Showcase ’93 #4 – April 1993

Blue Devil and Earth are in a precarious situation in, “A World To Conquer (But I Wouldn’t Want to Live There).” Evildoer, Galaxa is hell bent on trying to use Blue Devil’s powers to retrieve the planet’s “Worldseed” (spirit).

So how did Swamp Thing make his way into this story? Like most obscure/random Swampy cameos, when Earth is in peril Swamp Thing responds. And respond he did! 

I wish I could say there was more Swamp Thing action–and any words at all–but a head turn (maybe even a double take) from our favorite muck-encrusted mockery of a man is fun. Making this page even more fun, Swamp Thing is in good company. It’s a grouping of fantastic characters from Swampy’s past, and those who happen to be tapped into Earth’s energy.

Above, Spectre, Madame Xanadu, Phantom Stranger & Etrigan react to Blue Devil and the Worldseed’s shift in power/energy. The creepy, ant like monster in the bottom right panel of the page is Nebiros. You may recognize that name because its first appearance was in Swamp Thing #15. Nebiros looked cooler when the great Nestor Redondo drew it. The fantastic illustration below (from Swamp Thing #15) was used for one of my favorite covers, the Australian edition, ”Creature of the Unknown (1980).

This Showcase ’93 #4 appearance sits within an interesting spot in Swamp Thing’s continuity. Continuity and the “connective tissue” is what I enjoy most when finding all the random Swampy cameos. How do all the appearances fit together? And do they always make sense? You can really go down a rabbit hole if you want to. Let’s do it.

This book takes place between Swamp Thing issues 130 & 131, April-May of 1993. If you’ve been following this site you’ll recall I posted about Swamp Thing #130 last week. The majority of Swamp Thing 130 & 131, Swamp Thing is away from Houma and has left a duplicate to care for his family. It’s a deceptive plan that ends up damaging his relationships with family and friends. Point being, Swamp Thing looks pretty bad by the end of issue 130. See below.

Swampy doesn’t look much better by the beginning of Swamp Thing 131. See below.

If Swampy is falling apart in the time between Swamp Thing 130 & 131, who is the handsome, intact Thing that appears in Showcase ’93 #4? If we really wanted to cram this cameo into Swamp Thing’s continuity we could say it’s Swampy’s duplicate. The duplicate was intact during this time period. I’ve provided images of both characters below.

Above, from Showcase ’93 #4. Below, from Swamp Thing #131. 

Draw your own conclusions. Like many cameos, characters are used when it works best for the storytelling. This is most likely an appearance based on convenience. But, it’s nice to know that if you want to toss it within Swampy’s canon, it kinda works.