Plastique (character)

Plastique first appeared in The Fury of Firestorm #7 (December 1982) and was created by Gerry Conway and Pat Broderick. ==Fictional character biography==

Plastique is introduced as a terrorist attempting to coerce the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada. She subsequently makes several appearances during Gerry Conway's tenure as writer of that series. Plastique also appears in Captain Atom as an adversary, later love interest, of the titular hero. Firestorm In her first appearance, Plastique attempts to bomb the New York News Express using a set of bombs attached to her costume. However, Firestorm disarms her by vaporizing her clothing, leaving her naked and humiliated in public while Firestorm takes the bombs to explode in a safer area. Her followers eventually abandon her after becoming disillusioned with the use of force and violence to advance their shared cause, after which Plastique becomes a mercenary. Eventually she reformed, subsequently earning a pardon from the U.S. government and marrying Captain Atom. The two later separate, with Plastique returning to the Suicide Squad. The New 52 In The New 52 continuity reboot, Plastique appears as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains. She later infiltrates A.R.G.U.S. to plant a bomb on Doctor Light's body. In Forever Evil, the Crime Syndicate sends Plastique, Black Bison, Hyena, Multiplex, and Typhoon to attack a hospital to finish Gorilla Grodd's work in Central City. ==Powers and abilities==

Originally Plastique wore a costume covered with plastic explosives, which she could trigger and detonate manually. She has since gained the ability to project explosive force at will by touching an object with her fingertips. ==Other versions==

A possible future variant of Plastique appears in The New 52: Futures End. This version is a thief and mercenary from the year 2020. ==In other media==

Television • Plastique appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Task Force X", voiced by Juliet Landau. This version is an explosives and demolition expert and a member of the eponymous Task Force X. • Plastique appears in Smallville, portrayed by Jessica Parker Kennedy. This version is a metahuman and member of the Suicide Squad who was previously kidnapped and held prisoner by LuthorCorp as a child. • Bette Sans Souci appears in The Flash episode "Plastique", portrayed by Kelly Frye. This version is an EOD specialist for the U.S. Army who gained her abilities after being exposed to dark matter from the explosion of S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator and fused with bomb shrapnel. While on the run from General Wade Eiling, who intends to weaponize her, Souci encounters the Flash and his allies, who create special gloves to negate her abilities. Souci is later killed while secretly attempting to kill Eiling. • Plastique appears in the Harley Quinn episode "Harlivy", voiced by Kari Wahlgren. This version is a minor member of the Suicide Squad. After being kidnapped by Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, Amanda Waller calls in Plastique to successfully buy her time to escape. Ivy then restrains Plastique, who commits suicide via one of her explosives. Film Plastique makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Injustice. • Plastique appears as a playable DLC character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. ==Reception==

The character of Plastique has been portrayed in diverse ways in its various appearances: considered "a classic DC villainess" by Tierney Bricker, "she has flirted with good on occasion". Reviewers Scott Von Doviak, Brianna Reeves and Felix Böhme found Plastique's appearance in The Flash TV series interesting and nuanced, both in comparison to other representations of the character as well as other comic antagonists: she is shown as a victim, but still as a dangerous and uncontrolled force, making how to deal with her a moral conundrum for the team of the titular hero. Reviewer Rachel Paige commented on the impact of Plastique's changing backstory: she found the idea from the comics, that the character got her supernatural explosive abilities by "some handy genetic engineering" terrifying, but getting her powers from the S.T.A.R. Labs explosion like the Flash from the TV series only mildly so. while the character was still portrayed with a sense of shame when unclad in public. ==References==