Sunday, November 7, 2010

Plastic Man

This is my 150th post!

Fictional Character Biography
Pre-Crisis
Patrick "Eel" O'Brian was a crook that specialized in safe cracking. During a heist at Crawford Chemical Works, Patrick and his gang were confronted with by a night watchman. During their attempt to escape, Patrick was both shot and doused with an unknown acid. While fleeing, he passed out because of the gun wound. He was tended by a monk, who turned Pat's life around. During which Patrick discovered the acid somehow gave him rubber-abilities. He decided to use his powers for good and became Plastic Man. Plas (as he is nicknamed) retained his identity of Patrick to get info about the criminal underworld. Plas got himself a comedic sidekick Woozy Winks, who originally protected from harm by the forces of nature, but he simply became Plas' bumbling, loyal friend. Plas later became a member of the FBI and almost completely ditched his identity as Patrick. In the Silver Age of Comics, we meet a new Plastic Man, who was the son of the original. It was later revealed this guy was from Earth-Twelve (not the main reality).

Post-Crisis
Plastic Man's origin story was rewritten. Here his name is Eel O'Brian. In this version, he reformed, but was oblivious to his power and accidentally scared people. After realizing he was the monster everyone was scared of, he decided to jump off a bridge! However, Woozy Winks (who now is a mental patient that was ejected from the institute due to lack of funding) stopped him. Woozy convinced him to use his powers for profit. But, neither of them were sure if they should be criminals or heroes. So they flipped a coin. Hero won. After the public accidentally dubbed him "Plastic Man" (Eel wanted to be "Elastic Man"), the duo set up shop in New York. He also became a JLA member and played roles in several storylines. In “Tower of Babel”, several JLA members are sent 3,000 years in the past. Plastic Man was frozen and then shattered. The JLA couldn't find all the pieces, due to the lack of suitable technology. Back in the present, we discover he is still alive! He was reassembled and he reveals he lost his nerve and wanted to live a normal life. He quit the JLA. It's revealed his desire to become normal was mainly caused by his belief that his son needed a normal father. Batman convinced Plas to become a hero again.


One Year Later and Countdown
In One Year Later, we meet Offspring, Plastic Man's son, who has similar powers and costume to him. In Countdown To Mystery #1, Plastic feels that people having treating him as a joke. So, Eclipso mind controls him into being evil. But, Bruce Gordon managed to free Plas. Green Arrow/Black Canary #8, Green Arrow freed Plas from Dr. Sivana, who was trying to use Plas' DNA to give the amnesiac Connor Hawke superhuman healing and make Connor his pawn. In Justice League of America vol. 2, he is member of the titular team. However, Doctor Light II (Kimiyo Hoshi) questioned his effectiveness causing them to fight. But, this ends when the duo stops the Royal Flush Gang. In Justice League: Cry for Justice, he has a not-so-friendly encounter with Prometheus. In Blackest Night, a zombie Vibe tore his heart out, but Plas' powers saved him. In Justice League: Generation Lost, he (and several other heroes) tried (and failed) to find Maxwell Lord.

Powers and abilities

  • Malleable Physiology- Due to existing in a fluid-like state, Plas can reshape his body at will.
  • Malleability- He can stretch his body to superhuman lengths. No limits have been given.
  • Size Alteration- Plas has been seen becoming inches tall and the size of skyscraper.
  • Shape-Shifting- He can alter his body to look like other objects.
  • Color Change- A rarely used ability. Plas can change color, but it needs intense concentration. So he doesn't like using this power.
  • Invulnerability- He can withstand things that would kill a normal person.
  • Regeneration- He can regenerate / recreate damaged tissues. Although this takes a long time, it's faster than a normal human's.
  • Telepathic Immunity?- Batman claimed Plas is immune to telepathy. This appears to not be ture.
  • Immortality- As seen in “Tower of Babel”, he seems to not age or at least does so extremely slowly.

Weakness
Due to his fluid-like state, too much heat can “melt” him and too much cold can freeze him. In some versions, chemicals like acetone destabilizes his body, but he'll become normal when the chemicals are gone. In most versions, he cannot change his color, but his son can.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_Man
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Plastic_Man_17.jpg

1 comment:

  1. Congratulations on your 150th post. You do a great job telling us about these sometimes obscure comic characters. I look forward to the next 150!

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