Every Tuesday, I post excerpts from my best-selling at not-selling super blog, Playing Favorites
On the other end of that spectrum is Plastic Man. Originally a small-time criminal who something something chemicals in the Silver Age, his entire body became plastic and he started using his newfound powers for good. Plastic Man is great because he is pretty much another normal guy, albeit with materialistic proclivities, who happens to hang out in the big leagues. He's great because he, like the Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern storyline, gets to interact with other heroes and show us what's heroic about them, and thusly, about him. Deadpool also did this, so I guess it's common for newly-minted heroes to have a series of team-ups so they can meet other heroes, get their autographs, and learn an important lesson about heroism (I did actually try to do this for Mutants and Masterminds, with the exception of the fact that the player-characters were supposed to be the heroic ones and the city natives...not so much). His powers are versatile, but limited enough that he's still provided ample challenges.
He's also a great seasoning for other heroes; I have an issue where he needs Batman's help to set this kid straight. It's naturally his own son, who has an improved version of his own elasticity powers, but instead of dealing with the kid himself, he lets Batman traumatize the tyke into not screwing around with gangs anymore. It's a great scene for Batman doing what he does best (cowardly, superstitious criminals, etc), but it's also great because we can see that Plastic Man is afraid, like I think a lot of parents are, that trying to be a parent to a kid is just too big a job for them. That Plastic Man has serious flaw, and one that isn't his inability change color or some other bullshit, but an actual fear that actual people have makes him pretty compelling.
