History Recap / SwampThingVolume2Issue53TheGardenOfEarthlyDelights

** Subverted afterward, when Batman mulls over what it was Abby and Swamp Thing did wrong with their relationship, and points out that in their world, interspecies romances are everywhere, and that persecuting Abby and Swamp Thing for it wasn't right.

--> "Take it easy? While my city is dying because it insists on the letter of the law over love and justice?"\\
'''-- Batman'''

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Despite knowing, from their previous encounters, that the Swamp Thing is "intelligent and reasonable," Batman has no qualms about killing him. Apparently the Caped Crusader's personal ThouShaltNotKill rule only applies to human foes.

* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The people of Gotham are divided as to whether the Swamp Thing is a dangerous, savage criminal out to destroy their city, or a noble champion of the environment, deserving of support.

* KilledMidSentence: Just before his burning body collapses, the Swamp Thing thinks, "Abby, I love..." [[Subverted; he isn't actually dead.]]

* KilledMidSentence: Just before his burning body collapses, the Swamp Thing thinks, "Abby, I love..."

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Subverted. The issue spells out in detail Luthor's strategy for taking out the Swamp Thing. The DDI follows it to the letter...and it apparently works just as planned.

* WhamEpisode: Swamp Thing is apparently killed when Sunderland's allies disrupt his ability to connect to the Green, and then napalm him. [[spoiler:He gets better.]]

** Averted afterward, when Batman mulls over what it was Abby and Swamp Thing did ''wrong'' with their relationship, and points out that in the comic book universe, interspecies romances are everywhere, and that persecuting Abby and Swamp Thing for it wasn't right.

* WhamEpisode: Swamp Thing is killed when Sunderland's allies disrupt his ability to connect to the Green, and then napalm him. [[spoiler:He gets better.]]

* OhCrap: Seeing his opponent grow multiple bodies simultaneously, Batman responds with a quiet "Uh-oh."
** The mayor gets one when Batman points out that if they enforce the law on Abby's relationship with Swamp Thing, the government would have to arrest all the other non-humans... such as ''Superman''. The look on the mayor's face is ''priceless''.

** The mayor gets one when Batman points out that if they enforce the law on Abby's relationship with Swamp Thing, the government would have to arrest all the other non-humans... such as ''Superman''.

** Averted afterward, when Batman mulls over what it was Abby and Swamp Thing did ''wrong'' with their relationship, and points out that in the comic book universe, interspecies romances are everywhere.

** The scene in which the adorable, [[ChildrenAreInnocent innocent]] six-year-old Kirstin Hobermann greets the Swamp Thing with flowers, whereupon he hoists her on his shoulders to cheers and hugs from the crowd, is an allusion to, and inversion of, the scene from ''[[Film/{{Frankenstein1931}} Frankenstein]]'' in which the monster [[AndCallHimGeorge inadvertently kills]] the little girl with whom he's been playing at tossing flowers. Chester [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this allusion when fondly recalling the incident in Issue 63.

* IneffectualDeathThreats: Batman tells the Swamp Thing he'll kill him if he ever messes with "his" city again. The creature merely smirks and says, "Yes...Yes...I do believe...that you ''might.''"

* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll / OurHeroIsDead
* OhCrap
* PopularityPower
* PrideBeforeAFall
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman

* CurbStompBattle
* DrugsAreBad
* FiveSecondForeshadowing
* GangBangers
* GreenThumb
* IgnoredEpiphany
* IneffectualDeathThreats
* KilledMidSentence
* MalignedMixedMarriage
* NighInvulnerability

* TheAtoner
* BodyHorror
* BoomHeadshot
* CrazyPrepared

That same night, Batman drives out to confront the Swamp Thing, appealing to his reason and asking him to undo the damage to Gotham. When the creature says he won't do so unless the city releases his wife, the Dark Knight gets out of the Batmobile and sprays him with defoliant. The Swamp Thing makes a big show of reacting in pain as his body falls apart, but soon re-emerges in multiple bodies simultaneously, then disarms Batman and beats him up. An hour later, the Swamp Thing erupts, as a giant head, through the floor of the mayor's office, announces that he's defeated Batman, and says the city has until dawn to free Abby, or he'll "remove Gotham City from your maps."

!!Tropes

An hour later, as a crowd of his supporters looks on, the Swamp Thing materializes outside the courthouse just as Abby emerges from it. They run toward each other in joy, but as soon as the Swamp Thing comes to a stop and embraces her, a DDI sniper hits him with the communications scrambler. Disoriented, he finds he can't leave his body. Sensing something worse coming, he tells Abby to get away from him. Sure enough, within seconds another sniper nails him with napalm. As he burns to a crisp before the horrified and grieving crowd, he recalls Alec Holland's death, and--too late--the Parliament of Trees' warning about power and anger.

Conceding his point, the mayor phones Washington and obtains a presidential pardon for Abby, then dispatches Batman to give the Swamp Thing the news and tell him to be outside the courthouse in an hour, at which time Abby will be returned to him. "But if you ''ever'' do this to my city again," he says, "then I'll kill you." Amused, the Swamp Thing humours him.