Character Spotlight—Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, the protector of the Green, is an plant elemental with powers to control nature and an unusual connection to Alec Holland.
The origin of Swamp Thing is believed to have been connected to the death of Alec Holland. The truth is stranger. Read the previous article on the Swamp Thing’s journey of self-discovery for more about the strange origin of Swamp Thing.
After Swamp Thing grasps the concept of who he is, he begins the problematic process of coming to terms with his own sense of self. Just because you know who you are, doesn’t make it easy. And it is not easy for Swamp Thing.
Swamp Thing has a little help from the principles and beliefs of Holland that function within Swamp Thing and become both an obstacle to his progress as a plant elemental, but also help him define himself.
John Constantine makes his first appearance in comics in a Swamp Thing comic. Constantine, who might know, is the British sorcerer who has lost, bartered and sold his soul many times. He’s not always a pleasant chap. But he turns up in Swamp Thing to help him discover himself, while also getting Swamp Thing to carry out a few jobs that get rid of undesirable elements. You know, ghosts, vampires, werewolves. That kind of thing.
Swamp Thing also has an emotional relationship with the white haired Abby Arcane who is connected to the element force of rot (that would be the opposite of the Swamp Thing’s elemental force of the green). This is where things get even stranger (you know, stranger than a walking section of mud and grass who thinks he is a person). Swamp Thing and Abby are in love and it creates one of the strange love scenes in any medium, forget just comics.
A number of different writers (including the legendary Alan Moore) have take the Swamp Thing in different directions.
At various times, Swamp Thing fights supernatural forces, he fights the evil of people, he joins various superhero teams, he talks with the communal mind of the green, he marries and starts a family with Abby. He is a busy guy who wears lots of different shapes. In one story, he takes on the embodiment of a golf course (for more of that check out the current Constantine story, Hellblazer: Dead in America).
Swamp Thing even turns up in the future underneath Gotham city. Not exactly the greenest place, you might say. And you would be right. It’s exactly why Swamp Thing is there. The corruption of Gotham in the future, beyond the reach of Bruce Wayne who has passed away (no really, Bruce dies), needs the force of the green to counter the technology of evil people. It doesn’t exactly look like Swamp Thing is on the right team, but it is part of Swamp Thing’s continuing attempts to save people and the natural world. Not an easy task.
If you want to get started reading Swamp Thing, you can do no better than Alan Moore’s astounding run of comics. Don’t be put off by the fact that Moore wrote a ton of Swamp Thing comics. You can pick them up almost anywhere and still get a good sense of the story.
For a massive run of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing including the debut of John Constantine and Swamp Thing’s shock discovery, pick up The Saga of the Swamp Thing Box Set. For the debut of John Constantine, pick up The Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Three. And for Swamp Thing’s autopsy, pick up The Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One (these are paid affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I will earn a small income from qualifying purchases, but won’t cost you any more).