At the beginning of creation, the master of the forest lords, Sila, seeded the planets with potential for life. In the Solar System, the seeds took root on three different planets: Earth, Jupiter, and another which has since been destroyed. On that last doomed planet evolved a collective fungal consciousness who thrived on the frequency of The Grey.
History
On Earth, plants evolved through The Green. The Parliament of Trees was formed to protect The Green, selecting an elemental to act as guardian for its generation. At the time of the thirteenth such guardian, a meteor from the destroyed Grey planet landed on Earth bringing fungal life with it. The elemental Matango volunteered to be overtaken by The Grey in order to learn more from it on behalf of the Parliament. Unfortunately, The Grey's drive to spread, consume, and break down its hosts aligned well with Matango's desire for power, and they formed a collective consciousness on Earth in opposition to The Green.
Though The Green and The Grey coexisted in relative peace for a time, the dawn of man and its potential for destruction led Matango to tempt them with fruit from Tuuru, the Tree of Knowledge. The result prompted a war between the two life forces; a war which weakened both sides and forced the Parliament to leave the Garden of Eden to the ice and snow, and move to Brazil.
While Matango lay dormant for eons after, fungi continued to coexist with flora as the result of a compromise. However, when the Swamp Thing escaped from the Claw of Aelkhünd, and fathered a human plant elemental, Matango grew agitated, and sent emissaries of The Grey to capture the Swamp Thing's human daughter Tefé.
Realizing the danger, Swamp Thing began reviving those trapped since the Great Migration by The Grey, in opposition to Matango.
The DC Universe heavily changed its continuity into the DCnU following the events of Flashpoint in 2011. This was part of an effort to make storylines more accessible to newer readers, beginning with the New 52. This new timeline combines elements from the DCU, Vertigo Universe and Wildstorm Universe while drastically changing the origins and histories of characters.
In The New 52, the Grey had elected Solomon Grundy to be their champion on Earth 2, with the Grey itself being akin to The Black there.[1]
Meanwhile, in Prime Earth, Miki reluctantly serves as the Avatar of the Grey.[2] Swamp Thing notices that the Grey has no Parliament, unlike the Green, the Red, or even the Rot.[3]
Notes
- The Grey is analogous with other forces of nature, their elementals, and their dimensions:
- The Black/The Rot (which is associated with Death; it is run by the Parliament of Decay).
- The Green (which is connected to all plant life; it is run by the Parliament of Trees).
- The Red (which is connected to all animal life; it is run by the Parliament of Limbs).
- The Clear/The Blue (which is associated with aquatic life and water elementals; it is run by the Parliament of Waves).
- The White (which is associated with air elementals; it is run by the Parliament of Vapors).
- An unnamed fire realm (which is associated with fire elementals; it is run by the Parliament of Flames).
- The Melt (which is connected to Earth elementals; it is run by the Parliament of Stones).
- The Metal (which is connected to metal and technological elementals; it is run by The Rithm).
- The Divided (which is associated with bacteria, amoebas, and other microscopic forms of life; it is run by no faction).
Trivia
- "The Gray" is also the informal term that Swamp Thing used for the Green's equivalent on Earth's Moon.[4]
Related Articles
- Swamp Thing (Volume 2)
- The Black
- The Green
- The Red
- The Clear
- The White
- The Melt
- The Metal
- The Divided
See Also