At some point in his history, Plastic Man became kind of a horn-dog.
I can’t pinpoint exactly when this happened, but I’d guess it was during his reintroduction in the early 80s. Now, this isn’t to say Plas had never fallen under the charms of various femme fatales throughout the years. But as the character was ushered into our more modern times, two things happened; he became the comic relief, and he started hitting on every hot babe in the room.
Honestly, I’ve got my problems with both of these developments, but that doesn’t mean both characteristics haven’t been used effectively. And at this point, they’ve pretty much become standard personality traits for Plastic Man, for good and bad.
So, on which side of the fence does this mostly goofy page from Superman #110 fall? I’ll leave that up to you, but that second panel made me both chuckle and raise an eyebrow at the raunchy implications in Plastic Man’s seemingly innocent gallantry. I’m not surprised scripter Jerry Ordway got away with this one, though — after all, it was published in 1996, and Ordway’s sly wink was subtle enough to be considered an inside joke for his already-aging audience.
Besides, if the Loony Tunes could get away with this sort of thing once in while, why not Plastic Man?
Page from Superman #110
Writers: Dan Jurgens (plot), Jerry Ordway (script)
Artists: Ron Frenz, Joe Rubinstein
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