Andrew Gimpel

It’s both a comforting and disheartening aspect of recent years that society is becoming more aware of the effects of environmental damage to the ecosystem. Comforting because it’s always uplifting to see human beings taking more stock in examining the health of the planet they live on, disheartening because it may mean that the damage done may be impossible to ignore at this point. But in the midst of this environmental uncertainty is a towering figure with emerald cuticles for flesh and chlorophyll for blood. Brought to you by the same company that birthed Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, this creature is less a superhero than a force of nature itself: DC Comics’ The Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing first appeared as part of the House of Secrets horror anthology in 1971’s issue number 92. According to Matt Morrison from screenrant.com, Swamp Thing was created by writer Lein Wright, with the story focusing on a scientist named Alex Olsen who was murdered in a lab explosion caused by a treacherous partner and dumped in a swamp, where the chemicals coating his body merged with the wildlife and revived him as a vengeful human-plant hybrid. After taking revenge on his former associate, he returns to the swamp to live the rest of his existence in solitude. Sam Stone wrote for CBR that comparisons were noted by Marvel publisher Roy Thomas between DC’s Swamp Thing and Marvel’s Man-Thing, a similar character who was a former scientist who became an embodiment of swamplife after an accident. Lein Wright actually associated closely with Man-Thing’s and wrote the second issue featuring him. However, while legal action was considered, it was ultimately decided that the two properties were distinct enough that they could exist simultaneously. 

DC eventually tasked Wright to develop the story of an ongoing series centered around Swamp Thing. Reimagining the character with some changes to identity and backstory, now by the name of biochemist Alec Holland, Swamp Thing still remained as a former biochemist that was viciously attacked by criminals attempting to steal his research and became bonded to the swamp as a result of an explosion. Unable to join humanity, he fought from the shadows of Louisiana to hunt down evildoers that defiled nature, such as the shadowy corporate Conclave and the mad, blasphemous scientist Anton Arcane. There was an intriguing b-movie horror aspect about the very nature of Swamp Thing, as this unstoppable force that would lurk from afar before suddenly attacking when least expected.

Comic fanatics may recognize the name Alan Moore, famed mind behind V for Vendetta, Watchman, and Whatever Happened to The Man Of Tomorrow? In 1982, while still nurturing an only burgeoning career, Moore was brought on to write the second series of Swamp Thing comics, and his run is by far the more recognized. Incorporating an element of mysticism into the lore of the tormented creature, Swamp Thing was no longer simply an experiment gone wrong, but acted as the spiritual emissary of primordial forces. Moore popularized the concept of the Green within the DC Universe, the intrinsic yet sapient essence that controlled all flora not only on Earth but in all realities. He would later include other elemental forces at play such as the Red, the essence of fauna, and the Black, spirits of death and decay. Swamp Thing now gained an existential element to his character, battling not only human evildoers disrespecting nature but also entropy itself.  Moore also introduced the wisecracking sorcerous scoundrel John Constantine, who would be a fan-favorite character across the DC Comics lineup, as noted by Samuel Williamson of Collider. 

Swamp Thing also has had quite the collection of non-comics media for such a minor character. Wes Craven (of Nightmare On Elm Street fame) brought us 1982’s Swamp Thing, which fully embraces the character’s b-movie roots with the creature in question played by Ray Wise, while his adversary Anton Arcane was played by Louis Jourdon, who lent an air of sophisticated cruelty to the heartless schemer. This was followed by a 1989 sequel, Return Of The Swamp Thing; an enjoyable and campy romp despite the low budget as noted by Roger Ebert himself in an online review on his website. The mind behind Psycho and The Outer Limits, Joseph Stefano, would also contribute to the character’s portfolio with a 1990 live-action television series on USA Network, with Dick Durrock, the stuntman who played the titular character in previous movies, reprising his role, doing battle against the personable but nefarious Anton Arcane once again, this time played by the magnetic Mark Lindsay Chapman. This series emphasized more of the franchise’s mystical elements with Swamp Thing being a more distant and enigmatic figure compared to the action-packed tone of the films, though still ultimately good at heart. The threats and monsters assaulting the Louisiana city of Houma were fearsome and demonic, and while Alan Moore’s elemental force of the Green was never mentioned by name, the swamp was referred to with the same gravitas as an intelligent power that strengthened Swamp Thing but functioned independently of him.

The animation company DIC attempted to pursue the bandwagon too with their own short-lived cartoon series in 1991, a Saturday Morning Cartoon fare in the vein of Transformers, G.I. Joe, and He-Man that had the former Dr. Holland battle colorful adversaries with outrageous gadgets that simply existed to sell toys to impressionable tots. Finally, in recent years, a single season of a live-action series was created in 2019, fully embracing the dark and horrific factors of the mythology. This series, aided by amazing CGI and practical effects, had CDC doctor Abigail Arcane (Crystal Reed) investigate terrible sicknesses and supernatural activity in her hometown of Marias, which is revealed to be the result of war between the Green and the Black, with the titular protector of the swamp played by Derek Mears.

Swamp Thing is an immensely intriguing character. It’s already a tantalizing concept to examine how much a human can change without disregarding their humanity, but Swamp Thing must also toe that line while serving as a vanguard against threats both monstrous beyond comprehension and those that are all too human. He’s a paradox representing both the beauty and horror of nature; its sensual majesty and its remorseless brutality. Nature plays no favorites but must be respected and valued nevertheless, lest it destroy us.