Swamp Thing: Loose Ends

This is the last episode of the current season, and we don’t know if we’ll have more. There are a lot of threads for future stories, so let’s get down to what ‘Loose Ends’ has to offer for SWAMP THING, shall we?

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Last episode, we saw Swamp Thing discover Alec Holland’s body. This episode it is confirmed with finality that Alec is indeed dead, and his memories are kept within the plant-like husk that is Swamp Thing. Unlike Alec, Caroline Woodrue and Matt Cable are very much alive. Caroline is suffering from ‘locked-in’ syndrome which allows her to perceive, but not move. Matt on the other hand survived the car crash and is recovering in the hospital.

Aside from these life and death scenarios, there are a lot of other plot lines progressing in the story. Daniel Cassidy admits to Liz that he is the Blue Devil, and he is now able to leave Marais without getting burned. Ellery cuts off Avery from the Swamp Thing discovery which doesn’t go well with Avery. However, everything goes south for Ellery when he leads a full on assault on the swamp and gets a thorough thrashing from Swamp Thing. Avery kills Lucilia Cable after an offer of reconciliation is denied. Maria Sunderland goes full wacko in the asylum as a way of escaping the dark that is engulfing her courtesy of Madame Xanadu who visits her. Jason tries to cure his wife Caroline with the plant organs he got last episode from Swamp Thing, but is stopped by Abby. Later, Jason gets arrested, but not before he ingests part of the organs he harvested. He feels ‘The Green’ and we’ll talk more about that later. The episode seemingly ends with the romance between Swamp Thing and Abby hitting ‘Beauty and the Beast’ levels with both of them promising to fight back the dark that is infesting the swamps of Marais. Then there’s more…

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….Back to Jason Woodrue in a end credit scene. We see the results of his eating the plant organs. He is transformed now in the police station to a figure that is familiar to Swamp Thing comic book fans. As I mentioned way back, Dr. Woodrue’s could herald the appearance of the Floronic Man, a staple of Swamp Thing mythos, some time later. That time has come sooner, and we get a glimpse of the Floronic Man albeit in the darkness of the police station. So now, we have an established supernatural persona to serve as a counter-balance to Swamp Thing. How will this all pan out? We’ll have to see if this ever happens since SWAMP THING is cancelled…for now.

‘Loose Ends’ does what it foreshadows to the SWAMP THING series. There are a lot of plot points that have ended, but others that have branched out. Though SWAMP THING is a show with heavy environmental advocacies, it is also a budding love story, and this comes into full display here. As the series ends its first season, one wonders if any of the continuing plot points will ever see the light of day. The mixture of macabre horror, science fiction and environmental awareness should be enough for SWAMP THING to branch out into something more in the future.

Swamp Thing: The Anatomy Lesson

The ninth episode of SWAMP THING, ‘The Anatomy Lesson’, ended with this particular revelation: Alec Holland is dead. If you’re familiar with Alan Moore’s work for DC in the comic book series, then you know that just by looking at the title that you’ll have an idea where this is all going.

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Last episode, we saw Swamp Thing captured in nitrogen by Dr. Jason Woodrue and Avery Sunderland. This episode, we see Jason analyze the specimen that is Alec Holland while he is conscious. Why doesn’t he escape? It appears that the green light negates Alec’s plant powers. Here now begins the anatomy lesson, the same title to the first arc of Alan Moore’s start as writer and seminal run on the Swamp Thing comic book. This is where Alan Moore’s rise to prominence began, and the SWAMP THING is tipping its hat to this beautiful story arc in the comics. Like the comics, we find out that the plant creature isn’t Alec. It’s a plant which somehow saved Alec’s memories, and used it as its own into this new mobile creature, a warrior of The Green. The plant even simulates human organs to make it appear like the body is human, but it’s not as Jason discovers. Alec hears all this, and can’t believe it. Later, when Abby and Liz rescue him from his confinement, he goes back to Skeeter Cove with Abby in tow to discover the human remains of Alec Holland in the swamp.

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So, the Swamp Thing we know is a plant creature with Alec’s memories. Swamp Thing reveals this in the presence of Abby who is left in shock. This means there is no way to turning Swamp Thing back because he was never human to start. I was actually waiting for this aspect of the Swamp Thing mythos to show up, and lo and behold they stuck to it. The show has taken liberties from both the Len Wein and Alan Moore runs. These concepts meld quite well into the show rather seamlessly. This is a knockout punch right there, but there are more comic book hits to come in ‘The Anatomy Lesson’.

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Here’s one that has been anticipated since it was teased: Blue Devil finally makes his appearance. The Phantom Stranger (I stand by this even though he has not been named) visits a restrained Daniel Cassidy in the hospital. He shows Dan a vision of the future that involves Liz and Abby getting killed unless he saves them. The Stranger releases Dan from his restraints and suggests that he go save Abby and Liz from getting killed. Of course, Dan has no idea how to do this until the Stranger tells him to become Blue Devil. And, he becomes just that to rescue Abby and Liz in his demonic (devilish?) persona. Abby and Liz see the Blue Devil but are oblivious to the fact that this is Daniel Cassidy.

The previous two revelations are the highlights, but there are a few more story points in ‘The Anatomy Lesson’ that are worth noting. One, Jason returns to his wife who appears to have died due to an overdose of her medication. Caroline is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, and took her assigned medication all at once. Second, Avery sends Maria to a mental institution taking back control of his assets. Avery also figured out that Maria and Lucilia Cable are in cahoots to kill him. I wonder how these two will react when they find out that their prized possession has escaped their research facility. Lastly, Matt crashes his police car while driving drunk, and appears to have been killed in the crash. How these plot lines wrap up as we head into the end of the series are things worth watching out.

‘The Anatomy Lesson’ is a fan service to many DC Comics readers. The title itself would probably give most an idea what it’s all about, particularly Alan Moore fans. You’ll also have a devil of a time with the appearance a familiar member of DC’s arcane stable of characters. SWAMP THING takes a page from its comic book roots and rightfully so. This is one of the best comic book series adaptations out there. ‘It helps that SWAMP THING branches out from its storied comic book lore.

Swamp Thing: Long Walk Home

Last episode, we saw Avery Sunderland survive the attempt on his life. Here we see him make his way out of the swamp with the help of Alec Holland. In the process, Avery hallucinates with images of Lucilia Cable (who tries to kill him again), and what appears to be the death of his father courtesy of a living tree in the swamp. Ultimately, Alec Holland rescues him from the swamp and reveals to him that he is the Swamp Thing creature. In thanks, Avery offers to find a way to cure Alec, and return him to his human form.

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While this is all happening, Abby makes her way home to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) main office in Atlanta. So we have two homecomings in this episode. One by Avery who makes it out of the swamp, and the other by Abby who returns to the CDC. Unlike Avery, Abby’s return is not quite the happy homecoming she’d expect. Her absence is questioned with her lack of communication of her whereabouts. Ultimately, she opens up to her friend Dr. Harlan Edwards. She reveals to him the reason why she has been staying at Marais longer than required. Abby tells her friend Harlan about Alec and Swamp Thing.

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Sadly, everything continues to spiral downward with Abby’s return to Atlanta. Harlan is kidnapped without Abby’s knowledge. And she is proposed by Ellery (a member of the Conclave) an offer to capture Swamp Thing. Of course, she declines the offer, and returns to Marais to warn Alec. She arrives too late though.

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Back in Marais, Avery makes his way to Dr. Jason Woodrue’s home. He shares that he escaped the swamp, and discovered that Alec is the Swamp Thing creature they’ve all been hunting. Initially, he asks Dr. Woodrue to help restore Alec’s humanity. Jason explains to Avery that Alec is more valuable in his current form. Without it, the regenerative formula that Dr. Woodrue devised would be useless. So, instead of meeting Alec in the swamp to cure him, Avery and Jason initiate his capture using Nitrogen to freeze his body. Upon Abby’s return to the swamps of Marais, all she finds are the shotgun rounds that were used to capture Alec, and the markings of Alec’s crystallized form on the ground.

In Swamp Thing comic book lore, Swamp Thing has been able to transfer his essence into another plant body. So, I don’t think will remain in that body they captured. That of course depends on whether Alec has developed that power already. Or is he truly captured in the nitrogen? We’ll just have to wait for next episode.

‘Long Walk Home’ deals with a very real problem when it comes to our natural resources: exploitation. SWAMP THING shows us how the greed of acclaim and profit drives people to take advantage of our environment at whatever cost. Fortunately, SWAMP THING also shows us that there are people who help fight these invaders to protect the environment. Additionally, the environment learns to fight back on its own, and the exploiters learns that nature will not take the abuse lying down. It’s a beautiful message, and SWAMP THING continues to show us how we can thrive together with the environment in harmony.

Swamp Thing: Brilliant Disguise

Last episode ended with Alec Holland miraculously transforming to his human self in front of Abby Arcane. This episode, we find out that this is a result of a spore hallucinogen that just makes Swamp Thing look like Alec, but in fact his physical form remains the same.

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It’s a brilliant compromise that ‘The Green’ seems to have sensed Alec needed at the time. We also find out that ‘The Green’ is more emphatic to Alec than just an image change. It can provide for all of Alec’s needs at a thought. This includes providing fruit bearing plants and healing herbs from distant places not found in the swamp. Through these instances, we can see just how powerful Swamp Thing can become if only Alec would embrace the role more. Slowly, he is growing into the role, and with good reason with the coming of ‘The Rot’.

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In the a previous episode, we were alerted to the possible existence of ‘The Rot’, a Jeff Lemiere creation, because of that swarm of insects that took over a human body. ‘Brilliant Disguise’ all but confirms this, and ‘The Rot’ appears to be identified as the big baddie that ‘The Green’ is up against. This led to the creation of Swamp Thing…supposedly. We get to see just how dangerous ‘The Rot’ is as an adversary can be as it infects itself in Abby Arcane. I love the metaphor brought about here with the inner war between ‘The Green’ and ‘The Rot’ in Abby’s body: Nature vs. the corruption of it (by man?). Good to know that Swamp Thing is strong enough to fight ‘The Rot’ from Abby’s body with a bit of Abby’s willpower. This could be a foreshadowing of things to come.

Another element of Swamp Thing lore looked at again is ‘The Conclave’ introduced by Len Wein. Here we have a businessman representative of the group in the form of Nathan Ellery. Ellery was contacted by Avery Sunderland to pitch his new regenerative discovery courtesy of Dr. Jason Woodrue. We already saw how this discovery worked on Daniel Cassidy. In spite of the side effects, the idea was pitched by Maria in Avery’s absence (more on that later) with the help of Dr. Woodrue. Jason is more than happy to see this project go to fruition because of the Alzheimer’s his wife is now experiencing. This is all big money for the Sunderland’s. So where is Avery?

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Well, it looks like Avery’s luck caught up with him in a bad way. Maria and Sheriff Lucilla Cable conspired to murder Avery. Sheriff Cable even involved her son, Matt, to finish him off. The mother-son team lured Avery out to the swamp with the presence of hunting down Alec aka Swamp Thing. On that note, we also find out that Matt is the son of Avery. This sneaky bastard really has a lot of skeletons in his closet for him and everybody else in Marais. This is most probably the reason why Maria and Lucilla combined forces to get rid of this manipulative character. But, Avery survives the ambush in the swamp screaming. So, not everything went according to Maria and Lucilla’s plan. With the current state of Avery, something tells me that he might be the champion for ‘The Rot’ in the same way Alec is to ‘The Green’.

In ‘Brilliant Disguise’, we not only see how Alec is learning to adapt to his new persona, but we also see a bit of SWAMP THING’s advocacy. The episode highlights the forces at battle in Marais and the possible outcome. In all this, humanity plays an important role in the environment’s survival. ‘Brilliant Disguise’ provides a timely message and SWAMP THING shows both the danger and beauty of nature gone wild.

Swamp Thing: The Price You Pay

Alright, so this episode all but confirms to me that the stranger from last episode is indeed Phantom Stranger. The guy brought out a fedora when we get a flashback meeting between him and Daniel Cassidy about that deal he made. He then disappears soon after. That’s classic Phantom Stranger right there, and it seals the deal for me. Aside from taking the starring role of the Blue Devil character as part of a deal with the stranger(which means that he WILL become the comic book Blue Devil), Dan has made his bed to watch over a girl who we now know is Abby Arcane.

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I’m feeling that mask will not be for show soon, considering that he appears to have been mutated by Dr. Jason Woodrue with some formula he placed in Dan’s intravenous fluid while Dan was comatose (Dan was mugged last episode resulting in his coma). Dr. Woodrue believes that Dan’s rebirth was due to his formula. I have a feeling though that the formula was only half the reason why Dan was revived. He started burning up with blue flame again. This is the same blue flame we saw last episode when he tried to escape Marais. So, get on with donning the costume and be Blue Devil already, Dan.

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Dan’s apparent resurrection is not the only surprise of the episode. We also find out that Matt Cable was the person who killed Alec Holland, and, tada…it was under the orders of Avery Sunderland. I mentioned in my review of the pilot that I suspected Avery to have some part in Alec’s death. Well, now it is confirmed. But, it’s not so cut and dry. Avery has a blackmail file on Matt’s mother, the sheriff of Marais (and Avery’s lover) which pushes Matt to do what Avery says. The situation gets more complicated when mother and son confront each other. To further complicate the situation, Matt finds out from Abby that the swamp creature that everyone is hunting is Alec Holland. Luckily for Matt, Alec doesn’t remember seeing Matt kill him. However, something tells me that as soon as Alec learns how to better use his powers, he will discover Matt’s secret murder of him through the trees just like what he did with Abby’s past. This will open a whole new can of worms.

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‘The Price You Pay’ ends with probably the best cliffhanger of the series to date. As Abby and Alec return to Alec’s lab in the swamp to search for more clues about his death and transformation, Alec miraculously transforms into his full human self. Alec isn’t aware of it, but this happens before Abby’s eyes. I can’t tell you how much I’m eagerly waiting on the next episode.

In ‘The Price You Pay’, SWAMP THING shows us the motivations of one of the main characters of the story. In so doing, it sheds some light on the identity of a mysterious stranger that appears to be lurking around Marais. The story takes an unexpected turn with a cliffhanger that will leave you wanting more. SWAMP THING is taking the anticipation up a notch, and it’s all worth waiting on this beautifully crafted horror series. Mysteries are getting unraveled in Marais, and SWAMP THING is at the center of the intrigue.

Swamp Thing: Drive All Night

Finally we get to see Abby’s participation in Shawna Sunderland’s death. In a series of flashbacks, ‘Drive All Night’ reveals that Shawna and Abby took a drive to Marais’s bridge. While there, Shawna dared Abby to jump into the river swamp below. Abby feigns not wanting, then pushes Shawna into the water below. Abby jumps in believing that Shawna had drowned. That wasn’t the case, and Shawna was just teasing her drowning. All fun and games end when something from underwater drags Shawna beneath the water which resulted into her death.

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This creepy death is related to Maria Sunderland’s almost untimely death in the same way. She was drawn to the water by the spirit of her daughter who was possessing Susie. Thankfully, Swamp Thing was there in time to save her from drowning. Coincidence? I think not. This might be the same creature that drowned and killed Shawna coming back for more.

You get a taste of the James Wan cinematic influence here. There are a lot of his patented movie scare tactics here, and they work. This is horror fiction for television that levels up from Supernatural. It’s scary good, and the mystery that accompanies it just adds to the beauty of this series. It’s truly a different being from Titans and Doom Patrol that came before. Speaking of different beings, Dr. Jason Woodrue has revealed to Avery Sunderland that there is a mobile plant creature in the swamps. Of course, Avery orders Jason to find it.

Also, there are several new comic book references here introduced in ‘Drive All Night’. I’ll start with the more obvious ones. We get the first mention of ‘The Green’ here, a comic book concept that relates to Swamp Thing’s creation. I think we will find out soon the reasoning why Alec was reborn as Swamp Thing and I’m sure The Green will be involved.

Then, there is Daniel Cassidy who gives us the first image of the Blue Devil mask. He takes it from his trunk after trying to leave Marais. Believing that his job is done by saving Abby last episode, he tries to leave Marais. He finds out that his obligation is not yet done as his hands are burnt by blue flames. Yes, blue flames. The possibility of seeing Dan in the Blue Devil persona is getting more and more likely.

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Finally, Swamp Thing meets a stranger in the swamps. This stranger helps him understand his powers. The stranger explains that the plants are old, and are sharing their memories with him. From these memories he sees Abby’s participation in Shawna’s death. Quote from the passing stranger, ‘maybe a phantom from a dream.’ Did we just get our first glimpse of a Phantom Stranger introduction? If so, this is sneaky. Let’s see where SWAMP THING takes us.

In ‘Drive All Night’, SWAMP THING reveals a Abby Arcane’s past with the Sunderlands. That alone is intriguing, but the manner that it is revealed creates another layer of suspense and horror to the series. The episode is reminiscent of some of the best horror movies of our time translated to the small screen. It is creepy. It is dark. It is chilling. It is very much how SWAMP THING should feel and does feel. As you watch, prepare to enter true environmental horror in the swamp lands of Marais as only SWAMP THING can offer.

Swamp Thing: Darkness on the Edge of Town

SWAMP THING goes full environmental horror in ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ when a mysterious illness starts to go spreading around by scratch contact. It all started when Todd goes exploring in Ochee Forks in search of new ground to exploit in the swamp. A corpse falls on him when he tries to cut down a tree. The corpse accidentally bites him, and upon his return to Marais, he starts seeing his greatest fear. In his case, it’s snakes. Todd ends up dead with his self-inflicted wounds to kill the snake around his arm, but not before he scratches Delroy, Lizzy’s father, thus transferring the ‘darkness’ (as Swamp Thing calls it) to him. Fortunately, Swamp Thing gives a solution to this new virus, and suggests to Abby that it has to be returned to the swamp. How does Abby return it to the swamp? She gets scratched by Lucilia Cable who was the latest victim of the transfer. Abby rushes back to Ochee Forks in the swamp to return the ‘darkness’ to its original host. Though, she experiences her own darkest fear first before Swamp Thing steps in to finally get rid of the virus.

One other thing occurs with Abby’s interaction with Swamp Thing this episode. She is able to get a sample of Alec’s body tissue for examination. Abby takes it back to Marais to examine and possibly explain in order to cure Alec’s current state. With the help of Dr. Jason Woodrue, Abby finds out that the tissue sample is plant tissue, but it’s organized like animal tissue. Dr. Woodrue swears to make a further analysis without informing his employer, Avery Sunderland.

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There is another continuing mystery of SWAMP THING explored in this episode, and it revolves around Daniel Cassidy‘s presence in Marais. In his conversation with Madame Xanadu, we find out that Danny has been in Marais for eight years because of some bargain he made. He now believes that part of the bargain involves Abby Arcane’s safety. That bargain of Danny’s is bugging me a bit. Could this have something to do with an eventual appearance of the Blue Devil we know and love in the comics? In the comics, Danny is connected to demonic forces that result in his alter ego, Blue Devil. Could this be a variation of his origin that would result in the coming of Blue Devil? I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about it.

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Finally, we have Avery plotting something nefarious while he is manipulating Maria’s emotions. Maria appears to have gotten attached to Susie Coyle, patient zero of the initial virus that was spreading. At episode’s end, Avery has paid Lee Coyle, Susie’s uncle, for Susie to stay at the Sunderland home. Maria doesn’t know anything about this. And, it appears that Avery is using both of them for his own ends. Of course, Avery doesn’t know that Maria is also in contact with their daughter-in-creepy-form, so this is shaping to be a very interesting plot point of the series.

‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ is reminiscent of those environmental stories that show us what happens when we invade nature’s sanctuary. We inevitably release unknown threats because of the invasion. This episode is just an extreme interpretation of that moral, and it’s a scary one to behold. There are many downsides to continued exploitation of our natural resources, and here SWAMP THING shows us the horrific consequences. In the end, going back to nature is the cure, and this episode emphasizes the importance of doing so.†

Swamp Thing: He Speaks

As the title suggests, Swamp Thing aka Alec Holland speaks to Abby Arcane and confirms that he is Alec. He has no idea how it happened, and has little memory of it as well. What we do know is that Abby gets an idea from Alec as to how to stop the virus. Alec tells her that the ‘virus’ is not invasive but is actually fighting back.

In ‘He Speaks’, instead of fighting back the virus with antibiotics, Abby decides to use immunosuppresants. She experiments on this with Harlan who has now fallen ill to the virus. The gamble pays off, and, at least for now, the virus is under control.

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Also in the episode, we get a cryptic meeting between Madame Xanadu and Daniel Cassidy. From this meeting, we learn that Dan has his future set in stone according to Xanadu’s cards. That is, until Abby came into the picture. Now his cards are reversed. This prompts him to seek out Abby to find out why. Let’s see how this translates in future episodes.

Moving on, Lizzy Tremayne plays an important role in this episode. She discovers that Avery Sunderland is actually drowning in loans from banks to support his accelerant research. She also finds out from her girlfriend, Margaux, that Alec’s boat was actually shot after fishing out remains of his boat from Skeeter Cove. So his death wasn’t an accident. Some mysteries are coming more and more to light in Marais.

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But, we have more mysteries to come starting with Avery. Aside fro the revelation that Avery is bankrupt, we also find out that he is part of a mysterious organization known as The Conclave. Who or what is The Conclave? I did a bit of research, and actually found three mentions of Conclaves in DC continuity. One is a mystical group of heroes that makes its appearance in Fate comics issue 5 that came out in 1995. Though that would make my heart jump for joy because that includes Zatanna on its roster, it’s most unlikely that this is the Conclave referred to here.

Then, we have a ‘Conclave of Twelve’ who form part of Aquaman lore. Unless Aquaman would make an appearance or Swampy heads to the sea, this is more unlikely than the magical group with Zatanna. That leaves the third Conclave which is the most likely. This Conclave made its first appearance in Swamp Thing 1 in 1972. It’s a group of greedy businessmen who want to acquire wealth through any means necessary. Now THAT fits more the background of Avery. The reference digs deep into Swamp Thing lore from the Len Wein stories. I won’t be surprised if we’ll be learning more about them in future SWAMP THING episodes.

Another interesting comic book reference is that pile of bugs animating the body of murdered Munson from last episode. If I’m not mistaken, that’s The Rot from Animal Man #1 of 2011. It’s a very new character created by Jeff Lemiere. The Rot is a creature of decay and death that seeks to destroy life. There’s not much to go by just yet, but looking at the way the insects moved around and animated the corpse of Munson, this just might be that creature.

‘He Speaks’ provides clues to existing mysteries in SWAMP THING while providing new story threads to discover. This is not a simple tale of Abby Arcane and Alec Holland. Far from it. SWAMP THING continues its complex storytelling on its environmental advocacy while blending in comic book references with a splash of true suspense and horror. If you haven’t yet, it’s time to discover SWAMP THING and the intriguing mysteries that accompany it.

Swamp Thing: Worlds Apart

Warning: This post contains spoilers for ‘Worlds Apart’, episode 2 for SWAMP THING. Stop here if you want to maintain the mystery.

Last episode, I said that the Sunderlands had something to do wi th the virus that’s spreading across Marais. In ‘Worlds Apart’ we find that is partly true. Avery Sunderland is actually funding the research of Dr. Jason Woodrue who created the accelerant. This is the same substance that is being dumped in the swamps which is supposedly linked to the virus that is now plaguing Marais. Avery backed the research to help monetize the swamp to increase the revenue in Marais. Whether or not the virus is related to the accelerant has yet to be proven, but everything is pointing to that direction.

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Speaking of Dr. Jason Woodrue, those who are familiar with DC lore will know him as the Floronic Man. This is a staple opponent of Swamp Thing in the comic books. He isn’t transformed her yet, but if his story progresses like in the comic books, he will turning green as well.

Another comic book character who makes his debut in ‘Worlds Apart’ is Daniel Cassidy aka Blue Devil. In his early years, Blue Devil had his own comic book and his personality was somewhat comedic. Fast forward a few years later, and he was entrenched as part of DC’s arcane characters. Still funny, but fully immersed in his magical background.

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Abby visits Daniel Cassidy to look for any clues on Alec’s research. Alec Holland was living in Daniel’s home, and, since Abby was denied access to Alec’s lab by Avery earlier in the story, Abby had to find other sources of information elsewhere. So, that makes it two major DC character introduction in this episode.

Also in my last SWAMP THING review, I talked about how Susie Coyle could become Suzy, a character who makes regular appearances in the Black Orchid comics. It seems that the series is headed in that direction in some form. ‘Worlds Apart’ reveals a mental connection between Alec and Susie. If she isn’t going to be Suzy, she might be something like her. She feels what Alec feels which actually gets her into trouble. Wishing to help, Susie escapes the hospital to look for Alec Holland who is now transformed into this plant monster. She meets him, nearly gets murdered in the process, but is saved by Alec who is just discovering his powers as Swamp Thing.

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In the end, Susie escapes the swamp with Abby who went out to look for her as she escaped from the hospital. Abby has her second encounter with Swamp Thing. The kicker here is that she learns from Susie that the creature that is Swamp Thing has a name…Alec. Surprise, surprise.

There is one final surprise in ‘Worlds Apart’. It appears that Abby’s childhood friend and daughter of the Sunderlands, Shawna, has returned form the swamp where she died. Whether she is alive or dead (friend or foe) we’ll just have to wait and see. Not much is revealed of her motivations just yet, but she is back in Marais with an as of yet hidden agenda.

SWAMP THING is a different animal (plant?) from either TITANS or DOOM PATROL that came before it. ‘Worlds Apart’ digs deep into DC occult lore, and introduces some familiar faces to discerning comic book fans. If there is any doubt in the first episode of the kind of story SWAMP THING wishes to tell, it is made clearer here. This is a horror mystery delicately crafted into a beautiful bayou backdrop. You don’t mess with the environment, and SWAMP THING shows you what happens when you do. See for yourself, and you won’t be disappointed.

Swamp Thing Rises in Pilot Episode(Spoilers)

Dr. Abby Arcane of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service returns to her hometown of Marais, Louisiana from the Congo to discover the cause of a virus now spreading across the town. There she meets Alec Holland, a disgraced biologist, and together they seek to discover the mysteries of the new virus from the surrounding swamp lands. This is how the first episode of SWAMP THING presents itself. It’s a ‘Columbo’ mystery as Alec Holland puts it. It’s also a Vertigo-esque comic book environmental horror story reminiscent of both the Len Wein and Alan Moore comic book runs.

Coming after both the TITANS and DOOM PATROL series on DC Universe, SWAMP THING presents itself in a different light from those two successful comic book iterations. This is dark fantasy horror that is not covered by the previous two series. It has a personality of its own, and this is gearing up to be another hit for DC Universe.

At their first meeting, you can already see the chemistry between Abby and Alec. The tragedy that besets Marais has brought them close together. Before they can get any closer, Alec gets shot and killed while retrieving the accelerant from the swamp that is the cause of the virus spreading in Marais. Thus we have here the origin story of Swamp Thing. Alec rises from the swamp after being shot and is transformed to this plant-like creature. Abby clearly doesn’t recognize him, and runs away in fear from Alec at first seeing him in his new guise.

I’m sure in succeeding episodes we will see Abby mourning Alec and discovering at some point that Alec is the creature that rises from the swamp. Two mysteries remain though after the pilot. What is the cause of the spreading illness? Who killed Alec Holland? My money is on these two mysteries being linked. I also think that this has something to do with the Sunderlands who are the resident rich and influential family in Marais. Of course, if you are familiar with Swamp Thing comic book mythos, then you know that Avery Sunderland is one of Swampy’s antagonists. Though how this will work out in the series is something that will build a lot of intrigue.

There is are also two other characters of interest for discerning comic book fans. One is Xanadu. In the comics, Madame Xanadu is depicted as a master of divination. I can understand why they would use her in that capacity also in SWAMP THING. The other character is Susie Coyle. Though her name last name is Coyle, there is another Susie in DC comic book lore: Suzy Linden. I’m wondering if they are building Susie to be like Suzy who makes regular appearances in the Black Orchid comic book. She is the patient zero for this new virus that is spreading. And, it appears that she is being focused on in the story a lot. Could we see another plant elemental other than Swamp Thing emerging?

The pilot episode of SWAMP THING is a horror mystery story that places its main characters at the center of finding the answers. This is a totally different animal from TITANS and DOOM PATROL that came before. The focus is on what happens when humanity plays around with natural forces. This gives rise to monsters of man’s own creation. It will be interesting to see where the series takes this premise. For now, revel in the rise of SWAMP THING.