Anton Arcane

Anton Arcane
File:Antonarcane.jpg
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Swamp Thing #1 (November 1972) (cameo) Swamp Thing #2 (January 1973) (full)
Created by	Len Wein Berni Wrightson
In-story information
Abilities	brillant sorcerer and scientist, able to animate and possess dead flesh, telepathy, control of insects, undead and cyborg characteristics

Anton Arcane is a DC Comics villain who first appeared in Swamp Thing vol. 1 #1.

Character overview

Arcane is an evil sorcerer/scientist who creates a group of monsters that he dubs the Un-Men. One of his creations is the Patchwork Man, a creature intentionally similar to Frankenstein's monster; the Patchwork Man had once been Anton's own brother, Gregori.

Arcane is obsessed with the swamp creature called Swamp Thing. He takes control of Swamp Thing's body, but is defeated and falls out of a window to his apparent death. He survives, though his injuries are so severe that he orders a few of his Un-Men build him a new body. He then attacks Swamp Thing twice more before truly dying, after which his soul goes to Hell.

Arcane's soul later escapes from Hell, and takes over the body of Matt Cable, who has been married to Gregori Arcane's daughter Abby. Arcane combines his own magic with Cable's inherent psychic powers to battle the Swamp Thing, but is instead exorcised directly back to Hell. Cable later becomes comatose and dies, whereupon he becomes Matthew, a raven living within The Dreaming.

Arcane next appears as a demon, having been promoted to this status by the Lords of Hell. He attacks Swamp Thing yet again, only to be defeated. In a later episode, Arcane temporarily repents his evil ways after having briefly found God, who eventually banishes him back to Hell. Arcane is tortured by the demon Josephine, whom he seduces into helping him escape. Swamp Thing defeats the two demons, causing their forms to morph together, and when last seen, it is revealed that the Arcane/Josephine being is pregnant.

In adaptations

Louis Jourdan portrayed Arcane in the 1982 film adaptation of Swamp Thing directed by Wes Craven. He also appeared in the 1989 sequel The Return of Swamp Thing. In the live-action Swamp Thing television series, Mark Lindsay Chapman played Arcane, and Don Francks voiced Arcane in the short-lived Swamp Thing animated series.

External links

• Roots of the Swamp Thing - An extremely detailed timeline chronicling all the events of Swamp Thing, Hellblazer and related titles in chronological order, spanning millions of years of DC/Vertigo history, including the entire life of Anton Arcane