In Swamp Thing, a classic Superman villain just consumed something in the jungle that could have nightmarish consequences for the Suicide Squad.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Swamp Thing #6, on sale now from DC Comics.
Swamp Thing and the others that are chosen to become the Avatar of the Green, the primal source of all plant life in the universe, are both blessed and cursed. The powers they become imbued with are godlike in their magnitude, yet can be so overwhelming and all-consuming that they may destroy them. Levi Kamei, the latest person to become the Avatar of the Green, is learning this lesson well. But another person that may experience the sense-shattering transformation the Green can impart is the least-likeliest candidate in the world: the classic Superman villain, Parasite.
In The Swamp Thing #6 by Ram V, Mike Perkins, Mike Spicer and Aditya Bidikar, Levi Kamei is incapacitated on the floor of the Kaziranga Forest deep within India. His body is in a state of flux as it rebuilds itself from the Green. Meanwhile, the Suicide Squad is also hunting him down. Led by Peacemaker, the Suicide Squad has released a bio-agent that has poisoned the portion of the Kaziranga Forest that Levi is in. By poisoning the forest, they hope to cut Levi off from the Green and capture him with as little resistance as possible.
Being as the Suicide Squad is a collective of individuals more villainous than heroic, those operating beneath Peacemaker are bringing a lot of trouble to their mission. Case in point is the villain Parasite: a being possessed by an insatiable and lethal hunger for energy. As the Suicide Squad enters into the forest in search of Levi, Peacemaker’s plans become complicated almost immediately as Parasite walks away on his own and leaves the rest of the squad behind. Left to his own devices, Parasite mutters that he must feed. Parasite is then seen kneeling on the ground, chewing an unidentifiable piece of matter. Whether made of plant or flesh, Parasite consumes it hungrily, mumbling how it’s “green.”
Parasite as a villain has a terrifying power. In order to sate the hunger that grips him, Parasite can absorb the life force of any person he comes into contact with. The average person will be drained instantly while stronger beings have a chance of freeing themselves from Parasite’s clutches. In addition to gaining energy from the life force he absorbs, Parasite also gains that person’s strengths, weaknesses and memories. While this can be devastating if the person is supremely powerful, Parasite can inadvertently harm himself if he absorbs a particularly volatile weakness.
By kneeling down and eating something off of the forest floor, Parasite has absolutely no idea what he just consumed. Being able to detect sources of life force and be drawn to them, whatever it was he ate radiated enough energy that it was something substantial. If it was potent enough that even he was able to discern that it was “green” there’s a solid chance he ate something attuned to the Green itself. The problem with this is that Parasite has zero training or experience in dealing with the Green. Even Alec Holland, the original Swamp Thing, had tremendous difficulty becoming acclimated to the power of becoming the Avatar of the Green. Without Alec’s guidance, Parasite could be gearing himself up for a horrific transformative experience.
Another factor that compounds the dangers that Parasite faces is that the matter he consumed was also poisoned by the bio-agent that the Suicide Squad deployed. As even Levi Kamei is experiencing a terrifying reaction to the bio-agent, Parasite could possibly experience something far worse. From excruciating physical pain to an agonizing mental journey into a corrupted facsimile of the Green, there are a number of potential fates awaiting Parasite in the immediate future, and none of them are good. If Parasite does transform into a poisoned beast of the Green, Parasite could even theoretically get the powers taht the Green grants its Avatars, and he could be a force of cataclysmic proportions.
About The Author
For all the latest Comics News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
