Plastic Man is falling apart.
Plastic Man has long been a joke in superhero comics. From the early creation by Jack Cole, on through the years, Plastic Man has brought humor to the comics. Even when placed as a member of the Justice League, Plas has been the comic relief. And yet, DC infuses tragedy into the background of the elastic clown’s story. His silliness stands in contrast to the darkness when Plastic Man faces his own mortality in the four-issue miniseries Plastic Man No More!, from DC’s Black Label imprint. It’s this contrast between story and character that makes Plastic Man No More! a compelling read.
Years ago Patrick “Eel” O’Brian was a smash and grab thief. A small-time thief who is drawn into crime again and again. Repeating his mistakes over and over. An endless cycle, until one misadventure sees him submerged into a chemical vat that gives him his elastic powers. That, and finding a partner in Angel helps O’Brian to break the cycle of crime and become the hero known as Plastic Man.
Plastic Man’s life seems to take an about face. The pinnacle being his recruitment to the highly regarded Justice League. The League are the big guns. The Magnificent Seven. And Plastic Man. Always the comedic relief. Always the jokester. Plas lives in the League’s shadow. He has been okay with that. Playing his role. Until things start falling apart.
After a mission with the Justice League, Plastic Man finds that he can’t reform part of his body like he used to. His concerns fall on the deaf ears of the League. Not really paying attention to him, they brush him off and he hides behind his comedic persona. A defensive reflex that adds to his problem of not being taken seriously. However, he does get the attention of Detective Chimp and a recommendation to see a doctor at Wayne Industries.
The meeting doesn’t bring the reassurance that he hopes for. He has become destabilized and is coming apart at the molecular level. A process that might be irreversible, His only chance, in theory, would take a fusion reaction of incredible magnitude. A powerful thermonuclear device. His only chance might be to build a nuclear bomb.
Christopher Cantwell writes a compelling story about Plastic Man trying to keep his smile up while dealing with the dark parts of his life. Put on display is the path of Plas’s success in life and hero career, into his failures to maintain either. And at the center of everything is his estranged relationship with his son. Artists Alex Lins and Jacob Edgar, along with colorist Marcelo Maiolo, and letterer Becca Carey do a brilliant job of executing the story. They use a convention of illustrating the pages with the Justice League as being bright and sunny. And the pages of Plastic Man’s personal life are dark and gloomy. The two styles depict the life he’s missing out on, and the life that he has to deal with, Story and art combining to show how figuratively, and literally, Plastic Man is coming apart.
