Alec Holland (New Earth)

{{DC Database:Character Template
 * Image                  = Swamp Thing Vol 5 2 Textless.jpg
 * ImageText              = Alec Holland
 * RealName               = Alec Holland
 * CurrentAlias           =
 * Distinguish1           = Swamp Thing
 * Distinguish2           = Alec Holland
 * Aliases                = Alexander Holland
 * Identity               = Public
 * Alignment              = Good
 * Affiliation            =
 * Relatives              = Larry Holland (father, deceased); Alice Holland (mother, deceased); Edward Holland (brother); Linda Holland (first wife, deceased); Alexander Holland (possible ancestor, deceased)
 * Universe               = Earth-One; New Earth
 * BaseOfOperations       = Houma, Louisiana


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 =
 * Weight                 =
 * Eyes                   = Blue
 * Hair                   = Blond


 * Citizenship            = American
 * MaritalStatus          = Widowed
 * Occupation             = Biochemist; Carpenter
 * Education              = College Graduate


 * Origin                 = Biochemist killed in an explosion, later revived with a strong connection to The Green.
 * PlaceOfBirth           =
 * Creators               = Len Wein; Bernie Wrightson
 * First                  = Swamp Thing #1


 * Quotation              = My life's work was a Bio-Restorative Formula-- a compound capable of growing vegetation in the driest regions on the planet. But then, one night, there was an explosion in my laboratory and I became... dead.
 * Speaker                = Alec Holland
 * QuoteSource            = Swamp Thing Vol 5 1

In a secret facility located in the Louisiana swamplands, scientist Alec Holland and his wife Linda invented a Bio-Restorative Formula that would solve any nations' food shortage problems. Ferrett and Bruno - thugs working for Nathan Ellery - barged into Alec's lab, knocked him out, and planted a bomb in the facility. Alec woke up just as the bomb exploded, and in flames, he ran into the swamp. His body had been drenched in the bio-restorative formula, and this affected the swamp's plant life, imbuing it with Alec's consciousness and memories. The newly conscious plant life formed a semblance of a human form and rose up from the bog as the Swamp Thing, the latest in a long line of Earth elementals created when The Green was in need of protection.
 * HistoryText            =

However, Alec Holland was dead. The Swamp Thing laboured for a time under the misconception that he had actually been Alec, transformed into a monster. Eventually, he discovered that he was merely plant matter that had absorbed Alec's consciousness through a series of particular circumstances.

Alec's spirit was not at rest, though, and he appeared to the Swamp Thing. He urged the creature to retrieved his skeleton from the bottom of the bayou and give it a proper burial. This allowed Alec's spirit to free itself from the earthly plane and ascend into Heaven.

Eventually, Alec would meet Abby Holland in Heaven, after Swamp Thing gave her the opportunity to traverse The Green and the Spirit World.

Brightest Day
It is revealed that he is claimed to be the Earth's 'ultimate savior' and the Entity's 'champion'.

Unlike the previous incarnation, a mass of humanoid plant life with all of Holland's absorbed memories, this new renewed Swamp Thing was generated directly from the body of Alec Holland himself. Holland rising from the ground as a seemingly semi-sentient corpse until fully given human flesh again as the once formerly brilliant biologist. Holland stating that his last conscious memory was of hurling himself into the swamp to extinguish the flames engulfing him, having no memory of ever being Swamp Thing previously. The Life Entity stating essentially that Holland was a missing "vital component" to the being itself. Leaving us to ponder if the being Dark Avatar assaulting the city may have actually been the former Swamp Thing. Notably also bearing a very close physical resemblance.

The Entity imbued upon Holland all of the powers of The Green that the former had wielded. Including now additional elemental abilities, i.e. governance over fire, being now shown capable of breathing fire naturally. Swamp Thing then immediately growing to enormous height to battle the Corrupted Being. Immediately upon defeating it, acting to restore the Green to natural order.

The Swamp Thing has complete mastery over all forms of plant life and can command vegetative matter to do his bidding. Through this power, he is in constant communication with the very essence of the Earth, and serves as the Plant Elemental for the entire planet.
 * Powers                 =

In the past Alec Holland has gained access to other elemental powers. At one point gaining control over earth, water, air, and fire in addition to that of plantlife. However, often almost immediatly gaining control over all of them, giving up all but his connection to the Green.

The Swamp Thing's strength level is directly tied to his connection to the Earth. Occupying his most commonly used body, the Swamp Thing is capable of lifting volumes of mass many times greater than his own body weight. With additional power supplied to him by The Green, his ultimate strength level is nearly incalculable.

Theoretically so long as there is some vestige of plant life on the planet Earth, Alec Holland will always have a vehicle through which to house his consciousness, thus rendering him effectively immortal.

The Swamp Thing houses his conscious mind inside of a faux body made up of compacted flora and vegetative material. At will, he can abandon this host form and take up residence inside of another shell. Even if the body he is currently occupying is destroyed, Alec's mind lives on and will reconstitute itself in a newly grown swamp-form. The Swamp Thing operated for several years before he even became aware of this ability. Eventually, it was the occultist John Constantine who revealed Alec's Elemental nature to him, and instructed in the ways of reconstituting a new body.

The ability to commune with plantlife and to varying degrees control its growth and form. Summon forth vines to entangle or snare, and so on. A master of this ability can manipulate the microscopic algae inside of a person's body and use it to attack them from the inside out.

The ability to nourish oneself, typically via an external energy source. In Swamp Thing's case, likely through a form of photosynthesis.

Chemist: Brilliant Chemist
 * Abilities              =

Biologist: Brilliant Biologist As the Swamp Thing, Alec Holland possesses superhuman strength (See Powers); As a human being, Alec Holland possessed the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engaged in moderate regular exercise Pollution: pollution is highly dangerous to the plant life that makes up his body and the plant life he is connected to.
 * Strength               =
 * Weaknesses             =


 * Equipment              =
 * Transportation         =
 * Weapons                =


 * Notes                  =
 * The character of the Swamp Thing was created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson.


 * Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe XXII erroneously establishes that Swamp Thing's first appearance was in House of Secrets (Volume 1) #92. However, this version of the Swamp Thing was Alex Olsen, a scientist who was transformed into a muck-monster nearly one-hundred years prior to Alec Holland's ill-fated experiments. Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson re-envisioned their own creation for the modern era and introduced the Swamp Thing as Alec Holland in Swamp Thing (Volume 1) #1. Writer Alan Moore later revisited the Olsen character in Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #33, and established him in canon continuity as a previous, yet separate incarnation of the Swamp Thing.


 * Although similar in appearance and origin, the Swamp Thing is not to be confused with the Marvel Comics character known as the Man-Thing.


 * Trivia                 =
 * Different versions of the Swamp Thing have made it to both the big and small screen. Stuntman Dick Durock portrayed the role of the Swamp Thing in the 1982 Wes Craven feature film, Swamp Thing. He reprised the role in the equally campy 1989 sequel, The Return of the Swamp Thing. In 1990, a live-action Swamp Thing television series was produced and Durock was called upon once again to don the green latex. During the second season of the series, Warner Bros. produced a short-lived animated Swamp Thing series. Actor Len Carlson provided the voice for the Swamp Thing.


 * The Swamp Thing is the only character from the Vertigo family of titles to receive his own Colorforms playset.


 * A Swamp Thing series of action figures were produced in line with the 1991 Swamp Thing animated television series.


 * Recommended            =

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 * DC                     =
 * Wikipedia              =
 * Links                  =
 * Swamp Thing article at Wikipedia
 * Swamp Thing at Sequart
 * Swamp Thing at Toonopedia
 * Swamp Thing at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
 * Swamp Thing database at Roots of the Swamp Thing
 * Swamp Thing Annotations
 * Swamp Thing movie entry at the Internet Movie Databse (IMDB)
 * Return of the Swamp Thing movie entry at the Internet Movie Database
 * Swamp Thing live-action television series at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
 * Swamp Thing animated series at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)