Following the massive DCU reveal by James Gunn and Peter Safran, DC fans can now look forward to a slew of properties finally coming together in an organized vision. Following his success with The Suicide Squad, Gunn is now acting as DC’s equivalent to Kevin Feige, overseeing the production of ten television and film productions that’ll tie into the DCU’s first “chapter,” Gods and Monsters. Needless to say, fans are going nuts over the announcement. New Superman, Batman, The Authority, and Supergirl movies will join television shows based on Booster Gold, Amanda Waller, and the Green Lantern Corps in the coming years.
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What took some by surprise, however, was the announcement of an entire movie dedicated to Swamp Thing. An unconventional hero compared to the rest of the DC canon, Swamp Thing is an elemental being composed of plant matter that tends to be associated with the supernatural or paranormal, with his stories having strong themes tied to environmentalism and horror. While his first film in the new DCU will lean heavily in this direction as it explains his origins, some of Swamp Thing’s comics could be easily translated to film as the DCU continues to unfold.
Winter Special Is a Somber Survival Story
DC Comics
In what is one of the most straightforward Swamp Thing stories, Winter Special sees the eponymous hero shepherding a child through a dangerous snowstorm, all while Swamp Thing’s powers are slowly being drained in the freezing cold. The duo is pursued by an unseen monster that Swamp Thing must ultimately confront between encounters with wild bears and violent hunters.
The comic was originally a one-shot, meaning it exists without any existing connections to other storylines. It’s also a story that’s incredibly small in scope, allowing the audience to both gain a deeper understanding of Swamp Thing as a character while allowing for a blank slate that can be added onto if it were made into a film. It’s a race against time in a hazardous situation until the seemingly-immortal Swamp Thing is forced to do the unthinkable in the story’s climax. There’s a reason it’s heralded as one of the best installments of Swamp Thing, as it was dedicated to the memory of the character’s co-creators, Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson.
The Root of All Evil Is a Drug-Fueled Nightmare
The Root of All Evil is a particularly interesting Swamp Thing story. Written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, it primarily follows scientist Alec Holland as he awakens in a South African hospital, still reeling from the effects of hallucinogenic plants as he continues his research on them. However, he can’t help but shake the feeling that something is wrong when he sees visions of a monstrous swamp creature killing dozens in his homeland of the Louisana Bayou.
The story was originally written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, who came to prominence through their respective contributions to Doom Patrol and The Authority, respectively. It’s an unconventional take on Swamp Thing that sees him and Alec Holland — the original scientist before his transformation into the mossy monster — split from each other. It’s a story with intense visuals inspired by the various hallucinogens that brought Holland to Africa, with the line between what’s real and what’s imagined constantly being blurred. It also doesn’t skimp on the graphic violence and terror that Swamp Thing is associated with, reminding us of the character’s roots in horror. Based on the wackiness that was littered throughout The Suicide Squad, it’s a story that seems like ample material for Gunn to ultimately put into a film. Seeing as how the upcoming Swamp Thing film is meant to be scarier than the rest of the DCU, it’d be appropriate.
Saga of the Swamp Thing Is An Amazing Origin
Saga of the Swamp Thing saw the character assigned significant changes, most of which set the stage for what we now know as the modern Swamp Thing.
Instead of being a man-turned-monster, comic book legend Alan Moore opted to turn Swamp Thing into something a little more unique. During an autopsy of Swamp Thing after he was supposedly gunned down, it’s revealed that Swamp Thing is, in essence, nothing more than a sentient plant elemental imbued with the memories and consciousness of Alec Holland. It gives the character an existential angle that other superheroes, at least in the planned DCU, can’t necessarily replicate. To add onto this, Alec is just one of many Swamp Things that have existed throughout history. Their purpose in life is to defend the Parliament of Trees, a community that governs what is known as “the Green,” a dimension that connects every piece of foliage, every blade of grass, and every errant leaf on the planet together.
Saga of the Swamp Thing is the story that gave Swamp Thing and his stories the environmentalist angle he so naturally utilizes nowadays. In an age where environmentalism is arguably more prominent than ever in the public consciousness, it’d be a perfect way to introduce the world to a newly-reinvigorated Swamp Thing.
