Horror and science fiction have always been a part of the television canvas, and constant attempts have been made over the years to produce classic entertainment. Some have fallen by the wayside, while others became mainstream phenomena. With “TV Terrors,” we take a look back at the many genre efforts from the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, exploring some shows that became cult classics, and others that sank in to obscurity.
In this installment we revisit the early ’90s animated series, “Swamp Thing”!
- Aired from 1990-1991
- Aired on FOX Network; FOX Kids
“Swamp Thing” has experienced a resurgence lately thanks to the push by DC and Warner for more mature material for their fan base, and while the upcoming DC Universe streaming series has a horror-heavy approach to it, once upon a time Swamp Thing was being groomed to become an environmental superhero for the kids. Arriving at about the same time as the live action drama, “Swamp Thing” was a very short lived animated series with big aspirations to become a multimedia powerhouse.
After presumably being turned down by CBS, “Swamp Thing” aired on FOX Kids Saturday Mornings for a short period, and eventually was reduced to syndicated airings. With “Captain Planet” popular with kids, DC Entertainment transformed Swamp Thing into a darker and more menacing, but still environmentally conscious superhero. The more subversive themes presented by the celebrated Alan Moore iteration were gone, in favor of an action oriented animated series that pit Swamp Thing against the evil Anton Arcane.
While Swamp Thing was typically a pariah who lurked alone in the swamps, the writers of the animated series paired the beast with his own diverse team of crime fighters. “Swamp Thing” is set primarily in the murky swamps where all five episodes revolve around evil scientist Anton Arcane (Don Francks) looking for a new scheme to kidnap Swamp Thing (voiced by Len Carlson). After nearly killing scientist Alec Holland, the formula he created helped him survive by merging him with the local swamp. He became Swamp Thing, a near immortal monster of the terrain who could adapt to his surroundings and use his body to combat evil-doers.
Swamp Thing is teamed with a Native American tracker named Tomahawk, and an ex-Vietnam Soldier named Bayou Jack. Anton Arcane has his own horrendous army of mutants he calls “Un-Men” including Dr. Deemo, Skinman, and Weed Killer, all suspiciously similar to “Captain Planet’s” foes. With Arcane’s transducer machine, they take the shape of vicious mutant predators like a serpent and a fangbat.
“Swamp Thing” the animated series has all the hallmarks of a classic superhero series that pits a great looking superhero against vicious monsters, and promotes healthy ideas about preserving the environment and relying on friends, along with other recurring themes of the time. It also has slimy mutants and a mutated hero, two staples of nineties pop culture that were very popular. Who can forget the delightfully cheesy theme song which remakes The Troggs’ “Wild Thing” in to “Swamp Thing” with the same rhythm, replacing “Wild” with “Swamp”?!
“Swamp Thing” is noticeably a cheaply made series with animation that can often be a bit rigid and stiff, while the episodes are mainly functioning standalones. For example, Abigail Arcane is introduced in the first episode and we never see her again. That’s probably because the series itself was produced mostly as a blatant commercial for the toy line that Kenner was producing at the time. “Swamp Thing” is in the tradition of “Transformers” and “GI Joe” where everything featured in the series is almost certainly a toy. Everything from the awesome toyetic vehicles and various physical phases that Swamp Thing uses to hide and fight are basically in the Kenner toyline.
After the five episode run which prompted many to label the attempted series a flop, the iteration was remembered primarily for its pretty excellent toy line. It’s a shame since the animated series could have gone to places the live action series never did, exploring more gruesome monsters and a larger array of cool villains; Dr. Deemo in particular is a lot of fun as he’s a monster who delights in voodoo, and inexplicably knows the inner workings of Swamp Thing. But those toys. At least we got those toys.
The series of beautifully designed figures were divided into three groups: Swamp Thing, Heroes, and Evil Un-Men Villains. The Swamp Thing figures included Camouflage Swamp Thing, Bio-Glow Swamp Thing, Snare Up Swamp Thing and Snare Arm Swamp Thing (my favorite toy of all time!) in the first wave. The second wave included Climbing Swamp Thing and Capture Swamp Thing.
The Heroes included Bayou Jack and Tomahawk. The Evil Un-Men were Anton Arcane, Dr. Deemo, Weed Killer, and Skinman. There were also two great vehicles: a Bog Rover and the Marsh Buggy, and the rare play sets “The Swamp Trap” and “Arcane’s Lab.” The toys also didn’t sell too well, being reduced to discount bins for years. As with all things pop culture, “Swamp Thing” eventually regained momentum years after it was cancelled, prompting a lot of renewed interest in the series and the toy line. I still have my Snare Arm Swamp Thing in a box hanging on my wall, thank you very much.
According to reports the toy line tested well with kids and could very well have taken off, perhaps giving the animated series a second chance. Sadly, despite the release of a ton of tie in merchandise (including an awful NES platformer), the franchise never clicked with younger crowds.
“Swamp Thing” has always been a hard character to peg down for Hollywood over the years; he’s mostly been a cult character remembered primarily for his pair of movies from the eighties. The animated series isn’t perfect, but it’s an interesting precursor to the character becoming a bigger presence in modern animated DC Movies, and next coming full circle with his highly anticipated live action series.
If you’re a “Swamp Thing” completist, the animated series is worth a go. It’s classic nineties fodder, and a pretty fun horror-tinged adaptation.
Is It On DVD/Blu-Ray? There was a VHS released that had a few episodes on it, but there apparently has never been a DVD or Blu-ray of the series, yet. However the complete five episodes are very easy to find online on most video websites, in pretty decent quality.
With DC’s streaming service picking up steam, maybe we’ll see them include the animated “Swamp Thing” series in their library. Anything is possible these days!
