PLASTIC MAN I (Patrick 'Eel' O'Brian)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Jack Cole

Patrick 'Eel' O'Brian

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Patrick 'Eel' O'Brian
Identity: Secret
Citizenship: American
Known Relatives: Luke (son)
Group Affiliation(s): All-Star Squadron; JLA
Gender: Male
Height: Variable (but usually at 6'1")
Weight: Originally at 160 lbs but unknown now
Eyes: Dark blue
Hair: Black
First Appearance: Police Comics #1 (August 1941) [Quality]
Creators: Jack Cole

OVERVIEW

When his body was doused with chemicals, career criminal 'Eel' O'Brian was left for dead by his own gang. Eel survived and discovered that his body had become incredibly flexible. Taking the name Plastic Man, he decided to fight crime as a superhero and has since then experienced some truly weird adventures. Extremely long-lived, he has served as a member of the All-Star Squadron and the Justice League of America.

HISTORY

A criminal who was doused with a weird mixture of chemicals on a job, discovered that his body had turned into an incredibly malleable one. Able to stretch himself into all sorts of impossible shapes and sizes, he called himself Plastic Man and decided, on the flip of a coin, to become a hero, a decision he has stuck to ever since. Active since the 1940's, (when he acted as liaison between the FBI and the wartime All-Star Squadron) he never seems to age, and is stuck as a perpetually irritating joker. However, his heroism is not in doubt, as shown by his long tenure as a core member of a recent incarnation of the Justice League of America.

Throughout the years, Plastic Man has used his criminal alias 'Eel' O'Brian to infiltrate criminal gangs in order to then collar them in his superhero identity. His identity was kept secret from even his FBI superior, Chief Branner, who was constantly frustrated at Plastic Man's inability to apprehend this one thug. Along the line, Plastic Man also picked up a sidekick, Woozy Winks, an annoying and irritating man who seemed to be virtually indestructible. Why Plastic Man puts up with Woozy Winks is anyone's guess, but after the accident that gave him his powers, Plastic Man sees the world differently than others and experiences weird adventures that may have been played out a bit differently in the real world outside his own head.

At some point in history, Plastic Man fathered a son, Luke, who inherited his father's powers and occasionally fights crime as Offspring.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

Plastic Man has complete control over his molecular structure and is able to change it into any shape he desires. It is actually hard to say what his true appearance is, as his body seems to be in a semi-fluid state. The changes brought about by the chemicals have made him practically immortal, and after travelling back in time 3,000 years to Atlantis, he survived to modern times at the bottom of the ocean.

He can stretch his body to extreme lengths, shrink or swell, and mimic objects both big and small. Plastic Man is bullet-proof, and due to the changed nature of his organs, he seems to be immune to mind control.

Plastic Man's powers does have some limitations. He is vulnerable to extreme heat and cold, and his body was once frozen solid and shattered. (Eventually, he was able ro regenerate his body then thawed out.) When he turns into objects, they generally retain the colors of his costume (primarily red), and it is only with greatest concentration that he can change colours.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Plastic Man in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

Who's Who in the DC Universe #4 (November 1990)

JLA-Z #3 (January 2004)