Plastic Man

Plastic Man
Real Name	Edward O’ Brian
Homeworld	Earth
Species	Human
Affiliation(s)	Justice League International, Freedom Fighters
Abilities and Powers	Shape-Shifting
First Appearance	Terror on Dinosaur Island!
Voiced By	Tom Kenny
Relatives	Ramona O'Brian (wife), Baby (son).

"What, no finder's fee?"

Plastic Man is a former sidekick of Batman.

History

Origin

Plastic Man aka Edward “The Eel” O’Brian was once a small time gangster known for his ability to slip away from capture. Lured by the dream of making it big with fortune, he became a henchman for Kite Man. One night, while robbing the safe of Crawford Chemical Works, Batman intervened. O'Brian attempted to escape but a Batarang disabled his kite and he fell into a vat of acid. Batman pulled O'Brian from the vat and took him in for hospitalization. O'Brian soon discovered his physiology was altered by the acid and he could stretch himself to any length and transform into any object possible. Whether it was out of guilt or not, Batman assumed full responsibility for O'Brian's rehabilitation after he testified against Kite Man in a court of law. Batman vouched for him in front of the judge, the parole board, and later, the Justice League International.

As Plastic Man, he began to turn his life around despite the constant call of cash. Tired of being kept on the sidelines, Plastic Man infiltrated Babyface's gang under the alias, Stretch Wheeler. They robbed the First National Bank and left Plastic Man for dead. Batman saved his life again and the duo tailed the gang to a high speed train.

During Los Muertos, Plastic Man was recruited by Batman to aid in capturing Gentleman Ghost. During the confrontation, Plastic Man was distracted by Ghost's stolen money leaving Batman with a near death if not for Fire. On route, Batman and Plastic Man intervened on a routine robbery conducted by Gorilla Grodd. With the Batmobile destroyed, Plastic Man escorted Batman to Dinosaur Island where they discovered Grodd's latest plan to take control of the world. With Batman caught, Plastic Man vowed to make things right and temporarily overcame his greed to battle Grodd's army. Despite this and fame with the public, the rest of the world's heroes were not so sympathetic of Plastic Man and often dismissed him from joint missions.

In case any of his allies were compromised, Batman devised methods to defeat them. After Owlman escaped his prison in the Batcave, he stole Batman's files and implemented the weapons. Owlman used a device that froze Plastic Man. Later on, Owlman placed him on a taffy puller, very similar to when Plastic Man and Elongated Man fell on a puller trying to stop Babyface. Plastic Man fought crime by himself, with allies, and his on and off again sidekick, Woozy Winks.

Plastic Man settled down with his sweetheart, Ramona, and started a family with their newborn son and pet dog, Schnitzel. He struggled to maintain self-control from going back to crime and be a superhero along with that of a family man and father. One day, while taking Baby Plas and Schnitzel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Plastic Man and his family were targeted by Kite Man. After Kite Man stole 2.2 grams of Plastic Man, he devised a way to neutralize the hero. Plastic Man impulsively went after Rubberneck instead of staying home and got his family kidnapped. Batman, Plastic Man, and Woozy Winks defeated Kite Man and Rubberneck. Plastic Man then launched himself into the air and saved his family from an impending lightning bolt. Some time later, he was attacked by Faceless Hunter on Haney Avenue and implanted with a Starro clone. After the invasion, Plastic Man and Elongated Man were used to restrain any stragglers still infected.

Some time later, Plastic Man was ousted from the Justice League. On Election Day, he happened to come upon a fight between Batman and several disguised Qwardians. Intrigued by Uncle Sam, Plastic Man was thrilled when he was offered membership to the Freedom Fighters superteam. While fighting the Qwardians, Plastic Man was the only hero left standing. He fled the scene with a weakened Uncle Sam unsure of what to do next. Uncle Sam reminded him the spirit of freedom was all around, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice. Plastic Man rallied Qwardian citizens near the capital city and interrupted a live execution of the Freedom Fighters. In a bold move, Plastic Man sang an odd but still patriotic version of Yankee Doodle. The Qwardians, Batman, and Freedom Fighters quickly joined in. With Uncle Sam back, Plastic Man applied the knockout blow to the Supreme Chairman. However, on the way back to Earth, Plastic Man received a special message from President Obama but Plastic Man had no idea who he was.

Personality and Traits

Although he was supposed to be reformed, Plastic Man still had many criminal tendencies. For instances when he and Batman are confronting Gentleman Ghost who has committed a robbery, after Batman breaks the Gentleman Ghost’s bags holding the stolen cash, Plastic Man goes after the money instead of fighting. When infiltrating Gorilla Grodd’s hideout to save Batman, he is distracted by Grodd’s stolen gold and diamonds, and delays going after Batman to take some for himself.

Powers

Plastic Man has the ability to stretch his body into just about any object. He’s been seen changing into a shovel, cash register and even a car. Normally he uses his hands like large mallets.

Trivia

Plastic Man's wife, Ramona, is probably named after Ramona Fradon, the artist on the Plastic Man comics in the seventies; she also worked on Aquaman, as well as several Superman and Batman stories, and is the co-creator of Metamorpho.