Plastic Man #3
Joe Bainbridge
Recap
Sammy the Suitcase brings his best girl Janet to a club to audition for a singing gig. The owner refuses to let her sing in his joint and leaves, saying that she's gonna need a gimmick if he were to think about letting her in. Meanwhile, Plastic Man is shifting into Harley Quinn, confusing Man-bat.
The Cabal sends troops to fight Plastic Man and they attack with tasers. A brawl ensues and the Cabal forces attack Plastic Man when he was carrying Pado, but Man-bat had a change of heart and rescued him from the fatal fall. Plastic Man continues to fight off the troops and they manage to escape.
Meanwhile, Sammy is taking Janet out saying that the owner told him that she had potential. Sammy gets a call from one of his old crew saying that the JLA got Benny and killed him. Doris drops by a neighbor of Benny's who confirms with photographic evidence that Plastic Man killed Benny. Eel drops Pado at the strip club where the girls can look after him. Sammy takes Janet to the chemical factory where Eel first got burned and turned and shoots her into the chemicals.
Review
The latest issue of Plastic Man doesn’t leap out at me. The story is relatively bland though continues to advance with some attempts to be interesting. Man-bat is a fun addition to the team and his abilities are exciting and work well with plastic man’s volatility. The Gangster storyline shows promise with Janet being thrown into the chemicals, but Sammy has no stand out personality and seems to be set on the path to forgettable villain, which is a shame. This issue primarily focuses on Pado and Eels relationship with Eel being a paternal figure to the child. He feels a sense of responsibility as seen when he saves him from the Cabal.
The art is a classic 1990’s Gangster feel but it doesn’t really work for me in this story. It may work with another hero but Plastic man needs fun art that works on a big scale rather than the streets of a dingy city.
Final Thoughts
The comic is set in a bland, dull city with no real personality and has a story to match it. We are halfway through the story and if it doesn't get good soon it will be forgotten amongst other miniseries. Sammy's story may spice up in the coming issues...
Plastic Man #3: Rescuing Pado Swakatoon
- Writing - 6.2/106.2/10
- Storyline - 6.3/106.3/10
- Art - 5.5/105.5/10
- Color - 5.9/105.9/10
- Cover Art - 6.8/106.8/10