Online Encyclopedia
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing is a fictional character created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson for DC Comics.
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Origin of the Swamp Thing character
He was originally Alec Holland, a man who was transformed into a "muck encrusted mockery of a man" after an explosion in his laboratory doused him with chemicals. Swamp Thing first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (June-July 1971), depicted in this story as Alex Olsen. Near the beginning of the 20th Century, scientist Alex Olsen is caught in a lab explosion set by his co-worker, Damian Ridge, intended to kill him so that Ridge may gain the hand of Olsen's wife Linda. Olsen is changed by the chemicals and the forces within the swamp into a powerful, monstrous Swamp Thing who kills Ridge before the latter can murder Linda. Unable to make Linda realize his true identity, the Swamp Thing sadly shambles back to his boggy home.
Swamp Thing #1 (1st series, October-November 1972, by Wein and Wrightson) related another origin for the frightfully foliaged character. Scientist Alec Holland, working on a secret restorative formula in the Louisiana swamps that can "make forests out of deserts", is killed by a bomb planted by agents of the mysterious Mr. E, who wants the formula. Splashed with burning chemicals in the massive fire, Holland runs from the lab and falls into the waters of a muck-filled swamp. Some time later, a creature resembling a humanoid plant appears. This creature, called Swamp Thing, possessed the memories, knowledge, and skills of Alec Holland, and believed itself to be him. This assumption was revealed to be false in the 2nd series, #21 "The Anatomy Lesson".
Swamp Thing in the comics
Swamp Thing fought against the evils surrounding him, and sought a means to return himself to his human form, occasionally encountering the mad Dr. Anton Arcane, (who appeared to be killed on several occasions, but was re-built by his Un-Men. Before Alan Moore took over as writer, Arcane had settled into a monstrous half-insect, half-robot body) his nightmarish Un-Men, the Patchwork Man, (a Frankenstein-type assemblage of body parts), even leaving his swamp long enough to battle Batman in issue #7 in what would be one of the few encounters with a traditional DC superhero for the supernatural star of the comic.
During the 1980s, comic book writer Alan Moore used Swamp Thing as the central character of the horror comic book series Saga of the Swamp Thing, which had a profound effect on mainstream comic books. It was the first "horror" comic to approach the genre from an adult-oriented, literate point of view since EC Comics' horror comics of the 1950s; and it gave rise to DC's Vertigo comic book line, which was written with adults in mind and which often contained material unsuitable for children. Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority and write directly for adults.
Moore broadened the series' scope, retaining its horror roots while using his new concept of Swamp Thing's nature (an entirely nonhuman "plant elemental" created by the Earth itself) to introduce ecological and spiritual concerns. He borrowed many obscure DC characters to create a complex mythology defining the role of magic in the DC Universe, which has since provided the basis for numerous Vertigo titles, notably The Sandman, Hellblazer, and The Books of Magic.
Moore wrote the series for 45 issues and was then replaced by artist Rick Veitch, who continued the story in a roughly similar vein for 24 more issues. Veitch's term ended in a widely publicized creative dispute, when DC refused to publish an issue because of the use of Jesus Christ as a character, despite having previously approved the script. Horror writer Nancy A. Collins scripted the issues for the next year; she brought a familiarity with the setting of the series in South Louisiana.
Swamp Thing on film and television
There have been two movies based on Swamp Thing (the first was directed by Wes Craven), and an animated cartoon and a live-action television series. Fans often consider these versions inferior in terms of inventiveness and creativity compared to Alan Moore's re-interpretation of the Swamp Thing legend.
Related creatures
DC Comics rival Marvel Comics attemped a mid seventies rival to Swamp Thing with the Steve Gerber-scripted Man-Thing. However, due to the close premieres of each comic, it is unlikely that either comic was directly derivative of the other. A precursor to both characters was shambling muck-monster The Heap , who first appeared in a 1942 Hillman comic. Also, Brazilian character "Morto do Pāntano ", created by Eugenio Colonesse two years before Swamp Thing, resembles in many ways Wein and Wrightson's creation. Parliament of the Trees, a Moore-scripted Swamp Thing episode from 1986, includes visual nods towards these other 'muck monsters' when various past and present plant/human 'tree spirits' assemble together in the Amazon Rainforest.
See also
External links
- entries in Don Markstein's Toonopedia: