The midseason finale of Batwoman made its debut earlier this week, providing a storyline that was jam-packed with references to DC Comics lore. The episode served as a proper introduction to two of the show’s biggest villains yet; Mary Hamilton / Poison Ivy (Nicole Kang), and Marquis Jet / The Joker (Nick Creegan). Along the way, the installment happened to name drop a pretty significant character within DC — one who fans have been eager to see weaved into the Arrowverse for several years now. Early on in the episode, Mary’s ever-growing powers as Poison Ivy were being discussed, with an argument being made that the botany abilities had not been seen this prominently “since Swamp Thing.”
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This serves as the first overt confirmation that a version of Swamp Thing exists within the Arrowverse, something that fans of the character have been curious about in recent years. A live-action television adaptation of Swamp Thing did debut on the DC Universe streaming service in 2019, but was controversially cancelled after one season. The Swamp Thing series did make its network debut on The CW last year, and there had been a possibility for it to appear in the network’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover.
“I tried very, very hard to get Swamp Thing in Crisis on Infinite Earths,” Arrowverse producer Marc Guggenheim told CBR in an interview last year. “Because when you’ve got Constantine, to not have a crossover with Swamp Thing, it’s just a shame, a wasted opportunity. I honestly don’t know the answer to that question, in large part because whether The CW has the broadcast rights to Swamp Thing or not, it doesn’t really impact the various reasons why Swamp Thing wasn’t in Crisis. My attitude is always hope springs eternal.”
“You know, if you had asked me before we’d done 90% of the things we’ve ended up doing on the Arrowverse shows, I would have told you it wasn’t going to happen,” he added. “So long ago, I got out of the prediction business, because stuff happens that, man, I would have bet real money that it wasn’t gonna happen.”
What do you think of Batwoman referencing Swamp Thing in its midseason finale? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Batwoman will return with new episodes on Wednesday, January 12th at 9/8c.
