Swamp Thing may not be as popular as Batman, but the vegetable monstrosity has always been at the forefront of comic book milestones. Right after Christopher Reeve made people believe a man could fly, and before Batman got nuts, Wes Craven pulled something out of a swamp to become a moderate success. On the comic book side, The Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to abandon the Comics Code Authority’s approval in favor of a mature, dark and horror-oriented legendary run.
Despite its heavy roots in the horror genre, the titular Swamp Thing was rather campy, including starring in an animated TV series that had a cover of The Troggs’ Wild Thing that just changed the word ‘Wild’ for ‘Swamp’ and called it a day. It took us 48 years since the character’s creation, but we are finally getting the proper horror-oriented Swamp Thing show we deserve.
From the opening scene, showrunners Gary Dauberman (It) and Mark Verheiden (Daredevil, Constantine) want you to know theirs is a different version of the swamp. Alec Holland doesn’t create a bio-restorative formula that affects the plant life, for the titular swamp is already acting up before the show begins.
The opening scene follows a group of mercenaries who go looking for something deep in a Louisiana swamp, before the vines and roots from the nearby trees start attacking them, impaling one of the mercenaries and tearing the other to shreds. Form there we follow CDC researcher Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed) – who does not have white hair (though this may change) – investigating a deadly swamp-borne virus that is threatening her childhood home of Marais, Louisiana, where she discovers that people stayed the same, but the swamp has fallen to something mysterious and unnatural.
The first two episodes of Swamp Thing are mostly Abby’s story. Her investigation drives the story of the show and her character is our way into this mysterious town. Abby isn’t the most popular woman in Marais, as she has avoided the town and its inhabitants for years after escaping it all following a tragedy that impacted her life and that of the entire town. Reed does a great job conveying the emotional baggage that haunts Abby, as well as her determination and lack of fear when it comes to the weird and terrifying things coming out of the swamp. The character also seems to be a reimagining, as it combines Abby and Alec Holland’s wife, Linda into one person.
While Abby is our central character in the beginning of Swamp Thing¸ we do get a lot of Alec Holland pre-accident. Andy Bean is the standout of the first episode, as his Alec gives off strong Will Graham vibes. The moment he joins the investigation and the corpses start to show up covered in vines and with sprouts growing out from organs, you’ll be forgiven for thinking you’re watching a new episode of Hannibal. Bean and Reed have fantastic chemistry together, and her reaction to the accident that tragically separates them sells her grief and their relationship, however brief, as something significant. It is weird to be writing about Swamp Thing and say I wish we could see more of Alec Holland, but I also never imagined seeing a James Wan-directed Aquaman, either.
Of course, you’re probably here to know about the horror and the titular thing from the swamp. Good news is, both look great. Though our big, green, untalkative friend from the swamp (no, not Shrek) isn’t prominently featured in the first two episodes, what we do see of him is stunning. Derek Mears rocks a practical suit that looks straight out of the comics, covered in vines, moss and other types of vegetation. Mears nails the intimidating yet sad look of the swamp monster, as we see the confusion in his eyes that hint at a deeply existentialist story familiar to those who’ve read Alan Moore’s legendary issue “The Anatomy Lesson”.
Because the show doesn’t directly translate the comics to the screen, they manage to build a world that is ready for something like Swamp Thing before it is born. The swamp is already home to something mysterious and dangerous, and there we see some brutal vegetable-on-human kill scenes. There is also an autopsy scene in the pilot episode that evolves into the best spin-off to The Thing we could have imagined with practical creature effects to rival the big-budget blockbusters and horror franchises.
Even when we don’t see the plant life killing people, Swamp Thing still surrounds its world with enough shady characters to create an eerie atmosphere that reminds of Alan Moore’s American Gothic arc in the comics. Like Titans and Doom Patrol before it, Swamp Thing is full of references and Easter eggs to the entire DC Universe that makes the show ripe for crossover potential. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of fan-favorite characters like Etrigan the Demon or Constantine showing up at some point.
It may be because only the first two episodes were shown to the press, but one issue with Swamp Thing is that it isn’t clear if it’s actually going to follow the source material. This probably isn’t a huge issue for those unfamiliar with the character, but fans hoping to see a straight adaptation might be in for a disappointment. Likewise, because of the issues with production and the reported cut in the episode order, we don’t know how the season will be affected and whether the story has a proper ending by the time episode ten ends.
Swamp Thing has a truly unique aesthetic and visual tone for any DC show or film we’ve seen in years, and takes full advantage of the DC Universe’s R-rated approach with fantastic creature effects and body-horror inspirations. It is too early to tell how the rest of the season will play out, but fans of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson’s swamp baby should be happy with how much potential this show has.
Editor’s Note: This is a review of the first two episodes only.
