Swamp Thing (Volume 5) Issue 0

## "To Monsters"

"*Hee... Go ahead, old friends! Go on!* Try *and transform him into your savior, your protector. It's too late! The chemical burns. They've* ruined *his flesh. Blocked his body from you. I* know *flesh. Heee... And his belongs to* us*. To the* Rot*.*"
―Anton Arcane
## Synopsis

### "To Monsters"

Near the turn of the 20th Century, there was a man in the north of Manitoba who was known as the Green Man. This was Jack Crow, then, the Avatar of The Green. One cold night, he was visited by a young girl, who braved the cold in order to see him. She was concerned about the cold's effects, having killed the livestock and plant life in the area.

Crow explained that the balance of nature had not yet been upset, but that he would soon bring the blooms back to the area. The girl smiled, commenting that she did not *want* the blooms to come back. With horror, the Swamp Thing realized that his guest was Anton Arcane, the Avatar of The Rot, in disguise. Gleefully, Arcane crushed Crow's head in his jaws, and relished his death.

Several years later, Arcane again disguised himself to entrap the Green's Avatar. He had heard for some time that Alec Holland was to be the next Avatar - a very important one, in fact. Holland had just completed a viable version of his Bio-Restorative Formula. Unknown to him, or the Parliament of Trees, Alec's friend Dr. Ross had been hosting Arcane for some time. Arcane was not above killing Avatars of any age - even infants. The Parliament had not yet learned to protect the infants they intended to become Avatars, not until Alec, anyway.

Arcane had met with difficulty in finding Alec, though. One night, he snuck into Alec and his wife Linda's house, to find only Linda lying in bed. Startled by his presence, she had clocked him upside the head with a pipe. The impact tore Ross' flesh from Arcane's body, and so he took *her* body as a host instead.

In Linda's body, Arcane found Alec working in his lab. Despite the fact that the formula had been completed, something still called him to do *more* for the earth. He saw his wife coming and apologized for waking her. She urged him to come to bed, to put down his work for now. She behaved as though she would be waiting in bed for him, but instead, she opened a valve on the vat of Bio-Restorative Formula, and set it ablaze with a Bunsen burner. The resulting explosion burned the flesh of Alec's body, and he rushed out into the swamp below.

As Alec died, Arcane laughed aloud to the Parliament, mocking their efforts to salvage him. It was too late. Holland was dead, and the warrior they dreamed of could not be.

In the meantime, the Parliament of Trees created a replacement, waiting patiently until, six months later, Alec would return to life.

## Appearances

### "To Monsters"

#### Individuals

* Alec Holland ***(Dies)***
* Swamp Thing (Jack Crow) ***(Dies)***
* Linda Holland ***(Dies)***
* Parliament of Trees
* Anton Arcane
* Dr. Ross ***(Dies)***

#### Locations

* Canada
	+ Manitoba
* Louisiana
	+ Houma
* South America
	+ Brazil
		- Mato Grosso

#### Concepts

* The Green
* The Rot
* The Red

## External links

* *Swamp Thing (Volume 5)* Issue 0 on DC Wiki
* *Swamp Thing (Volume 5)* Issue 0 on Comic Vine