DC Needs To Make Swamp Thing's New Villain His Most Horrific Ever
Warning! Contains spoilers for Swamp Thing #12!
While Swamp Thing is no stranger to terrifying and disturbing villains, his new antagonist should be his most twisted antagonist yet. Swamp Thing originally had his roots firmly planted in the horror comics of the 1970s in its initial run piloted by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson. But Alan Moore’s seminal take on the character elevated Swamp Thing to a much grander place in the DC Universe’s greater hierarchy.
Moore introduced a dimension called the Green that connects all plant life together and is ruled by the Parliament of Trees. This Parliament created Swamp Thing to be a protector of plant life everywhere, and as such he is known as the Avatar of the Green. Analogous dimensions and parliaments exist for almost every type of life on Earth, such as the Red for animal life and the Grey for fungal life. However, unnatural or twisted parliaments and dimensions have also appeared, such as the Rot ruled by the Parliament of Decay and the new Parliament of Gears, which is introduced in this latest issue. These Parliaments feature grotesque members who are both terrifying in their appearance and their actions. But a new entity introduced at the end of the most recent issue might be a sign of even more horrific things to come.
At the end of Swamp Thing #12, written by Ram V and with art by Mike Perkins, Levi Kamei, the current Swamp Thing senses forces stirring in the night. He is sensing the radioactive remnants of one of the nuclear bombs tested at the Trinity site in New Mexico, which gain consciousness and manifest themselves into a humanoid figure named Trinity. Trinity’s motivations are unclear at this point, but given the trend of the concepts of technological achievements attacking people that has occurred throughout the series, it is unlikely that she will be an ally to Swamp Thing. That is unfortunate given that she likely has a terrifyingly strong ability.
Since she is essentially made of radiation, most forms of life that attempt to approach her will be irrevocably damaged. While Swamp Thing may not be as affected since many plants can actually weather radiation quite well, if she wanders out of the desert and into a city, hundreds or thousands of people could receive acute radiation poisoning. Radiation poisoning can cause a deterioration of bodily functions that lead to a slow and painful death. And this is judging her abilities solely on what her body is physically made of. If she can access the explosive power of an atomic bomb at will, she can annihilate entire cities in the blink of an eye.
If Trinity is actually a member of the Parliament of Gears, it would make that organization even more of a threat. Even if she isn’t, if the remains of an atom bomb are suddenly gaining sentience, it is likely that other dangerous or destructive concepts will also come alive. Trinity may be indicative of other enemies to come, in which case the new Swamp Thing will have the most horrifying rogues gallery of any DC superhero.
Swamp Thing #12 is now available from DC Comics.