Swamp Thing (Volume 2) Issue 102

## "And All the King's Horses..."

"*It is not... part of The Green. I found a leaf similar to this... the day after Tefé and I... returned from Hell... but that leaf did not have this fungus... growing on it.*"
―Swamp Thing
## Synopsis

### "And All the King's Horses..."

In Brazil, Swamp Thing returns Eyam's consciousness to his body in the Inner House of the Parliament of Trees. Then, he attempts to push the water he took from the fountain in the Garden of Eden all the way back to Louisiana without fully entering The Green.

Outside Houma, traffic stretches back for miles as most of the populations of the coastal cities attempt to make for shelter and higher ground in the face of the coming Hurricane Jenny. Along the road, people hocking merchandise, food, and ideologies stand barking at those stuck in their cars. A woman arguing for changes to the state's anti-abortion laws catches the attention of a man with pro-life values, and angers him to the point that he gets out a baseball bat and clubs her over the head. She falls face down into a river, and the man looks up to see the horrifying sight of Matango. The creatures sends out some dead leaves to seek out a host.

Najgarjuk, the Shaman of Sarga finds one of the leaves, and decides that they will have to start rebuilding Tefé Holland's body without the Swamp Thing. Fortunately, he shows up soon after with the water from the fountain in Eden. His wife Abby introduces him to Brenda, Constantine's coroner friend.

Impatiently, Najgarjuk starts the ceremony by lighting a fire. He shows Swamp Thing the leaf he found, and sensing the evil in it, the Swamp Thing throws it on the fire. Unfortunately, the leaf corrupts the fire, but they have no time and must continue regardless. The burnt leaf alerts Matango to Tefé's whereabouts, and he sends his cronies to seek her out.

Najgarjuk passes Brenda Tefé's entrails. She requires them to be fresh, but they must continue. He takes the staff of Sarga that he gave the girl, and uses it as her backbone, pinning her tongue to it. He takes the tongue, and cuts pieces from it and puts them into the water that the Swamp Thing collected. He tells each of them to eat a piece, in order to link with her.

Brenda obviously divines something terrifying in Tefé's entrails, but acts as though she saw nothing. As Matango's people close in on the swamp house, the inhabitants begin work on teaching the girl to build her body. Swamp Thing senses that something outside is wrong, and splits his body in two, so he can fortify the house against the hurricane. Once outside, he is overcome by the swarm of people from The Grey, who drag him down and contaminate his body.

Abby places Tefé in the fire with the staff and her organs, and she begins building her body from them to some success. With Abby's encouragement, the child makes significant progress. However, the leaf's contamination becomes apparent, and the body begins forming mold on it. Abby becomes excited, but suddenly, Swamp Thing returns, and tears his daughter's spirit from the mold-covered body, shouting that it is not her.

Realizing that he left his defenses unattended outside, the people of The Grey burst through the wall. Outside, the hurricane reaches its full force, ripping through everything it touches.

## Appearances

### "And All the King's Horses..."

#### Individuals

* Swamp Thing
* Parliament of Trees
	+ Eyam
* Abby Holland
* Tefé Holland
* Brenda
* Shaman Najgarjuk
* Matango
* George
* Alan Hallman ***(First Appearance)***

#### Locations

* South America
	+ Brazil
* United States of America
	+ Louisiana
		- Houma

#### Concepts

* The Green
* The Grey

## Notes

* This is the first issue since *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #25 that was not edited by Karen Berger.
* This is the first issue which gives a name to the Inuit Shaman of Sarga: Najgarjuk.

## External links

* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 102 on DC Wiki
* *Swamp Thing (Volume 2)* Issue 102 on Comic Vine