Plastic Man No More! #4
Chad Burdette
Recap
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.
Comic Watch Review:
- Plastic Man No More #1: It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
- Plastic Man No More! #2: I’ll Stop The World And Melt With You
- Plastic Man No More! #3 – Plastic Man Got No Brain Plastic Man Don’t Feel No Pain
There sure are a lot of people who'd like to stop him from detonating the nuclear bomb he fashioned out of a member of the Metal Men — including the very son he's trying to save with this kamikaze scheme. But Patrick has come too far and sacrificed too much to stop now...
Review
Plastic Man No More! #4 is the final installment, at least for now, of this Black Label series that deconstructed, literally and figuratively, Eel O’Brian, better known in the DCU as Plastic Man. The issue sees Eel pushed to the edge and left with no options but to try to reverse his condition by exposing himself and his son to a nuclear explosion.
Cantwell continues to dig into the wound of Eel’s regrets of not being the father to his son that he should have been and his inner conflict of whether or not the risk of exposing Luke to something that may or may not save his life down the road. In this issue, Luke also gets more character development as he looks to be adopting some of his father’s lesser qualities following his dad’s apparent death.
Cantwell continues to portray the Justice League as uncompassionate group, who could really care less about Plas’s death and apparent crimes he committed throughout the series, be they accidental or on purpose to further his plan to save himself and his son. Tim Drake also gets some pot shots directed towards Batman at the same time.
Lins and Edgar, along with Mailo, bring Eel’s decomposition to ghastly and vibrant life on the page and show the emotions that Eel is going through in his final moments.
While the series doesn’t end on the happiest of notes, there is a palpable level of catharsis for the characters and are tease for readers that there is more of the story yet to be told.
Final Thoughts
Plastic Man No More! #4 and the series as a whole jas been an interesting and deconstruction of Plastic Man, the sometimes criminal and sometimes hero. Unlike previous stories that have looked at Plastic Man and his struggle to make amends for his past, this series has been one that puts the father/son relation under the microscope and tugs at the heartstrings instead of going for the slapstick side of the characters.
Plastic Man No More! #4: It’s The Final Meltdown…
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 8.5/108.5/10
- Art - 9/109/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10
