as
a host for the disembodied consciousness of...the Elder Cotati!! After
some more psychic manipulation of that poor gardener, of course.--Carycomix
Big thanks to Madison Carter
for allowing me to borrow images from his website, The Monsters of Jack Kirby.
Ignatius Rex was the most highly-developed form of plant life found upon the island near Australia.
In order to save himself from the Green Thing, the botanist injected his
formula into Ignatius Rex, which soon became as intelligent and powerful as the Green Thing.
Recognizing the Green Thing as being evil, Ignatius Rex refused its offer of an alliance,
and instead destroyed it. Ignatius Rex then remained on the island, for the good of mankind, and allowed the botanist to depart. -Tales of Suspense
I #19 The botanist who created the Green Thing had originally hoped to use his intelligence-increasing serum upon Igantius Rex, but settled for a weed when he couldn't find
one. After realizing the evilness of the weed, he turned against it, and managed to find an Ignatius Rex which he then injected.
Ignatius Rex destroyed the Green Thing, and remained
on the island in peace while the botanist returned to human society, now deathly afraid of plants. -Tales Of Suspense
I#19 by
Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims
CLARIFICATIONS: Last updated: 02/16/04
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
The Green Thing should not be confused with:
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com