| Floronic Man | |
|---|---|
 Floronic Man as depicted inSaga of the Swamp Thing #24 (May 1984). Art bySteve Bissette andJohn Totleben. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Jason Woodrue: The Atom #1 (June–July 1962) As the Floronic Man: The Flash #245 (November 1976) As the Seeder: Swamp Thing #21 (February 1984) |
| Created by | Gardner Fox Gil Kane |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jason Woodrue |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Injustice Gang New Guardians Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Notable aliases | Dr. Jason Woodrue The Plant Master Floro The Seeder |
| Abilities |
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Floronic Man (Jason Woodrue), also known as thePlant Master,Floro, and theSeeder, is asupervillain, andantihero appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics.[1]
The character has been portrayed in live-action byJohn Glover in the 1997 filmBatman & Robin andKevin Durand in theDC Universe seriesSwamp Thing.
He first appeared as an enemy of theAtom inThe Atom #1 and was created byGardner Fox andGil Kane.[2] His Floronic Man appearance first appeared in theGreen Lantern backup inThe Flash #245. His Seeder appearance first appeared inSwamp Thing #21. He became known as "Floro" and a superhero, inThe New Guardians.
Dr. Jason Woodrue first appears inThe Atom #1 (June–July 1962). Woodrue is an exile from an interdimensional world (Floria) inhabited bydryads. Woodrue, sometimes called thePlant Master, uses his botanical knowledge to control plants in an attempt to take over the world. He is defeated by the superheroAtom.[1] The Plant Master returns to face the Atom[3] and theJustice League.[4]
InThe Flash #245 (November 1976), Woodrue uses an experimental formula to transform his body into a plant/human hybrid, with his skin resembling bark and his hair turning into leaves.[5] Now calling himself Floronic Man, he is defeated byGreen Lantern.[6] After a rematch with the Atom andWonder Woman,[7] Floronic Man later becomes a member of theSecret Society of Super-Villains.[5][8]
InSwamp Thing, Woodrue is hired by General Avery Sunderland to discover how scientistAlec Holland had been turned into the Swamp Thing. Woodrue discovers that the creature, instead of being a mutated version of Holland, is rather an intelligent mass of plant life that fed on Holland's dead body and absorbed his knowledge and memories. Floronic Man tries to warn Sunderland that the Swamp Thing is not dead, but Sunderland refuses to listen and announces his intent to terminate Woodrue's employment. Subsequently, Floronic Man traps Sunderland in his office with a thawed and enraged Swamp Thing, who kills him.[9]
Foronic Man uses Swamp Thing's body to contact the Green, which is composed of the life force of all plants on Earth. The experience drives Floronic Man insane; he refers to himself as "Wood-Rue", and sets out to destroy all non-plant life on Earth by forcing the plants to produce an excess amount of oxygen to force humans and animals into extinction, in the belief that he is "saving" Earth from mankind. Woodrue is confronted by a revived Swamp Thing, who reveals to the Green that plants cannot survive without humans and animals, as his actions would deprive them of the carbon dioxide that they require to breathe that comes from humans and animals, forcing Woodrue to acknowledge that his actions are the actions of a man rather than a plant. The Green abandons Floronic Man, who is then taken into custody by the Justice League after undergoing a complete mental breakdown.[10]
The 1988Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean miniseriesBlack Orchid reveals that Jason Woodrue was previously a university professor and taught botany to Philip Sylvian, Alec Holland, andPamela Isley. The character Philip Sylvian, apparently unaware of Woodrue's transformation, refers to him as a "poor old guy" and states: "Last I heard he was inArkhamInsane Asylum...".
Following the events ofMillennium, Woodrue briefly joins theNew Guardians under the nameFloro. After the death of most of his teammates, he reverts to his original status as a villain.
Floronic Man returns inBatman: Shadow of the Bat #56 (November 1996). After breaking Poison Ivy out of Arkham with his two underlings Holly and Eva, Floronic Man explains his past toBatman and Poison Ivy, telling the story of how he prevented a plot of Swamp Thing's, only to be killed soon afterward. After scientists manage to keep his head alive, the first thing he comes in contact with is marijuana. Regenerating a plant body, he aims to flood Gotham with marijuana. Floronic Man takes some of Poison Ivy's DNA in an attempt to create a "child". Poison Ivy, in exchange, gets a trunk full of dope money, and is free to walk away. Deciding that she does not want Floronic Man running the world, she frees the Batman. After a short battle, the Batman notices that Floronic Man is standing in a puddle, and uses an electrical cable to electrocute the villain, killing him once again.
The character has since appeared in various other comics and storylines. He assistsStarman,Alan Scott, Batman, and others in trying to saveSolomon Grundy.[11] In a later issue ofBatman, he is killed after assassins shoot him repeatedly with bullets. He is one of the many villains who was mind-wiped by the JLA, but he has since recovered those memories.[12]
InInfinite Crisis, Floronic Man appears as a member ofAlexander Luthor Jr.'sSecret Society of Super Villains and takes part in the Battle ofMetropolis.[13]
In the post-Infinite Crisis DC universe, Woodrue is responsible for Pamela Isley's transformation into Poison Ivy.[14]
In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. Woodrue is re-introduced making a deal with the Green by taking care of Alec Holland.[15] Woodrue is later revealed to bethe Seeder, now endowed with power by theParliament of Trees. The Swamp Thing had been hunting him for disrupting the balance of the Green. The Parliament of Trees decides that he and the Swamp Thing must fight, once they have fully realized their powers, to decide who shall be the champion of the Green.[16] As he did in his previous incarnation, he briefly takes the powers of the Swamp Thing, becoming the Champion of the Green, before the Swamp Thing tricks him from within the Green and steals back the title, which nearly kills the Seeder, until the Swamp Thing places him within the Green to save him. He later re-emerges to fight alongside the Swamp Thing against the combined forces of the Metal, the Gray/Fungi and the Rot. He fights the Avatar of the Gray, resulting in both of their deaths.
In the seriesPoison Ivy, Floronic Man is revealed to have survived. Shortly afterward, he is killed byHarley Quinn using a flamethrower.[17]
In his original form, Jason Woodrue has advanced knowledge of botany, which he utilizes it to accelerateplant growth. As Floronic Man, Woodrue can merge with and control plants.[18][19]
An alternate timeline variant of Jason Woodrue appears inFlashpoint Beyond. This version has become Swamp Thing and created an oasis to accommodate refugees and repent for his previous crimes.[20]
Jason Woodrue as Floronic Man appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[26]
Jason Woodrue as Floronic Man appears inJustice League Adventures #6.[27]
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