DC Database
Register
Advertisement

Quote1 When the Parliament... could not have... you as their Avatar, they made me, their grand... experiment. A plant... told he was a man... left to learn... the truth for himself. Quote2
Swamp Thing src

The Swamp Thing is an artificially-created Avatar of the Green created by the Parliament of Trees following the death of their most recently chosen Avatar before they could fully choose him, Alec Holland.

Following the murder of Alec Holland due to the subterfuge of Anton Arcane, the Parliament of Trees created the Swamp Thing as a temporary replacement for six months until they could return Alec to life.[1]

He was revered amongst the Avatars of the Green for his actions, having accomplished much, even across other planets, in the service of The Green, to the point that this Swamp Thing served as a measuring point for all subsequent and future Avatars.[2] His actions included the killing of Anton Arcane, and growing to love his niece, Abigail.[3]

During the Brightest Day, he was chosen by the Life Entity as a new Avatar of its own, and given a White Lantern Ring that it remained able to use even long after its tenure as Avatar.[4]

Upon the resurrection of Alec Holland in order to face the most recent Avatar of the Rot after Anton Arcane, Sethe, this Avatar was returned to The Green, where he created his own "Blue Heaven" after some extraterrestrial plants he encountered during his adventures, also creating his own primary body out of those plants. When Alec came to the Green to learn how to defeat the Seeder for the soul of the Green and to retain his own individuality in the face of his monumental task, the Swamp Thing revealed himself and declared that if the Parliament ever demanded that he do something that was outside of the person who he believed himself to be, he should simply say "no", and he should not aim to simply emulate the Swamp Thing, but to forge his own path.[5]

With the murder of the Parliament of Trees and the destruction of the pathway to the surface world, the Swamp Thing was likely sealed within the Green like so many other Avatars, able to see but not interact with the surface world at all.[6]

Powers

  • Elemental Control: The Swamp Thing has complete mastery over all forms of plant life and can command vegetative matter to do his bidding. Through this power, he is in constant communication with the very essence of the Earth, and serves as the Plant Elemental for the entire planet. Swamp thing was also formally the elemental of 'all' the elements including Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Flesh.
  • Superhuman Strength: The Swamp Thing's strength level is directly tied to his connection to the Earth. Occupying his most commonly used body, the Swamp Thing is capable of lifting volumes of mass many times greater than his own body weight. With additional power supplied to him by The Green, his ultimate strength level is nearly incalculable, dependent entirely on The Green's health.
  • Immortality: Theoretically so long as there is some vestige of plant life in the universe, the Swamp Thing will always have a vehicle through which to house his consciousness, rendering him effectively immortal.
  • Resurrection: The Swamp Thing houses his conscious mind inside of a humanoid body made up of compacted flora and vegetable material. At will, he can abandon this form and take up residence inside of another shell, grown from any plant life in any location. Even if the body he is currently occupying is destroyed, Alec's mind lives on in The Green, and will reconstitute a newly grown body. The Swamp Thing operated for several years before he even became aware of this ability.[7]
  • Chlorokinesis: The ability to commune with plantlife and to control its growth and form. He can summon forth vines to entangle or snare, and so on. He has threatened on more than one occasion to cause the microscopic flora within his enemies bodies to grow out and kill them from the inside.
  • Self-Sustenance: The ability to nourish oneself, typically via an external energy source. In Swamp Thing's case, likely through a form of photosynthesis and composting.

Abilities

  • Chemistry: As he has the memories if Alec Holland, the Swamp Thing is a brilliant chemist.

Weaknesses

  • Vulnerability to Pollution: Pollution is highly dangerous to the plant life that makes up his body and the plant life he is connected to. By weakening The Green, one weakens the Swamp Thing.

Equipment


  • The plants that make up the "Blue Heaven" and post-Avatar form of the Swamp Thing are the same blue, extraterrestrial ones that he encountered in Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #56.

Related

Footnotes


Alec Holland 02
Swamp Thing Character
DC Rebirth Logo

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.

Sinestro Entity 002
White Lantern Corps member
DC Rebirth Logo

This character is or was a member of the White Lantern Corps, guided by the Life Entity to wield the White Light of Life.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "White Lantern Corps members category."

Advertisement