The first episode of Swamp Thing hit DC Universe streaming on Friday and fans had a chance to see what is likely the first pure horror comic book superhero show to date.
One question that many fans had was about the man who is sure to be the villain of the show — Avery Sunderland.
Who is Avery Sunderland in Swamp Thing?
On the DC Universe Swamp Thing series, Avery Sunderland is a man from Marais, Louisiana, who is the wealthiest and more influential man in the town.
The Swamp Thing premiere introduced him during a town hall meeting. It is clear that not everyone in Marais likes him and he comes across as condescending in the way a politician would.
It was Sunderland who paid Alec Holland to come in and help find biological information from the swamp that he could use for his own purposes.
While Sunderland claims he wants to find medical uses and more, it is clear there is something more evil in his plans — which is likely why someone blasted Alec Holland in the chest with two shotgun blasts and left him for dead.
Will Patton (Armageddon, Remember the Titans) stars as Avery Sunderland in the DC Universe series.
#SwampThing adds Will Patton as General Sunderland:https://t.co/cwkg8HEGQv pic.twitter.com/22V7gvfBFE
— Comicbook.com (@ComicBook) November 5, 2018
Who is Avery Sunderland in DC Comics?
So, how does Avery Sunderland on the small screen compare to the character from DC Comics?
In the comics, Sunderland made his debut in Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #6 (1982) as the founder and CEO of the Sunderland Corporation.
In the comics, Alec Holland becomes Swamp Thing when someone bombs his laboratory and the “bio-restorative formula” he created covers him, which ends up turning him into the creature.
Sunderland then sends out people to learn more about the “bio-restorative formula” now that he believes that Holland has died. Later in the comics, Swamp Thing was wrongly believed to also be dead and Sunderland sends out scientist Jason Woodrue to examine the body.
Since Woodrue (who is known in comics as the Floronic Man) is also going to be in the Swamp Thing DC Universe series, expect that to possibly line up.
Swamp Thing airs new episodes on DC Universe every Friday.