WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1 by Steve Orlando, Andrea Broccardo, Guru-eFX and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Across three specials, The Curse of the Man-Thing has seen the titular beast twisted and tormented by a brand new threat, one who has weaponized the Man-Thing himself and unleashed his power across every corner of the globe. Along the way, the consciousness of Man-Thing's human host, Ted Sallis, has continued hanging on to the last shred of the monstrous form he can, and he's run into heroes like Captain America and Spider-Man, who have helped him overcome his own inner demons.
And in X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing, Ted has at least one far more literal demon to deal with, and fan-favorite X-Veteran Magik has arrived to help him clean up his decades-old mess.
After his recent encounter with Spider-Man, Ted Sallis was finally able to once again gain control of his physical form as Man-Thing. Instead of heading into the fray, the scientist-turned-creature headed for his old office. Back when Ted was still trying to perfect his formula, he gave into temptation and summoned the demon Belasco, former ruler of Limbo and purveyor of demonic pacts. As Ted quickly realizes, he never really summoned Belasco specifically, but rather he had summoned the highest-ranking denizen of that dimension. While that was Belasco once upon a time, he has since been usurped by none other than Illyana Rasputina herself. Not only that, but she has just given Ted a chance to make up for his own wrongdoings while also getting back at the demon who originally damned him.
The deal that Ted had originally made with Belasco was for "a solution today for ruin tomorrow." This was delivered on in horrific fashion by ensuring the success of Ted's serum, but the secret behind it was one that shook Ted to his core. This drove his wife to her eventual betrayal, which in turn led to Ted injecting himself with his formula and getting into the accident that created Man-Thing in the first place.
But as the current ruler of Limbo, Magik has the power to alter the terms of the contract as she sees fit. She offers Ted freedom from his curse entirely, stripped from within the Man-Thing and let out into the world as he once was. This would leave Man-Thing itself truly mindless, potentially creating a new kind of threat. When Ted ultimately decides that he cannot continue to play the villain, Magik extends a different kind of offer to him in the form of fighting alongside her Dark Riders, as well as a chance to get revenge on Belasco for everything that has happened.
Ted jumps at the chance to finally be a hero of his own volition and helps bring the ongoing troubles with Man-Thing's power to a close. Not only has Ted found some semblance of peace for the first time in decades, but he has also made a powerful new ally in Magik.
Apart from her status as the ruler of Limbo and current decider of his fate, she is also one of the most powerful mutants in the world, further ensuring that Man-Thing has friends in both high and low places should he ever need to call on them. With the way things are looking right now, that shouldn't be happening any time soon, and that's probably the happiest ending Ted could have asked for.
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