Abby Arcane Teases Gothic Romance In Latest Swamp Thing Preview
by Erik Amaya
If you’re a long-time reader of DC Comic’s Swamp Thing, there’s one or two things you might be wondering about the upcoming DC Universe series based on its characters: Will John Constantine show up and will there be vegetable sex?
The former may have to wait a season or two — though Legends of Tomorrow‘s Matt Ryan says he game to play Constantine on the streaming series — but the latter may actually happen sooner than anyone thought as this latest teaser for the upcoming series teases a certain closeness between its main characters. Narrated by star Crystal Reed as Abby Arcane, the preview puts her in a more romantic mood with Swamp Thing (Alec Mears).
The relationship between Swamp Thing and Abby was one of the hallmarks of the Swamp Thing run written by Alan Moore. It eventually led to an issue in which Swamp Thing produced a psychedelic vegetable which allowed them to experience a form of sexual intimacy. It is a beautifully rendered and weird sequence which set Swamp Thing apart from most of its superhero comic contemporaries. And considering the show seems to be adapting a number of ideas from Moore’s run — including questioning whether or not Swamp Thing is Alec Holland (Andy Bean) or a creature who thinks he’s Alec Holland — the marketing’s recent emphasis on the gothic romance element indicates this scene may end-up dramatized as well.
And if they pull it off, we’ll congratulate the producers on a job well done.
Besides Reed, Mears, and Bean, the series also features Will Patton as Swamp Thing adversary Avery Sunderland, Virginia Madsen as Avery’s wife Maria, Jeryl Prescot as DC Comics’ favorite fortune teller Madame Xanadu, Maria Sten as Liz Tremayne — a tabloid journalist from an early issue of Swamp Thing re-imagined as Abby’s best friend — Jennifer Beals as Sheriff Lucilia Cable and Henderson Wade as Matt Cable, a character who will be very familiar to Swamp Thing readers.
Swamp Thing debuts May 31st on DC Universe.
