We can only hope this will turn into a monthly ongoing. He’s getting it here as both Simone and Melo clearly understand the narrative and visual needs of the character.

Plastic Man is a classic character who deserves the best. This is probably the strongest issue of the series so far! No negatives here! One can only hope this ends in a showdown between Ragdoll and Plastic Man! Additionally, the surprise villains at the end promise a bigger scope for this story. The appearance of 1/2 of the Secret Six is welcomed as it marries another part of Simone’s career with the current title. While Simone and Melo have turned this relationship into a very different dynamic with Plas as father figure, the Prince’s admiration of Plas feels very similar to Woozy’s role, often inspiring Plas to do the right thing. Woozy was never that smart, but he had a “for sure” admiration for Plastic Man. Perhaps, it’s the green outfit that the Suave Prince wears, but there are a few moments in this issue that feel like the Suave Prince is being used to evoke Plastic Man’s Golden Age sidekick, Woozy Winks. What? The girls from the club “know” a scientist? Oh, yeah, he’s a regular in the front row…. “I want my mommy!” says the Suave Prince. This continues throughout the issue as the unexpected produces humorous sequences. Sammy’s girlfriend in the opening sequence, despite her troubles manages to elicit laughs. This issue really finds a lot of humor which is so integral to the character. (Why has the Justice League been implicated in the murder….) Ten minutes later Eel works out that Obscura’s been playing him all along…but, for what reason? It doesn’t look good as a group of serious bad guys are revealed including, Hugo Strange, Per Degaton and Amazo.

This leads to Plastic Man launching himself across the city to encounter 1/2 of the Secret Six… They’ve been hired by neighbors of the man Eel’s been accused of murdering…. She does, thankfully, but Eel gets a call from his friends at the club who’ve consulted a scientist on that alien script…. He calls in Obscura to try and help, thinking a woman might know more about kids.

He struggles to make headway with the waif as he knows nothing about kids. “Lotion,” she demands! Eel walks through the streets of streets of Cole City with the Suave Prince trying to make sense of all that’s transpired. After Sammy has attempted to give his girlfriend a gimmick for the entertainment industry, he comes to realize that her skin is really dry….

Powerless Against You by Gail Simone