The Bio-Restorative Formula was the invention of chemist Alec Holland. The formula was designed to stimulate hormonal growth in plant life, enabling plants to grow in hostile terrain. Holland was contracted by what he believed to be the federal government to create the process in a small laboratory set up in the bayous of Louisiana. A villainous organization known as the Conclave, led by Mister E., raided the laboratory and attempted to steal Holland's research. Alec tried to escape with the formula, but was shot several times, ultimately falling into the outside swamps where he "died". For years it was believed that the formula had a chemical reaction with the surrounding plant life, transforming Holland into the creature known as the Swamp Thing.