Matthew Cable is a government agent assigned to protect
Alec Holland and Linda Holland as they work on their bio-restorative formula in the Louisiana bayou. Cable fails to save them from the machinations of the Conclave, a secret organization that wants the couple to work for its own ends, and the Hollands are killed. When Swamp Thing rises from the bayou, Cable believes it was responsible for the Hollands' deaths and sets out to avenge them. Cable's search take him through the Balkans, where he meets
Abby Arcane, niece of
Anton Arcane. For years, Swamp Thing believes himself to be Holland; after learning this, Cable lets him go. Cable and Abby later marry and settle in
Houma, Louisiana. Cable's mind later becomes damaged, which gives him the ability to alter reality. His marriage with Abby begins to deteriorate. After a fight with Abby that culminates in her leaving to find Swamp Thing, Cable drives after her. Having been drinking heavily, he ends up crashing his car, mortally wounding himself. Anton Arcane, who was previously killed, possesses Cable's body, gaining his abilities. Cable manages to send Arcane back to
Hell, but succumbs to his wounds and falls into a coma. While comatose, Cable spends time in
the Dreaming before briefly regaining consciousness. He destroys the machinery sustaining him, thus ending his life. Cable is later resurrected by
Dream of the
Endless in the form of a
raven, serving as his companion. ==In other media==