Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. 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 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 Totleben. Swamp Thing would also go on to become one of the staples of the Justice League Dark, a team featuring magical superheroes.
The character is often depicted as a swamp monster that resembles an anthropomorphic mound of vegetable matter seeking to protect nature and humanity from threats of both scientific and supernatural origin. These duties are often an expression of his designation as the Avatar of the Green, an illustrious title depicted as synonymous with both Swamp Thing and makes the character the embodiment of the cosmic energies that gives life to all plant life in the known universe, often dubbed "The Green". Several incarnations arise from the consciousness of other beings who are selected as the champion of the Parliament of Trees, the guiding and collective consciousness of all plant life, which includes past incarnations of Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing is also often in an elemental conflict with both rivals within the Green (i.e Floronic Man), rival elemental forces, such as "The Red" (embodies all animal life, including humanity), and most notably "The Rot" or "The Black" (embodies death), with their archnemesis being Anton Arcane.
The original version of the character is Alexander Olsen, a scientist who was killed by his assistant vying for the affections of his wife. Returning as a swamp creature, he confronts his assistant and kills him in revenge but his wife runs off, unable to recognize him. He later becomes a local legend in Louisiana. His successor, Alec Holland, is the second and most well regarded version of the character. A chemist who dies following the creation of a scientific formula capable of stimulating plant life in hostile environment to criminal or malevolent elements. Stories vary in his being, sometimes a plant creature believing himself to be Alec possessing his memories while later stories make him the genuine Alec who transforms into the Swamp Thing. This version is also a reluctant ally of John Constantine and a later member of the Justice League Dark, considered a powerhouse among their ranks.
In 2021, a new incarnation of Swamp Thing was created. This version is Levi Kamei, a young Indian scientist chosen as the new Swamp Thing at a young age. Descended from a tribunal connected to the Kaziranga wetlands, his powers awaken following a altercation between the community and employers, which also resulted in the death. Following his awakening, various factions seeking to control the new Swamp Thing for their own nefarious agenda. Kamei is guided by Alec and fellow scientist Jennifer Reece in his new role. Existing concurrently with the Alec version, this Swamp Thing is instead more prominently a member of the Titans.
The character has been adapted from the comics into several forms of media, including feature films, television series, and video games. The character made his live-action debut in the film Swamp Thing (1982), with Dick Durock playing the Swamp Thing, while Ray Wise played Alec Holland. Durock played both Swamp Thing and Holland in the sequel film The Return of Swamp Thing (1989). Durock reprised the role again in the television series Swamp Thing (1990). The Swamp Thing was played by Derek Mears with Andy Bean playing Alec Holland in the television series Swamp Thing (2019). Another live-action film adaptation, titled Swamp Thing, is in development as an installment of the DC Universe (DCU) media franchise. IGN ranked him 28th in the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes list.
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.
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. 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 with issue #24 and a blurb for a 25th issue containing an upcoming encounter with Hawkman led nowhere. Alec Holland's transformation back into the Swamp Thing was covered in Challengers of the Unknown #81-87, within which the Swamp Thing is enlisted by the titular team to fight the Lovecraftian cosmic threat M'nagalah, whom the Swamp Thing had encountered during Wein's run.
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 The Saga of the Swamp Thing, featured an adaptation of the Craven film 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.
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. The series was handed to Doug Wheeler, 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. In issue #90, Wheeler not only reintroduced Matango, a character that Stephen Bissette had introduced in Swamp Thing Annual #4, but he also completed Veitch's story arc that intended to have Abby Holland give birth to the human-plant hybrid elemental Tefe Holland .
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 (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. 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.
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 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.
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 story line, 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.
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. 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.
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.
DC Comics relaunched Swamp Thing with issue #1 in September 2011 as part of The New 52, 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.
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. It follows Swamp Thing giving up his powers to Anton Arcane, who is disguised as Matt Cable.
This was followed by a critically acclaimed Tom King winter special in 2018, also featuring Len Wein's last Swamp Thing issue.
A 16-issue miniseries retitled with "The" 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. Originally planned as a 10-issue miniseries, The Swamp Thing has been extended to 16 issues, with The Swamp Thing #10 followed by a short hiatus before returning in March 2022.
The latest version of Swamp Thing's secret identity is Levi Kamei, an immigrant scientist from India specializing in biology. Characterized as experiencing a loss of familial and culture identity, the character seeks to regain it, stemming from his more progressive views in contrast to his family and community, who distrust foreign corporations and their environmental impact. Like prior Swamp Things, Kamei also acts as a protector of nature and is a recognized expert in environmentalism within the superhero community.
The original version of the Swamp Thing, Alexander "Alex" Olsen was a talented young scientist in Louisiana in the early 1900s, married to 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. however, Ridge was confronted by Alex Olsen, 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.
At a young age, Levi Kamei is unknowingly marked to become the Swamp Thing at during a ritual performed to him and his brother, Jacob, by their mother. A descendant of a community that has watched over Kaziranga wetlands, he has differing views and later becomes a scientist working in Prescot Industries. When his employers interest in the Kaziranga wetlands, he attempts to help negotiate a deal to sell the land in return for economic opportunities. The tribunal rejects the deal and protests ensues but Prescot Industries use their political ties to force a deal, resulting in the death of Levi's father. Levi awakens his powers shortly after and attempts to understand his role as Swamp Thing, the name given to the those who are known as the Avatar of the Green.
Assisted by his girlfriend and fellow scientist Jennifer Reece to understand his power, various other such as Amanda Waller and Prescot Industries sought to control him and the power he possess. Matters are also complicated when his rival in the Green is revealed to be his brother, now known as the Hadera. who believed he should have been the Avatar in place of his brother, having stronger environmentalist ideals. but falls towards using eco-terrorism to punish humanity for their crimes against nature. Conflict later escalates when Prescot Industries' interest in Levi as Swamp Thing results in them hiring Jason Woodrue, whose actions resurrects Levi's initial adversary, the Wanderer.
Levi and his predecessor (existing as an extension of Levi's power to recall Allec's incarnation) becomes involved in the Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, wherein they're among the supernatural-affiliated questioning the Great Darkness's actions, having believed it too grand to meddle with mere mortals and joined Justice League Dark to assist them. With a team of superheroes, Levi helps investigate the Great Darkness's "corruption" and later lends his powers to Jon Kent to extract a machine revealed to be responsible for allowing the villain Pariah to manipulate a portion of the Great Darkness's power for his machinations. In the aftermath of Dark Crisis, Levi helps the Titans regrow an area of a rainforest and is recruited into the Titans as a part-time member in order to balance his role as the Avatar of the Green while lending his expertise.
An Avatar of the Green, Alec as Swamp Thing possess the power to control the aforementioned "Green", cosmic energies in which animates all plant life in the known universe and is often the living embodiment of it, possesses various powers: being capable of inhabiting and animating vegetable matter at will, including those with alien origin, and move towards places wherever there's life. Swamp Thing also possesses various esoteric abilities, including able to change size and shape with control over the vegetable matter within their given body and can even travel through time, superhuman strength, and other attributes capable of contending with powerful adversaries of great strength and also possesses regenerative powers.
Levi possess all the powers of the original Swamp Thing, with his body composed of vegetable matter and possessing superhuman strength, size changing abilities, and possess control over plant-life, in which also enables him to transfer his consciousness and become functionally immortal. Like other past versions of the character, these abilities stem from his status as Avatar of the Green and controlling the cosmic force that animates all plant-life known also as the "Green". Unique to him, he can shift between both his human form and Swamp Thing form.
Kamei is also a gifted scientist knowledgeable in biology and botany; his abilities coupled with his advance knowledge enables him to adopt various chemical compositions of other flora for an advantage (i.e having resistance against heavy metal toxicity by adapting chemical compositions from pycnandra acuminata).
Swamp Thing is susceptible to chemical compounds which typically prove disastrous to plant-life, making him capable of being poisoned. His powers can be impaired or completely disrupted if his connection to the Green is also cut off by mystical or scientific applications.
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.