The Black

The Black or The Rot is a force which is strongly associated with death. The decay and rotting of living things is where it flourishes, with its base being in the "Bone Kingdom" at in the deadlands of the United States. As such, it works in opposition to life forces such as The Red and [[The Gre

The Black

The Black

Gallery

Official Name

The Black

Aliases

The Rot

First appearance

Animal Man Vol 2 #1

We do not hate life. We need life. We feed off life. For without life, there can be no Rot, no decay. Life is the gateway to the Rot.

-- Sethe

History

The Black or The Rot is a force which is strongly associated with death. The decay and rotting of living things is where it flourishes, with its base being in the "Bone Kingdom" at in the deadlands of the United States. As such, it works in opposition to life forces such as The Red and The Green. Like the other elemental forces of its kind, the Rot is guarded by a Parliament; the Parliament of Decay. Each member of this Parliament is a former Avatar of Death.

The Black has most prominently worked through human agents who belonged to the Arcane family:

• Anton Arcane
• William Arcane
• Abigail Arcane

While Abigail previously resisted the call of the Black because she was protected from it by the strength and power of the Swamp Thing and his connection to The Green, she would eventually become the Avatar of Death in her uncle Anton's place.

Related Articles

• Swamp Thing Vol 5
• Animal Man Vol 2
• The Red
• The Green
• The Grey

Notes

• Like The Grey, which appeared prominently in Swamp Thing Vol 2, The Black is a force which consumes life. The Grey appears in the New 52 in this capacity on Earth 2.

Trivia

• No trivia.

Links and References

• None.