DC’s Weirdest Hero is More Powerful Than He’s Ever Been
Swamp Thing is one of DC's weirdest, and most powerful, heroes and now in Justice League Dark he receives his biggest upgrade yet.
Spoilers for Justice League Dark #29 ahead!
Swamp Thing, one of DC’s weirdest heroes, is more powerful now than ever before! The Guardian of the Green received a major upgrade in the pages of Justice League Dark #29, written by Andy Lanning and Ron Marz, with art by Amancay Nahuelpan and colors by June Chung. The issue, a tie-in to the Endless Winter event, is in stores now.
Swamp Thing, and the entire Justice League Dark team, have experienced major shakeups over the past several months. The team was successful in turning back their chief enemy The Upside-Down Man, but at a cost: Swamp Thing sacrificed himself to save the day. In the previous issue, Man-Bat, Swamp Thing’s new friend, found signs of consciousness in Swamp Thing’s remains, leaving open a potential resurrection. And now, with Endless Winter plunging Earth into a deep freeze, Wonder Woman and Zatanna set out to recover the plant Elemental and enlist his aid in fighting the Frost King.
With the aid of Doctor Fate and Detective Chimp, the two travel to New Myrra, formerly the realm of the Upside-Down Man and the site of Swamp Thing’s death. Upon arriving they are greeted by plant-based replicas of the Otherkind, the Upside-Down Man’s minions. Swamp Thing calls them off and informs Wonder Woman and Zatanna that he is now part of this dimension, and the Otherkind the two encountered were his “immune system.” Swamp Thing tells them that he would help if he could, but he must remain in New Myrra to keep the evil forces of the Other Place at bay. He tells them to summon the ghost of the Viking Prince, who fought the Frost King a millennia ago, to help in their struggle.
Swamp Thing’s new upgrades come at a terrible price: he can no longer leave this realm or very bad things will happen. All he can do now is watch the Earth and its elementals suffer under the Frost King’s reign. DC recently revealed a new Swamp Thing will debut in March 2021 - it begs the question, is there a connection between the two? Will this new Swamp Thing be able to help the other leave New Myrra? Or is Alec Holland now off the table completely?
These questions will no doubt be answered in the months ahead, but for now, Swamp Thing seems at peace, even if it came at a cost. Despite his monstrous appearance, Swamp Thing is a great hero, one who cares deeply for life on the planet. He is protecting Earth still, just not on Earth itself.