Gotham City has been in some tough scrapes over the years and Batman has helped the city survive them all. Back in the ’90s, the city had a deadly viral outbreak engineered by Ra’s al Ghul, then a massive earthquake (it was literally one right after the other), which led to the government cutting their loses. That’s just the way life in Gotham City goes sometimes; one day, you’re running from Joker goons who just robbed the diamond exchange, the next day, you’re dying of a virus, and the day after that your house caved in. However, all of that pales in comparison to what we’re about to see in Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1. Poison Ivy has unleashed the Green on Gotham City, just as Vandal Savage has made his power play, two events that could spell doom for Gotham.
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The Green is one of the most powerful forces in the DC Multiverse. Controlled by the Parliament of Trees, it is the energy field that links every bit of flora on Earth. It was introduced in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, allowing the muck-encrusted mockery of a man to become one of the most potent beings in the multiverse. Swampie has the full power of the Green and he’s used it to casually defeat Superman – both pre and post-Crisis versions of the hero. Ivy has given the city to the Parliament of Trees, who can tap into the totality of the energy source. If there’s any force in DC Comics that can change Gotham it’s the Green and we have proof of that. Back in the Alan Moore run, we learned what could happen to Gotham if the Green was unleashed was unleashed on the city.
The Green Has Ravaged Gotham Before
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing was groundbreaking in a number of ways. The British scribe brought a certain sophistication to the superhero comic. However, most fans forget that in his first story with Swampie, the Justice League crossed over with the character. Moore wasn’t afraid of incorporating DC’s heroes into his narrative when he needed them and that would lead to the Green taking over Gotham. It all began when Abby Arcane is charged with bestiality because of her relationship with Swampie, causing her to escape to Gotham from Huma, Louisiana. She was caught in the city and thought to be a hooker and arrested, leading to her warrant being found. Then all Hell broke loose (although it wasn’t that hellish, actually).
Swampie had just gotten back from beating the Great Darkness (well, slowing it down; it’s the concept of entropy, so it can never be stopped) and learns that the woman he loved was arrested in Gotham. Moore had built Swamp Thing into what is akin to a god, and he angrily raced to the most dangerous city in the DC Multiverse. He unleashed his power on the city, transforming it into a garden. However, unlike what Poison Ivy and the Parliament of Tree are doing to the city in Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1, he makes it into a place where humans can be happy, enjoying themselves, frolicking in what is essentially the Garden of Eden overlayed on the worst place you can imagine.
Of course, while the people of the city enjoy themselves (many of them taking special hallucinogens that Swampie made for people during the Moore run; he used to sell LSD and other hallucinogens in the ’70s, and there was a lot of drug use in the book), the powers that be wanted Swampie gone. Batman got rocked when the monster manifested numerous bodies, and the GCPD were completely unable to do anything against him (at one point, he creates a massive kaiju body to show them what they’re dealing with). However, the US government brought in Lex Luthor, who was able to come up with a way to separate the energy that is Swampie from his body, sending him into space and ending the attack.
The Green is a completely unstoppable force and Alan Moore proved that in Swamp Thing (Vol. 2) #51-53. Batman was unable to do anything to stop it and the police and military had no hope against it. Swampie didn’t actually want to destroy the city and that’s the only reason it’s still there. He could have choked the life out of the place, but he showed them what could happen if humans could actually live with nature. Gotham is a cursed place, but the Green was able to overcome the darkness of the city and make into something better. No other force has ever been able to change the city, not even the power of Bat-god (and I’m not talking Barbatos). The Green has been unleashed on the city before and it won. Batman and his allies have their work cut out for them if they want to save the city in Batman: Bed Seeds.
Only the Green Can Break Gotham’s Darkness but This Time That Isn’t a Good Thing
The Green is a part of the natural world, an important element in the DC Multiverse. When someone who respects humanity uses it, like Swamp Thing, they can show what our lives would be like if we lived in harmony with the green of the world. However, the Parliament of Trees doesn’t care about humanity, so Ivy giving it control over Gotham is going to cost a lot of lives in the day to come (the whole story is going to take place over at least a day). We’ve seen Batman defeat every force thrown at him and Gotham over the years and only one has been able to humble him: the Green.
Gotham City is a place that never changes. It’s been cursed by dark gods and ancient magicians, eating the innocent of the city to fuel to its monstrous darkness. The Green was able to do something that no one had ever did before back in Swamp Thing (Vol. 2) #51-53 – it broke through the darkness controlling the city and made it into a place where people could live lives of happiness, even if only for a day. The Parliament of Trees wants Gotham and so far, no force has ever been able to stop it. Gotham is going to have to change, whether it likes it or not.
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1 in on sale now.
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