DC Reveals New Design for Swamp Thing in ‘Justice League Dark’

Swamp Thing is getting a new look before he joins a new team as part of DC Comics‘ upcoming “New Justice” initiative.

It was announced at WonderCon over the weekend that Swamp Thing will be part of the new Justice League Dark team led by Wonder Woman. Swamp Thing’s redesign comes courtesy of artist Alvaro Martinez, who ditches the armored look that has characterized Swamp Thing since the New 52 era began and gives the avatar of the Green a beard and long “hair.”

Take a look below:

Swamp Thing was originally created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson and first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in 1971. Swamp Thing is what Dr. Alec Holland became after mutating into a vegetable-like creature. When Alan Moore came on to write The Saga of the Swamp Thing in the 1980s, he rebooted the character’s mythology, turning Swamp Thing into a sentient plant-being who was created to defend all flora on Earth. When Scott Snyder began writing the character in 2011 as part of the New 52, he combined both mythologies, turning Alec Holland into the defender of the Green.

The new Justice League Dark series will be written by James Tynion IV with artwork by Martinez, Raul Fernandez, and Brad Anderson. The team’s roster includes Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing, Man-Bat, Zatanna, and Detective Chimp.

The Justice League Dark series, as well as the new Justice League relaunch and the cosmic-themed Justice League Odyssey, all fall under the fresh ‘New Justice’ publishing banner spinning out of the Justice League: No Justice event.

Swamp Thing was featured in the Justice League Dark animated film that released in early 2017. The film also featured Etrigan the Demon and Batman and was R-rated, only the second of DC’s animated films to earn the rating so far.

The original Justice League Dark was launched as part of DC Comics’ New 52 reboot. The series, whose title was originally just a placeholder, featured DC Comics’ mystical heroes solving mystical problems. The original team lineup included John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna, and Shade, the Changing Man.

Justice League Dark ran from 2011 through 2015, concluding in March of that year. Its safe to assume that DC Comics is banking on Wonder Woman’s newfound popularity since her film’s debut, and her ties to the mystical side of the DC Universe, the help bolster interest in the new Justice League Dark title.

Justice League Dark launches in June.