Future State: Swamp Thing is DC’s Spin on ‘The Last of Us’
Similarities between Future State: Swamp Thing #1 and The Last of Us are discussed, with an emphasis on a possible theory based on the newest release.
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Warning: Spoilers ahead for Future State: Swamp Thing #1
With the release of Future State: Swamp Thing #1, DC Comics has drawn a parallel to a popular PlayStation game: The Last Of Us (TLOU). This post-apocalyptic video game follows protagonists Joel and Ellie as they navigate a dystopian world that hassuccumb to a brain-altering pandemic, forcing them to avoid attacks from mutated zombies at every turn. This setting, with humanity adapting to a newly introduced threat to society, has eerie similarities to Swamp Thing’s recent update.
This Future State chapter brings readers into a multiverse that has come back from the brink of destruction. With Swamp Thing claiming, “from the ashes of Death Metal comes new life.” There should be hope for a flourishing society, but that’s not really the case. The once perfect balance between humanity and the Green has been destroyed. This new release channels the same end-of-the-world setting expressed in the unbalanced wasteland of TLOU.
The similarities are down to the smallest details. Readers are exposed early on to the same feelings of desperation that Joel/Ellie and Swamp Thing must face. Events in both stories have led to the creation of plant creatures that now roam the Earth. These botanical beings terrify humans. In Swamp Thing’s world, plant life seems to be dominating humanity. The similar life form in TLOU, given the name clickers, is a result of a parasitic fungal infection, giving them seemingly less power than the intentionally created plant life in Future State. Though the clickers may not have the same level of ecological strength as the Green in Future State, the mutated creatures still leave humanity sheltered in fear. Both stories feature a significant amount of separation between humanity and nature…. but could one small detail about Swamp Thing’s plant family spark a new theory regarding the clickers of TLOU?
The clickers gained their name through the nonsensical noises they make. Though mutated versions of humans, overtaken by a fungal infection, the clickers lack the ability to communicate with humans. Similarly, it seems the plant life in DC’s Future State also lacks the ability to converse with humans. Still, they can communicate with Swamp Thing. Considering the parallels between the stories, is it possible the clickers are more intellectually advanced than players have given them credit for and could be using the clicks as a way of communicating with other clickers?
Since the infection alters the brain significantly, it’s more likely the clickers are not communicating with each other, but the theory is still plausible. The plant life created by Swamp Thing appears to have a level of intelligence and awareness comparable to humanity. Still, humans are petrified by them. This same fear can be seen in TLOU as well. It could be humans have been blinded by their fear, and don’t consider a reality in which the clickers have their own language, just as the plant life in Future State: Swamp Thing #1.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/future-state-swamp-thing-last-of-us-dc/