Origin
The Guardian Herupa Hando Hu and the Zamaron Nadia Safir came to Earth to find ten people to propel Earth into the new millennium. The only problem is the two were very bitter about how they were treated after the Guardians abandoned them after the formation of the Green Lantern Corps. The Manhunters lay in wait centuries for this moment. They had sleeper agents all over the universe, including Earth, and they did everything they could to stop Herupa and Nadia from fulfilling their duty. Floronic Man was the last to be visited by Herupa and Nadia. Just like all of the chosen, Herupa and Nadia told in her own language that “We have chosen ten people on Earth to advance the human race, and one of the ten is you! The heroes and heroines of Earth join us in asking you to leave this life and enter the future.” Floronic Man was very happy to be chosen because he had been locked away in Arkham.
Past verbal accounts, detailed by Jason Woodrue, revealed the Floronic Man to be an other-dimensional would-be conqueror who was banished to die on Earth. Woodrue’s claims seem specious at best, given his schizophrenic delusions and sociopathic nature. What is known as fact is that Woodrue taught as a botany professor at Gardner University, while working on his doctorate.
Creation
The Flornoic Man first appeared as Jason Woodrue in The Atom #1 dated JuneâJuly 1962, created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane.
Character Evolution
In his original appearances in the Atom and Justice League, Woodrue called himself “Plant Master” and said to be an exile from the plant dimension Floria. In the 1976 issue of The Flash #245 Woodrue uses a formula on himself turning into a plant/human hybrid and began calling himself “The Floronic Man” and later joins the Secret Society of Super-Villains.
Alan Moore later revived the character in his run on Swamp Thing. Woodrue was the one to discover that Alec Holland had not actually transformed into the Swamp Thing, but was instead a plant creature who believed that it was Holland. He later becomes corrupted with his experiences with “the green” and sets out to destroy all human life by increasing the oxygen in the atmosphere but is stopped by Swamp Thing and the Justice League who lock him back up in Arkham Asylum.
Neil Gaiman’s Black Orchid mini-series said that he was a botanist at the same university as Black Orchid, Alec Holland, Pamela Isley and others.
After the events of Millennium, a team called the New Guardians was formed to protect the earth, including the Floronic Man, now calling himself Floro. He served as a hero for a brief time but soon reverted back to villainy.
Later comic incorporated his portrayal in Batman & Robin as the one who turned Pamela Isley into Poison Ivy.
Post-Flashpoint
Woodrue appeared in the post-Flashpoint reality under the alias “Seeder”, a man who could manipulate the Green in much the same way as the Swamp Thing, but not to the same extent as he was not the Avatar of the Parliament of Trees and so lacked all their powers.
He traveled the world performing wonders for those in need, believing that he was using his powers for good. However, he later learned from the Swamp Thing that he was upsetting the natural balance by doing so; by growing a forest in Bangladesh, an existing forest in South Africa would die. When Holland asked the Parliament to remove Woodrue’s powers to stop him from upsetting the natural balance, Woodrue grew enraged and attacked Holland, nearly killing him before Capucine stopped him.
The Parliament declared that they were impressed with Seeder’s mastery of the Green despite his limited powers to manipulate it, and announced (to much anger from Swamp Thing) that once Holland had received time to hone his powers as the Avatar, he would do battle with Seeder once again, with the victor becoming the new Avatar of the Green.
In the ensuing battle, Woodrue came close to defeating the Swamp Thing, but the real avatar of the green managed to up-one him, and put him in submission. However, when asked to kill Woodrue, Swamp Thing refuses, making the Parliament decide that Allec Holland is unfit to remain the Avatar of the Green. They retire him and for a brief point, Jason Woodrue donned the powers of the Avatar. Using his new-found ability to control all plant life, Woodrue tries to impress the Parliament by destroying the Red, and battling Animal Man, but his arrogance leads to his failure in succeeding. Woodrue’s stint as the Avatar of the Green was cut short by Allec Holland’s insistence to reclaim the title. By destroying the Parliament, Holland became the sole connection of the Green to the real world, and used his position to call on Woodrue. Holland battles Woodrue, and manages to defeat him by using his human frailties. Woodrue is sent into the Green by Holland, in order for him to heal.
Much later, when the Machine Queen leads an army of the Rithm, the Rot and the Grey against Swamp Thing, Woodrue agrees to help Holland fight back to protect the kingdom of the Green. He faces the avatar of the Grey in single combat, which ends in both of them dying.
Powers & Abilities
As a human, Jason Woodrue had an extreme knowledge of botany, the knowledge which he used to accelerate plant growth. After becoming Floronic Man, he gained the ability to merge with and mentally control plant life. He is 6’2″ and weighs 210 lbs. He has red eyes and his hair consists of green leaves. His skin resembles the bark of a tree.
Other Media
Film
Live-Action
Batman & Robin (1997)
Jason Woodrue is played by John Glover in the universally panned Joel Schumacher film, Batman & Robin. He’s portrayed as a mad scientist of sorts that creates Bane and turns Pamela Isley into Poison Ivy while trying to kill her. Poison Ivy then kills him after giving him her signature “kiss of death”. His role in the creation of Poison Ivy was later used in the comics.
Animation
Batman and Harley Quinn (2017)
Floronic Man appears as the main villain of the film and is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
Working together with Poison Ivy, the two steal information regarding the creation of Swamp Thing and kidnap a scientist in order to replicate the process and turn humans into a race of plant people. Once the duo are found by Batman, Nightwing and Harley Quinn, Woodrue kills the scientist helping them in order to cover their tracks. Heading to Slaughter Swamp, Woodrue plans to use the swamp chemicals there to finish his plan. After Ivy betrays him, Floronic Man is set on fire by Harley Quinn.
Television
Animated
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure
A very different version of Woodrue appears In an Atom guest episode titled “The Plant Master”, where he is voiced by Ted Knight. In the episode Woodrue is renamed “Straal” and discovers a way to affect plant growth with wave patterns. Straal, using the name “Plant Master”, kidnaps a group of scientists who land on his island and manages to initially defeat the Atom. However Straal is defeated and arrested by the coast guard along with his henchmen.
Live-Action
Swamp Thing: The Series (1990-1993)
Although he is never seen, a Dr. Woodrue is referred to several times in Swamp Thing live action Series as a scientific rival to Anton Arcane and has the ability to grow synthetic humans.
Swamp Thing (2019)
Jason Woodrue appears as a recurring character in the DC Universe series Swamp Thing, where he is portrayed by Kevin Durand.