[SPOILER] Returns in Dark Days: The Forge #1

Warning: spoilers ahead for Dark Days: The Forge #1, in stores today.

About halfway through the dark mystery that is Dark Days: The Forge #1 from Bat-family writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV, Batman and Mr. Terrific -- two of the world's greatest minds, working on a top-secret project together -- agree that "it's time to let him out of the box."

Who's 'him?'

Well, according to Batman, "We all agreed he was too unstable...that there was no end to what he could do if we weren't careful. But I'm going to need him for what comes next."

In this dark scene, lit only by the LED green of a Wayne Enterprises security system, Terrific finally...smiles.

And as the reader turns the page, a large, egg-shaped something is in the middle of the room, held in place by an elaborate metal apparatus.

Longtime DC fans will quickly recognize the egg-shaped "something" as Plastic Man.

Patrick "Eel" O'Brien was a small-time crook and con artist who, after an accident imbued him with the ability to stretch and shape his body into an infinite number of forms, decided to go straight and use his newfound abilities as a superhero.

In addition to his malleable physiology, Plastic Man enjoys invulnerability, size alteration, superhuman strength and agility, regenerative abilities, immunity from telepathic attacks, and he seemingly does not age.

The character, who was a staple on the Justice League from around the time of the mid-'90s JLA relaunch until Flashpoint in 2011, has hardly been seen since the reboot.

Two notable exceptions are Justice League International #1, in which Plastic Man was pictured (see top) as one of a handful of superheroes who were considered as potential candidates for the JLI; and Justice League #25, in which O'Brien was seen as a criminal, and his origin briefly touched upon as part of the Forever Evil event.

If "Plas," who starred in his own animated series from 1979-1981, plays a significant role in Dark Days: The Forge, it will be his first full-on story since the 2011 reboot.