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Alec Holland was a scientist who, upon his death, had his conscience absorbed by the entity known as the Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing went on to believe he was Holland until he discovered the truth of his origin.

Eventually, Holland was brought back to life by the Life Entity and merged with Swamp Thing, eventually making the two beings one and the same.

Death

In a secret facility located in the Louisiana swamplands, scientist Alec Holland and his wife Linda invented a Bio-Restorative Formula that would solve any nations' food shortage problems. Ferrett and Bruno ā€” thugs working for Nathan Ellery ā€” barged into Alec's lab, knocked him out, and planted a bomb in the facility. Alec woke up just as the bomb exploded, and in flames, he ran into the swamp. His body had been drenched in the bio-restorative formula,[1] and this affected the swamp's plant life, imbuing it with Alec's consciousness and memories. The newly conscious plant life formed a semblance of a human form and rose up from the bog as the Swamp Thing, the latest in a long line of Earth elementals created when The Green, the magical force representing all plant life, was in need of protection.

The Swamp Thing laboured for a time under the misconception that he had actually been Alec, transformed into a monster. Eventually, he discovered that he was merely plant matter that had absorbed Alec's consciousness through a series of particular circumstances. Alec Holland, the scientist, really was dead. [2]

Afterlife

Alec's spirit was not at rest though, and he at one point appeared to the Swamp Thing. He urged the creature to retrieve his skeleton from the bottom of the bayou and give it a proper burial. This allowed Alec's spirit to free itself from the earthly plane and ascend into Heaven.[3]

Eventually, Alec would meet and befriend Abby Holland in Heaven, after Swamp Thing gave her the opportunity to traverse The Green and the Spirit World.[4][5]

Resurrection

 Main article: Brightest Day

Swamp-Thing-is-White-Lantern-661x1024

Swamp Thing, resurrected

After an attack on the universe by the zombified Black Lantern Corps., Swamp Thing had become corrupted by the embodiment of death and become a new being of mindless destruction known as the Dark Avatar. In response, the magical Life Entity resurrected Alec Holland as its own champion. Alec's last conscious memory was of hurling himself into the swamp to extinguish the flames engulfing him, not realizing or remembering that his consciousness had been absorbed by the previous Swamp Thing.

John Constantine took it upon himself to seek Alec out and force him to reunite with Swamp Thing as one, returning its conscience.[6] However, Alec refused, wanting to maintain his normal humanity.[7]

However, the Life Entity imbued Holland with the powers of Swamp Thing anyway. Unlike the previous incarnation, a mass of humanoid plant life with all of Holland's absorbed memories, this new renewed Swamp Thing was generated directly from the body of Alec Holland himself. Holland was gifted an additional power that his predecessor didn't have - the elemental governance over fire. As the Swamp Thing, Alec grew to an enormous height to battle the corrupted being. Upon defeating it, he restored the Green to its natural order.


Abilities


  • Together, Alec and Linda won a Nobel Prize according to a newspaper clipping collected by Matt Cable.[8]
  • According to his headstone, Alec was born in 1945 and Linda in 1949.[9]

Related

Footnotes


Vertigo Logo
Vertigo Character
This character exists under the Vertigo Imprint which is intended for Mature Readers.Their continuity takes place within the context of Vertigo titles although they may cross over into regular DC continuity.
Alec Holland 02
Swamp Thing Character
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This character specifically relates to the Swamp Thing and is predominantly seen in the Swamp Thing family of titles. This character may be part of the Swamp Thing's supporting cast, a minor acquaintance, or one of his adversaries. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Swamp Thing Characters category.

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