| ANTON ARCANE | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson |
PERSONAL DATA
Occupation: Former scientist/alchemist
Citizenship: Romanian
Known Relatives: Anaïs Arcane (mother, deceased); Josip Arcane (father, deceased); Gregori Arcane (brother, deceased); Aniela (sister); Anise Arcane (sister-in-law, deceased); Abigail "Abby" Arcane (niece); William Arcane (nephew); Tefé Holland (grand-niece)
Base of Operation: Originally Castle Arcane in the Balkan Mountains, now mobile
Gender: Male
Height: Originally 5'1", (as a demon) 12"
Weight: Originally 97 lbs., (as a demon) 2000 lbs.
Eyes: Obsidian
Hair: White
First Appearance: Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #1 (October-November 1972): "Dark Genesis"
(full appearance): Swamp Thing Vol. 1 #2 (December 1972-January 1973): "The Man Who Wanted Forever"
As a demon: Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #96 (June 1990)
Creators: Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson
OVERVIEW
A scientist and amateur magician from a Balkan nation who was fuelled by two desires: the achievement of power, and eternal life. In the process, he created monsters such as the Un-Men, turned his brother Gregori into the Patchwork Man and tried to take over the body of the Swamp Thing. He has returned to plague Swamp Thing and his niece Abby Cable time and time again, but was recently reformed.
HISTORY
A scientist and amateur magician from a Balkan nation who was fueled by two desires: the achievement of power, and eternal life. During World War II, he allied himself with the Nazis, but when that did not pay off, he went deeper into the world of sorcery, creating creatures such as the Un-Men and the Patchwork Man (I) in the process.
In recent times, Arcane's body had grown old and withered. Seeking out the Swamp Thing, Arcane offered him humanity in exchange of using his powerful plant body for himself. Swamp Thing agreed and was magically transformed into Alec Holland. However, when Holland realized that Arcane would use the monstrous body to make himself ruler of the world, he furiously reverted the process. Arcane fled, seemingly plummeting to his death.
But this was just the beginning of a long hatred between the two. Arcane returned time and again, in the body of an Un-Man, as an insectoid creature, and finally in the body of his niece Abby's husband, Matt Cable. Swamp Thing, however, defeated Arcane every time. Arcane died in one of their last encounters and was damned to Hell after his death.
After years of punishment, he was considered evil enough to become a minor demon in Beelzebub's ranks. Later, Arcane actually redeemed himself and is now a force for good.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Anton Arcane in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #1 (March 1985)
Who's Who in the DC Universe #15 (January 1992)