Plastique (character)


Plastique is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is an enemy of Firestorm and both an enemy and love interest of Captain Atom.

Publication history

Plastique first appeared in The Fury of Firestorm #7 and was created by Gerry Conway and Pat Broderick.

Fictional character biography

Plastique is introduced as a terrorist attempting to coerce the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada. She subsequently makes several appearances during Gerry Conway's tenure as writer of that series. Plastique also appears in Captain Atom as an adversary, later love interest, of the titular hero.

Firestorm

In her first appearance, Plastique attempts to bomb the New York News Express using a set of bombs attached to her costume. However, Firestorm disarms her by vaporizing her clothing, leaving her naked and humiliated in public while Firestorm takes the bombs to explode in a safer area. Later, via genetic engineering, she gains the power to project explosive force outward from her body.
Her last major public operation as a terrorist is depicted in her first Captain Atom appearance, wherein she attempts to destroy the Canadian Parliament Building in Ottawa and the Statue of Liberty in New York City, as well as assassinate the President of the United States and the Canadian Prime Minister. Her plans were thwarted, and Plastique is captured by Captain Atom.

Suicide Squad

Plastique joins the Suicide Squad for the duration of a single mission. She attempted to betray the team during a field operation in Qurac, but her betrayal has been anticipated by the group. Plastique is caught by fellow operative Nemesis and subsequently brainwashed to suppress all memories of her membership in the Squad. Her followers eventually abandon her after becoming disillusioned with the use of force and violence to advance their shared cause, after which Plastique becomes a mercenary. Eventually she reformed, subsequently earning a pardon from the U.S. government and marrying Captain Atom. The two later separate, with Plastique returning to the Suicide Squad.

''The New 52''

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Plastique appears as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains. She later infiltrates A.R.G.U.S. to plant a bomb on Doctor Light's body.
In Forever Evil, the Crime Syndicate sends Plastique, Black Bison, Hyena, Multiplex, and Typhoon to attack a hospital to finish Gorilla Grodd's work in Central City.

Powers and abilities

Originally Plastique wore a costume covered with plastic explosives, which she could trigger and detonate manually. She has since gained the ability to project explosive force at will by touching an object with her fingertips.

Other versions

A possible future variant of Plastique appears in The New 52: Futures End. This version is a thief and mercenary from the year 2020.

In other media

Television

Film

Plastique makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Injustice.

Video games

Reception

The character of Plastique has been portrayed in diverse ways in its various appearances: considered "a classic DC villainess" by Tierney Bricker, "she has flirted with good on occasion". Reviewers Scott Von Doviak, Brianna Reeves and Felix Böhme found Plastique’s appearance in The Flash TV series interesting and nuanced, both in comparison to other representations of the character as well as other comic antagonists: she is shown as a victim, but still as a dangerous and uncontrolled force, making how to deal with her a moral conundrum for the team of the titular hero.
Reviewer Rachel Paige commented on the impact of Plastique's changing backstory: she found the idea from the comics, that the character got her supernatural explosive abilities by "some handy genetic engineering" terrifying, but getting her powers from the S.T.A.R. Labs explosion like the Flash from the TV series only mildly so.
Brent Frankenhoff included Plastique in his list of Comics' Sexiest Bad Girls due to the accentuated depiction of her body, while the character was still portrayed with a sense of shame when unclad in public.