Comic books are often viewed as fantastical stories of the imagination, but sometimes, as with DC's Swamp Thing, they can actually predict future scientific discoveries.
Although Swamp Thing's true origins have shifted over the years as DC's universe has constantly been rebooted, the core of who he is as a character has remained roughly the same. Swamp Thing is the avatar of the Green, which is a domain that encompasses all plant life on Earth. Other domains exist as well. The Red governs animal life, the Gray deals with fungi, and the Rot handles death and decay. In the case of the Green, it's ruled by an enigmatic group called the Parliament of Trees, which is pretty much exactly as it sounds. It's an Illuminati-like organization of talking trees that makes decisions on behalf of the Green, such as who the next Swamp Thing will be.
While the Parliament of Trees is a wild and fantastical concept, a recent article titled "The Wood-Wide Web" in the May 2022 issue of National Geographic talks about a more grounded and real version of the Parliament that exists in nature. It has long been thought that trees in a forest operate as single organisms competing for resources such as water, soil, and sunlight. But scientist Suzanna Simard discovered that forests can actually be connected through vast fungal root systems. Through this pipeline the trees share nutrients, and water, even funneling more to trees that are having trouble acquiring it on their own. In fact, forests may even have what Simard calls "mother trees," similar to the Parliament, that protect their offspring, going so far as to send out warning signals for distresses like drought and disease.
From a technological standpoint, this wouldn't be the first time that comic books proceeded actual science. Engineers have often toyed with utilizing magnetism in high-speed rails the same way Magneto's powers were. Also, engineers have sought to make extremely thin yet durable threads similar to Spider-Man's own webbing. That's not to mention Spider-Man fans making their own fully-functional webshooters. But this Swamp Thing idea is completely different. Rather than scientists going out and constructing something based on a comic idea, it's scientists stumbling upon something in nature that already exists.
Of course, there are many differences between DC's Parliaments of Trees and the way trees actually work in a forest. Unlike the Parliament, real trees aren't sentient nor do they represent trees everywhere. And that's probably a good thing. Although they are primarily a benefactor and ally to Swamp Thing, the Parliament can be viewed as an enemy as well, primarily to humanity. Humans for ages have threatened forests and the tree world. Still, it's hard not to view them as more heroic considering the Parliament of Trees' twisted opposite, the Parliament of Gears. Luckily in real life, forest and trees are only interested in their own survival. But if they did have a mean streak like the Parliament, they would be sure to defend themselves against the cruelty humanity has levied against them, probably using Swamp Thing in the process.
Next: DC Comics Introducing New Swamp Thing
Source: National Geographic