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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
Patrick "Eel" O'Brian is Plastic Man, a former thief and small-time criminal who has the power to stretch and bend his body into any imaginable shape.
Contents
History
Origin
Patrick "Eel" O'Brian was a petty mobster in Chicago prior to becoming a superhero.
After the Justice League had seemingly been killed by the Crime Syndicate of Earth 3, the villains declared that the world now belonged to the forces of evil. Eel's boss, fearing that the Crime Syndicate's version of evil meant exclusively costumed criminals, organized a meeting with other high-ranking mobsters in the Chicago area to discuss bribing Ultraman to get on his good side. Eel, as well as his crime partner Skizzle Shanks, waited outside the meeting with anticipation.
Birth of Plastic Man
However, the meeting was interrupted by Owlman, who agreed that organized crime was against his values and murdered most of the men in attendance. Eel seemingly died in the incident, having been flung into a barrel of chemicals that melted him into a pile of human goop.[1]
The chemicals didn't kill him, though, instead giving him the incredible power of elasticity. Interested in turning his life around, O'Brian became the new superhero Plastic Man.
At some point, O'Brian married and divorced a woman named Angel McDunnagh. The two had a son named Luke, who would gain elastic powers himself and become the superhero Offspring.
Invasion of the Dark Multiverse
When Batman met with Mr. Terrific in the Lunar Batcave, he unveiled an egg-shaped containment unit that bore Plastic Man's logo. Batman suggested that they should release Plastic Man, thus revealing he was contained in this device for an unknown period of time.[2]
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Exploring the Dark Multiverse
After the disaster of the Dark Multiverse was averted, Plastic Man was mystically bonded to a group known as The Terrifics as they worked together to explore the Dark Multiverse.
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Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Elasticity: Plastic Man can manipulate his own body on a molecular level, meaning he has complete control over its shape, size, and density.
- Metamorphosis
- Size Alteration
- Superhuman Strength
- Invulnerability
- Immortality
- Self-Duplication: After merging with one of Disposable Man's clones by swallowing him, Plastic Man gained a new ability to create an living duplicate of himself. He can also absorb them back into himself at will.[3]
Weaknesses
- Dark Energy Bonding (Formerly): After being exposed to the Dark Multiverse energy, the Terrifics members became tethered to each other, which causes an explosion if they are separated more than a mile from each other.[4]
Notes
- Plastic Man was created by Jack Cole, first appearing in Police Comics #1. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Plastic Man first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Justice League International (Volume 3) #1 by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti.
Trivia
- Plastic Man first appeared, as an established hero, on a photo in Justice League International (Volume 3) #1. However, several of the heroes mentioned in that montage were reinvented later. Plastic Man's origin was retold in Justice League (Volume 2) #25, as part of Forever Evil.
Related
- Appearances of Patrick O'Brian (Prime Earth)
- Images featuring Patrick O'Brian (Prime Earth)
- Quotations by or about Patrick O'Brian (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Patrick O'Brian (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
 This character is or was a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from both interstellar and domestic threats. |
