Swamp Thing Vol 2 83

"Brothers in Arms (Part 1)" is the title to the 83rd issue of the second Swamp Thing ongoing comic book series published by DC Comics. The story was written by Rick Veitch with artwork by Tom Mandrake and inks by Alfredo Alcala. It was colored by Tatjana Wood and lettered by John Costanza. The story was edited by Karen Berger. This issue shipped with a February, 1989 cover date and carries a cover price of $1.25 per copy (US).

Synopsis
July 12th, 1914

The soul of Alec Holland continues to travel backwards in time. This time, his essence takes up residence in the body of a French fighter pilot flying over Germany during World War I.

Below on the ground, Anaïs Arcane and her daughter Aniela seek shelter with their cousin, the Baron Hans von Hammer, also known as, the Enemy Ace. Von Hammer spies the twin fighter jets and shoots them both out of the sky from the ground. One plane explodes in flames and the second, the one occupied by the time-displaced Swamp Thing, lands in the marsh. Although the pilot's body dies, the power of the Swamp Thing is able to partially heal him, and his form takes on the shape of the visage of the Swamp Thing himself. Both Anaïs and Hans are startled by the imagery and bring the wounded pilot into the Baron’s castle.

Anaïs decides to contact her eldest child, Anton, and tell him of the strange encounter with the French pilot. It is her hope that this medical miracle might inspire her son to come visit them at the castle.

Anton, currently a medic serving on the Western front greets his mother and agrees to return with her to the castle to examine the pilot. Anaïs does not yet realize how demented her ambitious young son truly is, and that his only interest in studying the pilot is so that he can further his own grotesque experiments.

As Anton analyses the body, the Swamp Thing begins to get some of his memories back. He recognizes Anaïs, but only because she is the spitting image of one who will one day be her granddaughter, Abigail. The Swamp Thing also recognizes Anton Arcane, and hisses his name as he tries to rise from the medical table.

Anton Arcane keeps the Swamp Thing/Pilot strapped down and moves him to a lower dungeon in the keep. In order to continue his research undisturbed, he provides Hans with a drug that will help him sleep at night, insuring that his cousin will be in top fighting form, and thus away from the castle flying sorties while Anton studies the muck creature.

Arcane believes that the restorative properties of the Swamp-Pilot is the key to true immortality. Mixing science with sorcery, he embarks upon a bizarre black magic ritual to gleam the secrets of the Swamp Thing’s powers. To keep the Swamp Thing at bay, Anton employs an archaic artifact known as the Claw of Aelkhünd. For reasons that the Swamp Thing cannot understand, being in close proximity to the Claw causes him great pain.

Anaïs creeps down to the cellar to find her son, partially naked and covered with mystic sigils standing over the muck monster. She realizes now that it is her son who is the true monster and that there is no humanity to be found within him at all. Anton flies into a rage when his mother steps into the room. He grabs her by the throat and prepares to kill her as part of a blood sacrifice. Hans von Hammer appears in the chamber and blasts Arcane in the chest with a rifle. He frees the Swamp Thing from the table, but when they turn around, Anton is gone. The Swamp Thing’s essence dissipates from the pilot's body and is shunted back into the timestream.

The Present

Back in the present, the Phantom Stranger visits Abigail Holland to inform her that he has searched the afterlife in the hopes of finding any trace of Alec Holland, but has found nothing. Abby still refuses to believe that her husband is dead.

Appearances