Swamp Thing TV Show: 8 Things You Need To Know
DC's swampy saviour is live action bound, but what is he all about?
"The swamp is my world. It is who I am; it is what I am. I was once a man. I know the evil men do. Do not bring your evil here, I warn you. Beware the wrath of Swamp Thing."
That was the opening narration for the Swamp Thing television show from 1990, but despite its ominous tone, it's probably something best left forgotten.
Swamp Thing has always been a character confined to the peripheral vision of modern audiences. He's a character shrouded in almost 50 years of history, with the occasional pop up in flagship titles and events, but without the staying power to push him into mainstream popularity.
However, that could now be set to change. DC's own streaming service (DC Universe) is set to bring a Swamp Thing TV show to life in the near future, but what will it include and, better yet, just what is Swamp Thing all about?
8. The Character Was Created By Len Wein And Bernie Wrightson
Swamp Thing originally appeared in the horror anthology series, House of Secrets #92 in 1971. The character was thought up by the late Len Wein, and off a basic design, artist Bernie Wrightson brought the monstrosity to life.
The original tale was of Alex Olsen, a young scientist from Louisiana in the early 1900s, who was betrayed by his assistant, Damian, because Damian wanted to get with Alex's wife. Damian dumps Alex's body in the swamps and - doing the only logical thing a sociopath would do - uses the grief of Alex's disappearance to get Linda to marry him, until one day, a shambling mass of vegetation crawls from the swamp, and exacts revenge on Damian.
Linda sees this shaggy green thing and runs, never knowing that it was truly her husband coming back to be with her. Fated to be a monster, the Swamp Thing wanders back into the swamp, consigned to a life of horror.
It's a solid one-shot story but it was never designed to be anything more, which is why when the solo series started, it was a new man as the monster and a tweaked origin story.
This story has quite a legacy to it however, especially if you consider that the name was derived from Wein referring to the project as a "swamp thing" he was working on.