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by: RJ Young
Revamps, ret-cons and re-imaging are all part and parcel of the comic
universe. Characters are constantly having their back-story re-written
to make them more relevant or more interesting. It happens all the time
and not even monsters are immune. The following are what I think are the
top three best revamps of established comic horror characters.
 #3)
THE MAN-WOLF: John Jameson had been around for a long
time before he became the Man-Wolf. In fact, he first appeared in “the
Amazing Spider-man” # 1. But it was in issue 124 of that series
that he hit upon true fame as a horror fixture of Marvel Comics when he
first transformed into the Man-Wolf.
The story was simple enough. Jameson, an astronaut, found a strange jewel
on the moon which he called the Moonstone. He wore it around his neck
and it bonded to his throat. When the moonlight hits the stone, John Jameson
was transformed into the albino lupine beast called the Man-Wolf.
Plain and simple. But now we come to the re-imagining of the Man-Wolf’s
tale. We later learn that the Moonstone is an inter-dimensional ruby actually
called the God-Stone. John is later transported to the ‘other realm’
where the God-Stone originally came from. It is revealed that the ruby
was created by a dying Star God to pass on his powers. While in our dimension,
the God-Stone could only partially transform Jameson, and his half-complete
nature explained his insatiability and bestial rampages. But once in Other
Realm, he could fully transform, thus keeping his normal intelligence
and memories while in wolf form.
Jameson took up the mantle of the Star-God and acted as the champion
of Other Realm. He gained new, non wolf-like powers, such as telepathy
and energy manipulation. Eventually, he opted to return to Earth, which
resulted in his totally losing his power to transform into either Star-God
or the Man-Wolf.
#2) THE GHOST RIDER: When
the Ghost Rider First came on the scene in “Marvel Spotlight”
# 5, there was no Zarathos. In his premier appearance, we learn that Johnny
Blaze’s father Barton Blaze died in a motor cycle accident, back
when Johnny was very young. Johnny is taken in by his step father ‘Crash’
Simpson. Crash has a young daughter named Roxanne who will later become
the love of Johnny’s life.
Crash is also a motor cycle stuntman and so Johnny grows to become a
great cyclist himself. When Johnny discovers that Crash has incurable
cancer, Johnny doesn’t want to lose another father, so he researches
some old occult books and finds a way to make a deal with the devil. He
sells his soul to Satan in exchange for preventing Crash from dying of
cancer. The devil keeps his end of the bargain but in a devious way. Satan
arranges for Crash to die in a motor cycle accident, sparing him a slow
death from cancer. Satan comes to claim the soul of Johnny, who is furious
at the deceit. Just in tine, Johnny’s paramour Roxanne enters and
manages to chase off Satan with the power of true love. But Satan still
has a claim on Johnny’s soul, and so every night, Johnny will have
to transform into a skeletal demon with a flaming skull until he is cured
or until he dies, at which time Satan can claim him.
However, a ret-con of the Ghost Rider’s origin added some interesting
improvements to Johnny Blaze’s trails and tribulations. Firstly,
we find that Johnny did not deal with the devil himself but rather the
Stan’s favorite and most devious demon Mephisto. (A character generally
used in Marvel starting in the 80’s in lieu of the devil.) Further,
we find that Johnny was not actually transformed into a demon but was
merged with a old demon called Zarathos. Zarathos has served Mephisto
in the netherworld for many centuries and Mephisto occasionally binds
him to a human soul to allow him to wreck havoc on Earth for a while.
The combine Blaze/Zarathos hybrid is the Ghost Rider. Eventually, Zarathos
gains control of the Ghost Rider form completely and the rage of Zarathos
is unleashed. Although Johnny is eventually cured of the curse and freed
from his bond with Zarathos, his luck doesn’t last and eventually
he becomes the Ghost Rider once again.
#1) THE SWAMP THING: The
Swamp-Thing first appeared as a one-shot story in ‘House of Secrets’
# 92 in 1971. The story, which took place in 1905, was about a scientist
named Alex Olsen who was caught in a fire while working in his research
lab in the swamp. He undergoes a metamorphosis into a half vegetable muck
monster. The story was written by Len Wein and illustrated by Bernie Wrightson.
 The
reaction to this story was so positive that it was decided a regular monthly
series about the Swamp Thing would be published, using the same writer
and artist. The series was updated to modern times and the scientist’s
name was changed to Alec Holland. In the first issue of “Swamp-Thing”,
scientist Alec Holland has lost his funding and sets up a make-shift lab
in a bayou, deep in the swamplands of Louisiana. He and his wife Linda
conduct bio-restorative research in private. Found by a villain named
Ferret who wants to steal their work, the lab is blown up. Alec is covered
by burning chemicals and jumps into the murky swamp water. Alec’s
body is mutated by the chemicals and interacts with the swamp. He transforms
into a six and a half foot creature made of vegetable matter. Learning
that Ferret has killed his wife, Alec/Swamp Thing takes his revenge on
Ferret.
The Swamp Thing has many adventures thereafter and fights a variety of
villains, most notably his arch-nemesis Anton Arcane, a wealthy mad scientist
who thinks that Swamp Thing is the key to gaining immortality.
The series had a tepid reception and sales were mediocre. It ran from
1972-1976 when it was cancelled. The Swamp Thing, however, was not done
yet. He was just getting started. A film version of the Swamp Thing came
out in 1982, written and directed by horror film icon Wes Craven. While
the film was not very well received, it did renew interest in the character
and thus DC decided to give the Swamp Thing another shot at starring in
his own monthly series.
“Saga of the Swamp Thing” debuted in 1982, written by Martin
Pasko and drawn by Rick Veitch. Pasko picked up the Swamp Thing’s
adventures, with Alec having become an urban legend, stalking the Swamps
near New Orleans. Pasko tried expanding the parameters of the Swamp Thing’s
adventures and having him travel beyond Louisiana. Despite some initial
interest in “Saga of the Swamp Thing”, sales started to level
off, and Pasko left the series after two years to devote more time to
television commitments.
Former writer Len Wein, who was now an editor, replaced Pasko with a
British writer who was not too well known to American readers at that
point. His name was Alan Moore, later to become legendary for creating
“Watchmen”. At this point, Moore was a gamble, but it paid
off. Moore managed the greatest ever re-imagining of a horror character
in comics.
More brought a more mystic slant to the character and created a clever
mythology for the series. Moore’s first innovation was to turn Swamp
Thing into a real monster, not just a mutated scientist. During Moore’s
run, we learn that Alec Holland drown in the swamp the day Ferret killed
his wife. The Swamp Thing was then created by mysterious elemental powers.
He is a vegetable being formed in the image of the man whose body decomposed
in the swamp. The Swamp creature not only copied Alec’s humanoid
form, but also his knowledge and memories. He only thought he was Alec
Holland.
We further learn that he is not the first Swamp Thing, but the latest
of many elementals that come into being after a man dies in the swamp.
(This was an attempt by Moore to reconcile the original 1971 one-shot
story with the series proper.) The various Swamp Things are born to be
elemental defenders of the world, brought forth to enact justice and defend
both man and nature. The Swamp Thing later learns that he was created
by ancient elemental beings called the Parliament of Trees, who are far
older than humans and have been protecting the Earth for many millenniums.
Swamp Thing’s powers were expanded during Moore’s run, as
was the scope of his adventures. There was even a story arc about the
Swamp Thing traveling in space. Swamp Thing later comes under the tutelage
of the mysterious and notorious John Constantine who teaches him about
the true nature of good and evil, so the Swamp Thing can play his role
in the epic clash of good and evil, that was fought in “Saga of
the Swamp Thing” # 50.
Moore’s run on “Saga of the Swamp Thing” tossed aside
the comic code and proudly displayed the words “For mature readers”
on the cover. “Swamp Thing” was highly successfully under
the stewardship of Moore and Veitch, and had a highly influential effect
on the comic industry. Mainstream media touted the reinvented Swamp Thing
as having such a literary approach to a comic series.
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