Rotworld: Part 1

It's time, Parliamentarians, to venture back into Rotworld. When we left off last, Swamp Thing had teamed up with Animal Man to journey into the Rot to stop the infection that allowed the Rot hive mind, the Parliament of Decay, to corrupt any form of animal life. They were ambushed by Anton Arcane, Swamp Thing's arch nemesis and the Avatar of the Rot, however, and when they returned to Earth a short time later, they found that a year had passed, during which time the Rot's conquest had become complete.

In Animal Man #13, Buddy Baker find himself in the ruins of a zoo, and is almost instantly attacked by a Rot-corrupted Hawkman. Unable to access his powers due to the Rot's infection of the Red, Animal Man is unable to harm Hawkman, and is in danger of being smashed to death, until his attacker is literally ripped in half by the newly arrived Black Orchid, with help from Beast Boy and Steel (John Henry Irons).

On the way back to their sanctuary, Steel explains how the world fell apart during the year that Animal Man and Swamp Thing we're in the Rot. We're shown a gruesome montage of heroes falling before the invading force: the Flash's leg is ripped apart by a putrid, fleshy tendril, Batwoman is eviscerated by a Rot-corrupted Supergirl, Poison Ivy's arm is bitten of by a creature of the Rot. Steel explains that a few people with connections to the Red like Beast Boy, or to the Green like Black Orchid, were immune to the infection. Irons himself transferred his own consciousness to a mechanical form to prevent his infection and to deny the Rot one more body as fodder.

Buddy is taken to the Red Kingdom, the last human sanctuary. There, most of the totems of the Parliament of Limbs had transformed their bodies into a city of living flesh and bone. Though no longer sentient, their living energy keeps the city alive and the Rot out. The last remaining sentient totem, the being known as Shepherd, informs Buddy with much regret that his family perished in the Rot invasion. John Constantine, another survivor and resident of the Red Kingdom, approaches Buddy and accuses him of abandoning the world and allowing his family to die.

Throughout the issue we're shown flash backs to one year before Rotworld, where Buddy's wife Ellen, their daughter Maxine in tow, is searching for their son Cliff, who was infected by the Rot. Maxine, as the young Avatar of the Red, is able to use her powers to locate Cliff, but she can feel that one of the "rotten guys" is with him. They find him standing in the middle of an abandoned highway, his transformation complete, now sporting black eyes and fangs. He vomits a wet fleshy mass which attaches itself to Ellen's throat and slithers into her mouth. The last panel is a close up of Ellen's face, her transformation into a minion of the Rot now begun.

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I'm fascinated by this new version of Black Orchid. Most people who follow me on Twitter are probably familiar with the fact that I love Neil Gaimen's Black Orchid miniseries from the late 80s, so the inclusion of her in a modern day story is a small thrill for me. Gaimen's Orchid, fleshing out a character with almost zero story, was a series of plant-hybrid clones of a woman named Susan Linden-Thorn. While the character originally appeared in 1973 as a vigilante and mistress of disguise, Gaimen's Black Orchid book was a poetic tale of love and compassion eventually triumphing over anger and abuse.

The New 52 Black Orchid is Alba Garcia, an agent of ARGUS assigned to the Justice League Dark by Steve Trevor. Her powers appear to be a result of a connection to both the Green and the Red (Tefe?), and her look is a more tactical version of that work by the original in the 70s. While I honestly haven't read enough of her to have an opinion of her yet one way or the other, I'm glad that DC decided to make her an altogether new character, so that theoretically the original could still concievably exist in post-Flashpoint continuity.

Also of note in the montage panel that depicts Poison Ivy being attacked is a plant-like being that is somewhat reminiscent of the old Justice League and Swamp Thing villain, the Floronic Man. We'll discuss this in more detail shortly.

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In Swamp Thing #13, Alec Holland finds himself in a desert-like wasteland, face to face with not only Deadman, but more importantly a very angry sword/staff wielding Poison Ivy, her severed arm now replaced with one of dark, animated wood.

She is vehemently unconvinced when Holland identifies himself, even after Deadman enters his body to verify his claim, stating that it could be "a trick of the Rot, just like the time they took Woodrue and filled him..." (Deadman cuts her off before she can finish her thought, though the mind tends to fill in the blanks). Holland is finally able to prove himself when he causes Ivy's sword to sprout flowers and vines that restrain her from bashing in his head (remember, Alec still has a human skull and brain under all that vegetation). 

Alec demands to be taken to the Parliament of Trees, at which point Ivy information him at they are located at the top of a nearby giant tree-like structure, the only obvious spot of vegetation left in what had once been the Louisiana bayou.

At the top of the "beanstalk", Alec is shown an oasis of plant life, one of the last living places in Earth. There, he communes with the Parliament, learning of the fate of the world's heroes. We're shown a montage of Cyborg, Starfire, Supergirl, and Red Robin being attacked by creatures of the Rot, as well as a truly unsettling image of a fallen and dead Giganta being feasted upon by Rot monsters.

Holland is interrupted from his communion as minions of the Rot, specifically infected and transformed members of the Teen Titans, attack the stalk. Alec and Ivy lead a small army of animated Swamp Thing replicas against the forces of the Rot, and are winning until the infected Superboy enters the fray, and swiftly overpowers Alec.

As the battle unfolds we're made privy to a clandestine discussion among the members of the Parliament, where they debate whether or not to "tell him the horrible truth about what happened to Abigail Arcane". The scene transitions to a flash back to one year prior, from a few hours after and Buddy entered the Rot, to Abby on an airliner flying over the Carpathian Mountains. In mid flight, everyone on the plane with the exception of Abby, including the pilots, becomes infected by the Rot. As the plane begins to careen toward a mountainside, the Parliament's dialogue box states, "We must tell him...that Abigail Arcane is dead".

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This issue of Swamp Thing was a lot more fun than I remember. The interesting thing about this issue, though, is that while Alec Holland provides the reader's point of view of unfamiliarity with this new world claimed by the Rot, it is really Poison Ivy that takes center stage. Though she's been slowly transitioning into the role of an antihero over the past several years, certain writers (I'm looking at you King!... you had me with Vision, but you're breaking my heart here) feel the need to shoehorn her into villainous typecasting again. It's nice to see her in a position of fighting the good fight, even it seems like that fight is only delaying the inevitable.

Another thing of interest in this version of Poison Ivy is her costume. It's the not the slinky, form-fitting attire that one normally associates with Princess Pam. Sure, it leaves a lot of cleavage and upper thigh and hip exposed, but it's bulky stuff, heavy, almost awkward looking at first glance, appearing to be made out of some kind of flexible green bark. This is armor for an Ivy at war. Very cool stuff.

One final note is Ivy's mention of "Woodrue", all but confirming that the plant-like being featured behind her in the Animal Man flashback is the character that would have been the Floronic Man in pre-Flashpoint continuity. Long time Ivy fans will appreciate the gravity of the circumstances that forced her to work with her one time tormentor, and Swampy fans will know that Jason Woodrue will be popping up again in this blog repeatedly.

So that about wraps up this installment Parliamentarians, and should mark the end of the AotG hiatus. The blog should be back on a roughly weekly schedule, at least for the next few months, and in our next installment we'll be returning once again to Rotworld.

Until then, think Green and be epic!