Why Plastic Man is Batman’s Greatest Triumph | Batman: The Brave & The Bold

[00:00:00]Can the wicked ever truly change? That's a question that has been asked many times in villain redemption stories across Batman media. And in most cases, reformation remains just out of reach.

[00:00:11]But in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, there was one character who successfully turned his back on a life of crime and became a beloved superhero. And the show really enhanced his story by presenting him as one of Batman's [music] most dangerous mistakes that became one of his greatest triumphs. I'm talking about Plastic Man. Now, The Brave and the Bold did something really quite brilliant with their version of the character. In terms of tone, Plastic Man was a great fit for the show's bright aesthetic and generally more light-hearted stories. I would argue that the true genius move, though, was to connect Plastic Man directly to Batman.

[00:00:44]However, before I get into this, we first need to look back at the comic book source material to set the scene.

[00:00:49]If you're only familiar with Plastic Man from this show, then you may be surprised to learn that Plastic Man didn't start out with a connection to Batman. In fact, Plastic Man wasn't a DC Comics character at all. He first appeared in Police Comics number one, published in 1941 by Quality Comics.

[00:01:04]During the Golden Age, where superheroes were generally taking themselves a bit more seriously, Plastic Man stood out as a rare surreal comedy figure. His adventures were offbeat and humorous, allowing Plastic Man to stretch and mold his body into increasingly ridiculous shapes to combat criminals. And his origin was mostly the same to what we already know. Petty thief Eel O'Brien was a safecracker who was shot during a heist at Crawford Chemical [music] Works and doused in a mysterious chemical liquid. His gang drove off and abandoned him to the police, so he went on the run. Wandering into the mountains, he was taken in by a monk who saw the capacity for good in Eel and hid him away from the cops.

[00:01:40]This pure act of kindness changed Eel's heart forever. Discovering the chemicals had given him the power of rubber, he put on a red and yellow suit, recruited his bumbling loyal sidekick Woozy Winks, and chose the path of justice. But behind the scenes, industry reality struck. Quality Comics went bust in 1956, and DC Comics bought the majority of their characters. For decades, DC struggled to find a consistent commercial foothold for him. Still, he was something of a cult hit.

[00:02:12]In 1979, Ruby-Spears Productions launched The Plastic Man Comedy Adventure Show, which aired right after Super Friends. This version kept his criminal origin vaguely implied, but heavily sanitized the world. Instead of Woozy Winks, Plastic Man traveled the globe solving mysteries with his girlfriend Penny and a Polynesian sidekick named Hula Hula. [music] By 1981, the show was canceled for a variety of reasons, proving that much like the comics, television hadn't quite figured out how to unlock the character's true potential. All of that changed in 1985 when Crisis on Infinite Earths happened. This mega comic book event destroyed DC's multiverse and pulled all of the characters together into one universe. And in 1988, Phil Foglio brought Plastic Man into [music] the DC universe. This version leaned heavily into absurd comedy, turning his transformation from a criminal to a hero into a hilariously chaotic accident. In this story, Eel actually tries to commit suicide after his transformation because he thinks he's become a monster, but he was stopped by Woozy Winks, here a mental patient released from Arkham Asylum due to Reagan-era budget cuts.

[00:03:11]Now, there was some commentary. And the two flip a coin to decide whether they should use Eel's powers for a life of crime or a life of crime-fighting.

[00:03:19]Luckily for everyone involved, the coin landed on the side of the law. Granted, Plastic Man never quite hit superstar status, although he still has his fans.

[00:03:27]And I just quickly wanted to note that while he didn't appear in the DC Animated Universe cartoons, he was mentioned in Justice League Unlimited with John Stewart telling Elongated Man that Plastic Man was already on the scene, and they didn't [music] need two stretchy guys. Batman Adventures Volume 2, their DC Animated Universe tie-in comic, did show a pre-Plastic [music] Man Eel O'Brien as one of Black Mask's henchmen, though.

[00:03:51]However, when The Brave and the Bold went into production, the team decided to put Plastic Man front and center. And what I really like about their take on the character is how he parallels the Joker. While The Brave and the Bold didn't divulge Joker's origins, in most stories the Joker was created after he fell into a vat of chemicals [music] during a confrontation with Batman.

[00:04:08]Plastic Man has exactly the same origin, but rather than having one bad day drive him insane, he took the opportunity to turn his life around for good. Eel O'Brien was a low-level criminal working as a henchman for Kite Man. During a heist at Crawford Chemical Works, Batman intervenes. While Batman was focused on Kite Man, Eel [music] tried to flee with the loot, but Batman hit him with a batarang. This sent him plummeting into a massive glowing vat of unidentified industrial waste.

[00:04:34]The visual language of Eel's transformation is identical to the Joker's, and the show frames the two men as two sides of the exact same existential coin. When the Joker fell into the chemicals, his [music] mind fractured. He looked at the horror of his transformation, embraced the absurdity of a broken world, [music] and allowed it to wash away every ounce of his humanity. He became Batman's greatest failure, a chaotic, unkillable demon birthed directly from Batman's actions, and Batman feels profound guilt for this. So, when he faces the exact same situation again with Eel, he is looking at the terrifying potential of a second Joker. But instead, he intervenes immediately, pulling him out [music] of the vat. Eel's reaction to the transformation was very different to the Joker's, though. He testified in court against Kite Man, and [music] agreed to serve his sentence. Seeing how he had taken responsibility for his actions, Batman spoke on his behalf to the parole board and promised to personally oversee his rehabilitation. The fact that Batman believed in him and supported him served as motivation for Eel to be better. Now, what I particularly like about this arc is that he doesn't just change overnight. The Brave and the Bold avoids the simplistic trope of a bad guy instantly becoming a pristine, flawless saint. Eel O'Brien reformed his actions, but he didn't instantly delete his past, his instincts, [music] or his vices. He has to keep working at it.

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[00:06:05]Throughout his appearances, Plastic Man is frequently fighting his urge to steal. His criminal past is something that is a constant [music] temptation that follows him into every single mission. The choice by the writers really elevates the character and makes that comparison to the Joker even stronger. Joker [music] gave in to his dark impulses because it was easy and he is a weak man. Plastic Man looks at a pile of money, feels his old life pulling at him, and chooses to push back. At least most of the time.

[00:06:33]When Plastic Man does slip up and starts grabbing discarded jewels or cash, all it takes is a stern look from Batman to get him back [music] on the right path.

[00:06:40]And Batman gives him some leeway because he knows that in his heart, Plastic Man is a good person. In the episode Terror on Dinosaur Island, Plastic Man and Batman team up to defeat Gorilla Grodd.

[00:06:50]However, when Batman is captured, Plastic Man faces a defining moment. He could just leave Batman to his fate, but he feels that he has to help. Sure, he faces some wobbles along the way. He gets distracted by Grodd's huge stash of [music] loot and helps himself to some of it. Well, quite a lot of it actually.

[00:07:06]And his delay in getting to Batman leads to him being [music] turned into a gorilla. Oops. In a beautiful redemptive moment though, Plastic Man spits out the gold bars and the gems like some sort of machine gun to take out Grodd's ape army. That's some pretty nice symbolism, literally weaponizing his temptation to save the day. The next big Plastic Man episode, The Long Arm of the Law, shows us how this choice impacts Plastic Man's life. [music] He has built a beautiful, chaotic, loving home. He has a suburban house, a devoted partner named Ramona, a baby son who inherited his stretching abilities, and a fiercely loyal sidekick in Woozy Winks. Of Of just because he has people in his life, that doesn't mean that he's perfect. He wants to emulate Batman, treating his garage as a base of operations, and making Woozy take an oath to uphold justice. But at the same time, he is a father, and his son needs mental stimulation. That domestic task may seem tedious, but it is important.

[00:08:00]As well as establishing Plastic Man's friends and family, the episode also shows us what happens when his past comes calling. Kite Man returns seeking absolute vengeance alongside a brute named Rubberneck, and Kite Man [music] targets Plastic Man's family using a high-tech beta beam to strip Plastic Man of his powers, turning his rubber body completely [music] into stone. That could have been the end of him, but his friends, the people who care about him, show up to save the day. In some absurd comedy, Woozy Winks stumbles onto Kite Man's ray, and in trying to steady himself, restores Plastic Man's powers, [music] and also gives them to Batman and Kite Man, too. Fortunately, Plastic Man is far more experienced with these abilities, and they make short work of Kite Man and Rubberneck.

[00:08:40]When Batman looks at the Joker, he sees an escalating cycle of violence and trauma that can never be truly healed.

[00:08:47]Conversely, when Batman looks at Plastic Man standing proudly alongside his wife and child, he sees the ultimate validation of his entire war on crime.

[00:08:56]While Plastic Man may have been kicked out of the Justice League because of his tomfoolery, he eventually finds a home alongside the Freedom Fighters, a superhero team made up of other characters from Quality Comics. Uncle Sam is another character that sees more in Plastic Man than he sees in himself.

[00:09:09]When others doubt his sincerity, Uncle Sam knows that Plastic Man is a good man in his heart. Sure, Plastic Man's idea of patriotism is admittedly unconventional. I mean, he barely knew who the president was and had to rely on hilariously misremembered historical examples to inspire an alien village.

[00:09:25]But his actions prove he belongs with the Freedom Fighters. When the team is captured and Uncle Sam fades away, it isn't a deep knowledge of American history that drives Plastic Man forward.

[00:09:34]Instead, it's rather his genuine, instinctual desire to protect [music] the oppressed. By using his unique humor and a heartfelt song to ignite a revolution against the supreme chairman of Quad, Plastic Man demonstrates that his patriotism isn't about flags or politics. It is rooted entirely in a love for personal liberty, earning him the ultimate respect of Uncle Sam and the rest of the team. At the end of the day, Plastic Man's story in The Brave and the Bold works so well because it shows us that a man could fall into the abyss and still choose to build a beautiful, honest [music] life. He has his flaws, and boy don't we all, but he still tries to do the best he can. And he also reveals something about Batman.

[00:10:11]His greatest power isn't his ability to break criminals, solve any crime, or even his massive bank account. It's his capacity to help others believe in themselves even when they slip up.

[00:10:24]This version of Plastic Man is easily one of the best redemption's in DC history, but it makes me wonder, which other classic Batman rogue do you think deserves this exact same treatment? Who else is just waiting for one right day to turn it all around? Drop your picks in the comments. And before I go, special thanks to my channel members who helped to make this video possible. If you want to see your name on screen and get early access to all of my video essays, join the channel now. Thanks for watching everyone. See you next time.

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