Earlier this year, James Gunn announced the slate of the first chapter of his newly-minted DCU, "Gods and Monsters." Beginning with Superman: Legacy in 2025, Gods and Monsters boasts an impressive list of films and series that seem poised to start the DCU on solid footing. One of the titles that raised eyebrows and stoked a fire deep in the hearts of some of DC's most dedicated fans was Swamp Thing.
Ever since Len Wein's original Swamp Thing run in the early 70s, the character has been at the center of some of the comic industry's best horror content. But, despite a film series, a recent, short-lived James Wan TV series, appearances in Harley Quinn, and a current comic, most casual fans haven't heard of him. So who, or what is the haunting green plant monster, and what does his arrival mean for the budding DCU?
Who is Swamp Thing?
In a research lab hidden deep in the swamps of Louisiana, scientist Alec Holland and his wife Linda developed a "Bio-Restorative Formula" that would allow plants to grow rapidly in even the most hostile terrain. When a local mob boss caught wind of Alec and Linda's invention, he tried to get them to cut him in, seeing the formula's potential to both eradicate food shortages across the globe and quadruple profit margins. When the moral scientists refused, the mob boss' men found them at the lab, knocked them out, and planted a bomb.
Linda was killed, but Holland woke just as the bomb went off, the explosion dousing him in his secret formula and setting him on fire. Mad with pain and desperate to survive, he dove into the swamp and lost consciousness. When he awoke, he was no longer human. The reaction between the swamp's plant life and the formula on his skin had transformed him into a monstrous anthropomorphic Swamp Thing. Or so he believed.
For some time, Swamp Thing sought a way to restore his body to its human form, often running afoul of both the U.S. Government and the sociopathic Nazi scientist-necromancer Anton Arcane and his mutated monstrosities, the Un-Men. When Swamp Thing finally defeated Arcane, sending him to Hell (for the first time), a new enemy arose in the form of General Avery Sunderland. Sunderland was a former military commander and the CEO of Sunderland Corp, the company who'd originally bankrolled the creation of the Bio-Regenerative Formula. Knowing that Swamp Thing was actually Alec Holland, he made it his mission to capture the creature, so he could reverse engineer the formula. Sunderland's men hunted Swamp Thing, ultimately blowing what they believed to be a fatal hole in his head and transporting his body back to a lab for dissection.
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In a now iconic issue entitled "The Anatomy Lesson," Sunderland's scientists dissect the Swamp Thing and make a startling discovery - the creature is not Alec Holland. In fact, it was never human at all. One of the scientists, Jason Woodrue (a longtime DC villain whose plant-based powers mirror Swamp Thing's own), theorized that when Holland jumped into the swamp, the formula stimulated the plant life's growth, causing the plants to feed on his tissue.
Through a series of seemingly coincidental and inexplicable occurrences, the plants fed on Holland's brain matter and absorbed his consciousness in a manner similar to that of planarian worms. Effectively, all this time, Swamp Thing had merely been a plant that had only believed himself to be human. This course correction by Alan Moore shortly after he took the title over from its creator, Len Wein, turned the series into one of comics' most beautiful, if tragic, ruminations on the nature of what it means to be human.
Once Swamp Thing regenerated and broke free from Sunderland's lab, he struggled to find purpose. Abby Arcane, daughter of his felled nemesis grew close with the creature after they saved each other on several occasions. The two would ultimately fall in love, and she would help him redefine himself and hold onto his humanity in the wake of Woodrue's discovery. Later, at the request of the ghost of Alec Holland, Swamp Thing recovered Holland's remains and accepted once and for all that he was not human in the most literal sense.
What Are His Powers?
The Swamp Thing is an Earth Elemental tapped into The Green, the same elemental force at the root of Poison Ivy's powers. His creation was not mere chance, but instead, The Green chose the circumstances of Holland's death as an opportunity to create its latest protector.
The Green is one faction in the Parliament of Life, with some of the others being The Red (flesh/animals) and The Rot (bacteria and decay). It is run by the Parliament of Trees and consists of the consciousnesses of every single plant that has ever existed. Swamp Thing is imbued with their collective knowledge and power, though he has often run afoul of them due to their utter lack of concern for humans and other flesh-based organisms.
As a being composed of sentient plant matter, Swamp Thing has complete mastery over all forms of plant life and can manipulate it anywhere on the planet, no matter the distance. Through an ability known as Chlorokinesis, he can control the growth and form of plants (including his own body), allowing him to use them as weapons to maim, restrain, or kill. He has even threatened to cause the microscopic flora in his enemies' bodies to kill them from the inside.
Because Swamp Thing's powers are mystical in nature, he possesses a host of other, less scientific abilities. He can astral project through the use of the Green, sending his consciousness anywhere on the planet, constructing a new body with the local flora to use as an avatar. Once, while doing so to speak with John Constantine, a frequent collaborator and constant frenemy of Swamp Thing's, the sorcerer rolled some of the creature's mass into a cigarette and smoked it. As a result, Swamp Thing was able to possess his body for a short time.
Swamp Thing is essentially immortal, living as long as there is even the most minuscule trace of plant life on the planet. Some of his exploits in space have suggested that his reach extends beyond terrestrial flora and that his connection to The Green may span the universe. In addition to his elemental abilities, he retains Alec Holland's intellect, making him a genius.
Where Will Swamp Thing Fit Into James Gunn's DCU?
As a bona fide horror character who has literally gone to Hell and back, Swamp Thing affords James Gunn's new DCU a chance to delve into the darker elements of the DC lore. Thereby providing a balanced cinematic universe with something for everyone. Additionally, Swamp Thing could serve as an entry point for fan-favorite occult detective John Constantine.
It was the sad, drunken Brit who first helped Swamp Thing understand his role in the elemental hierarchy in the first place. The two have crossed paths time and time again, and not always on the same side. Having Constantine appear as a minor character in Swamp Thing's first outing could be the gateway to a more substantial role in the future.
Swamp Thing, along with lesser-known but beloved characters like Deadman, are members of DC's Justice League Dark. The team is essentially exactly what it sounds like, dealing with mystical and demonic threats well beyond the grasp of Superman and Friends. They are not a standing group but instead, form as needed.
Gunn has already announced Creature Commandos, which includes Justice League Dark member Frankenstein, played by Stranger Things alum David Harbour. Only time will tell what Gunn has in store for Swamp Thing, but fans will be that much closer when Superman Legacy kicks off the DCU in 2025.