Swamp Thing

* Comics
* 1982
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 2019

**Swamp Thing**, is a fictional antihero in comic books published by the American company DC Comics. He first appeared in *Swamp Thing* #1 (November 1972), and was created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. He is portrayed by Derek Mears on the 2019 TV Series.

## Film

Dedicated scientist Alec Holland was working on a revolutionary formula with his sister Linda that would enable miraculous plant growth for the intended purpose of ending world hunger. Government agent Alice Cable was sent to protect Alec and his work at his Louisiana laboratory when Anton Arcane, desiring to have the formula for himself, had his henchmen kill Alec's sister and destroy the lab, dousing Alec in flames with his own formula. Alec plunges himself into the swampy lake and was believed to have been killed. A short while later, as Arcane's henchmen tried to kill Cable, a green humanoid plantlike creature attacked them and saved Cable from death, coming to her rescue time and again. Eventually Cable discovered that this creature was actually Alec Holland, somehow resurrected in the form of a swamp creature. Soon he and Cable were captured along with the book that contained Holland's formula and were brought to Arcane, where he attempted to make use of it to give himself, as Holland had described, the essence of who he was, believing it would make him the most beautiful and charismatic person that ever existed. Instead, it transformed Arcane into a hideous werebeast who ended up chasing after and attacking Holland and Cable. Though Cable was slain by Arcane's sword, Holland managed to heal her and to stop Arcane for good. Rather than trying to find a way to return himself to normal, Holland chose to remain in his new form with his home now being the swamp that he was reborn in.

## Television

### Live Action

In the 1990 TV series, Alec Holland was once a brilliant biochemist working in the swamps of Louisiana. He had perfected a chemical compound known as the Bio-Restorative Formula, but before he could celebrate his success, he was murdered by rival scientist Anton Arcane. Holland and his formula collapsed into the swamplands surrounding his laboratory and the formula reacted with the local plant life transforming him into the Swamp Thing. As the Swamp Thing, Alec assumed the position of guardian of the swamps and remained hidden in seclusion from the eyes of man. He always kept an eye out for anything untoward taking place in the swamps, but paid particularly close to the actions of Anton Arcane. The Swamp Thing befriended a nine-year-old boy named Jim Kipp who lived nearby at his grandmother's home. Holland felt a particular kinship with Kipp and kept a watchful eye over him. When Kipp was accosted by "Toad Boy" (one of Arcane's genetic experiments), the Swamp Thing scared him off, earning himself Jim's admiration. The Swamp Thing encountered another of Arcane's experiments, a man named Falco. Falco attempted to assassinate Arcane at the funeral of Savanna Langford, but upon failing to do so, fled into the swamp where he encountered the Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing learned of Falco's hatred for Arcane, and ultimately convinced him to give up his rage and embrace life. In a later incident, the Swamp Thing entered the Langford home in order to aid Jim Kipp who felt that his life was in danger. Circumstances arose that forced the Swamp Thing to remain in the house well past dusk and his powers began to fade. Light from the morning sun rejuvenated him and he was able to leave. It was also at this time that the Swamp Thing used his miraculous healing touch to save the life of Jim's mother, Tressa Kipp, who had been mortally shot by a criminal named Eleanor.

In the 2019 TV series, Passionate biologist Alec Holland is caught in the crosshairs of a small town nightmare when he discovers a bizarre local illnes may be connected to his work in the swamp. Holland's discovery leads him into conflict with dark forces, from wich he emerges as the elemental hero known as **Swamp Thing**.

### Animation

In the animated series, Doctor Alec Holland was a scientist who was working on a plant growth formula that could end world hunger when evil scientist Anton Arcane, desiring to have the formula for himself, destroyed Holland's lab. Holland, who was covered in flames from his own growth formula, dove into the swampy waters where he was transformed into a man-plant mutant known as Swamp Thing. He entrusted his diary to Arcane's step-daughter, Abigail, in the hopes that she would help him find a way to become human again. He is often assisted by a Native American named Tomahawk, a Vietnam veteran named Bayou Jack, and by two teenagers named J.T. and Delbert.

## Comics

### 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.

### Alan 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 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 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 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 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.

## 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*.
* 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 canceled.
* 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.
* Constantine mentions Swamp Thing in the *Legends of Tomorrow* episode "Wet Hot American Bummer".

### Film

* The documentary feature film *The Mindscape of Alan Moore* contains a psychedelic animation piece based on the "Love and Death" issue of *Swamp Thing*.
* A Crime Syndicate version of Swamp Thing briefly appeared in *Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths*.
* 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 the 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 canceled. 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.
* Swamp Thing appears as a playable character in the Justice League Dark DLC pack in *Lego DC Super-Villains*.

### 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.

## References

1. ↑ "The Jungle Line". *DC Wiki*. Retrieved on March 28, 2019.
2. ↑ "Constantine on Twitter". *Twitter*. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved on July 29, 2014.
3. ↑ Schaefer, Sandy (October 16, 2014). "David S. Goyer Talks 'Constantine', Justice League Dark & DC TV Show Crossovers". *Screen Rant*. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved on October 16, 2014.
4. ↑ "Collider Heroes - New Justice League Animated Series Coming?". *YouTube* (September 29, 2015). Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved on November 12, 2015.
5. ↑ Damore, Meagan (July 23, 2016). "SDCC: "Justice League Dark" Animated Film Confirmed; "Teen Titans" & More Announced". *Comic Book Resources*. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016.
6. ↑ Vejvoda, Jim (November 15, 2016). "Justice League Dark: Trailer Debut For R-Rated DC Animated Movie". *IGN*. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved on November 15, 2016.
7. ↑ Yeung, Vincent (April 3, 2017). "Batman & Harley Quinn Animated Film's Voice Cast, Villains Revealed". *Comic Book Resources*. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved on June 2, 2017.
8. ↑ "Unreleased Sega Megadrive game Swamp Thing Prototype ROM dumped". *RetroCollect* (November 14, 2010). Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved on January 11, 2017.
9. ↑ "Masquerade of Madness". *DC Wiki*. Retrieved on March 28, 2019.
10. ↑ "Flower Girl". *DC Wiki*. Retrieved on March 28, 2019.