Solomon Grundy (Cyrus Gold) is a supervillain and occasional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was originally depicted as a murder victim brought back to life as a corporeal revenant or zombie, though subsequent versions of the character have occasionally depicted a different origin. His name is taken from the 19th century nursery rhyme "Solomon Grundy."
Grundy was introduced as an enemy of comic book hero Alan Scott (the original Green Lantern), but has since become a prominent enemy for a number of superheroes such as Superman, Batman, and other members of the Justice League. As a revenant whose backstory often involves coming back to life after being deposited in a swamp, later writers have also given him ties to Swamp Thing, one of DC's horror-fantasy heroes.
Solomon Grundy has been adapted into numerous media outside comics, including television series and films. Mark Hamill and Fred Tatasciore, among others, have voiced the character in animation. The character appeared as Butch Gilzean in the first four seasons of Fox's television series Gotham, portrayed by Drew Powell. Grundy also appeared in the first and second seasons of Stargirl, portrayed via CGI.
Contents
Publication history
Created by Alfred Bester, he first appeared in All-American Comics #61 (October 1944).
Grundy is the focus of one of the four Faces of Evil one-shots that explore the aftermath of Final Crisis, written by Scott Kolins and Geoff Johns, with art by Shane Davis. It is the introduction to a seven part mini-series featuring the character.
Fictional character biography
Pre-Crisis
In the late 19th century, a wealthy merchant named Cyrus Gold is murdered and his body is disposed of in Slaughter Swamp, near Gotham City. Fifty years later, he is reanimated as a zombie-like creature composed partly of swamp matter with no memory of his previous life. He becomes an enemy of the Green Lantern, Alan Scott, proving to be a difficult enemy due to being made of wood and thus resistant to his powers.
A criminal scientist calling himself the Baron of York kills his brother and takes over his gang, stating to them that he knows where to find the body of Solomon Grundy. Once the body is found, the Baron of York injects Grundy with concentrated chlorophyll upon knowing his background. The side effect turns Solomon Grundy into a plant. When the Baron of York bluffs about him being worshipped and served, Solomon Grundy kills the Baron of York and takes over his gang. While noting that Solomon Grundy is more invulnerable to his ring due to the chlorophyll, Green Lantern chases after Solomon Grundy until he becomes exhausted in the petrified forest in Arizona. Using his ring, Green Lantern traps Grundy in a green plasma bubble for a time.
A freak weather occurrence releases Solomon Grundy from his prison. Making his way across country, Grundy heads for the headquarters of the Justice Society of America. Green Lantern arrives early for the meeting and when the other members arrive, they find their headquarters smashed to pieces and Green Lantern missing from the ranks. Johnny turns on the radio, which blares the warning that Solomon Grundy is on the loose; the members believe, based on a large, muddy footprint on the floor, that Grundy got to HQ and took Green Lantern. The radio continues its report, listing cities where Grundy was seen, so each member picks a city and heads for it to try to find Green Lantern while Wonder Woman stays behind. The scene now shifts back to the moment at JSA HQ where Green Lantern had opened the door. To his surprise, Doiby Dickles walks in, and informs him that Grundy has freed himself and is on the loose. Green Lantern leaves immediately, hoping to find Grundy before any of the JSA members are hurt going after him. Minutes later, Grundy arrives at JSA HQ, and, not finding the Lantern there, he smashes the place up, then leaves. Green Lantern and Doiby use a special radio-like device Alan Scott had developed that is attuned to the mental wavelengths of Grundy himself; Green Lantern calculates the path of Grundy and announces over the radio in JSA HQ where Grundy will strike. When Green Lantern and Grundy meet, Grundy rips a tree out by its roots and smashes it into the Lantern. Green Lantern fights back with his power ring and fists until both men fall into a nearby stream and over a small waterfall. The Lantern is severely dazed and tries to ward off Grundy with his ring, but he is much too weak. Grundy grabs Green Lantern by the throat and begins to squeeze the life out of him, holding his head underwater. However, Hawkman strikes Grundy with his mace, and Doctor Mid-Nite revives the Lantern. A combined attack brings down Grundy, and Green Lantern deposits Grundy on a distant, lifeless planet.
Post-Crisis
The post-Crisis version of Solomon Grundy has a similar history to his Earth-Two counterpart and debuts during the "Batman: The Long Halloween" storyline. Grundy and a newly disfigured Harvey Dent strike up an odd friendship after Dent escapes the slaughterhouse to plot his revenge on Carmine Falcone. Grundy also appears earlier in the story during Thanksgiving when Batman goes
into the sewers to pursue a suspect who bombed Dent's house. Grundy attacks both of them, but Batman drives him off by blinding him with a shot of mace. Later as a somewhat humorous twist, Batman provides Solomon Grundy with a Thanksgiving dinner.
After Infinity, Inc. disbands, Solomon Grundy loses his loyalty towards Jade. A clash with Alan Scott and Jade in the pages of Green Lantern Corps Quarterly ends with Grundy turning into a statue of petrified wood. The heroes believe the threat of Grundy to have ended once and for all, but they are mistaken.
Shortly thereafter, Grundy reappears in Gotham in the pages of Batman: Shadow of the Bat, battling Batman once again and killing the female descendant of one of the killers of Cyrus Gold.
Grundy's next major appearance is in Starman, lurking in Opal City's sewers. Jack Knight befriends Grundy, who has become innocent and childlike. Grundy also becomes friends with previous Starman Mikaal Tomas, and dies while sacrificing himself to save Jack Knight from being crushed by a collapsing building. When Grundy appears again, he has returned to his malicious persona; the joint efforts of Jack Knight, Batman, Alan Scott, and Floronic Man are needed to stop him.
The origins of Grundy's resurrection come from the fact that the Parliament of Trees, a high council of Plant Elementals, tried to turn him into the newest Plant Elemental. However, the process was missing one vital piece: fire, as a Plant Elemental cannot be fully created unless it died in flames. Since Grundy's death did not involve fire at all, the process is not complete, and he becomes a sort of half-functional Plant Elemental. Grundy has been seemingly destroyed on several occasions, only to rise from the swamp again in a new incarnation. Each version of Grundy has been somewhat different from the last, depending on the medium used to dispatch him. Some have been truly evil; some much less so. Some versions are more mindless than others; some are moderately intelligent, recalling the literate, well-spoken monster of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
DC Rebirth
The Prime Earth Solomon Grundy is introduced in DC Rebirth. His appearance resembles that of his pre-Flashpoint depictions. Grundy is briefly seen fighting Arkillo of the Sinestro Corps and Saint Walker of the Blue Lantern Corps.
The sorceress Selena created a mindless clone of Grundy from his DNA sample to serve as the muscle for the Fatal Five and fought Supergirl. The clone was defeated by fellow Fatal Five member Indigo.
In the storyline "The New Golden Age" storyline, Grundy is among the recruits considered to join Huntress's Justice Society. Salem the Witch Girl tries to regress Solomon Grundy to his original human self, only for her curse to reduce him to a skeleton. After resurrecting, Grundy joins the Justice Society of America in fighting Gentleman Ghost.
In the series JSA, Solomon Grundy appears as a member of Scandal Savage's Injustice Society.
Powers and abilities
Solomon Grundy has superhuman strength and stamina. He is virtually indestructible and immortal thanks to the elemental energy that imbues his form with pseudo-life. He is nearly invulnerable to physical, magical, and energy attacks; he's also not affected by fire or low temperatures. Grundy has proven highly resistant to the effects of the original Green Lantern's power ring (which is attributed to his part-plant essence; originally because he had absorbed plant matter from the swamp, and later because he was a partial "plant elemental" like Swamp Thing).
Grundy possesses a healing factor. While he has occasionally been destroyed, he has always returned to life sooner or later, though often with different personalities and powers. A few of which begat chlorokinesis from absorbing The Sentinel's ring energies, high intellect to complement his raw power, and pieces of his flesh fermenting into full-grown clones of the monster. In his earliest appearances, he could convert the area surrounding him into a bog similar to his respawn site.
Other versions
Amalgam Comics
The Skulk, an amalgamation of Solomon Grundy and the Marvel Comics character the Hulk, appears in the Amalgam Comics universe.
Earth 2
An alternate universe version of Solomon Grundy from Earth-Two appears in The New 52. This version is the champion of the Grey, a cosmic force connecting fungal life, who previously worked in a slaughterhouse before foreman Henry Pittance raped his wife Pinney Grundy, who committed suicide shortly after, leading him to kill everyone in the facility and then himself.
Earth-Three
A heroic, British counterpart of Solomon Grundy from Earth-Three appears in JLA Secret Files and Origins (2004).
Emperor Joker
An alternate universe version of Solomon Grundy who became the warden of Arkham Asylum appears in the Emperor Joker storyline.
Flashpoint
An alternate universe version of Solomon Grundy appears in Flashpoint. This version is a member of the Creature Commandos under General Sam Lane's command.
Grundymen
The Grundymen, a group of zombies inspired by Solomon Grundy, appear in Seven Soldiers.
Huntress' possible future
An alternate timeline version of Solomon Grundy appears in The New Golden Age as a member of the Huntress' Justice Society of America.
Justice Riders
An alternate universe version of Solomon Grundy appears in Justice Riders.
In other media
Television
Solomon Grundy appears in Legends of the Superheroes, portrayed by Mickey Morton. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom.
Solomon Grundy makes a cameo appearance in the Smallville episode "Prophecy", portrayed by John DeSantis. This version is a member of Toyman's Marionette Ventures.
Cyrus Gold appears in the second season of Arrow, portrayed by Graham Shiels. This version goes by the alias of The Acolyte and is a member of Brother Blood's Church of Blood who was injected with "Mirakuru" serum in an attempt to replicate the process that granted Slade Wilson his abilities, gaining superhuman strength and endurance in the process. After attacking Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences division to steal a centrifuge for Blood's plans, Gold eventually battles the Arrow, who kills him.
Solomon Grundy appears in Gotham, portrayed by Drew Powell. This version was born Cyrus Gold and is initially known as Butch Gilzean, a mob enforcer working for Fish Mooney. Throughout the first three seasons, he is employed by Oswald Cobblepot, Tabitha Galavan, and Barbara Kean until Kean kills Gilzean during the third season finale for attempting to betray her. In the fourth season, the corrupt administrators of the hospital where Gilzean's body ended up dump him in Slaughter Swamp, where chemical waste from the Indian Hill facility transforms him into a pale, zombie-like creature with regenerative capabilities and superhuman strength. Suffering amnesia, he adopts the name "Solomon Grundy" after hearing a group of people playing a record of the nursery rhyme and is recruited by Edward Nygma to serve as his enforcer until Galavan jogs Gilzean's memory. Gilzean later allies with Cobblepot, who promises to help make him human again before killing him to emotionally cripple Galavan as revenge for her killing his mother years prior.
Solomon Grundy appears in Stargirl, voiced by an uncredited actor. Throughout the first season, he serves as an enforcer for the Injustice Society of America (ISA), taking part in their attack on the Justice Society of America (JSA) and killing Hourman and his wife before they could interfere with the ISA's plans years prior to the series while being kept in a reinforced cell underneath The American Dream's corporate headquarters to keep him under control. In the present, Hourman's son Rick Tyler takes up his father's mantle to seek revenge on Grundy, but ultimately spares him in the first season finale under the condition that the latter never returns. In the second season, Grundy returns, breaking into restaurants for food. To avoid further incidents, Rick leaves food for him in the forest, leading to Grundy seeing him as a friend. Grundy later assists Rick and Stargirl's JSA in fighting Eclipso, only to be killed in battle. Afterward, Rick buries Grundy, though Shade assures the former that the latter will eventually come back to life in the right place and time. By the series finale, Grundy was resurrected and joined the JSA.
Film
Solomon Grundy appears in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, voiced by an uncredited Corey Burton.
Solomon Grundy appears in JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom.
Solomon Grundy appears in Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.
Solomon Grundy appears in Justice League vs. Teen Titans, voiced by an uncredited Rick D. Wasserman. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom.
An alternate reality incarnation of Cyrus Gold appears in Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, voiced by David Forseth.
Solomon Grundy appears in Lego DC Batman: Family Matters, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.
Solomon Grundy makes a non-speaking appearance in Injustice.
Solomon Grundy appears in films set in the Tomorrowverse:
Grundy is introduced in Batman: The Long Halloween, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore. This version is only capable of reciting his nursery rhyme and inspired Harvey Dent to become Two-Face.
Grundy appears in Legion of Super-Heroes, voiced by Darin De Paul.
Grundy makes a non-speaking appearance in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Solomon Grundy appears in Catwoman: Hunted, voiced by Steve Blum. This version is a member of Leviathan.
Solomon Grundy appears in Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom.
Video games
Solomon Grundy appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by David Jennison. This version is a thrall of Poison Ivy.
Solomon Grundy appears as a playable character in Injustice: Gods Among Us, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore. In an alternate reality, he is press-ganged into becoming a member of High Councilor Superman's Regime.
Solomon Grundy appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
Solomon Grundy appears as a playable character in Infinite Crisis, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.
Solomon Grundy appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.
Solomon Grundy makes a cameo appearance as a non-player character (NPC) in Injustice 2 via the Arkham Asylum stage.
Solomon Grundy appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom.
Solomon Grundy makes a cameo appearance as a non-player character (NPC) in Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.
Solomon Grundy appears as a boss in the Batman: Arkham franchise, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
First appearing in Batman: Arkham City, this version was a merchant who was murdered and had his body dumped in Slaughter Swamp, which was later discovered to be a Lazarus Pit. After being exposed to a strange thunderstorm, the Pit resurrected him as a nigh-immortal zombie-like monster. He temporarily became part of a traveling circus before being found by Ra's al Ghul, who realized the swamp's true nature and took him to Wonder City. Seeking to understand the Pit's power, Ra's repeatedly murdered Grundy until Wonder City was eventually shut down and Gotham City built over it, with the Iceberg Lounge being built over Grundy's prison. After the Penguin finds him, he uses Grundy to kill traitorous underlings and attempts to kill Batman, who eventually defeats Grundy.
Music
The Crash Test Dummies reference Solomon Grundy in "Superman's Song", which came about because lead singer Brad Roberts could not think of a supervillain whose name rhymed with "money".
An underground rap album, Colton Grundy: The Undying, featured a temporary redux of rapper Blaze Ya Dead Homie's identity. The album describes the story of an immortal casket-maker by the name of Solomon who jumped into a freezing river, awakened in the 1990s, transformed into Blaze, and eventually into the eponymous Colton Grundy.
A band named after Solomon Grundy was formed in the late 1980s as a side project of the Screaming Trees, with Van Conner being featured as the lead singer on their self-titled New Alliance Records release.
Brownsville rapper Sean Price has a track titled "Solomon Grundy" on his album Mic Tyson.
Miscellaneous
Solomon Grundy appears in The Batman Strikes! #19.
A hologram of Solomon Grundy appears in DC Super Friends: The Joker's Playhouse.
The DCAU incarnation of Solomon Grundy appears in Superman Beyond #4. As of the future setting of DCAU series Batman Beyond, Grundy has become a powerful crime boss called Mr. Stone operating out of the Vanity nightclub in Metropolis, who later receives nanotechnology from Lex Luthor's daughter Lucinda.
The Arrow incarnation of Cyrus Gold appears in the tie-in novel Arrow: Vengeance, in which it is revealed that he and Sebastian Blood knew each other from a young age and studied under preacher and the Church of Blood's founder, Father Roger Trigon. Later in life, Gold succeeded Trigon as preacher and head of the Zandia Orphanage.
The Injustice incarnation of Solomon Grundy appears in the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic. He is initially incarcerated in Arkham Asylum before Lex Luthor brainwashes him into serving Superman's Regime.
Solomon Grundy appears in Batman '66 #23. This version was a wealthy Olympic wrestler who served Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, before she eventually forgot about him and left him to die. In the present, Marsha's aunt Hilda reanimates Grundy until Batman and Robin defeat him.
Solomon Grundy appears in DC Super Hero Girls (2015), voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.
Several clones of the Batman: Arkham incarnation of Solomon Grundy created by Calendar Man appear in the Batman: Arkham Knight prequel comic.