The Good

Rotworld had some great moments despite parts of the overall story dragging. After a powerful final issue, Alec Holland, as Swamp Thing, is moving in a new direction. Charles Soule swoops in and takes full control over the character as he truly accepts his role as the avatar of the Green.

Holland's narration as he goes about his business is interesting. We see his struggle to retain his humanity despite being a plant. He can feel the draw of the Green and we even get a glimpse at what it is really like.

As seen on the cover, there's going to be a confrontation with Superman. The reasoning does make sense, in a way. It was in the very first issue that Superman paid Holland a visit. Now it's Alec's turn to visit Superman to ask some important questions. This is where Soule's taking a risk in bringing Swamp Thing into the rest of the DCU. The good and bad thing about Scott Snyder's run was the feeling the title took place in a separate corner of the DCU. At times it was perfectly fitting but you do want to see that the characters are part of a larger world.

The choice of Scarecrow is also odd but the explanation too makes sense here. Having a brief mention to JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #2 was great.

The art by Kano works here and seeing how Swamp Thing's appearance differs slightly depending on where specifically he is was a nice touch.

The Bad

Some of Holland's narration felt off. We're talking about a guy who was essentially 'dead' for some time (resurrected right before the New 52 began at the end of BRIGHTEST DAY).

Having Swamp Thing go to Metropolis almost feels too sudden after 18 issues (plus the zero issue). The same with his confrontation with Scarecrow. We had a character with pretty much no interactions and now we're seeing him go up against a random Batman villain. It is interesting but it's something we could have been eased into. Also, Superman doesn't quite play the role teased on the cover. At least not yet.

Being the first issue for Soule, we'll have to wait and see where exactly he takes Swamp Thing. There are some questionable moments but that could be in part of Alec's full acceptance into his role.

The Verdict

Change can be a scary thing. This is especially true when it comes to creative changes in comics. What better villain to have Swamp Thing go up against that Scarecrow? Charles Soule takes Swamp Thing on a different route than we've seen in the previous issues. With the Rotworld story finally over, we can see Alec Holland embrace his role as the avatar of the Green and explore the rest of the world, performing the duties the Green needs him to perform. We're off to an interesting beginning but it almost feels a little too sudden to have both Scarecrow and Superman, two non-Swamp Thing characters, show up right away. Soule is setting up things nicely and you can't help but be curious to see where he's going to take the character. Change can be scary but things are looking pretty good.

Looking forward to this.

I think it's too early to judge Soule.It's may be a three issue arc he is working on.In the first issue,he certainly showed a new direction though.I hope big events will be coming soon.

Really? I thought this was quite good, and a breath of fresh air after the overlong Rotworld.

@ghidoran: tony loves him some Snyder though

I liked the issue as well. Explained alot about the Green and him going to Metropolis made sense from the way it was explained.

cant wait what the new writer got in store for Alec!

I don't trust G-man's reviews.haha

@ghidoran:Really good start, cant wait for more.

It was a real great comic. I was a bit nervous at first, but it looks like Swampy is going to continue being a good comic.

Too sudden to come to Metropolis? Wut?

Big fan of this issue. I liked the narration and the internal conflict Swampy has in this issue. It's really interesting reading this in conjunction with Animal Man where Buddy is repulsing the Red while ST is embracing the Green. Definitely hope the arcs are shorter after Rotworld took forever.

Maybe this series will suffer from the fact that Soule has to start his run from where Snyder left off. He might not be comfortable with that direction. Starting a fresh start, with his own ideas, could have been better for him. Obviously, he can't do that, because that wouldn't do justice to Snyder's run.

I actually liked this issue a lot, I love Snyder..but Rotworld lasted way too long.

I actually thought this issue was pretty good, it is obviously written as an introduction to Swamp Thing hence we get a lot of dialog of ST explaining stuff that a regular reader already knows but it wasnt boring and at the same time it was pretty insightfull this was a pretty good start

I was very hesitant about this. But found it surprisingly great. Kano does a bang up job. Hope he stays around for a while. I was afraid the story would feel really out of place with Supes and Scarecrow involved but it didn't at all. I agree with Tony, the JLA reference from Crane was cool and only helped pull this title into the bigger DCU picture. Also we get what I assume will be a ongoing mystery in upcoming issues of Swamp Thing with this Seeder character. Very excited for next issue.

Seems like everyone here likes this issue more than G-Man (3 stars only). Though I don't really appreciate the idea of Swamp Thing going to Metropolis and leaving theseparate corner of the DCU, I'm still curious to see where this title goes now that Soule is the new writer and will pick it up this weekend.

Really liked this issue, thought Soule had a nice voice for Swamp Thing and gave a god setup for Superman's appearance. Also like how the Greens influence over him is displayed.

This was a really good issue, especially if someone wanted to start to get into Swamp Thing. L

"He looks like a male model. I look like a salad." had me laughing.

Same here I loved this issue. I loved seeing Swamp Thing as a desert plant for the first couple of pages.

Quoted for truth. Its a shame a reviewer can't review things on its own merits.

I know right, Too sudden is redundant its been friggin 19 issues of Swamps on his own, how on earth it is "Too soon" is beyond me. But oh well thats @g_man for you.

I think it's saying something about the review when the majority of the commenters do not agree with the review and ACTUALLY have some good points to back it up instead of the usual internet trolling stuff.

This was a great issue. I do enjoy me some Scott Snyder but I found Rotworld to be very bloated and long, however the ending made up for it. This was a nice change of pace (I do feel it was a little rushed with throwing in both Scarecrow and Superman but I think Solue is just trying to keep momentum up after Rotworld) Swampy's internal monologue was fun and interesting to read and the art was very well done. Cactus skinned swampy was a great image.

The only thing I missed from the previous creative team in this issue was the panel borders. I loved the use of natural things like vines and flowers as the break between panels. I thought those looked fantastic. The art was still great in this issue, but the clean breaks between panels was a slight downgrade from the prior team. It's not even a complaint, just a preference.

I'm glad there wasn't a three issue journey of him on his way to Metropolis.

This new arc is looking good, despite the gore and horror levels are low for a Swamp Thing comic, the angle Soules is giving him, being a part of the whole DC Universe, is fresh and new, let's remember that his old enemy Floronic Man (I prefer his original name Plant Master or just his surname, Woodrue ) used to be an old Atom villain. Also, knowing that The Scarecrow has several strands of fear toxin for any characters is quite clever. The other aspect I love is that Swampy got rid of his "battle armor" and is now using his green teleportation again. I give this issue 4 stars out of 5.

This was a great first issue for Soule. I WANT characters like Swamp Thing and Animal Man to interact with the rest of the DC Universe. Great art as well and I am SUPREMELY glad Rotworld is over.