| Solomon Grundy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Solomon Grundy on the cover ofSolomon Grundy #1 (April 2010). Art byScott Kolins. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | All-American Comics #61 (October 1944) |
| Created by | Alfred Bester (writer) Paul Reinman (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Cyrus Gold |
| Species | Revenant/Zombie |
| Team affiliations | Injustice Society Injustice League Injustice League Dark Legion of Doom Infinity Inc. Secret Society of Super Villains Suicide Squad Black Lantern Corps |
| Abilities |
|
Solomon Grundy (Cyrus Gold) is asupervillain and occasionalantihero appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. He was originally depicted as a murder victim brought back to life as a corporealrevenant orzombie, though subsequent versions of the character have occasionally depicted a different origin. His name is taken from the 19th century nursery rhyme "Solomon Grundy."[1]
Grundy was introduced as an enemy of comic book heroAlan Scott (the originalGreen Lantern), but has since become a prominent enemy for a number of superheroes such asSuperman,Batman, and other members of theJustice League. As a revenant whose backstory often involves coming back to life after being deposited in the swamp, later writers have also given him ties toSwamp Thing, one of DC's horror-fantasy heroes.
Solomon Grundy has been adapted into numerous media outside comics, including television series and films.Mark Hamill andFred Tatasciore, among others, have voiced the character in animation. The character appeared asButch Gilzean inthe first four seasons of Fox's television seriesGotham, portrayed byDrew Powell. Grundy also appeared in the first and second seasons ofStargirl, portrayed via CGI.
Created byAlfred Bester,[2] he first appeared inAll-American Comics #61 (October 1944).[3]
Grundy is the focus of one of the fourFaces of Evil one-shots that explore the aftermath ofFinal Crisis, written byScott Kolins andGeoff Johns, with art byShane Davis.[4][5] It is the introduction to a seven part mini-series featuring the character.
In the late 19th century, a wealthy merchant namedCyrus Gold is murdered and his body is disposed of inSlaughter Swamp, nearGotham City.[6] Fifty years later, he is reanimated as a zombie-like creature composed partly of swamp matter with no memory of his previous life.[7] He becomes an enemy of the Green Lantern,Alan Scott, proving to be a difficult enemy due to being made of wood and thus resistant to his powers.[8]
A criminal scientist calling himself the Baron of York kills his brother and takes over his gang, stating to them that he knows where to find the body of Solomon Grundy. Once the body is found, the Baron of York injects Grundy with concentrated chlorophyll upon knowing his background. The side effect turns Solomon Grundy into a plant. When the Baron of York bluffs about him being worshipped and served, Solomon Grundy kills the Baron of York and takes over his gang. While noting that Solomon Grundy is more invulnerable to his ring due to the chlorophyll, Green Lantern chases after Solomon Grundy until he becomes exhausted in the petrified forest in Arizona. Using his ring, Green Lantern traps Grundy in a green plasma bubble for a time.[9]
A freak weather occurrence releases Solomon Grundy from his prison. Making his way across country, Grundy heads for the headquarters of theJustice Society of America. Green Lantern arrives early for the meeting and when the other members arrive, they find their headquarters smashed to pieces and Green Lantern missing from the ranks. Johnny turns on the radio, which blares the warning that Solomon Grundy is on the loose; the members believe, based on a large, muddy footprint on the floor, that Grundy got to HQ and took Green Lantern. The radio continues its report, listing cities where Grundy was seen, so each member picks a city and heads for it to try to find Green Lantern whileWonder Woman stays behind. The scene now shifts back to the moment at JSA HQ where Green Lantern had opened the door. To his surprise,Doiby Dickles walks in, and informs him that Grundy has freed himself and is on the loose. Green Lantern leaves immediately, hoping to find Grundy before any of the JSA members are hurt going after him. Minutes later, Grundy arrives at JSA HQ, and, not finding the Lantern there, he smashes the place up, then leaves. Green Lantern and Doiby use a special radio-like device Alan Scott had developed that is attuned to the mental wavelengths of Grundy himself; Green Lantern calculates the path of Grundy and announces over the radio in JSA HQ where Grundy will strike. When Green Lantern and Grundy meet, Grundy rips a tree out by its roots and smashes it into the Lantern. Green Lantern fights back with his power ring and fists until both men fall into a nearby stream and over a small waterfall. The Lantern is severely dazed and tries to ward off Grundy with his ring, but he is much too weak. Grundy grabs Green Lantern by the throat and begins to squeeze the life out of him, holding his head underwater. However,Hawkman strikes Grundy with his mace, andDoctor Mid-Nite revives the Lantern. A combined attack brings down Grundy, and Green Lantern deposits Grundy on a distant, lifeless planet.[10]
A battle soon commences when Grundy's body gravitates towards young astronomer Dick Cashmere as he learns to ride light waves, resulting in his assuming Cashmere's identity for a time while leaving the real one bound and gagged, though the Society finds him soon after. In this incarnation, he gains intelligence, which he subsequently loses when Green Lantern defeats and buries Grundy in 1947.[11]
At this point, Grundy is freed and enlisted along with several other supervillains by the time-traveling criminalPer Degaton in his second appearance, who has traveled to 1941 to capture the Justice Society of America on the day of the attack on timeline, hoping to change history and take over the world. Grundy encounters Green Lantern,Flash, and Wonder Woman in Echo Park, whom Grundy knows from 1947. Grundy bests the costumed trio, and is summoned by a mysterious voice to deliver them or "pay the penalty". TheAll-Star Squadron comes to their rescue, and Grundy is the last villain to be transported back. He is thrust back to the Moon, where he remains for over two decades, as this timeline is erased once Degaton is defeated.[12][13]
After many years, Grundy is knocked loose from his planet prison and returns to Earth to battle Green Lantern,Hourman, andDoctor Fate. At this point, he has temporary mastery over all wooden objects. Solomon Grundy is imprisoned orbiting the Earth in a stronger bubble created by the combined powers of Green Lantern and Doctor Fate.[14]
Grundy was once pulled toEarth-One and substituted for the superstrongBlockbuster due to a machine that was accidentally pulling the Earths together in warp-space and substituting people. During this event, he had absorbed some of Doctor Fate's magic, is stronger than before, and is even able to telekinetically lift Flash into the air. He hates Green Lantern so much he thinks everyone he sees is Green Lantern. He is imprisoned inside a mountain by Earth-One Green Lantern after being lifted up by Earth-OneHawkman and dazed by blows from all the heroes, but when the machine is turned off he is substituted for Blockbuster onEarth-Two and renews the attack, defeating numerous heroes. However, the JSA and JLA went to battle an Anti-Matter being that was threatening both Earths in Warp-Space after being summoned by Fate, who had sensed the threat due to theSpectre. As the heroes return, they find Green Lantern had placed Grundy and Blockbuster together to occupy them, and the two have knocked the hate out of each other. Grundy is then taken back to his Earth by the Justice Society.[15]
In his next appearance, Solomon Grundy battles the combined might of both the Justice Society, and later their counterparts theJustice League, nearly to a standstill at Slaughter Swamp, when he develops an affection for a lost alien child who has accidentally been sent to Earth-2 and is dying due to separation from his pet. Having absorbed magic from Doctor Fate and Green Lantern, Grundy is easily able to defeat the combined might ofSuperman, Flash, Earth-TwoHawkman, Earth-One Hawkman, andGreen Lantern, until he is defeated by both Green Lanterns and sealed in Slaughter Swamp. The alien child is finally reunited with his pet and sent back to his own dimension.[16]
While imprisoned, Grundy incorrectly deduces that the second Green Lantern's Earth must contain a second Solomon Grundy and crosses over from his Slaughter Swamp prison on Earth-Two to Earth-One where he overpowers that Earth's Superman before being tricked and stranded on the moon.[17]
Solomon Grundy briefly works with theInjustice Society whenthe Fiddler retrieves Grundy from the moon of Earth-One to attack the JSA. The two defeat Hawkman andWildcat before Grundy is thrown into a cooling volcano byPower Girl andSuperman.[18][19]
Grundy goes on to afflict Green Lantern and his teammates, including theHuntress who is the first female for whom he develops an affection. After Solomon Grundy is rescued from aglacier by Alan Scott's daughter,Jade, Grundy becomes loyal to her and, for a while, is an ally ofInfinity, Inc. Eventually, this affectionate relationship turns tragic as the villainous Marcie Cooper, a.k.a.Harlequin of theDummy'sInjustice Unlimited, uses her illusion powers to disguise herself as Jade. Harlequin manipulates Grundy to attack the members of Infinity Inc., one by one. She convinces him to press the unconsciousMister Bones' bare hand againstSkyman; since Bones's skin constantly exudes acyanide-based compound, this quickly leads to Skyman's death. Once Grundy found out that Marcie had duped him, he savagely beat her within an inch of her life. This is the beginning of the end for Infinity Inc., and for Grundy's quasi-heroic career.[20]
When Earth-Two's Solomon Grundy visited Earth-One, he left behind some residual cells in the sewers.[17] The Earth-One Solomon Grundy is born when theParasite uses an enhanced crystal tometabolically hasten the growth of residual cells which becomes a new, much more bestial version. During a clash withSuperman, it is determined that his might is too much for the Man of Steel, so Superman flies the monster to an alien world inhospitable to all save the hardiest life as the zombie propels himself through the air, mimicking his one-time adversary.[21]
This version repeatedly plagues Superman for years until during an encounter wherein multiple Grundys are spawned, Superman and theSwamp Thing both encounter theGrundy clones. Soon, Superman obtains a compound fromS.T.A.R. Labs which causes the Grundys to become inert, in effect killing the seemingly unkillable man-thing. The Swamp Thing attempts to cry out for Superman to stop as he believes Grundy to meet the definition of life, but the Swamp Thing is unable to express this due to his physical difficulty in speaking.[22] This version of Grundy returns one final time, without explanation, leading a gang in the Earth-One Gotham City. He is apparently destroyed yet again whenBatman tricks the creature into a blast furnace, where it is apparently consumed by the flames.[23]
This version of Grundy was retroactively erased from history after the revamping of Superman inCrisis on Infinite Earths.
The Post-Crisis version of Solomon Grundy has a similar history to his Earth-Two counterpart and debuts during the "Batman: The Long Halloween" storyline. Grundy and a newly disfiguredHarvey Dent strike up an odd friendship after Dent escapes the slaughterhouse to plot his revenge onCarmine Falcone.[24] Grundy also appears earlier in the story duringThanksgiving when Batman goes into the sewers to pursue a suspect who bombed Dent's house. Grundy attacks both of them, but Batman drives him off by blinding him with a shot of mace. Later as a somewhat humorous twist, Batman provides Solomon Grundy with a Thanksgiving dinner.[25]
After Infinity, Inc. disbands, Solomon Grundy loses his loyalty towards Jade. A clash with Alan Scott and Jade in the pages ofGreen Lantern Corps Quarterly ends with Grundy turning into a statue of petrified wood. The heroes believe the threat of Grundy to have ended once and for all, but they are mistaken.
Shortly thereafter, Grundy reappears in Gotham in the pages ofBatman: Shadow of the Bat, battling Batman once again and killing the female descendant of one of the killers of Cyrus Gold.[26]
Grundy's next major appearance is inStarman, lurking inOpal City's sewers.Jack Knight befriends Grundy, who has become innocent and childlike. Grundy also becomes friends with previous StarmanMikaal Tomas, and dies while sacrificing himself to save Jack Knight from being crushed by a collapsing building. When Grundy appears again, he has returned to his malicious persona; the joint efforts of Jack Knight,Batman, Alan Scott, andFloronic Man are needed to stop him.[27]
The origins of Grundy'sresurrection come from the fact that theParliament of Trees, a high council of PlantElementals, tried to turn him into the newest Plant Elemental. However, the process was missing one vital piece: fire, as a Plant Elemental cannot be fully created unless it died in flames. Since Grundy's death did not involve fire at all, the process is not complete, and he becomes a sort of half-functional Plant Elemental. Grundy has been seemingly destroyed on several occasions, only to rise from the swamp again in a new incarnation. Each version of Grundy has been somewhat different from the last, depending on the medium used to dispatch him. Some have been truly evil; some much less so. Some versions are more mindless than others; some are moderately intelligent, recalling the literate, well-spokenmonster ofMary Shelley'sFrankenstein.[28]
Grundy hides out for a time in the Arrowcave, the long-abandoned former headquarters ofGreen Arrow. While searching for artifacts of his former life, Oliver and his former ward,Roy Harper / Arsenal, stumble onto Grundy's new hideout. The story, accurately and humorously entitled "Grundy No Like Arrows in the Face!", is found inGreen Arrow (vol. 3) #18. Green Arrow notes that this version seems much more violent, and manages to kill him by choking him with the string to his broken bow (despite the fact that Grundy does not have a heartbeat, functional veins, or need to breathe). InGreen Arrow (vol. 3) #53, "Solomon's Revenge", Green Arrow helps Dr. Chrissie Cavendish, aS.T.A.R. Labs employee, who claims she is the great-great-granddaughter of the man the monster spawned from, to find and cure him. Her cure warps her into a monster much worse than Grundy. Green Arrow subdues the new monster, and leaves Grundy be. It is not known if Grundy is still using this building.
In the first issue ofGrant Morrison'sSeven Soldiers of Victory, Issue #0 of the same name, one of the Seven Unknown Men of Slaughter Swamp recounts the death of the miserly pedophile, Cyrus Gold, killed at the hands of an enraged mob, but also mentions that Gold could just as easily have been the innocent victim of a misunderstanding, as Slaughter Swamp is a point in space where time means nothing.[29] In the final issue, the same Unknown Man punishes another of his group – the Eighth Man, Zor – by dressing him in Cyrus Gold's clothing and leaving him for the mob to find, implying that Zor – an extremely vain character, notable for attempting several times to overthrow the Universe and for having defeatedThe Spectre – would later become the first Solomon Grundy.[30]
Grundy is manipulated byGorilla Grodd via mind control into attacking Batman and Superman forLex Luthor for the bounty of one billion dollars inSuperman/Batman. Batman is able to stop Grundy.[31]
While no specifics are given during the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Solomon Grundy is also coerced into joining theSecret Society of Super Villains. He participates in the final strike against theSecret Six.Rag Doll encounters Grundy in a doorway. Rag Doll's scarred face relates to Grundy, and Grundy goes on to turn against theSecret Society.[32] The aftermath of that battle is inconclusive, but Grundy evidently survives, as he was last seen in a murky swamp inJSA Classified. In it, he is convinced byIcicle to helpWizard, who is in trouble.[33]
After helping Icicle freeJohnny Sorrow fromPrometheus' cosmic key, Grundy stays with the newly formedInjustice Society.
Solomon Grundy is seen fighting against theBlood Pack in the Battle of Metropolis, until he is vaporized bySuperboy-Prime's heat vision, which apparently kills the Blood Pack and destroys Grundy's current incarnation.[34]
InBrad Meltzer'sJustice League of America, Grundy is reborn with intelligence after being killed in the Battle of Metropolis.[35] He is revealed to be the mastermind behind the abduction ofRed Tornado's robot body (it is revealed he gained this intelligence when he was reborn after being burned by Prime). Grundy expresses a desire to stop his cycle of dying and being reborn and so it appears he enlists the help of Professor Ivo to build him anAmazo body to live in forever. The Red Tornado kills Grundy withF5 tornado winds, ripping him apart.[36]
He later appears in theSalvation Run mini-series as one of the villains exiled to another planet. He is killed during a battle withParademons. His body, awaiting its inevitable resurrection, is left behind when the villains leave the Hell Planet. However, when the villains exit, Grundy's hand trembles, accompanied with a groaning sound.[37]
In the one-shotFaces of Evil: Solomon Grundy (March 2009) byGeoff Johns andScott Kolins, Cyrus Gold returns to life in Slaughter Swamp, as he was prior to becoming Grundy. He returns to Gotham City, but is shot by police after attacking a charity worker. In the police morgue, he transforms into Solomon Grundy. Grundy is once more an unintelligent monster, repeating the opening line of the nursery rhyme. A week later, having retreated to the sewers, he has a fight withKiller Croc. At the end of the fight, exhausted, he reverts to Cyrus Gold again. He finds himself in front of his own grave, where thePhantom Stranger tells him he has seven days to undo his curse, as "There is an unholy night coming, as black as the dead's blood. And it's best if Solomon Grundy was not around for it" (a reference to the upcomingBlackest Night storyline). Alan Scott serves as his reluctant guide, as the story continues in theSolomon Grundy miniseries.[38]
In the countdown toBlackest Night, Cyrus Gold was given one week to discover the truth of who murdered him, so he could repent for all of his sins and gain absolution. Alan Scott and the Phantom Stranger were given as his guides throughout the week, whileEtrigan was trying to take him toHell. Gold had a habit of getting killed. No matter how much damage was done to his body, he resurrected as a complete Solomon Grundy, driven to kill. Eventually it is revealed that Gold committed suicide, meaning he forced the curse of Solomon Grundy on himself. The end of the series' run shows Grundy reanimated as aBlack Lantern, and Cyrus Gold in hell.[39] Grundy then tracks down and attacksBizarro, using a past friendship they had to stir up the creature's emotions.[40] Bizarro eventually defeats Grundy by flying him into the sun, incinerating him and the black ring.[41]
The Prime Earth Solomon Grundy is introduced inDC Rebirth. His appearance resembles that of his pre-Flashpoint depictions. Grundy is briefly seen fightingArkillo of theSinestro Corps andSaint Walker of theBlue Lantern Corps.[42]
The sorceress Selena created a mindless clone of Grundy from his DNA sample to serve as the muscle for theFatal Five and foughtSupergirl.[43]
In "The New Golden Age", a flashback to 1941 has Doctor Fate andSalem the Witch Girl assistingMister Miracle in fighting Grundy.[44] In the present,Huntress recruits Grundy into the Justice Society.[45][46][47]
In the "DC All In" initiative, Solomon Grundy joinsScandal Savage's incarnation of the Injustice Society.[48] When Grundy assistsDoctor Elemental,Fog, andRed Lantern in getting information from him, Flash tries to get answers from Grundy and Red Lantern on why they are with the ISA, to no avail.[49]Wotan has Grundy accompany Gentleman Ghost into going to Hell to meet up with theDemons Three in Hell.[50] Gentleman Ghost and Grundy learn from the Demons Three thatHawkman was rescued byHawkgirl and a female ghost calling herself "Kid Eternity". Gentleman Ghost uses Grundy to track a ghost as he summons his ghostly horse.[51] Grundy, Gentleman Ghost, and the Demons Three lure Hawkman and Hawkgirl into a trap. After Grundy slams Hawkman into the ground, Kid Eternity returns and harnesses Doctor Fate's magic to repel the attackers.[52]
Solomon Grundy has superhuman strength and stamina. His strength is roughly on par with Kryptonians in some adaptations. He is virtually indestructible and immortal thanks to the elemental energy that imbues his form with pseudo-life. He is nearly invulnerable to physical, magical, and energy attacks and he is not affected by fire or low temperatures. He has proven highly resistant to the effects of theoriginal Green Lantern's power ring (which is attributed to his part-plant essence; originally because he had absorbed plant matter from the swamp, and later because he was a partial "plant elemental" likeSwamp Thing).
Grundy possesses a healing factor.[53] While he has occasionally been destroyed, he has always returned to life sooner or later, though often with different personalities and powers.
TheSkulk, an amalgamation of Solomon Grundy and theMarvel Comics character theHulk, appears in theAmalgam Comics universe.
An alternate universe version of Solomon Grundy fromEarth-Two appears inThe New 52. This version is the champion of the Grey, a cosmic force connecting fungal life, who previously worked in a slaughterhouse before foreman Henry Pittance raped his wife Pinney, who committed suicide shortly after, leading him to kill everyone in the facility and then himself.[54][55][56][57]
A heroic, British counterpart of Solomon Grundy fromEarth-Three appears inJLA Secret Files and Origins (2004).[58]
An alternate universe version of Solomon Grundy who became the warden ofArkham Asylum appears in theEmperor Joker storyline.[59]
An alternate universe version of Solomon Grundy appears inFlashpoint. This version is a member of an iteration of theCreature Commandos under GeneralSam Lane's command.[60][61]
TheGrundymen, a group of zombies inspired by Solomon Grundy, appear inSeven Soldiers.[62]
An alternate timeline version of Solomon Grundy appears inThe New Golden Age as a member of theHuntress'Justice Society of America.[63][64]
Solomon Grundy appears inJLA/Avengers.[65]
An alternate universe version of Solomon Grundy appears inJustice Riders.[66]
Solomon Grundy appears as aboss in theBatman: Arkham franchise, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
