Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Uncanny X-Men #13

While the X-Men are most obviously and most popularly known for being a mutant-exclusive team, the band of heroes has occasionally adopted certain non-mutant into the mix. Heroes like Juggernaut, Deadpool, and Warlock perfectly exemplify the X-Men’s more inclusive standards. However, the team has just broken the mold even further by conscripting a new ally too wild to believe.

In Uncanny X-Men #13 (2025), by Gail Simone and David Marquez, the Louisiana X-Men’s young team of Outliers is suddenly jarred awake by Deathdream, as he quietly whispers for the team to come along.

Without saying much, Deathdream leads his teammates through the thick, murky bog surrounding their base. Deep within the Louisiana swampland, an obsidian tomb materializes from the mist as the Outliers draw near. As the young X-Men venture deeper into the crypt, the whispers of the dead emanate from Deathdream’s mouth, guiding them until they encounter his new ally: Man-Thing.

Man-Thing s the X-Men’s Outliers

Uncanny X-Men #13 (2025) - Written by Gail Simone; Art by David Marquez; Color by Matthew Wilson; Lettering by VC’s Clayton Cowles

This Uncanny X-Men series has taken the franchise in a drastic turn towards the supernatural. Gambit now holds one of the Eyes of Agamotto, and the team has already staved off a mutant-hunting hag. Now, as the Outliers near one of mutantkind’s oldest secrets, they must first heed the guidance of the fear-consuming mythical entity known as Man-Thing. Just as Deathdream warns his friends, Man-Thing is a plant-like empath who feeds on the emotions of those around him. However, the creature despises fear, and if Man-Thing is exposed to too much of it, he attacks and sears his victims' flesh.

Despite this gruesome drawback, Man-Thing has been a valuable ally to heroes who are wise enough to work around his reactive disposition. Previously, a version of Man-Thing served alongside the Avengers and their mission to defeat the Legion of the Unliving. Likewise, this isn’t the first time a group of X-Men has run into a version of the creature. In X-Men First Class #8 (2008), the first generation of X-Men are sent to the Florida Everglades, where they accidentally run into Man-Thing. While the meeting was chaotic, the creature always proved to err on the side of peace.

Man-Thing’s Presence Suggests Danger On The Horizon

Man-Thing Only Appears During The Greatest Of Supernatural Threats

It’s hard to say with certainty how desperately the Outliers will come to rely on Man-Thing’s powers, but his presence often spells bad news. When Ted Sallis crashed into the Everglades, his demonically-charged SO-2 vaccine unintentionally opened a portal known as the Nexus of All Realities. To ensure his actions never jeopardize the volatile sanctity of the Multiverse, Man-Thing has charged himself with protecting the Nexus from any threat that may seek to take advantage of the portal. However, if a supernatural threat is great enough, Man-Thing, or one of its offshoots, often arrives to help subdue the danger.

Now, the Outliers have found themselves in a house of the dead as the Man-Thing patiently waits below. While it’s unclear how Deathdream knows that Man-Thing consumes fear, his ability to connect and communicate with the former scientist will prove to be a valuable asset when the team faces the mysterious mutant locked underneath the tomb: Henrietta Benjamin. The obsidian-clad mythical mutant possesses a dark secret that this young band of X-Men and their new paranormal ally, the Man-Thing, will soon face in the following chapters of the Uncanny X-Men.

Uncanny X-Men #13 (2025) is now available from Marvel Comics.