SuperFriends Team Member
| Plastic Man | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Real name: | Patrick O'Brian[1] |
| AKA: | Eel O'Brian |
| Species: | Metahuman |
| Homeworld: | Earth |
| Universe: | Earth-1A |
| Hair: | Black |
| Relatives: | Penny O'Brian (wife) Baby Plas (later known as Offspring)(son) |
| Affiliations: | SuperFriends (part-time) A Government Agency |
| Voiced/Played: | Norman Alden[2] Michael Bell[3] |
| Plastic Man Gallery | |
Plastic Man (Patrick “Eel” O'Brian) is a superhero, who's also a part time member of the Justice League of America. He has the ability to stretch all or part of his body to superhuman lengths, as well as change his size and shape.
Background Information
On the parallel-universe of Earth-One, Patrick "Eel" O'Brian was a petty-crook. Orphaned at age 10 and forced to live on the streets, he fell into a life of crime.
As an adult, he became part of a burglary ring, specializing as a safecracker. During a late-night heist at the Crawford Chemical Works, he and his three fellow gang members were surprised by a night watchman. During the gang's escape, Eel was shot in the shoulder and doused with a large drum of unidentified acid. He escaped to the street only to discover that his gang had driven off without him. Fleeing on foot and suffering increasing disorientation from the gunshot wound and the exposure to the acid, Eel eventually passed out on the foothills of a mountain near the city. His body now had all of the properties of rubber, allowing him to stretch, bounce, and mold himself into any shape.
He immediately determined to use his new abilities on the side of law and order, donning a red, black and yellow (later red and yellow) rubber costume and capturing criminals as Plastic Man.
He concealed his true identity with a pair of white goggles and by re-molding his face.
As O'Brian, he maintained his career and connections with the underworld as a means of gathering information on criminal activity.[4]
Continuity from The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
In this series, he works for a government agency assigned to tracking down and defeating bizarre criminal organizations. He was partnered with fellow agent and girlfriend, Penny – whom he later married. Later, they were joined by their son, Baby Plas. He also had bumbling Hawaiian called Hula-Hula
Plastic Man first appeared in the first season of Super Friends, in one episode. Later, Ruby-Spears Productions released a series starring the character in his own solo adventures. The Plastic Man episode "Superstein" is actually directly linked to the World's Greatest Super Friends episode "The Super Friends Meet Frankenstein." Dr. Frankenstein's sidekick; Gorg, (who was obviously inspired by Igor) appears in both episodes, with the same voice actor and a similar character design.
More Coming Soon!
Powers
- Shape-Shifting: Can stretch and shape his body
- Elasticity
- Superhuman Durability
- Regeneration
- Immortality
Weaknesses
In the Comics his weakness is Extreme Temperatures – hot or cold. The Comedy Adventure Show episodes back this up, where he can be temporarily melted by extreme heat.
Because of its pliable nature, it's also been seen that sufficiently strong opponents have been able to stretch and bind Plastic Man with his own body.
Equipment
None
Transportation
None given
SuperFriends Team Members
| Members of the Justice League |
|---|
|
Justice League: Comic Book JLA Team Members: Other Known Justice Leaguers: SuperFriends Founding Members: Other Known SuperFriends Members: Junior SuperFriends: Mascots: |
Episode Appearances
See Also
Notes
- Plastic Man first appeared in Police Comics, Vol. 1, #1 (August 1941).[5]
- He was created by writer-artist Jack Cole.
- Plastic Man is mentioned in Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told" by Green Lantern to Booster Gold and Elongated Man but is never seen.
- Plastic Man returns to animation and is a recurring guest star hero in the new animated series Batman: The Brave and The Bold voiced by Tom Kenny.
Trivia
- The 1973 episode, Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C. marks the only appearance of Plastic Man in the entire series.
- In 1979, Plastic Man starred in the spin-off series The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show this time voiced by Michael Bell.
External Links
- The Plastic Man disambiguation page at the DC Database.
- Plastic Man at Wikipedia
- Plastic Man at Don Markstein’s Toonopedia Website
- Plastic Man at the DCAU
References
- ↑ Plastic Man's real name was never revealed in the series, but the name "Eel O'Brian" was revealed in an episode of The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show called The Dangerous Doctor Dinosaur. "Patrick" was never used, however we can assume that it's his name, although there's no canon evidence to support this.
- ↑ Norman Alden provided the voice of Plastic Man in Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C.
- ↑ His voice was provided by Michael Bell in The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show.
- ↑ Background Information is from Silver Age continuity.
- ↑ Go to the DC Database for more on Police Comics, Vol. 1 #1 published in August of 1941.