Issue(s): Man-Thing #4
Cover Date: May 80
Title: "Death-knell"
Credits:
Chris Claremont - Writer
Don Perlin - Penciler
Bob Wiacek - Inker

Review/plot:
This issue starts with the Man-Thing and a woman named Elaine Simpson falling off an airplane to certain death in the Himalayan mountains.

But this story is a continuation from Dr. Strange #40, so both Man-Thing and Simpson are teleported to safety by Baron Mordo.

We then see Dr. Strange defeat the demon Azrael that was sucking the lifeforce out of him (nothing special, he just casts up a lot of magic and then casts another spell that reverses the aging on himself).

Baron Mordo needs a place of power to perform the doomsday spell he's getting ready to cast, and Strange has narrowed it down to the Nexus of Realities in the Everglades, so Strange and Madeline head to Florida. Mordo has captured Jennifer Kale and twelve other people and set up a ceremony in Kale's home. He's also possessed the Man-Thing, leaving another fight for Strange with a powerful possessed minion of Mordo's.

Strange initially assumes he is needed for Mordo's ritual so he thinks the Man-Thing will just be trying to subdue him, but he's wrong. Mordo will actually be using the Man-Thing to fulfill the necessary male role in the ritual, so he's happy to let Stephen be killed.

Claremont's writing continues to be fine here. He does a good job with the Man-Thing's lack of emotion or intelligence. But a young Don Perlin's art is very... straightforward after several issues of Gene Colan in the Dr. Strange portion of this crossover, and it's a little jarring.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place directly in between Dr. Strange #40-41.

References:

• Dr. Strange learned about Man-Thing supporting characters Jennifer Kale and Dakimh the Enchanter from Howard the Duck behind the scenes of Marvel Treasury Edition #12.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Don Perlin wasn't actually young at the time; he'd been doing comics since starting at Atlas in the early 1950's.

Wow, it's incredible how much he evolves between this period and his run on the Defenders then.

Michael Fleisher wrote the first 3 issues and later said his writing was extremely heavily edited. However, he did state that he thought the Man-Thing was insane as opposed to literally mindless.

Don Perlin was 50 at the time.