Stretching a Point
Plastic Man vs. The Elongated Man
From Justice #8, 2008 (DC Comics)
This one-page confrontation, which (I think) originally appeared in Justice #8 sometime in the early 2000s, and credited to Alex Ross and Paul Dini, was a long time coming. And long overdue, although I guess it was inevitable.
The wacky, wise-cracking and infinitely elastic Plastic Man was created by legendary comic book writer and artist Jack Coles for Quality Comics way back in 1942. The character enjoyed considerable popularity for several years, first as a back-up feature in Police Comics, and later in his own series, Plastic Man, until 1956, when Quality, facing financial hardships, sold off everything to rival DC Comics.
Which is where it gets weird. Private eye and “stretchy guy” The Elongated Man was created, the story goes, when comic writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino were charged by DC Comics editor Julius Schwarz with whipping up a Plastic Man-like character, apparently unaware that DC had already owned the rights.
Doh!
Both heroes bounced (and bent, folded and mutilated themselves) around the DC Universe for years, in back-up features, in cameos, in team-ups and a back-up feature now and then. Both even became private eyes occasionally. Plastic Man scored his own short-lived book for a while; The Elongated Man appeared regularly as a back-up feature in Detective Comics, and landed a short-lived mini-series. And both eventually became members of the Justice League of America, rarely taking centre stage, but hovering in the background, trotted out when necessary, their memberships only occasionally overlapping, and their startling similarities rarely if ever addressed.
Until this scene…
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- My Scrapbook
A Cornucopia of Tear Sheets, Illustrations, Photos, Cartoons, Scribbles & Other Crap That I Think is Cool - Detectives in DC Comics
A preliminary listing of all the private eyes who have shown up in DC Comics.
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
