Swamp Thing (Volume 5) Issue 23

## "The Whisky Tree, Part II"

"*You ever been much of a boozer, Alec?* Before *you became the plant kingdom's stooge, I mean. I wouldn't expect you're having too many drinkups* these *days.*"
―John Constantine
## Synopsis

### "The Whisky Tree, Part II"

Since drinking from the Whisky Tree that was planted by the Seeder, John Constantine has both gone insane and declared himself *king* of Fetter's Hill, Scotland. The tree's "fruit" has the effect of turning those who drink of it into murderous psychopaths, and John is intent on assuring that *everyone* in the village partake.

Meanwhile, John has put the Swamp Thing into the town jail, and he decides to pay his old friend a visit. Mockingly, John lords his victory over Alec, explaining that the Whisky Tree makes people who they're *supposed* to be, and the Seeder did the village a *favor* by letting it grow. From the floor, a sickly Alec wheezes that John is wrong, but the magician insists that what is wrong is sometimes right, and given that the Whisky Tree is putting out seeds, it is only fair for the people of this village to *share* their gift with everyone else in the world.

Trapped in his cell, Alec has been affected by some kind of *spell* that cut him off from The Green. Even so, he cobbles together what little strength he has left to reconstitute his body, and send a vine out to steal the keys from a sleeping guard. Unfortunately, the process is *quite* painful without the Green's help.

He manages to escape his cell in time to rescue a young Reginald Crawford from an older drunk who intends to force the boy to drink from the tree. Weakly, Alec warns the boy to get out of town, and not come back until everyone's back to normal again.

Meanwhile, John is planning to have the tree's seeds planted in every village green in the UK, and once *everyone* is right smashed, he hopes to take up his kingship at Windsor Castle. His wishful thinking is disrupted when the local police sergeant appears with vomit all over his uniform to announce that the Swamp Thing has escaped. Angrily, John has old Rory smash his skull in with a whisky jar. Dragging on his cigarette, John orders that all who can be spared seek out the Swamp Thing and *burn* him.

Soon, a posse is marching through the streets with torches blazing. When they corner Alec in an alley, he warns them that he can still hurt them, causing thorns to grow out of their burning torches, and pierce their hands. Unfortunately, this move drains him of much of what little power he has left. The thorns were not enough, however, and the mad townspeople redouble their efforts, tearing his limbs from his body, and setting him ablaze. As his body burns away, Alec worries that his disconnection from the Green means that this encounter will be *fatal* - and it will be the *Seeder's* fault.

As a last ditch effort, Alec focuses all of his remaining power on sending himself elsewhere, like a seed on the wind. He emerges as a poppy, growing next to John's whisky-barrel throne. Launching himself at the magician, Alec fills his airways with natural opiates, causing him to lose consciousness. Immediately, Alec can feel the Green returning to him, reaching out. The sensation is so great that Alec grows to the size of a veritable mountain. Hearing the voice of the Green egging him on, he contemplates putting a stop to both Constantine and the Seeder by squashing them like ants, returning the village to the Green; taking it back from the people. However, he thinks back on poor Reginald Crawford, and realizes that it wouldn't be right.

Instead, Alec destroys the Whisky Tree and bars the way out of town for those sent to seed the rest of the world. He grows more poppies to sedate the drunken madmen of the village. Looking on Constantine, though, Alec makes a note to himself that the two men must speak again. After all, he had very nearly decided to *kill* the man for his actions that night.

Finally, Alec returns to the Louisiana swamp to find that Capucine has been *attacked* by the Seeder. She explains that he was *looking* for Alec, and when he found that the Swamp Thing wasn't there, he attacked her. The Seeder left him a message, thought: "It's time, Professor."

## Appearances

### "The Whisky Tree, Part II"

* Swamp Thing
* Capucine
* Seeder
* John Constantine
* Rory
* James McCutcheon
* Mary McCutcheon
* Reginald Crawford

#### Locations

* Scotland
	+ Fetter's Hill

## External links

* *Swamp Thing (Volume 5)* Issue 23 on DC Wiki
* *Swamp Thing (Volume 5)* Issue 23 on Comic Vine