DC Comics hero Plastic Man isn’t looking very heroic right now, as he just slaughtered some of his fellow DC superheroes. SPOILERS – This horrific twist in Plastic Man’s character comes in DCeased: Dead Planet #2. As the surviving Justice League members learn more about the truth a cure to the Anti-Life Equation that has zombified the Earth, John Constantine and his Shadowpact team are contacted by Swamp Thing, who tells them that a safe haven “garden” in Australia is under siege and needs saving. Constantine and co. reluctantly agree to take the mission – but none of them realizes that an undead Plastic Man is waiting for them!
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Constantine, Zatanna, Rag Man, Blue Devil, Swamp Thing, and Detective Chimpazee all arrive in Australia, and find what is described as a “Horror Cake.” The Australian bunker is surrounded by a circle of Hellfire, a moat of blood, and then an army of undead in the thousands – no small mess for Shadowpact to clean up. However, between Constantine and Zatanna’s magic, and Swamp Thing’s connection to The Green, Shadowpact feels like they have it handled. Unfortunately, Shadowpact realizes that the river of blood is not that at all: it was a swirling mass of undead Plastic Man!
Writer Tom Taylor treats the scene like a true horror movie moment, with some pretty gut-punch descriptions of the horrible deaths that Shadowpact suffers:
“Shadowpact survived so much for so long. But that day the fact was broken, torn apart as easily as rags [Rag Man gets cut in half]. Magic words were unspoken, as lungs were filled with undead shape-shifter [Zatanna is impaled in the mouth and eyes]. Impervious skin was useless, as eyes and brain matter were forced out of a devil’s head from the inside [Blue Devil impaled through the mouth]. Earth’s magical rescuers fell into a mouth of evil.”
The final panel sees Detective Chimp, Constantine, and Swamp Thing, all falling into the mouth of undead Plastic Man, who transforms into a monster out of John Carpenter’s The Thing. It’s pretty much a version of Plastic Man that will haunt the dreams of DC fans for years – just like the scenes of watching some of their favorite DC magical heroes (Zatanna) get horribly slaughtered.
Over the years, Plastic Man has gone from being a zany comedic character to often being one of the most powerful and pivotal characters in big DC Universe events. Taylor’s imagination of what that power of looks like in a horror setting is just one more reason why fans love this DCeased universe.
DCeased: Dead Planet is now on sale.
