Corinthian

History

Sandman

In "The Doll House" story arch, he deserted the Dreaming and went to the waking world. He decided to become a serial killer that had a taste for eyes, but this was not what Sandman wanted (he wanted the Corinthian to show humanity it's own dark nature). After 40 years, Sandman destroyed him. In "The Kindly Ones", Dream created a new Corinthian with some of the memories of the previous one. He was sent to find and protect Daniel, where he battled Loki and Puck and ate their eyes.

The Sandman Presents: The Corinthian

This 3-issue mini-series we learn how the Corinthian I entered the waking world and learned to kill people. Here he displayed the ability to possess people.

The Dreaming

In The Dreaming spin off, the Corinthian II returns to Earth in the "Souvenirs" story arch. He later hunts down Echo, but accidentally killed Matthew. So, he punished with becoming human and begins to understand human nature better and then is let back in the Dreaming.

Abilities

Despite the fact he lacks eyes and has mouths instead, he doesn't appear to have any trouble with sight. When he eats people's eye, he can see what happen in their life. He can possess people, but his victim 's eye are replaced with mouths and gain white hair. The second Corinthian is skilled at hand-to-hand combat. He was seen snapping the neck of a supernatural wolf with out much effort. He is also resistant to damage and is fearless.

Name

In "The Kindly Ones", Puck refused to tell Corinthian if his name is derived from "the letters, the pillars, the leather, the place, or the mode of behavior." This is likely a reference to the Letter to the Corinthians (which has phrase "Dark Mirror", which Dream use to describe the Corinthain), Corinthian style of pillars, Corinthian leather and Corinthian behavior (" indulging in luxury and licentiousness"). Neil Gaiman (the writer of The Sandman) revealed the name came from the mode of behavior.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinthian_(comics)

The Sandman: The Doll House and The Kindly Ones

http://www.idenise.net/blog/wp-content/corinthian.jpg

Robin

History

During a conversation of Batman's creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Bill was bugged by the fact "that Batman didn't have anyone to talk to" and decided to make Robin Batman's "Watson". Despite popular belief, Robin is named after Robin Hood not the bird (although some recent appearances of Robin contradict this).

Dick Grayson

Dick was the first Robin and has proven to be the most popular. Dick was the son of a family of acrobats, but Boss Zucco kill them for not paying him money (he sabotaged the ropes). Batman adopted the boy and trained him to be his ward. They took down Zucco. In the 1980's, Robin flew the nest and became Nightwing. More recently after the apparent death of Batman, Dick has become the newest version of Batman.

Jason Todd

Jason was an overly-cheery carbon copy of the first Robin right down to his origin (although Todd's parents were killed by Killer Croc). After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jason's origin was rewritten so he was an orphan that Batman met when he trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile. After helping stop bank robbers, Batman took him under his wing. However, this version was unpopular. The fans got to decide if Jason lived or died! By a slim amount of votes, Jason died. In A Death in the Family, he was beaten to death by a crowbar. However, he somehow survived and became the Red Hood II. After Infinite Crisis, Jason became Nightwing, but later 86ed it for the alias Red Robin. As Red Hood (again), he tried (and failed) to ruin Batman's rep.

Tim Drake

Tim was a Batman and Robin fan boy, who managed to put 2 and 2 together and figured out who Batman and Robin really were. He managed to convince Batman to make him the 3rd Robin. He was better received than Jason. He joined Young Justice and later reformed the Teen Titans. After the events of Final Crisis and Battle For The Cowl, Tim became Red Robin.

Stephanie Brown

So far, she is the only cannon female Robin. She was Tim's girlfriends, who first used the alias the Spoiler. However, she took up the mantle of Robin, when Tim resigned. She was fired by Batman for disobeying him. She tried to prove her worth, but accidentally caused a gang war, that she seemly died in (it turned out Dr. Leslie Thompkins faked it). Stephanie is now the newest Batgirl.

Damian Wayne

He was illegitimate son of Talia al Ghul and Batman. Batman didn't know about Damian, until Talia gave him to Bats to take care of. Having been trained by the League of Assassins, Damian is violent and lacks morality and discipline. He was very murderous, leading him to clash with his father (who swore to never take a life). In Battle for the Cowl, Alfred made him Robin and got him to save Tim. Now, Damian is Dick's (who is the new Batman) sidekick and Dick thinks he still needs training.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_(comics)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/BatmanRobin.jpg

Heckler

Overview

Stuart "Stu" Moseley is the co-owner of Eats, a diner in the ghetto side of Delta City. However, he also fights injustice with sarcastic wit and a bright and colorful costume as the Heckler. The origin and motivation of the Heckler is unknown. He might simply be a glutton for punishment. It seems he doesn't get respect as a hero or as Stu. Notably, Stu appears to be "slightly anal, frustrated and awkward", but when he is the Heckler, he seems to be a completely different person.

Powers and Abilities

The Heckler relies on his wit to make insults to make his enemies madder and sloppier, which he takes advantage of. He can "annoy the hell outta of nearly anyone", which may not be limited to the animal kingdom.

Despite only average strength and agility, he seems to have above average durability. He has been seen recovering from falling from staggering heights and being eaten by a monster. His durability teeters on the edge of superhuman.

Supporting Cast

Ledge- A mentally challenged friend of Stu. Despite being illiterate, he somehow can use computers. He gives the Heckler info. He is the only person who knows about Stu's alter ego.

The Minx- She is a gun-toting vigilante. However, all the criminals she hunts seemed to have gone on awkward dates with her.

François- He is the obsessive head chef at Eats.

Mr. Dude- He is a costumer of Eats, who sometimes give the Heckler criminal info.

X-Ms - She protects a Christmas-themed part of Delta City named " Tinseltown".

Enemies

Boss Glitter- He is a very dainty mob boss.

P.C. Rabid- A celebrity, who wants to boost his rep by destroying the Heckler's.

Bushwack'r- A parody of Wild E. Coyote. He is a bad luck bounty hunter that wants the Heckler.

El Gusano- He is an assassin that works for Boss Glitter.

John Doe, The Generic Man- A blank slate, who is able to remove the individual characteristics of an environment. He tries to take over Delta City.

The Cosmic Clown- He is android killer clown from space. He thinks Earth circuses are bent on murder.

C'est Hay- He is a killer made out of straw and / or hay. He has delusions of being an actor causing him to act oddly.

The Four Mopeds of the Apocalypse- They are sidekicks to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The FMA includes Famine Lass, Kid Pestilence, Plague Boy and Skippy (Death).

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_(comics)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Heckler_1.jpg

Supreme

History
Pre-Alan Moore
Supreme first appeared in Youngblood # 3, but as a flip book. In his spin-off series, the character was portrayed inconsistently. At one point, he was an angel of vengeance, who used the Scriptures to justify what he's doing. At other times, he claimed to be a god to the point he beat up Thor and stole his hammer. Another time, it was claimed that he was a criminal that the government experimented on him, turning him superhuman and the priest Father Beam turned him good.
Alan Moore
In the “The Story of the Year” story, Alan added a touch of metafiction to the story. He also used this to explain why Supreme was portrayed inconsistently. The newest version of Supreme is Ethan Crane, a “mild manner” artist for Dazzle Comics, who gained Superman-like powers from a meteor made out of Supremium. Alan's Supreme discovered that he is in a reality that is an ever-changing story and he was simply the newest version of Supreme. We discovered that the “retired” versions of Supreme are in an alternate reality called “Supremacy”. At first, Alan's Supreme was an amnesic, but regained his “memories”, only to discovered this was a merely a background story being filled in for him. We are also introduced to Supreme's Lex Luthor-based enemy Darius Dax, who (after possessing Judy Jordan (a friend of Supreme)) transferred his mind into a Supremium-robot and became the Supremium Man, an obvious homage to the Kryptonite Man. Due to the time-altering effects of Supremium, he fell back in time and paradoxically became the meteor that gave Crane his powers in the first place.

Alan's work continued until the series ended with issue 56.
Supreme got a mini-series called Supreme: The Return that wasn't actually finished. What did happen was the following: Judy's mind is transferred into a “Suprematon android”. She falls in love with a living Suprematon android and they get married. Supreme is not having such an easy time with his romance. Diana Dane (Lois Lane) was getting annoyed by how Ethan “gets all weird and runs away”. But, Crane manages to fix the relationship by revealing to her his alter ego. Dax was sent to Daxia (similar to Supremacy), where he met other versions of himself and used their combined intelligent to escape. Then, he caused Billy Friday (Jimmy Olsen) and Master Meteor to fuse into a composite being.
Powers
Supreme is one of the most powerful beings in the Image Universe. He has superhuman strength; molecular adaptation to any threat; speed, stamina, durability, breath and vision. He has been seen defeating the Youngblood team single handily. But, he is vulnerable to effects of Supremium.
Supremium
Supremium is a homage to Kryptonite. Although it the source of Supreme's power, he can also kill him. Supremium (similar to Kryptonite) comes in different colors (with different effects), which include:

• White- It's fatal to Supreme. It's similar to Green Kryptonite
• Amber- Warps time
• Onyx- Erases time
• Sapphire- Effects probability
• Ruby- “Transmutes matter”
• Violet- Has random effects. It's similar to Red Kryptonite.

Villains

• Darius Dax- He is archenemy of Supreme. Like Supreme, he has numerous incarnations. These have ranged from being a mean business tycoon to a Nazi.
• Emerpus- He is alternate reality version of Supreme from the Backward Zone, where time turns backwards, who “unaverts” disasters.
• Gorrl- A living galaxy.
• Korgo- He is warlord from space. He battled Bill Clinton under the Cosmic Dictators Guild rules and wins. But he faked being defeated by Supreme, so he could escape Hillary Clinton and returned to the Hell of Mirrors (a prison that Supreme uses to store super villains). .
• Master Meteor- He battled Supreme, when he was Kid Supreme. Due to a time travel accident, he fused with Billy Friday and the composite being blamed Supreme.
• Optilux- He is a religious alien that transformed into a being of pure light (with a messiah complex). He turns cities into light that he holds in captivity.
• Televillain- Former TV repairman Reuben Tube can teleport via televisions and enter the fictional worlds.
• The End- He is a powerful villain that is the unofficial leader (everyone else is scared to oppose him) of the Hell of Mirrors. He is never seen save his shadow.
• Shadow Supreme- He is an evil clone of Supreme created by Dax (who Double S is completely loyal to). He looks like Supreme, except for a dark color scheme.
• Slaver Ant- She is a humanoid ant-like creature, who ejects altering chemicals. She once escaped Supreme's mirror prison and tried to build an ant-lair.
• Vor-Em- He is lion-like humanoid warrior.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_(comics)
Supreme # 1
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/Supreme_Issue_41.jpg

What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?

Publication HistoryThis story was mainly a way for DC Comic to answer to the critics of Superman's methods in the age of anti-heroes. The title is a play on the song (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? by Nick Lowe and Superman's catchphrase "Truth, Justice and the American Way".Plot
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
Superman was going to Libya to stop a terrorist attack. Superman was surprised to find that something else stopped the terrorists: something with more power than a King Kong-sized cyborg gorilla. We discover that the gorilla and 2,000 Libyan soldiers were killed by a superhero team called the Elite... in 4 minutes. President Lex Luthor doesn't care about the Elite unless the heroes attack Americans. The Elite sent a message to every computer saying basically they'll kill anyone they think is "part of the problem". Superman was worried about both the message and the possibly of him being outdated. Superman flied to Japan to stop a group of Japanese villains. The villains seem to have gotten the upper hand... only to be murdered by the Elite in gruesome ways. The Elite took our hero to their base. We discover the team is somewhat arrogant and are unwilling to stop using their lethal methods. After talking to his dad, Superman discovered (despite a few critics) the Elite is becoming very popular. Later, Superman battled a group of aliens and an evil pair of Men In Black copycats. After defeating them, the Elite come and Manchester Black (the leader) told the Hat (a member) to kill the villains and their families. To which, Superman KO ed Hat. To which, the Elite decide Superman is now their enemy and decide to fight and kill him. But, on Superman's request, they teleport Jupiter Moon's Io, so no bystanders will get hurt (but the battle is being recorded live). Despite trying to reason with them, the Elite attack him. After seemly killing Superman, they hear him say "I finally get it now...", much to the team's confusion. Then, Superman seemly killed all the members (except Manchester, who is seemly lobotomized hence not being able to use his powers). We discover Superman faked this to show the Elite how it feels to be the victim of their form of lethal justice. The Justice League arrested the team.
The Elite
The Elite is a group of antiheroes that based on Wildstorm's Authority (whose members constantly use lethal force). Members were:

• Manchester Black- Based on Jenny Sparks, but he has telepathy and telekinesis as opposed to Jenny's electric-based abilities. He is the leader.
• Menagerie- Based on Engineer. She has a symbiosis with a mysterious green substance on her body that make her a living weapon.
• The Hat- Based on the Doctor (not Doctor Who). He uses a magic hat (hence the name).
• Coldcast- He is only member not based on an Authority character. He can manipulate electromagnetic power.

References:http://www.youtube.com/user/PatchOBlack#p/c/14/14V7lBXGtFo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNZ_AQ2EwBg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_So_Funny_About_Truth,_Justice_%26_the_American_Way%3F
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/Action_Comics_775.jpg

Squadron Supreme

History
In Avengers # 69, the cosmic-powered Grandmaster created the Squadron Sinister (Roy Thomas' villainous jab at the Justice League) to battle the Avengers. The Sinister guys consisted of Doctor Spectrum (Green Lantern homage), Hyperion (Superman), Nighthawk (Batman) and the Whizzer (Flash).

In Avengers #85 – 86, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Vision and Goliath (members of the titular team) accidentally got sent to Earth-712. The team was confused upon meeting the Squadron Supreme. The team is identical (except for being good) to the Squadron Sinister. After a fight, the two teams teamed up to fight the evil mutant Brain-Child (no connection to the similarly named animated Tick series character).
In Defenders, Over-Mind and Null the Living Darkness mind controlled the Squadron Supreme. Despite aid from the titular team, Earth-712 was left in a post-apocalyptic state.
In the Squad's self-titled mini-series, it's reveal the Squadron Sinister (who the Supreme guys are a revamp of) were actually evil copies of the Supreme guys. The Supreme team (on Earth-712) voted on whether or not to do the “Utopia Program” (which was a plan to make the world or at least America a Utopia, but involves taking it over). Everyone (but Nighthawk, who thinks they “should serve and not rule”) voted for it. The team (minus Nighthawk) took over America. They revealed their secret identities, added strict gun control laws, invented a way to resurrect the dead and set up behavior modification centers in prisons. However, things went bad. Golden Archer (Green Arrow) tried use the behavior modifications to make Lady Lark (Black Canary) love him (she refused to marry him), leading him to be booted off the team. Amphibian (Aquaman homage) became disgusted with the team's methods to the point of abandoning the surface world altogether. Nuke (Firestorm) went mad upon discovering he was releasing unnoticed radiation, which killed his parents and went on a rampage resulting in Doctor Spectrum killing him. Tom Thumb (loosely based on the Atom) died due to cancer, that he foolishly didn't tell anyone about. Despite trying to get Earth-616's (the main reality) Avengers to help, Nighthawk was forced to get 3 of his former enemies (including Golden Archer, now using the alias Black Archer) to help him stop the Squadron Supreme. In the battle, members from both teams (including Nighthawk) were killed. Hyperion realized that despite their good intentions they had become dictators. The team (or whats was left of it) decided to return power to the government.
In the graphic novel Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe, the Squad (now Hyperion, Lady Lark [using the alias Skylark], Power Princess (Wonder Woman), Whizzer, Arcanna [using the alias Moonglow] (Zatanna) and non-homage members Haywire and Shape) got stuck in the main reality. Only to be returned in an Avenger storyline.
In Squadron Supreme: New World Order, we discovered big corporations were using the Squadron's tech to run the government. With the help of the Exiles, the Squadron tries to set up a fair system of government.
Earth-31916
The Marvel's Marvel MAX imprint created a comic called Supreme Power, which focuses on a completely redesigned version of the team that exist on Earth-31916.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squadron_Supreme

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squadron_Sinister

http://skew.dailyskew.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/squadron_supreme.jpg

X-Statix

Publication History
Peter Milligan and Mike Allred revamped the X-Force comic. However, the series took a very odd turn. They turned the team into celebrities in the hero business for fame and fortune. Also, there was a new satirical tone towards the superhero genre added. The team would constantly lose members. In the first issue of this revamp, almost every member died. This was not universally accepted. Many fans wanted “their X-Force back”. Later, the team 86ed the name "X-Force" and became the "X-Statix" (complete with a new comic series). Then came the greatest controversy of the comic! Peter wanted Princess Diana to appear as a undead superhero. This was leaked and greatly objected to (most notable of the objectors was the Daily Mail). So, she was replaced by Henrietta Hunter (a fictional pop star). Sales bombed, so in one last jab at the superhero genre, the entire team died. The comic got a spin-off called X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl, which starred a minor member called Dead Girl and parodied comic book deaths.
Fictional History
During a mission trying to save the Boys R Us boy band, the X-Force was massacred. Only Doop (the cameraman), U-Go Girl and the Anarchist survived. Later, Guy Smith (a.k.a. the Orphan and Mr. Sensitive) joined and became leader. The team tried to save Paco Perez, a mutant whose chest might have cures to diseases, from a dictatorship. But in the process, Saint Anna and Bloke (two new members) were killed. Guy refused to let Paco be “stripped mined” and hid him. This angered the Coach, who tried to kill Guy, only to have U-Go Girl (Guy's girlfriend) kill him. The streetwise Spike (no connects to the similarly named X-Men: Evolution character) joined. After going into Doop's mind, the team discovered they had to change their name for legal reasons. U-Go Girl died and gave the team their new name on her last breathe: the X-Statix. Venus Dee Milo joined the team and they battle a reality warping fan boy of U-Go Girl, who was holding a town hostage. They let him join, but he was later poisoned by Lacuna (a time-controlling ally of the team). Guy passed leadership on to the Anarchist. Henrietta Hunter (a zombie pop star) joined the team. Lacuna revealed the truth of the then-current owner of the team's, Spike Freeman, shady deals. Spike attacked Lacuna, only to be killed by Guy. But, Lacuna was killed by Spike and the team's public image was destroyed. The X-Statix (in an attempt to reclaim their image) battled Mr. Code and the Random Killers, but Phat (a new member) and Hunter were killed. Russian terrorists kidnapped Doop, only to have the X-Statix and the Avengers to save him. Despite disbanding, all of the team was killed on one last mission.
Roster

• Anarchist- He is African Canadian, who is the team's self-proclaimed token. He can fire energy bolts via his acid-like sweat.
• Bloke- He could change color (some of which increased his strength). He revealed himself to be gay, shortly before he was killed.
• Dead Girl- She is an undead hero able to reform her body, control her limbs (even if they are detached) and has telepathy with the dead.
• Doop- He is a bizarre pickle-shaped creature that speaks in what is seemly gibberish, but the other characters can understand him. He is the cameraman.
• El Guapo- He is attractive mutant with a sentient skate board.
• Henrietta Hunter- She is an undead pop star with enhanced psychical and mental powers.
• Mysterious Fan Boy- He is a super powerful fan boy of U-Go Girl. He has reality warping powers.
• Orphan (a.k.a. Mister Sensitive)- He is the team's unofficial leader. He is a suicidal mutant with antennas and superhuman sense, speed and levitation.
• Phat- He is parody of Vanilla Ice or Eminem, who (eventually) is openly gay and able to soften / increase the size of any of his body via expanding his fat tissues.
• Saint Anna- She is an Irish-American mutant able to levitate / control of motions of objects and heal people.
• Spike- He is a controversial African American character, who makes fun of the Anarchist.
• U-Go Girl- She is a blue-skinned teleporter. She has been emotionally linked with Zeitgeist and then Orphan.
• Venus Dee Milo- Her body is made out red energy. This allows her to teleport, fire energy blasts and heal minor wounds.
• Vivisector- He is a bookish werewolf-like mutant with enchanced senses, agility, speed and razor claws and fangs. Like Phat, he is homosexual.

Mentors

• Coach- He is the mentor for the X-Statix, but he was very manipulative. It's revealed he caused the Boys R Us disaster. He tried to sell Paco to medical companies, only for Paco to be saved by Orphan. He tried to kill Orphan, but this ironically led to his own death.
• Spike Freeman- He is an amoral billionaire, who funded the team. He is (obviously) addicted to thrills (he play Russian Roulette voluntarily). He was killed by the Orphan when he was trying to help defend the murders of innocent people.

Allies

• Lacuna- She is an on / off ally of the X-Statix and a talk show host.
• Professor X- He help build Orphan and Venus Dee Milo's special suits.
• Wolverine- He is old friend of Doop.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Statix
http://marvel.com/universe/X-Statix
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Sensitive
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/X-StatixIssue1.jpg

Plastic Man

This is my 150th post!

Fictional Character Biography
Pre-Crisis
Patrick "Eel" O'Brian was a crook that specialized in safe cracking. During a heist at Crawford Chemical Works, Patrick and his gang were confronted with by a night watchman. During their attempt to escape, Patrick was both shot and doused with an unknown acid. While fleeing, he passed out because of the gun wound. He was tended by a monk, who turned Pat's life around. During which Patrick discovered the acid somehow gave him rubber-abilities. He decided to use his powers for good and became Plastic Man. Plas (as he is nicknamed) retained his identity of Patrick to get info about the criminal underworld. Plas got himself a comedic sidekick Woozy Winks, who originally protected from harm by the forces of nature, but he simply became Plas' bumbling, loyal friend. Plas later became a member of the FBI and almost completely ditched his identity as Patrick. In the Silver Age of Comics, we meet a new Plastic Man, who was the son of the original. It was later revealed this guy was from Earth-Twelve (not the main reality).

Post-Crisis
Plastic Man's origin story was rewritten. Here his name is Eel O'Brian. In this version, he reformed, but was oblivious to his power and accidentally scared people. After realizing he was the monster everyone was scared of, he decided to jump off a bridge! However, Woozy Winks (who now is a mental patient that was ejected from the institute due to lack of funding) stopped him. Woozy convinced him to use his powers for profit. But, neither of them were sure if they should be criminals or heroes. So they flipped a coin. Hero won. After the public accidentally dubbed him "Plastic Man" (Eel wanted to be "Elastic Man"), the duo set up shop in New York. He also became a JLA member and played roles in several storylines. In “Tower of Babel”, several JLA members are sent 3,000 years in the past. Plastic Man was frozen and then shattered. The JLA couldn't find all the pieces, due to the lack of suitable technology. Back in the present, we discover he is still alive! He was reassembled and he reveals he lost his nerve and wanted to live a normal life. He quit the JLA. It's revealed his desire to become normal was mainly caused by his belief that his son needed a normal father. Batman convinced Plas to become a hero again.

One Year Later and Countdown
In One Year Later, we meet Offspring, Plastic Man's son, who has similar powers and costume to him. In Countdown To Mystery #1, Plastic feels that people having treating him as a joke. So, Eclipso mind controls him into being evil. But, Bruce Gordon managed to free Plas. Green Arrow/Black Canary #8, Green Arrow freed Plas from Dr. Sivana, who was trying to use Plas' DNA to give the amnesiac Connor Hawke superhuman healing and make Connor his pawn. In Justice League of America vol. 2, he is member of the titular team. However, Doctor Light II (Kimiyo Hoshi) questioned his effectiveness causing them to fight. But, this ends when the duo stops the Royal Flush Gang. In Justice League: Cry for Justice, he has a not-so-friendly encounter with Prometheus. In Blackest Night, a zombie Vibe tore his heart out, but Plas' powers saved him. In Justice League: Generation Lost, he (and several other heroes) tried (and failed) to find Maxwell Lord.

Powers and abilities

• Malleable Physiology- Due to existing in a fluid-like state, Plas can reshape his body at will.
• Malleability- He can stretch his body to superhuman lengths. No limits have been given.
• Size Alteration- Plas has been seen becoming inches tall and the size of skyscraper.
• Shape-Shifting- He can alter his body to look like other objects.
• Color Change- A rarely used ability. Plas can change color, but it needs intense concentration. So he doesn't like using this power.
• Invulnerability- He can withstand things that would kill a normal person.
• Regeneration- He can regenerate / recreate damaged tissues. Although this takes a long time, it's faster than a normal human's.
• Telepathic Immunity?- Batman claimed Plas is immune to telepathy. This appears to not be ture.
• Immortality- As seen in “Tower of Babel”, he seems to not age or at least does so extremely slowly.

Weakness
Due to his fluid-like state, too much heat can “melt” him and too much cold can freeze him. In some versions, chemicals like acetone destabilizes his body, but he'll become normal when the chemicals are gone. In most versions, he cannot change his color, but his son can.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_Man
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Plastic_Man_17.jpg

LGBT Themes in American Comics

To my support for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights, I am writing this post on LGBT themes in comics.
Comic Strips
Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury was the first comic strip to directly talk about homosexuals, where it introduced Andy Lippincott, who was gay. This character later died due to an AID-related death. This storyline led Garry to be nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. However, three newspapers (out of the 900 carrying the strip) refused to publish this. Mark Slackmeyer, a long time supporting character, was revealed to be gay, which got some people mad. In Bloom Country, two of the main characters met a gay couple. However, not all coming out of characters have being well received. Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse decided to make one of the characters gay, which lead to him receive death threats by people who oppose homosexuals. The widely circulated strips Candorville and The Boondocks have gay characters appear time to time. Several webcomic creators are openly gay / lesbian and some their work features gay and lesbian characters. Heavy Metal touches on many issue involving sexuality.

Mainstream American comic books

Historically, mainstream comics excluded LGBT characters. This was mainly because of the homophobic Comic Code of Authority. However, recently, comic book creators have added LGBT characters to make their fictional world more realistic. For example, Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic has included transgender characters.

DC Comics
Batman and Robin have been accused of being a gay couple. So, female characters (such as Batgirl and Batwoman) were added. Despite this, the duo have continued being associated with being gay. The Nightmaster might have been gay, but this was unclear. The New Guardian member Extraño (whose name means “Strange”) was the first obvious homosexual comic book character. But, some people thought he was too stereotypical. In Hellblazer #6 and 7 and Swamp Thing #74, John Constantine fought with gay bashers. The Sandman: A Game of You story (1991) and a 1992 Legion of Super-Heroes storyline explored transgender themes. In The Authority, two of the members, Apollo and Midnighter (seen above), were a gay couple to the point of being married. Recently, the newest version of Batwoman is lesbian and characters (such as Icemaiden, Sarah Rainmaker and the reformed Pied Piper) turned out to bisexual.

Marvel Comics
Sadly, Marvel has had a less favorable history in this matter than DC, mainly due to Jim Shooter, who banned LGBT people from Marvel Universe. However, several gay characters got their own titles, but with warning labels on them, to avoid angry conservative protests. But this was later ditched and there has been same-gender sex scenes. Northstar of the Alpha-Flight was the first major gay character in Marvel Comics. Other LGBT mutants include fan-favorite Mystique and Destiny. Phat, Vivisector, and Bloke (until they died), of the X-Statix, were all gay. X-Factor's Rictor and Shatterstar (both males) turned out to bisexual (they had an on-panel kiss). In Witches, Brian Patrick Walsh, the bad girl, sleeps with other women. In the 2002 revamp of Rawhide Kid, the titular character became one of the first openly gay characters. In Young Avengers, Hulkling and Wiccan were revealed to homosexual.

Archie Comics
In Veronica # 202, we meet Kevin Keller, a new kid in town. The titular character fell in love with him. However, Kevin reveals to Jughead, he is not interested in Veronica and is closeted homosexual. He asks Jughead to not reveal his sexuality, which he agrees (he was mad at Veronica). Most of the story focused on Veronica's cluelessness.

Other publishers
In the 1990s, there were several comic book companies that decided to ditch the Comic Code of Authority. These included Malibu, Image and Dark Horse comics. Due to not being bound by the CCA, they had greater artistic freedom and created several LGBT characters. These include Malibu Comic's Spectral and Turbo Charge, Gen13's Sarah Rainmaker (created by Wildstorm, which DC later bought). In Dark Horse's Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, we meet lesbian characters like Willow, Tara and Kennedy; and Andrew (who is a closeted homosexual).
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_themes_in_comics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batwoman
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Midnighter_wedding.jpg
[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/For_Better_or_Worse_coming_out_panel.PNG