Swamp Thing
| Swamp Thing | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Swamp Thing #9 (March–April 1974), art by Bernie Wrightson | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | List
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| Created by | List
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| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Alexander "Alex" Olsen Alec Holland Albert Höllerer Tefé Holland Allan Hallman Aaron Hayley Calbraith A. H. Rodgers Levi Kamei |
| Species | Swamp monster/Elemental |
| Team affiliations | Justice League Dark Justice League the Parliament of Trees Justice League United |
| Partnerships | Animal Man |
| Abilities |
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| Swamp Thing | |
| Series publication information | |
| Schedule | (vol. 1): Bi-monthly (vol. 2–7): Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Superhero, horror |
| Publication date | List
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| Number of issues | List
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| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | List
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| Penciller(s) | List
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| Inker(s) | List
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| Colorist(s) | List
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The Swamp Thing is a fictional superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics.[1] A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the 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.[2] The character then returned in a solo series, set in the contemporary world and in the general DC continuity.[3] The character is a swamp monster that resembles an anthropomorphic mound of vegetable matter, and fights to protect his swamp home, the environment in general, and humanity from various supernatural or terrorist threats.
The character found perhaps its greatest popularity during the original 1970s Wein/Wrightson run and in the mid-late 1980s during a highly acclaimed run under Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totlebenand. Swamp Thing would also go on to become one of the staples of the Justice League Dark team of magical superheroes.
Outside of an extensive comic book history, the Swamp Thing has inspired two theatrical films, two live-action television series in 1990 and 2019 and a five-part animated series, among other media. IGN ranked him 28th in the "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" list. He appeared in his first live adaptation in the 1982 film. Dick Durock portrayed the Swamp Thing, while Ray Wise played Alec Holland. Durock reprised the role in the sequel film The Return of Swamp Thing along with playing Holland. Durock reprised the role again in the 1990 television series. The Swamp Thing was performed by Derek Mears with Andy Bean playing his human form of Alec Holland in the television series for DC Universe.
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!"[4] Bernie Wrightson designed the character's visual image, using a rough sketch by Wein as a guideline.[4]
Publication history[]
1973 SERIES[]
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 10 issues of the series, while Nestor Redondo drew a further 13 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 of the parts.[4] The 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 into his human form.
The Swamp Thing has since fought many villains. Though they only met twice during the first series, the mad scientist Anton Arcane (with his obsession with gaining immortality) became the Swamp Thing's nemesis, even as the 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 Monster type creature by his brother. Also involved in the conflict was the Swamp Thing's close friend-turned-enemy Lt. Matthew Joseph Cable, a federal agent who originally mistakenly believed the 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 character that was never referred to again by later writers) into the picture.
The last two issues saw the Swamp Thing transformed back into Alec Holland and having to fight one last menace as an ordinary human. The series was cancelled and a blurb for an upcoming encounter with Hawkman led nowhere. Alec Holland's transformation back into Swamp Thing was covered in Challengers of the Unknown #81-87, within which Swamp Thing is enlisted by the titular team to fight the Lovecraftian cosmic threat M'nagalah, whom Swamp Thing had encountered during Wein's run.
1982 SERIES (SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING)[]
In 1982, DC Comics revived the Swamp Thing series,[5] 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 The 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 the Swamp Thing's guest appearances in Challengers of the Unknown #81-87, DC Comics Presents #8, and The Brave and the Bold #172, with the character wandering around the swamps of Louisiana seen as an urban legend and feared by locals. Pasko's main arc depicted the Swamp Thing roaming the globe, trying to stop a young girl (and the 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 the 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 that Pasko had introduced in his year-and-a-half run as writer and brought the Sunderland Corporation to the forefront, as they hunted the Swamp Thing down and "killed" him in a hail of bullets. The subsequent investigation revealed that the Swamp Thing was not Alec Holland transformed into a plant, but actually a wholly plant-based entity created upon the death of Alec Holland, having somehow absorbed duplicates of Holland's consciousness and memories into himself. He is described as "a plant that thought it was Alec Holland, a plant that was trying its level best to be Alec Holland". This is explained as a result of the plant matter of the swamp absorbing Holland's bio-restorative formula, with the Swamp Thing's appearance being the plants' attempt to duplicate Holland's human form. This revelation resulted in the Swamp Thing suffering a temporary mental breakdown and identity crisis, but he eventually re-asserted himself in time to stop the latest scheme of the Floronic Man.
Issue #32 was a strange twist of comedy and tragedy, as the Swamp Thing encounters an alien version of 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 #92 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 which rules a dimension 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 the Hellblazer as a magician/con artist who would lead the Swamp Thing on the "American Gothic" storyline. Alan Moore also introduced the concept of the DC characters Cain and Abel being the mystical reincarnations of the Biblical Cain and Abel caught in an endless cycle of murder and resurrection.
The Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority's approval.[6]
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 due to 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 the Swamp Thing is a cupbearer who offers Jesus water when he calls for it from the cross.[7][8] The series was handed to , who made the cup that the 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 Matango, a character that Stephen Bissette had introduced in Swamp Thing Annual #4.
After a period of high creative turnover,[9] 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 (vol. 2) #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.[10] Collins resurrected Anton Arcane, along with the Sunderland Corporation, as foils for the 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 story 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 the Swamp Thing plunged into a nightmarish dreamworld scenario where he was split into two separate beings: Alec Holland and the 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 the 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 the Swamp Thing becomes the master of all elemental forces, including the planet.
2001 SERIES[]
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 the 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, the Swamp Thing, possessing John Constantine, was not aware that 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 the 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 that the 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, the 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 becomes a plot point in Volume 4.
2004 SERIES[]
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, the 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 was intended to be the final issue of the fourth volume, which was cancelled due to low sales numbers.
Return to the DC Universe[]
Brightest Day[]
The conclusion of the crossover event Brightest Day revealed that the Swamp Thing had become corrupted by the personality of the villain Nekron in the wake of the Blackest Night crossover event.[11] The Swamp Thing now believed himself to be Nekron, similar to how he had once believed himself to be Alec Holland. The 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, the 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 that it was Holland, this version of the Swamp Thing would actually be him. The new Swamp Thing defeated and killed the corrupted and original Swamp Thing. The 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 the Martian Manhunter to normal. The book ended with the Swamp Thing killing several businessmen who engaged in deliberate, illegal polluting activities.[12]
Brightest Day Aftermath: The 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 the Swamp Thing and track him down, with the assistance of Zatanna, the Batman, and Superman.
2011 SERIES (THE NEW 52)[]
DC Comics relaunched Swamp Thing with issue #1 in September 2011 as part of The New 52,[13] with writer Scott Snyder (#1-18 and Annual). Snyder's run concluded with "Rotworld", a crossover event between Swamp Thing, Animal Man and Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Charles Soule wrote issues #19-40.
2016 MINI-SERIES[]
A six–issue miniseries written by Len Wein, co-creator of the Swamp Thing, with art by Kelley Jones was released between March and August 2016.
2021 MINI-SERIES[]
A ten-issue miniseries retitled with a "the" at the beginning written by Ram V with art by Mike Perkins began publication in March 2021. The book focuses on a new character named Levi Kami taking up the Swamp Thing mantle while the second Swamp Thing, Alec Holland, is off-world.[14]
Fictional character biography[]
Alex Olsen[]
Alexander "Alex" Olsen was a talented young scientist in Louisiana in the early 1900s 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. This corresponds with the fictional biography and dates of Hillman Periodicals' character The Heap, published 1942-1953.
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 Earth 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 the 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. On May 3, 1942, on his fourth mission as a pilot during World War II, 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 the 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 his body died. 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 that 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 Abigail Arcane, he died.
Jon Haraldson[]
In the 2020 crossover event, Endless Winter, the spirit of Jon Haraldson, the Viking Prince was summoned to the present day and temporarily made an agent of the Green to become a new Swamp Thing and fight the Frost King. However, at the end of the story he chose to return his spirit to Valhalla, the final resting place for all Norse warriors.
Levi Kamei[]
The newest Swamp Thing and the protagonist of the 10 issue Swamp Thing miniseries in 2021.[15]
Powers and abilities[]
In physical form, the Swamp Thing is a chlorokinetic-transmorphic elemental entity; an Avatar of "The Green" (the plane of existence for the hive-mind and life force of all plant life on Earth). The 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 that he wishes to reach. He even grew himself a form out of John Constantine's meager tobacco supply on one occasion.
The 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.
The Swamp Thing possesses superhuman strength; however, the Swamp Thing's strength has never been portrayed as prominently as many of his other abilities. DC's The New 52 continuity made several changes, though mostly highlighting previous abilities and a physical look not dissimilar from previous incarnations. The New 52 reboot did bring the 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 and Deadman. The 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.
The 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.[16]
After Mark Millar's run, the 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 the Seeder (the Floronic Man now endowed with power by the Parliament of Trees and with his mind splintered as a result of the events of Infinite Crisis) creates a portal to the Moon and banishes him there. However, Holland simply resurrects himself back on Earth from the plants growing on the Seeder's face.
Other versions[]
- In Super Friends #28, the Swamp Thing made an appearance as one of the five foes that the team battles.[17]
- 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 as encountering a plant doppelganger she created earlier on to keep Batman from trying to locate her.[18]
- The Swamp Thing appears in Year Three of the Injustice: Gods Among Us comic book series, in which he has chosen to ally with Superman instead of the Batman and his longtime ally John Constantine the Hellblazer. He appears when Constantine and the 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. The 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 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, the Swamp Thing becomes intangible at the last minute and is trapped in Hell.
- In JLA: The Nail, Holland appears as an advisor to the President and Wonder Woman makes reference to her stopping an attempt to steal details of his bio-restorative serum. Holland is apparently killed when the White House is destroyed in an attempt to frame Wonder Woman as an alien invader, averting any possibility that he will serve as the template for the Swamp Thing.
- In the alternate history of DC Comics Bombshells, the Swamp Thing is a lesovik, one of many magical creatures from Russian folklore to emerge to fight alongside the Soviets in the Siege of Leningrad.[19]
In other media[]
Television[]
- Video Comics (1979-1981), an early series on Nickelodeon composed of narrated comic book panels, includes Swamp Thing stories.
- The Swamp Thing appeared in a public service announcement aired on behalf of Greenpeace against littering, coinciding with the release of the film The Return of Swamp Thing (1989).
- The Alec Holland incarnation of the Swamp Thing appeared in the 1990 self-titled live-action series, with Dick Durock reprising the title role from the Swamp Thing films.
- The Alec Holland incarnation of the Swamp Thing appeared in the 1991 self-titled animated series, voiced by Len Carlson.
- The Swamp Thing made a cameo appearance in the Justice League animated series episode "Comfort and Joy".
- It was rumored that the Swamp Thing would appear in a future episode of the live-action series Constantine, but the show was cancelled before this could be proved or disproved.[20]
- The Swamp Thing appears in the Justice League Action animated series, voiced by Mark Hamill.[21] In the episode "Abate and Switch", he helps the Justice League fight the Brothers Djinn and Black Adam. In the episode "Zombie King", the Swamp Thing joins Zatanna, Batman, and John Constantine in stopping Solomon Grundy from taking over the Earth with his army of zombies. In the short "Missing the Mark", the Swamp Thing saves Hamill from the Joker and Trickster.
- The Alec Holland incarnation of the Swamp Thing appear in a self-titled 2019 DC Universe live-action series, portrayed by Andy Bean and Derek Mears in a "physical costume" respectively.[22][23][24][25][26] Holland is depicted as a disgraced scientist who had manipulated test results to prove himself right. He is hired by businessman, Avery Sunderland, to research a swamp-borne virus plaguing Marais, Louisiana. While working with Abby Arcane to do so and prove Sunderland was behind the virus, Holland was violently killed. However, the swamp absorbed his memories and placed them in an anthropomorphic plant, which later became known as the Swamp Thing.
- Mears as the Swamp Thing made a cameo appearance in the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" via archival footage from the episode "Loose Ends". This appearance also establishes the 2019 series as taking place in an alternate reality designated Earth-19.
Film[]
- The Alec Holland incarnation of the Swamp Thing appeared in a self-titled 1982 live-action film, with Holland portrayed by Ray Wise and Swamp Thing portrayed actor / stuntman Dick Durock.
- The Alec Holland incarnation of the Swamp Thing appeared in the live-action sequel film The Return of Swamp Thing, with Dick Durock reprising the role. This version of Holland was turned into Swamp Thing by Anton Arcane.[27]
- The live-action documentary film The Mindscape of Alan Moore contains a psychedelic animation piece based on The Saga of the Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #29 ("Love and Death").
- An alternate universe version of the Swamp Thing makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the animated film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths as a lesser member of the Crime Syndicate.
- The Alex Holland incarnation of the Swamp Thing appears in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series of films.
- He first appears in Justice League Dark, voiced by Roger R. Cross.[28][29] In order to locate Felix Faust, the titular team goes to find the Swamp Thing, who agrees to transport them to Faust's observatory, but declines to join in the group's fight. When the Justice League tries to fight Destiny, John Constantine summons the Swamp Thing, who agrees to help, but he is defeated after Destiny takes Holland's corpse from his body.
- The Swamp Thing makes a minor appearance in Batman and Harley Quinn, voiced by John DiMaggio.[30]
- The Swamp Thing appears in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, voiced again by Roger R. Cross. John Constantine enlists him to help destroy an Apokoliptian Reaper that was placed on Earth by Darkseid, sacrificing his life in order to do so.
- The Swamp Thing appears in the animated film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.
Video games[]
- The Alec Holland incarnation of Swamp Thing appeared in a self-titled video game based on the Swamp Thing animated series, 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.[31]
- The Swamp Thing appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Chilimbwe Washington. In the hero campaign, the players find him in the aquacultural area of the Justice League Watchtower during the Spring Seasonal Event.
- The Swamp Thing appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by JB Blanc.
- The Swamp Thing appears as a playable character in Infinite Crisis, voiced by Michael Dorn.
- The Swamp Thing appears as a playable character in Injustice 2, voiced by Fred Tatasciore. In the story mode, he initially attacks Batman's Insurgency for disturbing the peace at Slaughter Swamp before saving them from the Scarecrow and offering them his services should they need him. However, he and Firestorm are brainwashed by Brainiac and forced to fight Batman or Superman depending on the player's choice. The chosen hero defeats Brainiac's thralls and frees them of the alien's control. In his single player ending, Swamp Thing reminds the planet of his presence by having trees and plants take over the cities and vows to defend the Green.
- The Swamp Thing appears as a downloadable playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, as part of the Justice League Dark DLC pack.
Miscellaneous[]
Alec Holland appears in a five-page backup for issue 16 of the DC Animated Universe comic, The Batman Adventures. He lives with the long-retired Pamela Isley and encounters a plant doppelganger of him that she created prior to keep Batman from trying to locate her.[18]
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[]
- ^ "DC Comics: Swamp Thing". Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
- ^ McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
'Swamp Thing' was the name of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson's turn-of-the-century tale, and its popularity with readers led a modernized version of the character into its own series a year later.
CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link) - ^ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 153: "Following his debut in House of Secrets #92 in 1971, the Swamp Thing grew into his own series, albeit with a reimagining of his origins by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson."
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Ho, Richard (November 2004). "Who's Your Daddy??". Wizard. Wizard Entertainment (#140): 68–74.
- ^ Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 197: "Swamp Thing returned to the pages of a new ongoing series, written by Martin Pasko and drawn by artist Tom Yeates."
- ^ "Comics Code Rejects Saga of Swamp Thing Story; Swamp Thing Rejects Code", The Comics Journal #93 (September 1984), pp. 12/13.
- ^ "Swamp Thing Cancellation Begets Protest, Media Attention", The Comics Journal #130 (July 1989), pp. 28–29.
- ^ "Rick Veitch Quits Swamp Thing", The Comics Journal #129 (May 1989), pp. 7–11.
- ^ "Swamp Thing Team Leaves", The Comics Journal #139 (December 1990), p. 16.
- ^ "Nancy Collins: Swamp Thing's New Scripter Speaks", David Anthony Kraft's Comics Interview #102 (1991), pp. 4–13.
- ^ Brightest Day #23 (April 2011)
- ^ Brightest Day #24 (April 2011)
- ^ DC Comics Announces "Justice League Dark", "Swamp Thing", "Animal Man" and More Archived June 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Comics Alliance, June 7, 2011
- ^ "THE SWAMP THING #1". DC. February 22, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ "THE SWAMP THING #1". DC. February 22, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ Moore, Alan (w), Veitch, Rick (p), Williamson, Al (i). "The Jungle Line" DC Comics Presents #85 (September 1985)
- ^ Bridwell, E. Nelson (w), Fradon, Ramona (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Masquerade of Madness" Super Friends #28 (January 1980)
- ^ Jump up to: a b Templeton, Ty (w), Burchett, Rick (p), Beatty, Terry (i). "Flower Girl" The Batman Adventures v2, #16 (September 2004)
- ^ DC Comics Bombshells #15 (October 21, 2015).
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- ^ Behbakht, Andy (May 28, 2018). "EXCLUSIVE: Breakdowns For 'SWAMP THING' Reveal Details On Series Leads!". That Hastag Show. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
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External links[]
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Swamp Thing |
- Swamp Thing at the Continuity Pages
- Swamp Thing Annotations (Moore/Veitch Era)
- Swamp Thing at the Grand Comics Database
- 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 (Alec Holland) at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
Further reading[]
- "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.
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