Swamp Thing Just Completely Redefined What it Means to Be a Green Lantern

2022-09-17 03:06:18 By : Ms. Maggie Wang

With hardly any of the Green's power left at his disposal, Swamp Thing calls on Hal Jorden to imbue him with the power of the Green Lanterns.

Warning! Contains spoilers for Swamp Thing #14!

In DC Comics, Swamp Thing’s stories have often centered around dealing with the occult, magic, and more grounded human elements but the most recent issue may be taking the green giant straight into sci-fi. With the power of the Green at an all time low, Hal Jordan offers up the power of the Green Lanterns to Swamp Thing, transforming him into the most unique Green Lantern of all time.

The current chapter in Swamp Thing comics deals with the imminent war between the Green and the newly created Industry. The avatar of Industry is set to revive dead cities by consuming those left behind, such as the lost and homeless, in order to fuel the gears and pistons of its war machines. The current Swamp Thing, Levi Kamei, has lost most of his power thanks to his brother, Jacob. Jacob Kamei, now called Hedera, has convinced the Parliament of the Green that humanity needs to be destroyed in order to ensure the survival of the Green, and has thus taken all of its power in order to wage war against humankind and the Industry.

Related: Swamp Thing's 'Parliament of Trees' is Real, According To Science (Sort Of)

With the little power he had left, Levi Kamei ventured into space with Hal Jordan in order to stop the approaching fleet of interstellar botanical warships summoned by the Green. By transforming into a seedling and conversing with one of the giant plant based warships, Levi gave the ship a name, Endeavor, and managed to convince it to take him to Earth and fight together. Unfortunately, the trip to Earth burnt both Levi and Endeavor to a crisp and even the power of the Swamp Thing was not enough to reform either of them. In order to give Swamp Thing the power he needed to regenerate, Hal Jordan channels the power of the Green Lantern ring into Levi who then emerges from the ground as Swamp Thing once again- this time with the Green Lantern insignia on his chest. This took place in The Swamp Thing #14 by Ram V, Mike Perkins, and Mike Spicer.

Swamp Thing’s current run is dealing heavily with the very nature of ideas and humanity’s ability to turn ideas into something larger than themselves. It’s extremely fitting that the Green Lanterns would have a role to play in the upcoming war because the Lanterns themselves have always been in this realm of creating and destroying ideas. The Emotional Spectrum’s avatars are also, by their very nature, connected to this theme of humanity being intrinsically tied to the preservation of ideas. Just as Endeavor says in this very issue, there is no preserving the Green without preserving its relationship with humanity. The same could be said of the Emotional Spectrum and its existence, as the spectrum’s power is only defined by those who could wield and feel these emotions. The power of the Green Lanterns is the perfect vehicle through which Swamp Thing can demonstrate humanity’s ability to wield the essence of thoughts, memories, and ideas for good to the Parliament of the Green.

Swamp Thing’s power as a Green Lantern is yet to be seen, but one can be sure that this avatar of the Green will pack one hell of a punch when he gets his feet off the ground in the next issue. With the power of thought construction now at his disposal, it remains to be seen just what insane constructs Swamp Thing will use next in order to fight the ever growing power of the Industry.

More: DC Needs To Make Swamp Thing's New Villain His Most Horrific Ever

The Swamp Thing #14 is now available from DC Comics.