WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Swamp Thing #3, by Ram V, Mike Perkins, Mike Spicer and Aditya Bidikar, on sale now.
As the DC Universe moves deeper into the Infinite Frontier era, a new Swamp Thing has surfaced in the young man Levi Kamei, a character with a mysterious past in his native India. As Levi recalled traumatic memories involving his family, he fought to keep elemental forces within the Green from overtaking his body and transforming him into the latest Swamp Thing as he traveled to visit his friend Jennifer in New York City.
And as Levi grows more accustomed to his elemental double-life and ventures deep into the Green itself in The Swamp Thing #3, he encounters the perfect mentor figure to help him master his new powers: Alec Holland.
Holland is the most recognizable form of Swamp Thing in the DCU, whether he forms the physical basis for the superhero or has his consciousness imprinted upon a sentient plant personifying the Green's energies. Holland himself would be resurrected during the bi-weekly maxi-series Brightest Day, reestablishing his link to the Green. After suffering a grievous injury during the New 52 era, Holland was forced to submit his body completely to the Green once more, a distinction that largely carried over into the DC Rebirth era. While some of Holland was linked to Swamp Thing during the crossover event Dark Nights: Death Metal, the actual status of the good scientist is currently unknown at the start of the Infinite Frontier era as Levi assumes the elemental mantle.
Through the Green, Levi is connected to all the previous avatars that served Parliament of Trees by wielding the power of Swamp Thing. This proved instrumental during the crossover event Endless Winter, with the Justice League Dark performing an occult ritual to bond a new host to the Green just in time to defeat the villainous Frost King as he attacked the DCU with a magical polar vortex. Previously, Swamp Thing had conferred with former avatars through the Green to gain advice and valuable insight from their own experiences generations in the past that he could apply himself.
Levi enters the Green after Jessica accidentally becomes lost within the extra-dimensional, elemental realm, fearing for her well-being against the unknown horrors that dwelled within it. After a surprise confrontation with Poison Ivy, or at the very least her imprinted consciousness through her own connection to the Green, Levi comes face-to-face with Holland as he gains a greater understanding of the life-web that the Green provides. Holland introduces himself to his successor, briefing him on the nature of the Green and assuring him that Jennifer is safe. However, as Levi gains his bearings, Holland informs him there's a contagion spreading throughout the Green and it requires his help to purge lest the environmental realm fall into complete ruin.
With Holland indicating his window of time where he's able to interact directly with Levi is limited, it's unclear how long this particular team-up within the Green is slated to last. And as Levi scrambles to cure the new world he's just become a firm fixture of, the question remains what exactly happened to Alec Holland and what is causing the Green to run amuck as dark forces resurface to use the Green towards their own nefarious ends. Levi Kamei just gained an important mentor, but the stakes mean this partnership is not destined to be particularly long-lived.