Fools, if nature were to shrug... or raise an eyebrow... then you should all be gone... I want... my wife. You have... one hour. 
Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #52 is an issue of the series Swamp Thing (Volume 2) with a cover date of September, 1986.
Synopsis for "Natural Consequences"
Driven by his outrage, Swamp Thing speeds across the United States, from Louisiana all the way to Gotham City. Every neighbourhood that he blasts through has a trail of flowers and foliage left in his wake. As he enters the more urban part of the city, he senses another who is connected to The Green, and homes in on it.
At Gotham City Police Headquarters, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock meet with a man from the D.D.I. called Dwight Wicker, who has come on behalf of the US Government to capture the Swamp Thing after he killed General Sunderland. Wicker believes that Abby Cable can lead him to the creature. Bullock warns against allying with Wicker, having done his research, and knowing that the D.D.I. attacked Abby and her husband Matthew several times in the past, to the point of bombing their house. Mr. Wicker is dismissive of the accusation, and demands to be allowed to protect Gotham. Gordon responds that Gotham has its own ways of dealing with menaces.
At Arkham Asylum, Swamp Thing visits with Jason Woodrue, who fears that the creature has come to punish him for abusing The Green. Swamp Thing responds that the wrath of nature is not wrong, nor is it unjust that man should bear the brunt of it. He forgives Woodrue for his anger, and leaves, promising that nobody else in Gotham will be forgiven.
As Bullock attempts to lead Abby into her extradition hearing, she is surrounded by fans and protesters. Someone offers her a rose, and through it, she hears the Swamp Thing calling to her. When she responds, Swamp Thing is overcome by his need for her, and speeds toward her location. By the time Abby gets into the courtroom, she is entirely engrossed in her telepathic conversation with Swamp Thing, and can't speak for herself. She fails to answer the judge's questions, and speaks aloud to Swamp Thing. She drops the rose she's been holding to the floor, and warns that her captors have brought what is coming onto themselves.
As the rose touches the ground, it bursts into life, growing violently out into the form of the enraged Swamp Thing. The guards pull their guns on him, and find that they are ineffective against such a force of nature. In his anger, Swamp Thing brings roots and vines up from the earth, and grows a forest within the courthouse. Even so, he faces more guns. He warns that he cannot be killed by guns, but Abby begs him to let it go for now, worrying that someone will be hurt. Reluctantly he leaves her, warning that nature is more powerful than humans can perceive, and demanding that his wife be returned to him within one hour.
Elsewhere, Mr. Wicker introduces a special consultant to the team meant to track and kill the Swamp Thing. They have paid one million dollars for ten minutes of consultation with Lex Luthor regarding how to kill an indestructible being.
As the hour he gave them comes to an end, Swamp Thing follows through on his threats, reaching into The Green, and allowing nature to reclaim the land on which Gotham City was built. Trees burst out of asphalt, and vines from cracks in the sidewalk. Children are the first to embrace the jungle, then derelicts, criminals, and lovers. By dusk, the first few converts remove their clothes and go naked in the new hanging gardens of Gotham.
Despite his feeling of satisfaction at bringing paradise to Gotham, Swamp Thing remembers the warnings of the Parliament of Trees and becomes more cautious. He remembers that this is not his city, and high above, the city's real protector watches his city drown in green.
Appearing in "Natural Consequences"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Defense Department Intelligence
- Lex Luthor (First appearance) (Cameo)
- General Sunderland (Dies in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Floronic Man
- Mr. Barnard (Abby's Lawyer)
- Batman (Cameo)
- Clayface (Preston Payne) (Cameo)
- The Joker (Cameo)
- Two Face (Cameo)
- Captain Jon Logerquist (Statue only) (Cameo)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Gotham City Police Headquarters
- Evanston
- Gotham Village
- Little Stockton
- Uptown
- Gotham Park
- Glendale
- Bryant Town
- Charon
- Sommerset
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Swamp Thing: Earth to Earth and Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Five.
Trivia
- As a nod to Alan Moore's other series, Dwight Wicker is observing the actions of the Swamp Thing on a small portable TV with the "Watchman" Company name on it.
- This issue is the first appearance of the Post-Crisis version of Lex Luthor. Although nothing contradicts Luthor's Earth-One depiction, Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #79 establishes this story's Post-Crisis setting.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References