Plastic Man
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Template:Superherobox Plastic Man is a fictional superhero originally published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books, and later acquired by DC Comics. He was created by Jack Cole and first appeared Police Comics #1, published in August, 1941, an issue that also included the debuts of Phantom Lady and the Human Bomb, among others. He later received his own comic book title from Quality, and several short-lived books decades later from DC, as well as a Saturday morning cartoon series in the early 1980s. Plastic Man has the power to stretch and shape his body to any form he wants, a power that has since been duplicated in other comic book superheroes.
Plastic Man had been a crook named Patrick "Eel" O'Brian when he fell into a vat of acid. He was saved by a mysterious order of monks who cured his penchant for crime. The acid bath gave him the ability to change his shape. He wore dark glasses and a red and yellow costume as flexible as his body. Whatever shape he took, the colors remained the same, so there would be a red-and-yellow chandelier over a table full of plotting gangsters, or a red-and-yellow abstract painting hanging on the wall, but the villains never catch on until it is too late.
Plastic Man later acquired a sidekick called Woozy Winks, a doofus who was originally magically endowed with the power that nature itself will protect him from harm. That eventually was forgotten and Woozy became simply a dumb but loyal friend of Plastic Man. Woozy Winks was largely based on the comedy routines of Lou Costello.
Cole's art was striking for its bright "cartoony" quality, with Plastic Man stretching across panels, going around the corner and up the street, wisecracking all the way. His stories were noted for their good humor mixed with considerable deadly violence. The character had a longer publishing life than most created in the Golden Age of Comic Books lasting until 1956, when Quality went out of business and DC Comics acquired their properties, yet opted not to continue Plastic Man.
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The character has since been intermittently published by DC in various series. Julius Schwartz noted that if he had been aware of Plastic Man being available, he would have used him as a supporting character in The Flash series instead of creating the Elongated Man. He became a member of Grant Morrison's version of the Justice League in the 1990s.
The character's other media presence has been limited to a guest spot in the television series Super Friends and then his own TV series called The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, in which he was given a bumbling Hawaiian sidekick named Hula-Hula, a blonde bombshell girlfriend, and later a baby "Plas." He was briefly mentioned by the Elongated Man in one episode of the Justice League Unlimited animated series, but for reasons which have not yet been explained, will not be written directly into the show.
In February of 2004 writer/artist Kyle Baker began a new Plastic Man series of comic books, which features humor very similar to that of the golden age Cole comics. It also satirizes many comic book stereotypes. In the series Plastic Man gets a girlfriend (Special Agent Morgan) and adopts a gothic teenage daughter (Edwina). The series has become a success and won the 2004 Eisner Award for best new series.