Swamp Thing (1991 TV series)
| Swamp Thing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Based on | Swamp Thing by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson |
| Voices of |
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| Composer | Michael Tavera |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 5 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Fox (Fox Kids) |
| Release | October 31, 1990 – May 11, 1991 |
Swamp Thing is an
Anton Arcane takes the role of the main villain responsible for Alec Holland's transformation into the Swamp Thing. Arcane is backed by his gang of Un-Men: Dr. Deemo, Weedkiller, and Skinman.[2]
The Swamp Thing also has two friends named Tomahawk and Bayou Jack. Tomahawk is Native American and should not be confused with the DC/Vertigo character, Thomas Hawk, who was a soldier in the American Revolution rescued by Native Americans. Bayou Jack is a Vietnam veteran.[3]
Similar to
Swamp Thing was apparently turned down by
The animated series aired concurrently with a more successful live-action adaptation of the comic book.
Cast
- Len Carlson as the Swamp Thing: Once a scientist named Alec Holland whose secret lab was destroyed by Arcane and his cronies, turning him into the Swamp Thing. He now protects the swamp from evil with his supernatural powers over nature.
- Don Francks as Anton Arcane: The evil scientist is obsessed with gaining immortality (and the cause of Swamp Thing becoming what he is) that uses the Geno-fluid of his transducer chamber to turn himself and his Un-Men into monstrous creatures. As a result, he becomes an arachnid monster.
- Tomahawk: A Native Americanally to the Swamp Thing that battles the Un-Men.
- African American Vietnam veteranand ally of the Swamp Thing and later on becomes a temporally fourth Un-Man, half-human and half mantis.
- Errol Slue as Dr. Deemo: A rhyme-speaking snake-like voodoo doctor who transforms into the fanged Serpent monster.
- Gordon Masten as Skinman: A frail, zombie-like man who transforms into the flying Fangbat monster.
- Joe Matheson as Weed Killer: A green-skinned, gas mask-wearing plant-killer that turns into the leech-like Bogsucker monster.
- Paulina Gillis as Abigail Arcane: She is the stepdaughter of the evil scientist Anton Arcane who hopes to help her friend the Swamp Thing become human again.
- Jonathan Potts as Delbert: A young boy who is a friend to J.T. and an aide to the heroes.
- Richard Yearwood as J.T.: A young boy who is a friend to Delbert and an aide to the heroes.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Un-Men Unleashed" | Mark McCorkle & Bob Schooley | October 31, 1990 | |
| Dr. Arcane turns his henchmen into mutants to attack the Swamp Thing. Two kids, Delbert and J.T., along with Tomahawk, Bayou Jack and Arcane's stepdaughter Abby come to the Swamp Thing's rescue. | ||||
| 2 | "To Live Forever" | Mark McCorkle & Bob Schooley | April 20, 1991 | |
| Dr. Arcane and his Un-Men travel to the Amazon rainforest in search of "the trees that never die", and enslaves a local Indian tribe to harvest their sap. | ||||
| 3 | "Falling Red Star" | Mark McCorkle, Bob Schooley & Mike Medlock | April 27, 1991 | |
| The Swamp Thing, Bayou Jack and Tomahawk help NASA retrieve a nuclear-powered satellite that has crash-landed in the swamp. Meanwhile, Arcane desires the satellite for his own advantage. | ||||
| 4 | "Legend of the Lost Cavern" | Mark McCorkle & Bob Schooley | May 4, 1991 | |
| Still obsessed on gaining immortality, Dr. Arcane desecrates the Indian burial of Tomahawk’s ancestors in search of the Lost Caverns, home of the fabled Fountain of Youth. | ||||
| 5 | "Experiment in Terror" | Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly | May 11, 1991 | |
| While showing Delbert and J.T. around the swamp, the Swamp Thing is captured and taken to New Orleans for government experiments. Delbert, J.T. and Bayou Jack plan to rescue him, as does Arcane for his own plans. | ||||
Home releases
The only Swamp Thing episode available on
In August 2004 (later reissued in August 2006), Anchor Bay UK released all five episodes of the animated series on DVD in the United Kingdom.
Action figures
In 1990,
According to an online fan source,[7] Kenner invested approximately 6 million dollars into the Swamp Thing figure line. It also states that, according to Kenner, test results using male children between the ages of 6 and 11 showed them to be more popular than both G.I. Joe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
It had been speculated throughout the toy collecting community that the Swamp Thing would have been included in the unproduced fourth series of Kenner's Super Powers Collection and that the Bio-Glow Swamp Thing may have been based on the prototype. This is due to the figure's swinging arm feature similar to that seen in the Super Powers Collection.[8] Such rumors have since been refuted by the uncovering of new information regarding the proposed fourth and fifth series of the Super Powers Collection.[9]
Series 1 (1990)
- Bio-Glow Swamp Thing
- Camouflage Swamp Thing
- Capture Swamp Thing
- Snap Up Swamp Thing
- Snare Arm Swamp Thing
- Bayou Jack
- Tomahawk
- Anton Arcane
- Dr. Deemo
- Skinman
- Weed Killer
Vehicles & playsets (1990)
- Bayou Blaster
- Bog Rover
- Marsh Buggy
- Swamp Trap
- Transducer (w/ Mantid figure)
Series 2 (1991)
- Climbing Swamp Thing
Video games and other merchandise
A Swamp Thing video game was developed for the NES and Game Boy. Both versions were released by THQ in December 1992 and were met with generally poor receptions. Also, there was a handheld game made by Tiger.
Tying in with the animated series, various Swamp Thing merchandise was produced in 1991. This included a
References
- ^ U.S. Copyright Office, Official Website, retrieved November 12, 2011
- ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "Swamp Thing Guardian of the Earth". Amazon.
- ^ Swamp Thing DVD News: Animated series gets DVD release in August Archived 2008-02-09 at the Wayback Machine TVShowsOnDVD.com (June 17, 2004). Retrieved January 12, 2008.
- Amazon.com(July 2004). Retrieved January 12, 2008.
- ^ Swamp Thing TV Series FAQ pt. 2 Arcane Knowledge: A Guide to the Swamp Thing TV Series. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
- ^ Super Powers Collection - 4th Wave Archived 2010-05-16 at the Wayback Machine Toy Otter. Retrieved on 3-29-10.
- ^ Holy Cow! Super Powers Extravaganza! Action Figure Insider. Retrieved on 3-29-10.
- ^ [1] Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin (September 20, 2004). Retrieved on 3-30-10.
- ^ [2] Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin (January 13, 2007). Retrieved on 3-30-10.
- ^ Swamp Thing Shit MYRANT (January 15, 2007). Retrieved on 3-30-10.
