Over the decades, Eel O’Brian—the reformed criminal-turned-superhero known as Plastic Man—has had as twisting and winding history as is his stretching powers. He’s been portrayed as a goofball do-gooder whose jokes somewhat disturbingly coupled with PG-level David Cronenberg body horror. Plas has been a hero. A jokester. A strait-laced champion of justice. An absentee father. A father trying to right the wrongs of past. A Justice League member. A solo superhero.
Writer Christopher Cantwell is exploring those seemingly disparate interpretations and iterations in the miniseries Plastic Man No More!, which debuted this month from DC Comics’ Black Label imprint. In Plastic Man No More!, Cantwell, artists Alex Lins and Jacob Edgar, colorist Marcelo Maiolo, letterer Becca Carey, editor Matthew Levine, and executive editor Chris Conroy follow a Plastic Man who finds himself grappling with cellular degradation that might be irreversible. What’s more, this development could impact his relationship with his son, who might be at risk of the same affliction as Plas.
I spoke with Mr. Cantwell recently about the conceit of Plastic Man No More!, Plastic Man’s physical and emotional state at the beginning of the first issue, how Eel O’Brian’s relationship with his estranged son factors into the miniseries, and the enduring legacy of Plastic Man.
Christopher Cantwell’s comic book writing credits have continued to grow over the years, becoming known for getting at the heart and emotional core of whatever character he tackles. The first issue of Plastic Man No More! #1 follows that tradition, with Cantwell and the all-star creative team moving readers to invest their time in the flawed and flexible hero.
Plastic Man No More! #1 cover by Alex Lins and Marcelo Maiolo
FreakSugar: Before we get into the miniseries, what is your history with Plastic Man?
Christopher Cantwell: Plastic Man I remember from a very, very young age. I loved how goofy he was but for some reason his powers always deeply disturbed me. I don’t know why. The bending and stretching ad infinitum were too much. And as an adult, it suggests a kind of super-resilience, like he can bounce back from anything unaffected. That he’s basically invulnerable.
This story came out of me wanting to challenge that. What kind of damage—physically and emotionally—might he not be able to bounce back from?
FS: How did you become involved in Plastic Man No More!? Was it something you pitched or were you approached with the idea?
CC: This was very much an idea that I brought to DC Black Label and pestered editor Chris Conroy about for months. I was thrilled when they said yes. I had done a body horror one-shot with the Fantastic Four and had begun to explore people’s powers failing them in freakish ways, and I wanted to pursue that idea more. And Plastic Man provided a character template completely different from the FF. How would something like this affect him when he’d already screwed up a lot of his life and had barely crawled his way to being a hero? How easy might it be for him to backslide out of despair?
FS: Where do we find Eel O’Brian at the beginning to the book?
CC: Eel has been in the Justice League for years. He’s left his criminal past behind him, and more sadly, his wife and kid, who’s now grown and estranged from him (Offspring, from the Teen Titans). Then Eel experiences something that catalyzes a rapid depolymerizing—a cellular degradation of plastic that may be irreversible.
FS: This book focuses on Plastic Man making amends for his past as well as helping his son, both of whom are contending with genetic issues. What was your approach in writing their father/son dynamic?
CC: I wrote from my own fears of failing my own children in a myriad of ways. I’m constantly worried about letting them down or not being there for them, then also being overbearing and forcing them into decisions that I think are best for them.
FS: The team you’re working with is stacked. What has the collaboration process been like on the book?
CC: I’ve been working with Alex Lins for years now. He and I were nominated for an Eisner last year for a Moon Knight short story. We did a Hellcat book that I’m incredibly proud of, and he also took on the second arc of my book Briar at Boom. I just love the guy. Jacob Edgar has been doing our pages that show the JLA through Plas’ perspective and they’re gorgeous, reminiscent of Darwin Cooke. Then Marco comes in and beautifully brings everything to life with such rich color and Becca’s lettering is top tier. Matt and Chris have been overseeing editorial and really taking care of us on the book.
FS: There have several different slants and iterations of Plastic Man over the years. Who is Plastic Man to you?
CC: He’s been a goofball. A bit of a con artist. And a hero. Sometimes he’s done things I believe even darker than what happens in our book. None of those are wrong and we’re not erasing any of that. That’s what I love about these legacy characters—stories can be interpretations of them and they’re all right.
I really tried to reach back to Jack Cole’s Plas in this, the roots. But also touch on the sad saga of his broken family which is essential to this story. He is someone in our book who really worries that no one has ever taken him seriously. He wonders too late if he’s even taken himself seriously. So, there’s a chip on his shoulder, and a question of who he is really deep down.
FS: Following up on that, Plastic Man is a character who has been played for laughs, but creators have worked hard to bring depth to him over the years. What was your mission statement for the book? What do you hope to add to his legacy?
CC: I want to hopefully synthesize both those iterations into one guy, and unify all these different aspects of him. These characters essentially live forever but sometimes we get to do stories of if they didn’t, and so this gets to be a referendum on so many aspects of this man. I want to render a version of him that is complicated—someone who makes good and bad decisions with good intentions, has hurt people, helped people, and more than anything, is seen as a human being by the reader.
FS: And as to that legacy, what makes him a compelling character to write? Why do you think he continues to be a fan favorite?
CC: His resilience and steadfastness are often reliable for readers, which is precisely why we’re toying with that. He’s funny and enjoyable and buoyant. He is that in our book, but we also deal with what might be motivating those traits.
FS: What are you reading right now?
CC: Making my way through My Friends by Hisham Matar. Also, The First Third by Neal Cassady. On the comics side, I’m still reading most of the Energon books which are superb. Conan by Zub and de la Torre continues to astound. Ultimate Spider-Man is so precise. Helen of Wyndhorn is a masterpiece. And I can’t wait for to see what Alex Paknadel does in Sentinels.
FS: Is there anything you’re working on at the moment you would like to discuss?
CC: Right now, I’m in production on the third season of The Terror for AMC entitled Devil in Silver, which should premiere next year. It’s years in the making with my showrunning partner Victor LaValle, whose novel the show is based on. I also have a fun book coming from Vault this fall called Kid Maroon, and a soon to be announced DC book that will fall in their mainline continuity. And our Star Trek books are building to another epic crossover event in the spring called LORE WAR… so stay tuned.
FS: Is there anything you can tease about what we can expect to see in the book?
CC: Plastic Man’s bad decisions are going to have real consequences. Severe consequences. And I will say that Robin is showing up soon.
FS: If you had one final pitch for the comic, what would it be?
CC: The story is fun and weighty. The art is really special. But this is also a book about what happens when life catches up to us, often by surprise. What do we do in those situations? How do we handle it? And is it okay to make peace with being a misfit?
Plastic Man No More! #1 is on sale now from DC Black Label. Issue #2 goes on sale
From the official description of issue #1:
Eel O’Brian might be a superhero now—but before he was anything else, he was a crook. Until the accident that turned him into the pliable Plastic Man, Eel was bad to the bone…and just because he no longer has bones doesn’t mean that’s not still true. When an incident on a Justice League mission leads to catastrophic cellular damage, Plastic Man discovers he just might be out of time to make amends for the past he’s tried hard to outrun—or to save the soul of his son, who (unfortunately for him) might have inherited more from dear old Dad than just his superpowers…The Eisner-nominated creative team of Christopher Cantwell (Briar, Doctor Doom, Halt and Catch Fire) and Alex Lins (Monarch) brings you the five words you thought you’d never read: “hard-boiled Plastic Man noir”! And hey, if we’re crazy enough to greenlight that concept, you won’t believe the things we’re crazy enough to do in this book…