Swamp Thing's Brother is Threatening One of DC's Greatest Forces
Contains spoilers for The Swamp Thing #8!
The Green is one of the most powerful forces in the DC Universe, giving strength to and other plant-based heroes and villains—and now Swamp Thing’s brother is seeking to corrupt it. In The Swamp Thing #8, on sale now in print and digital, the current Swamp Thing—Levi Kamen, is starting to realize what he has become, and realizes it is a family affair.
, is no more, and in his place, a new one has arisen. Levi Kamen is a man haunted by the death of his father and plagued by vivid dreams of a plant-based monster. During a trip to America, the visions intensify, and it is apparent Kamen is the new Swamp Thing. As Levi comes to terms with his new identity, he is being pursued by Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad; Waller wishes to harness the in order to create a massive surveillance system. In The Swamp Thing #8, written by Ram V, with art by Mike Perkins, colors by Mike Spicer, and letters by Aditya Bidikar, the Squad is closing in and dispatches Peacemaker to bring him in. Swamp Thing ultimately settles the score with Peacemaker, but before he does, his brother Jacob, appears, with a story to tell Levi.
Jacob, now calling himself Hedera, tells Levi that as a child, it was supposed to have been him, not Levi, that received the powers of the forest. Hedera tells his brother that once the Green forsook him, he saw their true flaw: they are beings of patience and empathy, but these are concepts humans struggle to understand. In short, the Green was forcing their view of humanity on their avatars, . Hedera goes on to tell Levi that his ideas, of pain and violence, are spreading through the Green and they will soon see things his way. He takes his leave of his brother, sardonically calling him the Green’s “errand boy.”
Hedera vanishes before the , but not before planting the seeds of doubt in his brother’s mind. Hedera’s criticisms of the Green are not without merit: they are ancient beings who are not human and concepts like fear and greed are unknown to them—until now. Hedera is also correct that it is wrong for the Green to force their views on other beings, but his argument falls apart in light of the good that Swamp Thing and other avatars of the Green have done.
However, if Hedera is successful in his efforts to corrupt the Green, then Earth and its heroes are in for serious trouble. powers and if they are turned to evil, he will be impossible to defeat. Anywhere on Earth where there are plants, Swamp Thing can travel, making him difficult to escape. Likewise, other characters connected to the Green, such as Poison Ivy or Floronic Man, could get similar upgrades.
The saga of the new Swamp Thing is a story of brothers, of jealousy and letting it fester until it grows and encompasses you. Levi, the new avatar of the Green, must defend it from his brother, whose hatred has consumed him, and now wishes to poison the Green in a similar fashion
