As the champion of the green, Swamp Thing is a remarkably powerful entity who is capable of creating new bodies of any size through his ability to control all plant life he comes into contact with. Though this makes him basically immortal, it once briefly made his life a waking nightmare… when he accidentally created a giant body out of sentient plant people. What followed was a horrific display of body horror DC Comics may have a hard time topping.
During writer Alan Moore’s groundbreaking run, Swamp Thing not only gained the ability to create bodies using plant life on Earth but also other planets. This ability was revealed after his consciousness was expelled from the earth after he attacked Gotham city. As his consciousness drifted through space, Swamp Thing had endured some horrific things, such as the time he was forced to impregnate a sentient space station. However, perhaps the most terrifying thing to happen to Swamp Thing was the time he made contact with a planet inhabited by beings made of plant bodies.
In Swamp Thing #61, the Guardian of the Green’s consciousness took root on a planet known as J586, which was home to a civilized race of plant people capable of art, religion, and society. Unaware of this, Swamp Thing attempts to make himself a body, accidentally twisting and mutilating the bodies of local plant life. Once he realizes the truth, Swamp Thing attempts to reverse the process — but is overwhelmed by the many voices and thoughts of the bodies he was assimilating. Unable to stop, and driven to near-madness, Swamp Thing assimilates the population of a large city and becomes a giant kaiju-like monster.
This horror show continues until a Green Lantern known as Medphyll arrives on the scene. Unsure of his abilities due to the recent loss of his mentor and partner, Jothra, Medphyll attempts to untangle each person, causing Swamp Thing to react violently. Medphyll then uses his ring to create a light show in the sky in order to put Swamp Thing in a daze — at which point Medphyll is able to safely untangle and rescue the assimilated people from Swamp thing’s body. Following this, Medphyl uses his ring to trap Swamp Thing’s soul in a glass container.
When Medphyll returns home, he questions Swamp Thing, who reveals it was all an accident, and that he is only in search of a means for returning to Earth. Desperate for a new body, Medpyhyll allows Swamp Thing to inhabit the body of Jothra. Days pass as the two attempt to find a way for Swamp Thing to return to Earth, and in doing so, Medphyll grows fond of seeing his old friend (even if it isn’t really him inside). Before leaving J586, Swamp Thing apologizes for all the damage he caused, while Medphyl thanks him for giving him the chance to say goodbye to his old friend. Swamp Thing then leaves the planet, while Medphyl mourns for Jothra once more.
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing is a truly groundbreaking series within the comic medium, and this issue is a great example of why. The artwork by Rick Veitch is also disgustingly remarkable, capturing the terrifying reality of Swamp Thing’s hulking mass of plant flesh. Not only is Swamp Thing #61 a great contribution to the body horror genre, but it also contains a unique perspective on loss and grief that leaves the reader feeling emotionally satisfied by the end.
