SWAMP THING #20
Swamp Thing continues from his recent adventure in Metropolis as he is trapped in Scarecrow’s fear toxin. This as we saw resulted in Metropolis being taken over by Swamp Things plants which were very hostile. What Soule succeeded in this issue was diving into how Alec feels about losing his human body. That was his only connection to humanity and now it’s gone. The fear toxin forced him to think about everything he could eventually lose that makes him who he is and fear what he is now capable of because his human body was the only thing keeping him from reaching his full potential.
In terms of characterization this was very appealing to see that he wants to do something that is important. He wants to feel like a hero just like Superman. Someone who is a superhero, has so much power, isn’t human, yet is able to still able to feel human. When someone has that much power they tend to lose them self to it which is what Swamp Thing feared most. The interaction between the two was well executed because only someone like Superman can understand the situation that Swamp Thing finds himself in. Though he may have told Alec that it’s probably best he stay away from the population, his words of advice on how to be who he wants to be is gold.
