Swamp Thing (Volume 2) Issue 121

## "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rulers"

"*Sunderland... It has been years since I dealt... once and for all... with that evil old man. Yet he still haunts me... With a ghost that bears his name... if not his face...*"
―Swamp Thing
## Synopsis

### "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rulers"

Late at night on the outskirts of Houma, Louisiana, a group of young environmentalists breaks into a construction site, and begins sabotaging the mechanical equipment. Unfortunately, they are soon found out, and a group of angry workmen begin chasing them down. Otter stays behind, allowing Spike and Michelle a chance to get away, but Michelle runs back in to grab him. The workers have already had a chance to knock Otter around a bit, but even so, Spike and Michelle manage to drag him out into the swamp.

As the young people run deeper into the swamp, their pursuers gain on them. It appears that they're cornered until they come face to face with the Swamp Thing. Irritably, the Swamp Thing demands to know what's going on, just as the workers catch up. He asks why they're chasing the young people. The workers respond that they've been breaking into off-limits worksites and deliberately damaging valuable heavy machinery.

These workers are intending to build a toxic waste disposal plant nearby. The young people readily admit their involvement in sabotaging the project. Sternly, Swamp Thing orders the workers to leave his swamp. When they resist, he causes their sticks and bats to sprout thorns, frightening them into running away. Turning to the young saboteurs, he invites them to his home for medical treatment, slinging Otter over his shoulder.

As Abby Holland treats their injuries, the activists explain that they are a group of "monkey wrenchers", a type of environmental activists whose method of nonviolent protest includes sabotaging machinery meant for the destruction of natural spaces. Swamp Thing is intrigued by their efforts, and realizes that they are part of the same group who nominated him for Governor of Louisiana a year prior. He asks them about the plant they broke into, but all they can tell him is that it is owned by the Sunderland Corporation.

At Sunderland Corporate Headquarters in Washington, D.C., the board of executives is annoyed to have been called to a meeting at an early hour. The company has been in turmoil for some time, and it appears they have a new executive officer: Constance Sunderland, the General's own daughter. After announcing her leadership, she quadruples the budget of a certain Project Proteus, hoping to ensure its success. When she receives a call reporting on the attack on the toxic waste facility's site, she is disinterested until she is informed that the Swamp Thing, the creature responsible for her father's death, was involved.

In Houma, Chester Williams receives a visit from Abby and the monkey wrenchers. The young activists need to use his phone to call New Orleans, and Chester obliges, happy to see the young people getting involved. Meanwhile, Troy Washington arrives with a trailer full of his belongings, planning to move in with his partner Carl Vinter, who is Chester's roommate. Next door, Lester Boudreaux is disgusted to see hippies, dope-fiends, perverts, queers, punks, and black people milling about in his neighborhood. Angrily, he gets into his car, with plans to do something about it.

In the swamp, Lady Jane teaches Tefé Holland to encourage plant growth, with limited success. Swamp Thing decides that his daughter is in good hands, and decides to investigate the Sunderland Corporation's resurgence.

Elsewhere, at Blumlein Medical Center in New Orleans, Doctor Eric Neiderman gets a call from Constance Sunderland. She alludes to a procedure that her father had to remove some growths. He reminds her that he charges a high fee for such elective surgeries, but she is intent on receiving treatment from The Needleman.

## Appearances

### "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rulers"

#### Individuals

* Swamp Thing
* Abigail Holland
* Chester Williams
* Bon Temps Rulers
	+ Michelle
	+ Otter
	+ Spike
* Constance Sunderland
* Mr. Winter
* Dr. Eric Neiderman
* Lester Boudreaux
* Carl Vinter
* Cynthia
* Lady Jane
* Myers ***(Behind the scenes)***
* Tefé Holland
* Troy Washington
* Wilma Boudreaux

#### Locations

* Louisiana
	+ Houma
	+ Sunderland Toxic Waste Disposal Facility #23
* Washington, D.C.
* Blurnlein Medical Center

## Notes

* This issue is dedicated to the Delta Greens.
* The bumper sticker on Lester Boudreaux's car supports Barron for governor. Ben Barron was the ultraconservative, racist, Republican gubernatorial candidate when Swamp Thing was nominated for the seat.

#### Trivia

* "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rulers" is a rewording of "Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez", a popular turn of phrase used in the city of New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Translated, it means, "Let the Good Times Roll".

## External links

* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 121 on DC Wiki
* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 121 on Comic Vine