''Swamp Thing'' is an

animated television series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

based on the

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

superhero character

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...

. The series is short-lived, with the pilot episode airing on October 31, 1990 followed by four additional episodes airing weekly from April 20 to May 11, 1991. It aired on YTV from 1991 to 1993 in Canada. Produced by

DIC Animation City DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...

, the series corresponded with

Kenner Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...

's Swamp Thing

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mar ...

collection released in 1990. Despite the animated series' brief run, various merchandise was also produced in 1991 resulting in the only significant marketing platform ever created for the character. This is the final animated series from

to not be produced by

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...

Anton Arcane Anton Arcane is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by DC Comics. the character first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #2 (January 1973), and was created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson. He is the archenemy of the Swamp Thin ...

takes the role of the main villain responsible for Alec Holland's transformation into the Swamp Thing. Arcane is backed by his gang of Un-Men: Dr. Deemo, Weedkiller, and Skinman. The Swamp Thing also has two friends named Tomahawk and Bayou Jack. Tomahawk is Native American and should not be confused with the DC/Vertigo character, Thomas Hawk, who was a soldier in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

rescued by Native Americans. Bayou Jack is a

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and ot ...

. Similar to

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them p ...

's '' Toxic Crusaders'', the animation style of ''Swamp Thing'' follows the trend of goofy, horror

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actio ...

es made for children. Spoofing

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing " Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". Early life Taylor was born on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York. He is the brother of ...

's " Wild Thing", the

opening theme A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vis ...

plays "Swamp Thing! ...You are amazing!" ''Swamp Thing'' was apparently turned down by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, leading to its mid-season debut on FOX. Despite the series limited number of episodes,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

featured it during '' Chip and Pepper's Cartoon Madness'' in fall 1991, and the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

would

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndicat ...

it years later. The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

's Children's Channel also re-aired ''Swamp Thing'' in the 1990s. The animated series aired concurrently with a more successful live-action adaptation of the comic book.

Cast

Len Carlson Len Carlson (September 2, 1937 – January 26, 2006) was a Canadian voice actor who has voiced various characters on many animated television series from the 1960s onward, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman duri ...

as the

: Once a scientist named Alec Holland whose secret lab was destroyed by Arcane and his cronies, turning him into the Swamp Thing. He now protects the swamp from evil with his

supernatural powers Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

over nature. *

Don Francks Don Harvey Francks (February 28, 1932 – April 3, 2016), also known by his stage name Iron Buffalo, was a Canadian actor, musician and singer. Career Don Harvey Francks was born on February 28, 1932, and was adopted shortly after his birth. H ...

: The evil scientist is obsessed with gaining immortality (and the cause of Swamp Thing becoming what he is) that uses the Geno-fluid of his transducer chamber to turn himself and his Un-Men into monstrous creatures. As a result, he becomes an

arachnid Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegar ...

monster. * Harvey Atkin as

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Eur ...

: A Native American ally to the Swamp Thing that battles the Un-Men. *

Philip Akin Philip Akin (born April 18, 1950) is a Canadian actor. Akin has had roles in major American films such as '' The Sum of All Fears'', '' S.W.A.T.'', and '' Get Rich or Die Tryin. He has also done much voice work, including voicing the characte ...

as Bayou Jack: An

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and ally of the Swamp Thing and later on becomes a temporally fourth Un-Man, half-human and half mantis. * Errol Slue as Dr. Deemo: A rhyme-speaking snake-like voodoo doctor who transforms into the fanged

Serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

monster. * Gordon Masten as Skinman: A frail,

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

-like man who transforms into the flying Fangbat monster. * Joe Matheson as Weed Killer: A green-skinned,

gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mas ...

-wearing plant-killer that turns into the

leech Leeches are segmented parasitism, parasitic or Predation, predatory worms that comprise the Class (biology), subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the Oligochaeta, oligochaetes, which include the earthwor ...

-like Bogsucker monster. *

Paulina Gillis Tabitha St. Germain, formerly known as Paulina Gillis Germain and also known as Tabitha or Kitanou St. Germain, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for a variety of roles across many different shows. She has been actively doing voi ...

Abigail Arcane Abigail Arcane Cable Holland is a fictional comic book character in the DC Comics Universe. She is the spouse/partner of Swamp Thing and the mother of Tefé Holland. Holland's psychic powers include empathy, telepathy and telekinesis. She first a ...

: She is the stepdaughter of the evil scientist Anton Arcane who hopes to help her friend the Swamp Thing become human again. * Jonathan Potts as Delbert: A young boy who is a friend to J.T. and an aide to the heroes. *

Richard Yearwood Richard Yearwood is a British-Canadian actor, television host, director and producer, who is best known for providing the voice of Donkey Kong in '' Donkey Kong Country''. Career Yearwood began his acting career in 1980, in the television ser ...

as J.T.: A young boy who is a friend to Delbert and an aide to the heroes.

Episodes

Home releases

The only ''Swamp Thing'' episode available on VHS is "The Un-Men Unleashed". It was first released by Kenner in 1992 as a direct tie-in with the action figure line; its sleeve cover even borrows card art from the Snare Arm Swamp Thing figure. The second release from

Buena Vista Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

, featuring a new cover, was released in 1994.

Sterling Entertainment United American Video (or in short: UAV) Corporation, and more commonly known as UAV Home Video or UAV Entertainment was an American entertainment company founded in 1984 as a small local company originally located in Charlotte, North Carolina. ...

released ''Swamp Thing - Guardian of the Earth'' to VHS and DVD on August 31, 2004. The VHS contains three episodes of the series, while the DVD includes all five episodes of the series.Swamp Thing DVD News: Animated series gets DVD release in August
TVShowsOnDVD.com (June 17, 2004). Retrieved January 12, 2008.Amazon.com: Swamp Thing: DVD

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

(July 2004). Retrieved January 12, 2008. In August 2004 (later reissued in August 2006), Anchor Bay UK released all five episodes of the animated series on DVD in the United Kingdom.

Action figures

In 1990,

produced a line of Swamp Thing action figures with vehicles & playsets that served as a direct counterpart to the animated series. Arcane and his Un-Men include translucent, rubbery BioMask accessories that give the effect of their transformation into monstrous creatures. Their eyes also glow-in-the-dark, a popular feature in action figures of the era. Arcane's transducer machine even includes a

Mantid Mantidae is one of the largest families in the order of praying mantises, based on the type species ''Mantis religiosa''; however, most genera are tropical or subtropical. Historically, this was the only family in the order, and many reference ...

figure that referenced an episode where Bayou Jack is mutated. Some accessories would also be reused for

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

's ''

The Original Battle Trolls ''The Original Battle Trolls'' was a brand of action figures produced by Hasbro from 1992 to 1993. They were made in attempt to market the popular concept of troll dolls to young boys in the early 1990s. Overview Introduced in 1992 at $4.99 to $6. ...

'' in 1992. According to an online fan source,Swamp Thing TV Series FAQ pt. 2
Arcane Knowledge: A Guide to the Swamp Thing TV Series. Retrieved January 12, 2008. Kenner invested approximately 6 million dollars into the Swamp Thing figure line. It also states that, according to Kenner, test results using male children between the ages of 6 and 11 showed them to be more popular than both G.I. Joe and

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

. It had been speculated throughout the toy collecting community that the Swamp Thing would have been included in the unproduced fourth series of Kenner's

Super Powers Collection The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s. History In 1984, DC Comics awarded the master toy license of their characters to Kenner ...

and that the Bio-Glow Swamp Thing may have been based on the prototype. This is due to the figure's swinging arm feature similar to that seen in the Super Powers Collection. Such rumors have since been refuted by the uncovering of new information regarding the proposed fourth and fifth series of the Super Powers Collection.

Series 1 (1990)

* Bio-Glow Swamp Thing * Camouflage Swamp Thing * Capture Swamp Thing * Snap Up Swamp Thing * Snare Arm Swamp Thing * Bayou Jack * Tomahawk * Anton Arcane * Dr. Deemo * Skinman * Weed Killer

Vehicles & playsets (1990)

* Bayou Blaster * Bog Rover * Marsh Buggy * Swamp Trap * Transducer (w/ Mantid figure)

Series 2 (1991)

* Climbing Swamp Thing

Video games and other merchandise

A ''

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

was developed for the NES and

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

. Both versions were released by THQ in December 1992 and were met with generally poor receptions. Also, there was a handheld game made by Tiger. Tying in with the animated series, various Swamp Thing merchandise was produced in 1991. This included a

paint by number Paint by number or painting by numbers are kits having a board on which light markings to indicate areas to paint, and each area has a number and a corresponding numbered paint to use. The kits come with little compartmentalised boxes where the ...

kit, a "Battle for the Bayou"

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

, a T-shirt, children's

slipper Slippers are light footwear that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors. History The recorded history of slippers can be traced ...

s, a bop bag, three pencil sharpeners, and figural chalk resembling the Swamp Thing. Perhaps an attempt to prevent consumers from confusing it as candy, the label of the chalk is especially curious with text hovering above the little figure with the words "I'm Chalk!" Much of the packaging of the Swamp Thing merchandise featured the work of

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 4, 2000) was a Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. His 1963 cr ...

.Swamp Thing Shit
MYRANT (January 15, 2007). Retrieved on 3-30-10.

References

External links

*
TVShowsOnDVD - Swamp Thing

{{DC Comics animated TV series Animated television shows based on DC Comics First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Fox Broadcasting Company original programming NBC original programming YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming 1990s American animated television series 1990 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings Television shows set in Louisiana DC Comics action figure lines 1990s toys Fox Kids Swamp Thing in other media Works by Len Wein Television series by DIC Entertainment American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated horror television series American children's animated science fiction television series American children's animated superhero television series