The Swamp Thing is a fictional character and antihero in comic books published by American company DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in various different storylines. The character first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (July 1971) in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century. The character then returned in a solo series, set in the contemporary world and in the general DC continuity. The character is a swamp monster that resembles an anthropomorphic mound of vegetable matter, and fights to protect its swamp home, the environment in general, and humanity from various supernatural or terrorist threats.
The character found perhaps its greatest popularity during the 1970s and early 1990s. Outside of an extensive comic book history, Swamp Thing has inspired two theatrical films, a live-action television series, and a five-part animated series, among other media. IGN ranked him 28th in the "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" list.
Video Swamp Thing
Concept and creation
Len Wein came up with the idea for the character while riding a subway in Queens. He later recalled, "I didn't have a title for it, so I kept referring to it as 'that swamp thing I'm working on.' And that's how it got its name!" Bernie Wrightson designed the character's visual image, using a rough sketch by Wein as a guideline.
Maps Swamp Thing
Publication history
Volume 1
Len Wein was the writer for the first 13 issues, before David Michelinie and Gerry Conway finished up the series. Burgeoning horror artist Bernie Wrightson drew the first ten issues of the series while Nestor Redondo drew a further thirteen issues, the last issue being drawn by Fred Carrillo. The original creative team worked closely together; Wrightson recalled that during story conferences, Wein would walk around the office acting out all the parts. Swamp Thing fought against evil as he sought the men who murdered his wife and caused his monstrous transformation, as well as searching for a means to transform back to human form.
Swamp Thing has since fought many villains. Though they only met twice during the first series, the mad Dr. Anton Arcane and his obsession with gaining immortality became Swamp Thing's nemesis, even as Swamp Thing developed a close bond with Arcane's niece Abigail Arcane. Arcane was aided by his nightmarish army of Un-Men and the Patchwork Man, alias Arcane's brother Gregori Arcane, who after a land mine explosion was rebuilt as a Frankenstein's Monster-type creature by his brother. Also involved in the conflict was Swamp Thing's close friend-turned-enemy Matthew Cable, a federal agent who mistakenly believed Swamp Thing to be responsible for the deaths of Alec and Linda Holland.
As sales figures plummeted towards the end of the series, the writers attempted to revive interest by introducing fantastical creatures, aliens, and even Alec Holland's brother, Edward (a plot point ignored by later writers), into the picture.
The last two issues saw Swamp Thing transformed back into a human being, and having to fight one last menace as an ordinary human. The series was cancelled and a blurb for an upcoming team-up with Hawkman led nowhere.
Volume 2
In 1982, DC Comics revived the Swamp Thing series, attempting to capitalize on the summer 1982 release of the Wes Craven film of the same name. A revival had been planned for 1978, but was a victim of the DC Implosion. The new series, called Saga of the Swamp Thing, featured an adaptation of the Craven movie in its first annual. Now written by Martin Pasko, the book loosely picked up after Swamp Thing's appearance in Challengers of the Unknown, with the character wandering around the swamps of Louisiana seen as an urban legend and feared by locals. Pasko's main arc depicted Swamp Thing roaming the globe, trying to stop a young girl (and possible Anti-Christ) named Karen Clancy from destroying the world.
When Pasko had to give up work on the title due to increasing television commitments, editor Len Wein assigned the title to British writer Alan Moore. When Karen Berger took over as editor, she gave Moore free rein to revamp the title and the character as he saw fit. Moore reconfigured Swamp Thing's origin to make him a true monster as opposed to a human transformed into a monster. In his first issue, he swept aside most of the supporting cast Pasko had introduced in his year-and-a-half run as writer, and brought the Sunderland Corporation to the forefront, as they hunted Swamp Thing and "killed" him in a hail of bullets. The subsequent investigation revealed that Swamp Thing was not Alec Holland transformed into a plant but actually a form of plant life that had absorbed Holland's body and created a 'copy' of his form and consciousness after exposure to his serum, with Swamp Thing's appearance being the plants' attempt to duplicate Holland's human form. This resulted in Swamp Thing suffering a temporary mental breakdown and identity crisis, but he eventually reasserted himself in time to stop the latest scheme of the Floronic Man.
Issue #32 was a strange twist of comedy and tragedy, as Swamp Thing encounters Pogo, Walt Kelly's character.
Moore would later reveal, in an attempt to connect the original one-off Swamp Thing story from House of Secrets to the main Swamp Thing canon, that there had been dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Swamp Things since the dawn of humanity, and that all versions of the creature were designated defenders of the Parliament of Trees, an elemental community also known as "the Green" that connects all plant life on Earth. Moore's Swamp Thing broadened the scope of the series to include ecological and spiritual concerns while retaining its horror-fantasy roots. In issue #37, Moore formally introduced the character of John Constantine as a magician/con artist who would lead Swamp Thing on the American Gothic storyline. Alan Moore also introduced the concept of the DC characters Cain and Abel being the Biblical Cain and Abel caught in an endless cycle of murder and resurrection.
Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority.
With issue #65, regular penciler Rick Veitch took over from Moore and began scripting the series, continuing the story in a roughly similar vein for 24 more issues. Veitch's term ended in 1989 in a widely publicized creative dispute, when DC refused to publish issue #88 because of the use of Jesus Christ as a character despite having previously approved the script in which Swamp Thing is a cupbearer who offers Jesus water when he calls for it from the cross. The series was handed to Doug Wheeler, who made the cup that Shining Knight believed to be the Holy Grail to be a cup used in a religious ceremony by a Neanderthal tribe that was about to be wiped out by Cro-Magnons, in the published version of issue #88. Beginning in issue #90, Wheeler reintroduced the Matango that Steve Bissette had introduced in Swamp Thing Annual #4.
After a period of high creative turnover, in 1991 DC sought to revive interest in Swamp Thing by bringing horror writer Nancy A. Collins on board to write the series. Starting with Swamp Thing Annual #6, Collins moved on to write Swamp Thing #110-138, dramatically overhauling the series by restoring the pre-Alan Moore tone and incorporating a new set of supporting cast members into the book. Collins resurrected Anton Arcane along with the Sunderland Corporation as foils for Swamp Thing. Her stories tended to be ecologically based and at one point featured giant killer flowers.
With issue #140 (March 1994), the title was handed over to Grant Morrison for a four-issue arc, co-written by the then unknown Mark Millar. As Collins had destroyed the status quo of the series, Morrison sought to shake the book up with a four-part storyline which had Swamp Thing plunged into a nightmarish dream-world scenario where he was split into two separate beings: Alec Holland and Swamp Thing, which was now a mindless being of pure destruction. Millar then took over from Morrison with issue #144, and launched what was initially conceived as an ambitious 25-part storyline where Swamp Thing would be forced to go upon a series of trials against rival elemental forces. Millar brought the series to a close with issue #171 in a finale where Swamp Thing becomes the master of all elemental forces, including the planet.
Volume 3
Written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Roger Petersen and Giuseppe Camuncoli in 2001, the third Swamp Thing series focused on the daughter of the Swamp Thing, Tefé Holland. Even though she was chronologically 11-12, the series had Tefé aged into the body of an 18-year-old with a mindwipe orchestrated by Swamp Thing, Constantine, and Abby in order to try to control her darker impulses, brought about by her exposure to the Parliament of Trees. Due to the circumstances under which she was conceived, while Swamp Thing, possessing John Constantine, was not aware he was given a blood transfusion by a demon, she held power over both plants and flesh.
Believing herself to be a normal human girl named Mary who had miraculously recovered from cancer three years prior, she rediscovers her powers and identity when she finds her boyfriend and best friend betraying her on prom night. In a moment of anger, her powers manifest and she kills them both. Tefé then fakes her own death and embarks on a series of misadventures that take her across the country, and ultimately to Africa, in search of a mythical "Tree of Knowledge".
During this series, it seems that Swamp Thing and Abigail have reunited as lovers and are living in their old home in the Louisiana swamps outside Houma. The home in which they live more closely resembles the one Swamp Thing constructs for Abigail during the Moore run than the home in which they dwell during the Collins run. In a confrontation with Tefé, Swamp Thing explains that he has cut himself off from the Green, and there seems to be no trace of the god-like powers he acquired from the Parliaments of Air, Waves, Stone or Flames during the Millar run. Also, Vaughan's Swamp Thing does not seem to have been divorced from the humanity of his Alec Holland self. The disconnection between these two entities, however, emerges as a plot point in Volume 4.
Volume 4
A fourth series began in 2004, with writers Andy Diggle (#1-6), Will Pfeifer (#7-8) and Joshua Dysart (#9-29). In this latest series, Swamp Thing is reverted to his plant-based Earth Elemental status after the first storyline, and he attempts to live an "eventless" life in the Louisiana swamps. Tefé, likewise, is rendered powerless and mortal. Issue #29, intended to be the final issue of the fourth volume, was cancelled due to low sales numbers.
Return to the DC Universe
Brightest Day
The conclusion of the series "Brightest Day" revealed that Swamp Thing had become corrupted by the personality of the villain Nekron in the wake of the Blackest Night crossover. Swamp Thing now believed himself to be Nekron, similar to how he had once believed himself to be Alec Holland. Swamp Thing went on a rampage in Star City, ultimately seeking to destroy all life on Earth. The Entity within the White Lantern used several heroes, including Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and Deadman to slow the rampage and to construct a new Swamp Thing based on the body of Alec Holland. Instead of merely thinking it was Holland, this version of Swamp Thing would actually be him. The new Swamp Thing defeated and killed the corrupted and original Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing then restored life to natural areas around the world and declared that those who hurt "the Green" would face his wrath. He also restored Aquaman, Firestorm, Hawkman, and Martian Manhunter to normal. The book ended with Swamp Thing killing several businessmen who engaged in deliberate, illegal polluting activities.
Search for the Swamp Thing
This three-issue miniseries follows immediately after the events of "Brightest Day", and follows the actions of John Constantine as he tries to work out what has changed with Swamp Thing, and track him down, with the assistance of Zatanna, Batman, and Superman.
Volume 5
DC Comics relaunched Swamp Thing with issue #1 in September 2011 as part of The New 52.
Volume 6
A six-issue miniseries written by Len Wein, co-creator of Swamp Thing, with art by Kelley Jones was released between March and August 2016.
Fictional character biography
Alex Olsen
Alex Olsen was a talented young scientist in Louisiana in the early 1900's married to a woman named Linda. Alex's assistant, Damian Ridge, was secretly in love with Linda and plotted the death of his friend. He tampered with Olsen's chemicals killing him in the explosion and dumped his body in the nearby swamp. Ridge used Linda's grief to convince her to marry him, only to one day become confronted with Alex Olsen again, now a risen humanoid pile of vegetable matter. Olsen killed Ridge, but Linda did not recognize him and ran away leaving Olsen to wander the swamps alone as a monster.
Alec Holland
Albert Höllerer
Albert Hollerer is a German airplane pilot who fought in World War II and was shot down over a bog in 1942. In the wake of his death in which he was burned alive, he became the Swamp Thing of that era. For years, he walked the Earth, keeping only a small airplane toy with him as the only memory of his former life. In 1954, the creature finally found peace among the Parliament of Trees.
Tefé Holland
Allan Hallman
Alan Hallman was selected by the Parliament of Trees to be the planet's earth elemental before Alec Holland became the Swamp Thing. He had been a scientist working on a formula to repair damaged crops when the Parliament chose him, and he died in flames--as all elementals must. However, while traversing The Green, he was captured within a creature of The Grey, which broke him down and converted him into fungus and mold. He was recreated as an emissary of The Grey by Matango, who gathered Hallman's consciousness back together in his Chamber of Dreams. With Matango's return from Hell, Alan Hallman was released into The Green to find and capture the Swamp Thing and his daughter Tefé, and force them to surrender their individuality to The Grey.
Aaron Hayley
Aaron Hayley is an American soldier in World War II, who was slain and arose as the Swamp Thing. Since there was already an active Plant Elemental at the time (Albert Höllerer), he was only active as Swamp Thing for a short time, and soon took his place among the Parliament of Trees.
Calbraith A. H. Rodgers
Calbraith A. H. Rodgers was born in England in 1920. Ever since he was a boy, he had heard whispers from the leaves, the flowers and the trees that something great and terrible would be waiting for him on the other side. Afraid of what would be waiting for him on the other side of death, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force to try and escape the pull of The Green. However, on May 3, 1942, on his fourth mission as a pilot during the war, his plane was shot down. Landing in a swamp, the dying Rodgers felt the branches and petals reaching for him, delivering him to his new life as protector of The Green. By fusing the man with the Green in the final moments of his life, the Swamp Thing was created.
Rodgers served a number of years as the Swamp Thing before taking his place in the Parliament of Trees, the final resting place of his predecessors, where his consciousness would live on as the flesh of the body passed away. Rodgers would later leave the Parliament of Trees to become the Swamp Thing once again in order to warn Alec Holland of the coming of both The Rot and Sethe, the enemy the Swamp Thing was born to defend The Green against. Rodgers knew that to remove his consciousness from the Parliament of Trees would mean true death. After delivering his message to Alec and warning him to stay away from Abby Arcane, he passed away.
Powers and abilities
Swamp Thing can inhabit and animate vegetable matter anywhere, including alien plants, even sentient ones, and construct it into a body for himself. As a result, bodily attacks mean little to him. He can easily regrow damaged or severed body parts, and can even transport himself across the globe by leaving his current form, transferring his consciousness to a new form grown from whatever vegetable matter is present in the location he wishes to reach. He even grew himself a form out of John Constantine's meager tobacco supply on one occasion.
Swamp Thing is normally human-sized or slightly larger than average, but he can grow bodies much larger. He once used Sequoioideae to grow a body the size of an office block.
Swamp Thing possesses superhuman strength. While Swamp Thing's strength has never been portrayed as prominently as many of his other abilities, he is arguably one the most powerful beings in the DCU. DC's New 52 continuity made several changes, though mostly highlighting previous abilities and a physical look not dissimilar from previous incarnations. New 52 continuity did however bring Swamp thing further into the shared universe continuity by placing him permanently in the Justice League Dark team lineup. Partnering with many familiar faces like John Constantine, Zatanna Zatara, and Deadman. Swamp Thing's powers and abilities make him the true powerhouse of the team. His power limits have yet to be established. He has demonstrated sufficient strength to rip large trees out of the ground with ease and trade blows with the likes of Etrigan the Demon.
Swamp Thing can control any form of plant life. He can make it bend to his will or accelerate its growth. This control even extends to alien life, as he once cured Superman of an infection caused by exposure to a Kryptonian plant that was driving Superman mad and causing his body to burn out its own power.
After the run of Mark Millar, Swamp Thing had also mastered the elements of Fire, Earth, Water and Air, the Parliaments of each were later killed by The Word, implying that he has retained these abilities and has the power once held by the Parliaments. This has yet to be explained.
The new Swamp Thing (a resurrected Alec Holland) has no power over a White Lantern Power Ring but he can control all forms of plant life and even grow every kind even if it is unknown to him. He can also grow from any plant life anywhere, dead or alive. This is seen when Seeder creates a portal to the moon and banishes him there. However, Holland simply resurrects himself back on Earth from the plants growing on Seeder's face.
Other versions
- In Super Friends #28, Swamp Thing made an appearance as one of the five foes that the team battles.
- A pre-Swamp Thing Alec Holland appears in The Batman Adventures #16 in a five-page backup, set in the Batman: The Animated Series universe. He lives with the long-retired Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy), as well encountering a plant doppelganger she created earlier on to keep Batman from trying to locate her.
- Swamp Thing appears in the Year Three of Injustice: Gods Among Us comic series in which he has chosen to ally with Superman instead of Batman and his longtime ally John Constantine. He appears when Constantine and Batman approach him to become allies of the Insurgency, only to discover he has already aligned with the Regime because of their efforts to prevent cataclysmic harm to the environment. Due to having a past with Constantine, he allows them to go unharmed but warns that he will not be as lenient the next time. Swamp Thing makes good on his threat near the climax of Year Three, where he appears to aid the Regime against the Insurgency. Poison Ivy is brought in to take him on, though they unite to preserve the Earth as the demon Trigon and Mister Mxyzptlk get into an epic fight that threatens to engulf everyone and send them to Hell. As the Flash races to save everyone before it is too late, Swamp Thing becomes intangible at the last minute and is trapped in Hell.
- In the alternate history DC Comics Bombshells, Swamp Thing is a domovoi, one of many magical creatures from Russian folklore to emerge to fight alongside the Soviets in the Siege of Leningrad.
In other media
Television
- A public service announcement aired on behalf of Greenpeace against littering featuring Swamp Thing was debuted to coincide with the release of The Return of Swamp Thing.
- The Swamp Thing television series first aired on USA Network from 1990 to 1993. The series was filmed in the brand-new Universal Studios Florida facilities and soundstages with Dick Durock reprising the role of Swamp Thing. The series ended short of its 100 episode schedule and reran on various networks throughout the following years. Starting in 2008, DVD collections of the episodes have been released via Shout! Factory.
- DiC Entertainment's Swamp Thing animated series debuted on Fox Kids in April 1991, with Len Carlson providing the voice of the title character. Anton Arcane was the series' main villain, along with his three Un-Men. The animation style followed a trend similar to Troma's Toxic Crusaders. The program only lasted five episodes and is often considered a mini-series. Neither of these incarnations were highly successful critically or commercially, but the live-action series developed a cult following. A moderate collection of merchandise was produced for the animated series, including an action figure line by Kenner and video games by THQ.
- Swamp Thing made a small cameo appearance in the Justice League episode "Comfort and Joy". He was seen at a cantina.
- In a Justice League Unlimited episode (entitled "Initiation"), an unknown creature aboard the Justice League Watchtower, who is never identified, looks remarkably similar to the Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing can also be seen on a poster in the episode "Wake the Dead".
- Swamp Thing's human name was mentioned by NBC who released a photo for the TV series Constantine which shows Constantine's calling card number Constantine, Master of the Dark Arts at 404-248-7182 and When you dial the number, a recording says, "Hello, you've reached John Constantine. And that's John Constantine. If you're looking for Alec Holland, try the bloody swamp." It was rumored that Swamp Thing would appear in a future episode, but the show was cancelled.
- Swamp Thing was mentioned in The Real Housewives of New York City episode "The Last Splash".
- Swamp Thing appears in Justice League: Action, voiced by Mark Hamill. He first appears in "Abate and Switch" where he helps the Justice League fight the remaining Brothers Djinn members Abnegazar, Rath, and Nyorlath as well as Black Adam. In "Zombie King", Swamp Thing, together with Zatanna, Batman, and John Constantine, tries to stop Solomon Grundy from taking over the Earth with his army of zombies.
- A live-action series based on the character and produced by James Wan is set debut in 2019 on the DC Universe streaming service with Derek Mears portraying the character in a "physical costume" rather than CGI. The pilot will be written by Mark Verheiden and Gary Dauberman and directed by Len Wiseman.
Film
- Swamp Thing's expansion into media outside of comic books began with his first eponymous film in 1982. Directed by Wes Craven, it starred actor/stuntman Dick Durock as the title character. A sequel, The Return of Swamp Thing, was produced in 1989. This was much lower in budget and met with significantly less success than its predecessor. The film series rejected the popular Alan Moore revision of Swamp Thing's origin and portrayed Swamp Thing with his original origin as a man turned into a plant-like entity. They also heavily featured Anton Arcane, who now became the man responsible for causing Alec Holland's transformation into Swamp Thing.
- The documentary feature film The Mindscape of Alan Moore contains a psychedelic animation piece based on the "Love and Death" issue of Swamp Thing.
- Swamp Thing appears in the 2017 animated film Justice League Dark portrayed by Roger R. Cross. In order to locate Felix Faust, the Justice League Dark go to find Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing agrees to transport them to Faust's observatory, but declines to join the group's fight. When the Justice League tries to fight Destiny, Constantine summons Swamp Thing, who agrees to fight Destiny, but he is eventually defeated by Destiny, who takes Alec Holland's corpse from his body.
- Swamp Thing appears in Batman and Harley Quinn, voiced by John DiMaggio. In the film, he appears before Floronic Man, informing him that the concoction that Woodrue made would threaten the Green, however, he does not intervene. Afterwards, he retreats back to the Green.
- Swamp Thing appeared in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. He's featured as one of the superheroes who got their own movie.
Video games
- A video game based on the animated series Swamp Thing was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Game Boy Color in 1991. A port was to be released for the Sega Genesis, but was ultimately cancelled. A prototype ROM of the Sega Genesis version was eventually found and made available on the internet.
- Swamp Thing appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Chilimbwe Washington. In the hero campaign, the players find Swamp Thing in the aquacultural area of the Justice League Watchtower during the Spring Seasonal Event.
- Swamp Thing appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by JB Blanc.
- Swamp Thing appears as a playable character in Infinite Crisis, voiced by Michael Dorn.
- Swamp Thing is referenced by several militia soldiers in Batman: Arkham Knight. One militia soldier mentions him as the "Swamp Creature from Louisiana", Additionally, at Poison Ivy's hideout, there is a bench with the inscription "In Loving Memory... Dr. Alec Holland".
- Swamp Thing appears as a playable character in Injustice 2, voiced by Fred Tatasciore. In the game's story mode, he initially mistakes Batman's insurgency for disturbing the peace of the Slaughter Swamp, before saving them from Scarecrow's minions' gunfire and offering his future services to the crew should they need him. In the game's climax, he along with Firestorm is brainwashed by Brainiac and forced to fight Batman or Superman, after of which his mind returns to normal. In his single player ending, he reminds the planet of his presence by having trees and plants take over the cities and vows to defend the Green.
Miscellaneous
- In Super Friends #28, Swamp Thing made an appearance as one of the five foes that the team battles.
- A pre-Swamp Thing Alec Holland appears in The Batman Adventures #16 in a five-page backup, set in the Batman: The Animated Series universe. He lives with the long-retired Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy), as well encountering a plant doppelganger she created earlier on to keep Batman from trying to locate her.
Awards
Over the years, the Swamp Thing series has been nominated for and won several awards. Len Wein won the 1972 Shazam Award for "Best Writer (Dramatic Division)" and Berni Wrightson won the Shazam Award for "Best Penciller (Dramatic Division)" that same year for their work on Swamp Thing. Wein and Wrightson also won the Shazam Award for "Best Individual Story (Dramatic)" in 1972 for "Dark Genesis" in Swamp Thing #1. The series won the Shazam Award for "Best Continuing Feature" in 1973.
Alan Moore won the 1985 and 1986 Jack Kirby Awards for "Best Writer" for Swamp Thing. Moore, John Totleben, and Steve Bissette won the 1985 Jack Kirby Award for "Best Single Issue" for Swamp Thing Annual #2. They also won the 1985, 1986, and 1987 Jack Kirby Awards for "Best Continuing Series" for Swamp Thing.
References
External links
- Swamp Thing at the Continuity Pages
- Swamp Thing Annotations (Moore/Veitch Era)
- Swamp Thing at the Grand Comics Database
- "A Tale from the Swamp: The Origin of Wein & Wrightson's Swamp Thing," Comic Book Artist #1 (Spring 1998), pp. 28-29: interviews with Len Wein, Bernie Wrightson, and Joe Orlando.
- Arcane Knowledge: A Guide To The Swamp Thing TV Series
- Swamp Thing, Man-Thing and The Heap at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- Roots of the Swamp Thing
- Swamp Thing at TV.com
- Swamp Thing (Alex Olsen) at the Comic Book DB
- Swamp Thing (Alec Holland) at the Comic Book DB
- Swamp Thing (Tefé Holland) at the Comic Book DB
- Swamp Thing (Aaron Hayley) at the Comic Book DB
- Swamp Thing (Alan Hallman) at the Comic Book DB
Source of article : Wikipedia
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