He first appeared as an enemy of the Atom in The Atom #1 and was created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane.[2] His Floronic Man appearance first appeared in the Green Lantern backup in The Flash #245. His Seeder appearance first appeared in Swamp Thing #21. He became known as "Floro" and a superhero, in The New Guardians.
Fictional character biography
Dr. Jason Woodrue first appears in The Atom #1 (June–July 1962). Woodrue is an exile from an interdimensional world (Floria)[3] inhabited by dryads. Woodrue, sometimes called the Plant Master, uses his botanical knowledge to control plants in an attempt to take over the world. He is defeated by the superhero Atom.[1] The Plant Master returns to face the Atom[4] and the Justice League.[5]
In The Flash #245 (November 1976), Woodrue uses an experimental formula to transform into a plant hybrid.[3] Now calling himself the Floronic Man, he is defeated by Green Lantern.[6] After a rematch with the Atom and Wonder Woman,[7] the Floronic Man joins the Secret Society of Super-Villains.[3][8]
In The Saga of the Swamp Thing, Woodrue discovers that Swamp Thing is not Alec Holland, but an intelligent plant who absorbed his memories.[3]
In The Saga of the Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #22 (March 1984), the Floronic Man uses Swamp Thing to contact the Green, a force that connects all plant life on Earth. The Green abandons Floronic Man, who is taken into custody by the Justice League after undergoing a mental breakdown.[3][9]
Black Orchid (1988) reveals that Jason Woodrue was previously a university professor and taught botany to Alec Holland and Pamela Isley.
The Floronic Man returns in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #56 (November 1996). After breaking Poison Ivy out of Arkham with his two underlings Holly and Eva, Floronic Man attempts to distribute cannabis throughout Gotham City before Batman kills him.[10][11]
In the post-Infinite Crisis DCU, Woodrue is responsible for Pamela Isley's transformation into Poison Ivy.[13]
In The New 52 continuity reboot, Woodrue is reimagined as the Seeder, deriving power from the Green.[14][15] He is later killed in battle with the avatar of the Gray.
Powers and abilities
In his original form, Jason Woodrue has advanced knowledge of botany, which he utilizes it to accelerate plant growth. As the Floronic Man, Woodrue can merge with and control plants.[16][17]
Other versions
An alternate timeline variant of Jason Woodrue appears in Flashpoint Beyond. This version has become Swamp Thing and created an oasis to accommodate refugees and repent for his previous crimes.[18]
In other media
Television
A character loosely based on Jason Woodrue as Plant Master named Straal appears in The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure episode "The Plant Master", voiced by Ted Knight. He is a scientist who discovered a way to use wave patterns to increase plant growth.
Jason Woodrue appears in Swamp Thing, portrayed by Kevin Durand.[19] This version seeks to use the properties of Marais, Louisiana's swamp to cure his wife Carolyn's Alzheimer's disease. After learning of the eponymous Swamp Thing, Woodrue collects and eats some of his plant matter before attempting to force Carolyn to do the same, only to be interrupted by Abby Arcane and the Marais Police Department. Woodrue later experiments on himself and transforms into the Floronic Man.
Jason Woodrue appears in Batman & Robin, portrayed by John Glover. This version is a Wayne Enterprises scientist who operates in the Amazon rainforest and uses plant toxins to create a super-soldier serum called "Venom". While experimenting on Bane, Woodrue's assistant Pamela Isley discovers his criminal nature. He shoves her into a shelf of chemicals in an attempt to kill her, but she transforms into Poison Ivy, kills him, and escapes with Bane.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 99. ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
^ abcdeVeitch, Rick (w), Ewins, Brett (a). "The Secret Origin of The Guardians of the Universe" Secret Origins, vol. 2, no. 23 (February 1988). DC Comics.
^"Floronic Man / Jason Woodrue Voice - Batman and Harley Quinn (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 13, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
