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Jason Woodrue, also known as the Floronic Man and the Seeder, was an agent of the Parliament of Trees who saved the life of Alec Holland before he took up his role as the Swamp Thing, and thus was granted limited powers over The Green as a reward.

Origin and Career

Youth

Jason Woodrue was a student of Environmental Science at Reed University in Oregon, having grown up in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. His professor had espoused a controversial theory that plant life has consciousness, and he had been fascinated and obsessed by the notion. The professor had stumbled onto the concept of plant-life having a living champion called the Avatar. Following legends and folklore including the Green Knight, Khidr, Osiris, and even the fictitious Tom Bombadil, he had posited that somehow, it would be possible for an ordinary man to become that champion.

At some point, he attended the Burning Man music festival, and while there, hallucinated that he was a plant-alien from the Planet X, sent to Earth to free all plant-kind.[1]

New 52 Origin

Wanting to become that "Green Man", Woodrue chased any lead, no matter how tiny, for the truth about this being, eventually coming to Mato Grosso, Brazil. There, having found the Parliament of Trees he begged them to grant him the role of the Avatar, wanting so very badly to protect the Earth, but was not answered. Still, he was not ignored, and the Parliament, having already chosen their avatar, chose to leave him as a potential aid if they had a task that an avatar could not complete.[2]

Much later, the Parliament spoke to him, demanding that he save "Alec Holland". In return, he demanded some of their power, even though he was not their avatar.[2] Though Woodrue did not know who this man was, he found him poisoned by brain-destroying, Rot-based flowers created by Anton Arcane and grown in Blestemat, the Swamp Thing gave him to Jason Woodrue, who had made a deal with the Parliament of Trees to help Alec, taking the Parliament's chosen future Avatar back to the airport and the swamp that was home to the Grove that made up Earth's connection to The Green.[3] In exchange for this aid, the deal was that he would be given powers he had demanded, ones that gave him control over a portion of the Green by way of a manipulation of seeds he could use to a multitude of effects.[4] Afterwards, the Green erased Alec Holland's memory of this event.

Following the cosmic upheavals of the Rebirth period, this character's history was revised.

Current Origin

Some time after completing his studies, Woodrue was recruited by the government to run a graduate program focused on experimental botany. He would give long speeches about a psychospiritual web connecting connecting all plant life, telling his students they were in the program to master this force. The program's top students would go out with Woodrue for drinks late at night, bonding and being drawn in by his charisma.

Amongst his top students were Alec Holland and Linda Olsen Ridge, who were in the process of inventing a Bio-Restorative Formula that could end famine; Phillip Sylvian, who was undergoing groundbreaking work in plant-animal hybrids; Bella Garten who was developing ambulatory plant-based predators who could defend the natural world; and Pamela Isley, whose research focused on the incredibly powerful pheromones plant life used for communication.

Though the first few months of the program went extremely well, things quickly began to fall apart; Woodrue's military masters wanted results faster than he could provide them. Alec and Linda left the program first, followed by Bella Garten. Isley, however, had become enchanted by Woodrue and his dream, and stayed, engaging in a sexual relationship with Woodrue.

The entire program came crashing down when Woodrue subjected Isley to an experiment that went horribly awry, permanently changing her biochemistry and leaving her comatose for months. Woodrue fled, and later had his record cleaned by his military masters, being given a new position at Ivy University.[5] He eventually became a being known as the Floronic Man, gaining a degree of control over plants.

Later Career

Woodrue, as the Floronic Man, was the first to discover that the Swamp Thing as not Alec Holland, but rather a sentient being that arose from his death.[6]

Through unknown means, Jason was eventually restored to a human form. Woodrue sought out more power from the Cult of the Cold Flame, specifically Mister E, Felix Faust, and Sargon the Sorceress. They demanded that he perform evil tasks in exchange for that power, tasks he performed without hesitation.
Swamp Thing Vol 5 24 Textless

Jason as the Seeder.

The crimes changed him, but he barely noticed, seeking only power. By mixing magic with the Green, he gained new and amazing powers, recapturing the Parliament's attention as the Seeder.[2]

New 52

"Aiding" Humanity

 Main article: Swamp Thing: Seeder

Rise and Fall of the Seeder

 Main article: Swamp Thing: The Killing Field

War with the Metal and Death

DC Rebirth

Champion of Flowers

Sometime later, the Parliament of Trees was destroyed by Hecate, the Goddess of magic. In place of the Trees, a new Parliament was born to govern over the Green, known as the Parliament of Flowers.
Jason Woodrue Prime Earth 002

Jason takes the power of the Flowers.

The Parliament of Flowers chose a suicidal scientist named Oleander Sorrel as their champion. Woodrue sought to manipulate this new champion, in the hopes that he could destroy Sorrel and take the power of the Flowers as his own.[6]

Woodrue acted quickly, as he knew that the Swamp Thing would try to help Sorrel gain his bearings. Jason approached Sorrel as a friend, and decided to help him. A few months before his transformation, Sorrel's son died, which caused a rift between him and his wife. Deciding that he didn't want his wife to be alone, Sorrel created "children" out of plant matter for his wife to care for.[6]

Sorrel's wife happily accepted these children, however these children soon withered away due to Sorrel's suicidal nature, leaving his wife more distraught then before. Woodrue took his opportunity by convincing Sorrel to sleep, and to leave all of his worries for the future. As Sorrel slept, Woodrue cannibalized his body, effectively co-opting the power of the Parliament for himself.[6]

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy

Roy Harper Cry for Justice
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Infinite Frontier


Powers

  • Avatar of the Green: Upon eating the body of Oleander Sorrel, Woodrue was transformed into the new avatar of the Green, becoming the most powerful wielder of the Green in the process. Due to his connection with the Green, Woodrue can communicate with plant-life, which forms a kind of intelligence network for him around the World.[6]
    • Chlorokinesis: As the avatar of the Green who is connected to all plant life on Earth, Floronic Man can manipulate and animate any plants to do his bidding. He can rapidly speed along the growth of plants, once transforming a small potted plant into a tree within the blink of an eye. He can also create vines to attack/ensnare etc. his opponents.[7]
      • Minion Creation: Floronic Man can use his chlorokinetic powers to create semi-sentient creatures out of plant matter which can think independently of their master yet still follow orders. He once created a pair of dogs made out of plant matter.[7]

Abilities

Weaknesses

  • Power Loss: Woodrue's powers rely upon his connection to the Green. If this is stripped from him, he is as powerless as any human.


Weapons


Related

Footnotes


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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Injustice League member
This character is or was a member of the Injustice League, a villainous counterpart to the Justice League, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Injustice League members" category.

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Sinestro Corps member
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This character is or was a member of the Sinestro Corps, chosen by Sinestro to counteract the Green Lantern Corps and spread terror throughout their sector with a Power Ring.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Sinestro Corps members category."

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