In nature, creatures that look ferocious and intimidating oftentimes have personalities to match. So, when researchers finally managed to find an active colony of an ant species with a frightening appearance and a name that literally means "tyrant ants," they expected to observe some seriously aggressive insect action. What they got instead has left them completely puzzled, and with more questions than answers.

Scientists have known that the Tyrannomyrmex rex ant exists for a long while now. Researchers first discovered a single dead member of the species way back in 2003 in Malaysia. Other solitary examples of the species were spotted later, but until now, nobody had ever found an actual nest. Researchers theorized that the ant was so rare because they only existed in untouched, pristine jungles, but when an intact nest was discovered on the grounds of a military training area in Singapore, it was only the first of many surprises the ants were ready to offer.

The most shocking thing about the ants may be that, despite their intimidating appearance, they exhibited no aggressive behavior in any of the testing the researchers performed. In fact, when faced with other insects, they froze, hid, or fled at the first sign of potential danger. As National Geographic reports, lead researcher Mark Wong "had a good laugh" when all of the ants' would-be prey seemed to send the insects running for the hills.

Along with being a bit funny, the ants' refusal to attack any of the potential prey offerings has left the scientists at a loss to explain what the species even eats. On top of that, the team found that the ants don't even have the same personal hygiene glands that other ants use to keep themselves and their colonies free of devastating bacteria. The specimens have preserved for further study, and may provide even more surprises down the road.

He’s big, he’s slimy, and he’s coming to a silver screen near you—if he doesn’t scare all the kids away first. I’m talking about Man-Thing, the disgusting swamp monster leaving trails of slime in Marvel comics since the early 1970s.

Recently, however, we find this heinous dripping pile of muck in his own limited series penned by one of the great masters of horror, R.L. Stine of “Goosebumps” fame, who felt the time right to inject some humor into the adventures of the misunderstood, reality-hopping creature

As we near the fifth and final issue of MAN-THING on June 21, Stine—a self-proclaimed man without fear—looks back on his intimidating inspirations, helping Sallis find his voice—literally—and the close connection between blood, guts, and laughs.

Marvel.com: We’re two issues away from the finale of this series. How are you gearing up for the conclusion to this MAN-THING saga?

R.L. Stine: Well, I always have to have my ending first so I had an ending in mind from the beginning. The five [issues] are all done, actually. [Issue #4], actually, is the best, I think. I think #4 is the funniest, but I got him in this mess. He’s gone after Oldfather, and so he’s in this thing with all the realities and so I love doing stuff like that because I can do anything. If you can do any reality and have reality changing all the time it’s actually very freeing, you can do all kinds of things.

Marvel.com: Should we, as the readers, be bracing for an epic “Goosebumps”-level twist that will shatter our psyches and chill us to the bone?

R.L. Stine: [Laughs] Well, you know, I tried to make the whole series funnier because he’s such a hideous character. He has to be maybe the ugliest character Marvel has, which is one of the main reasons I picked him when they give me a [list] of characters that they weren’t using and said, “Which one would you like to do?” and I happen to love swamp monsters and he was just so ugly I had to pick him. But yes, there is a major twist at the end. You know, like all “Goosebumps” books there’s a happy ending, they all have happy endings, but then after the happy ending, there’s something pretty terrible [Laughs].

Marvel.com: I’m looking forward to it and I’m glad you brought up your affinity for swamp monsters because you’ve dealt with disgusting, dripping monstrosities in the past with “Monster Blood,” King Jellyjam, “The Blob That Ate Everyone”…

R.L. Stine: I actually did a “Goosebumps” book last year called “Here Comes The Shaggedy” and it was a swamp monster book.

Marvel.com: Well, that kind of segues into my next question, which is did Man-Thing prove to be different from the rest of these creatures and if so, how?

R.L. Stine: Well he did in that he has more of backstory and I felt the backstory was really good. And I think we recapped it in the first [issue] of mine where Ted Sallis, this brilliant scientist, is trying to keep this serum from the army so he injects himself with it and then turns himself into this creature. In the old series, he couldn’t really speak or anything, but I wanted him to be kind of funny and sarcastic about it, about how horrible he looks and he’s so eager trying to get back to human [form] so for most of it, I gave him back his powers of speech.

Marvel.com: Man-Thing, as a character, has influenced writers like Neil Gaiman in the past. Did any other properties play important roles in your writing career or have repercussions on this series?

R.L. Stine: When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the EC horror comics, Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. I was just obsessed with them and I think they were incredibly influential on what I do because, as you know, they’re horrifying, right? They’re really disgusting, horrifying things and they all have a funny twist ending, every story. That kind of stayed with me so I think they were very important to me. Also, I didn’t really know that much about Man-Thing. I had to learn so I read all the old [ones] that [writer] Steve Gerber did. I really liked those a lot and then that was very helpful to me.

Marvel.com: And other than being a disgusting swamp monster, what attributes do you think make Man-Thing a perfect subject for horror?

R.L. Stine: The fact that he’s an outsider, for one thing. There’s no way he can be accepted anywhere. In the first MAN-THING he says, “Why can’t I have a movie? Every other Marvel character has a movie.” And he tries to have a Hollywood career, but he [screen] tests so terribly because he’s so ugly and he scares the kids. And so, I think being an outsider is part of it and just being so limited in a way in what he can do. I think that’s a real challenge too.

Man-Thing #5 cover by Tyler Crook

Marvel.com: As someone who is comfortable writing within the horror genre, did anything end up scaring you when you were working on this comic?

R.L. Stine: Never.

Marvel.com: [Laughs]

R.L. Stine: It never happens. I wonder if it happens to other writers. I don’t know. There’s something missing in my brain in that horror never scares me. Any horror always makes me laugh. Seriously, the scariest Stephen King, the most disgusting, creepiest…“Pet Sematary,” for example. Those books make me laugh and I’ve never been scared by a movie. People say to me, “Oh, your book was so scary, I was up all night, I had to leave the lights on.” I’ve never had that feeling. I don’t know why, but I’ve just never had it. I think there’s a very close connection between humor and horror, there’s sort of the same visceral reaction. When you jump out at somebody and say, “BOO!” they gasp at first and then they laugh. I think it’s very closely connected. One other reason that I can never get scared from what I’m writing is I plan it all first, I do complete outlines of every book I write so I already know what’s gonna happen [Laughs], I can’t scare myself.

Marvel.com: You brought up your love of Tales from the Crypt. I love the idea of bonus back-up anthology scary stories at the end of each issue.

R.L. Stine: Those were fun for me. Originally, when [editor] Katie Kubert called me and said, “Would you like to do something for Marvel?” and I said, “Yeah! It’s sort of a lifelong dream, I’m finally getting around to it,” and at first, I was going to do just the straight, old fashioned type horror comic with two or three stories like that. But then I thought, “Gee, it’d be a lot more fun to just play with a Marvel character too.” So I got to do both and it was terrific.

Marvel.com: That’s awesome. Where did that idea for these stories come from? It’s a very “Twilight Zone”/Rod Serling/Crypt Keeper sort of thing…

R.L. Stine: Yeah, that’s just what it was supposed to be so I say that’s what we thought first, that would be a good thing to do and then I thought, “Oh, come on! Take one of these characters and put a little story in the back.”

Marvel.com: Are there any other Marvel you’re interested in tackling?

R.L. Stine: I have to think about that one; I would love to do some of the sillier ones like Ant-Man, ones that you could have sort of a satirical view with.

Marvel.com: And any other characters you think are kind of suited for horror or scary stories?

 R.L. Stine: Well actually, they all could be. There [are] elements of horror in a lot of Marvel stuff.

Prepare to be scared with MAN-THING #4—out May 31—and the grand finale, MAN-THING #5—available June 21—both from R.L. Stine and artist German Peralta!

Once upon a time, a kid from New York City picked up a shield and charged into battle…A prodigal son lifted a sacred hammer and proved himself worthy…And an arrogant genius forged an armor that would harness his true potential. Together, they became some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and ushered in the age of marvels! This August, prepare for Marvel’s GENERATIONS, but…what is the startling secret that ties them all together?

GENERATIONSbrings together Miles Morales and Peter Parker, Laura Kinney and Logan, Amadeus Cho and Bruce Banner, plus more, and illuminates the path that all these heroes will take into the future for a thrilling quest unlike anything seen in the Marvel Universe before.

A colossal collaboration of today’s greatest creators, Marvel’s GENERATIONS continues the evolution of the Marvel Universe as the new class of heroes stand shoulder to shoulder with those who have trail blazed their legacy.

Running August to September, this 10-issue series put to the test in this universe-wide team-up that will shed light on the most pressing questions about the future of the Marvel Universe, and the fate of everyone’s favorite heroes.

August On Sale

GENERATIONS: THE STRONGEST starring Bruce Banner and Amadeus Cho, the Totally Awesome Hulk
Written by Greg Pak
Art by Matteo Buffagni

GENERATIONS: THE PHOENIX starring The Phoenix and Jean Grey
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by RB Silva

GENERATIONS: THE BEST starring Wolverine and All-New Wolverine
Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Ramon Rosanas

GENERATIONS: THE THUNDER starring The Mighty Thor and The Unworthy Thor
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Mahmud Asrar

GENERATIONS: THE ARCHERS starring Hawkeyes, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop
Written by Kelly Thompson
Art by Stefano Raffaele

September On Sale

GENERATIONS: THE BRAVEST starring Captain Mar-Vell and Captain Marvel
Written by Margie Stohl
Art by Brent Schoonover

GENERATIONS: THE MARVELS starring Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel
Written by G. Willow Wilson

GENERATIONS: THE IRON starring Iron Man and Ironheart
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Marco Rudy

GENERATIONS: THE SPIDERS starring Peter Parker: Spider-Man and Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Ramon Perez

GENERATIONS: THE AMERICAS starring Steve Rogers: Captain America and Sam Wilson: Captain America
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Paul Renaud

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Latest on the death of a 6-year-old boy who was in a car that was stolen in Mississippi (all times local):

Every Friday we use the powers of Marvel Unlimited to look back at the very first appearance of a major character, place or object that made waves this week.

She’s been an X-Man, a New Warrior, a mom, and a vampire, and now Jubilation Lee serves as the leader of a group of mutant misfits in the pages of GENERATION X by Christina Strain and Amilcar Pinna. Before all that, though, she started as a homeless mall rat with mutant powers showing off to small crowds in the pages of UNCANNY X-MEN #244 by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri. Unlike some of her fellow mutants, she seemed to know exactly what her mutant ability entailed, namely the power to control “articulate, quasi-animate, transitory plasmoids.”

Not everyone at the Hollywood Mall enjoyed her displays, though, especially the security guards who patrolled the place. She gave them the old razzle-dazzle before announcing her code name and then tumbling her way out. Thanks to interference run by nearby skaters and some more impressive acrobatics, she got away. All of this made the head rent-a-cop so mad that he called in a group of mutant hunters called M Squad.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #244

• Published: May 10, 1989
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: September 17, 2008
• Rating: T+
• Writer: Chris Claremont
• Penciller: Marc Silvestri
• Cover Artist: Marc Silvestri

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At this time, the X-Men lived in the Australian outback, an arrangement that seemed to grate on more than a few members. To help alleviate the stress of devoting their entire lives to saving a world that hates and fears them, Dazzler, Storm, Rogue, and Psylocke decided to go shopping at the very same establishment that Jubilee previously parlayed her powers thanks to a portal provided by Gateway.

After a bit of shopping fun, the X-Women retired to a joint called Hotbods, which triggered an alarm on the hapless M Squad’s equipment. First, they ran into Jubilee though and fired on her, which drew the attention of our heroines. They made short work of the goons and had Gateway open up another portal home, but Jubilee jumped through to join them in the next issue!

Over the years, Jubilee went from new kid on the block—and Wolverine’s protégé—to the experienced member of the original Generation X team. Since then she’s served on her fair share of X-Squads, but lost her powers on M-Day. After trying to use tech to recreate those abilities, she got turned into a vampire by Xarus instead.

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With some help from her friends she’s gotten the vampirism under control and even adopted a baby named Shogo who will go on to become a great hero, at least in one possible future. Now she’s juggling all that while playing mentor to some of the more fringe students at the Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach located in New York City’s Central Park.

Flash Forward

Jubilee jumped onto the comic scene in 1989, making her one of the marquee teen characters of the franchise when the “X-Men” animated series launched on Fox in 1992. The show even used her as the point of view character for the audience, basing part of the first two-part episode, “Night of the Sentinels,” around her. Much like in her first comic appearance, she started out in a mall, though this time Sentinels broke in and attacked. Also, the entire X-Men team jumped in to save her. Over the course of the show’s five-season run, Jubilee became an integral part, even mirroring her comic relationship with Wolverine.