This post is brought to you by The Gear Crew by Jack Mackenzie. Follow Franklin and Sri as they flee to safety after an attack on their spaceport. They, and their semi-sentient toolbox organism known as the Quiddle, wind up aboard the Alizarin Crimson, a ship that is barely holding itself together and run by a dysfunctional crew led by the bullying Captain Boris Tankready. Turning the Crimson from space junk to shipshape is a challenge made more difficult by the discovery of a strange derelict. Time bends as the gears take on a mysterious invaders…
As usual, I think I must have tapped this tree dry, but…I stumble across another and another… Comic books simply loved plant monsters. And can you blame them? They are creepy or funny as you need them to be. They aren’t hard to draw, though someone like Murphy Anderson always impress me with how awesome they can be drawn. For the writers, a good plant monster can spice things up like a sprig of oregano. Especially in the super-hero comics, which most of these are. (I am surprised when I find I haven’t found EVERY Golden and Silver Age Horror plant story yet. Yes, one more here.) Sometimes the plants take center stage like the cover fiend for Tomahawk (which I am sure was inspired by an old Weird Tales story–one of the artists used to draw illustrations for that magazine!), while other times, they get only a guest shot like the killer flowers in Gardner Fox’s Hawkman tale. Either way, I love every last little weedling.
Golden Age
“Master of the Green Slime” (Four Favorites, July 1942) begins with the man in charge of he Navy’s shipyards being replaced by an imposter. With the destruction of new ships in mind, he brings the green slime to eat away the iron in the vessels. The Unknown Soldier figures it out, throws the spy into the slime then destroys the plant by becomng a tornado.
“Threat of the Giant Tree” (Captain Marvel Adventures #105, February 1950) was written by Otto Binder. Johnny Greenleaf possesses acorns that can grow into tall trees immediately. Greedy lumberman Jed Juthro offers to buy the seeds then has to steal them. The trees grow so big they become a hazard in the city. Captain Marvel has to convince Johnny that the trees aren’t just beautiful. Juthro gets his comeuppance, as well.
“Seeds of Peril!” (Wonder Woman #69, October 1954) was written by Robert Kanigher as Charles Moulton. Seeds fall from the sky then grow into giant mushrooms! The fungi lift ships and push over skyscrapers. Wonder Woman stops them by burying them deep in the Arctic. Next, she goes after the source of the seeds, Mercurian invasion ships in space.
Silver Age
“Save Me From the Weed!” (Strange Tales #94, March 1962) was written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber. A scientist creating an atomic weapon zaps a weed by accident, causing it to become sentient. The weed only wants to conquer the world. It freezes the scientist’s brain telepathically so he can’t fight back. The man wakes to find his gardener has cut the weed and unknowingly saved all of humanity.
“Seeds of Trouble” (Doctor Solar #3, March 1963) was written by Paul S. Newman. Professor Harbinger tells the tale of seeds from space that grow into a poisonous tree that are meant as food for alien invaders. He admits he is just speculating. There are no alien seeds…until his assistant tells him of some new unknown plants that have been discovered.
“Menace of The Undersea Beanstalk” (My Greatest Adventure #83, November 1963) has a stalk from under the ocean lead a diver to a subterranean sea cave where a race of Neanderthals grow the roots. This comic was drawn by John Giunta, who go his start in Weird Tales in the 1940s.)
“The Terrible Tree-Man!” (Tomahawk #89, November-December 1963) was written by Ed Herron. The English army chase Tomahawk and his men into a sacred valley where the American hero is transformed into a giant tree-man. After defeating the Brits, he falls into a river and returns to normal shape. This story feels like it was inspired by Donald Wandrei’s “The Tree-Men of M’Bwa” (Weird Tales, February 1932).
“Attack of the Jungle Juggernaut” (Hawkman #21, September 1967) was written by Gardner F. Fox. Most of this one is the Hawkpeople fighting Lionmane, but he does mutate the local plants with alien vibes to create some man-eating plants. They escape by flapping their wings enough to reach the tall trees above them.
Bronze Age
“From the Void It Came…” (Sub-Mariner #72, September 1974) was written by Steve Skeates. Namor faces off with a plant-based baddy in his watery realm. In the end, the Sub-Mariner gets him in a tight hold but plant-man’s head pops off and flies into space, seeking a new place to reproduce. Plant punch-up Marvel style!
“Main Street Jungle” (Super Goof #38, June 1976) is a four-pager with Goofy fighting plant stalks but ultimately likes the result.
“The Menace of the Moon-Tree!” (World’s Finest #277, March 1982) was written by E. Nelson Bridwell. Captain Marvel Jr. meets Professor Edgewise, who plans to reach the Moon via tree. The Moon-tree grows super-fast, causing aerial navigation problems. In the end, Freddy knows more about planetary movements than the good doctor and has to pull the tree out and send it into space. This one feels like an homage to a simpler time in comics like “Threat of the Giant Tree” mentioned earlier.
“Seeds of Doom” (Super Powers #1-6, September 1985-February 1986) was written by Paul Kupperberg. This six part mini-series in the 1980s brought Jack Kirby back to DC. Darkseid is at it again, using weird seedlings to sew disaster across time. The Super Friends, in different groups, deal with the events throughout the eras.
And Beyond
‘The Giant Eggplant That Conquered the World” (Life With Archie #270, January 1989) was written by Rich Margopoulos. A parody of 1950s B-Movies, this one begins in Antarctica, borrowing from The Thing From Another Planet (1951), then has Dilton grow the giant vegetable in his lab before it goes on a rampage Godzilla style. We get the usual “It was all a dream ending” with Archie getting home for dinner. Eggplant, of course.
Conclusion
More recently plants have been making a comeback in newer super-hero comics. Most recently Absolute Batman #17, April 2026 featured the latest mega-version of Poison Ivy’s plant creations. Harkening back to Swamp Thing and the Parliament of Trees, we get some gigantic and weird plant beings. More typical was January 2011’s Superboy #1 where crops grow into entangling monsters for a just a page as Ivy shows up there. This feels like the old days of DC. (I know you are saying 2011, that’s ancient! Not for me. I typically hover between 1936 and 1985. Everything after the Bronze Age is new territory for me. That being said, there is some terrific artwork in more recent comics. The New52 of 2011-2015 is often a joy for the eye-balls. Might even find a plant here and there?) I will keep looking…
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