Who has the worst origin in DC?

[protector2814]

Originally Posted by Sledge Hammer!

Yeah, it is.

"a popular soda".....

[sellin71]

Originally Posted by Primal

Elongated man came to mind...

"As a teenager, Ralph Dibny adored contortionists, or people who displayed feats of agility and suppleness. He learned that all of the body-benders he spoke with drank a popular soda called "Gingold." Ralph set to work learning chemistry and developed a super-concentrated extract of the rare Gingo fruit, which gave him his elasticity."

I rarely read DC with the exception of the Green Lantern series while growing up. What was the point of having this guy and Plastic Man?

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by sellin71

I rarely read DC with the exception of the Green Lantern series while growing up. What was the point of having this guy and Plastic Man?

For a while there, Plastic man was seen as a Mickey Mouse level character. It was like having Batman team up with Goofy. He just didn't have any legitimacy. Elongated Man was created as there was a lack of a plastic dude in DCU.

[pendragon]

Originally Posted by risingstar

For a while there, Plastic man was seen as a Mickey Mouse level character. It was like having Batman team up with Goofy. He just didn't have any legitimacy. Elongated Man was created as there was a lack of a plastic dude in DCU.

Micky Mouse?
Plas stories were light & fun, both in the 50's & 70's
In the 80's, he was portrayed as a serious character in the All-Star Squadron.

He wasn't portrayed as a joke until Morrison wrote him into his mess of the JLA.
Morrison took Plas way over the top.

[Argonus]

Originally Posted by Primal

Elongated man came to mind...

"As a teenager, Ralph Dibny adored contortionists, or people who displayed feats of agility and suppleness. He learned that all of the body-benders he spoke with drank a popular soda called "Gingold." Ralph set to work learning chemistry and developed a super-concentrated extract of the rare Gingo fruit, which gave him his elasticity."

You have GOT to be kidding me...

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by pendragon

Micky Mouse?
Plas stories were light & fun, both in the 50's & 70's
In the 80's, he was portrayed as a serious character in the All-Star Squadron.

He wasn't portrayed as a joke until Morrison wrote him into his mess of the JLA.
Morrison took Plas way over the top.

"Light and fun" is probably what ultimately cost Plastic Man some of his credibility. He was basically viewed as a kiddie hero character like Scooby Doo. The cartoon was basically written for toddlers. It wasn't "cool", if you get my meaning.

It took a while for Plastic Man to be taken seriously, that is, more seriously. Given that All Star Squadron wasn't exactly a best seller, his exploits, however profound, may not have been as appreciated as much as they could have been.

In any event, the question was, "Why was Elongated Man allowed to play in the JLA when he was basically a rip off of Plastic Man?". I would imagine that the "light and fun" representation of PM played a big role.

[bat_collector]

I like elongated man!

[joefixit2]

Originally Posted by Sledge Hammer!

Wild Dog just popped back up again in the latest issue of Booster Gold, along with Anthro and Pantha...

And personally, I always liked Wild Dog, but I saw him more as another (modern) Vigilante rip off than a Punisher one at the time, though he definitely had shades of Punisher as well.

Does he still wear the goofy football gear? anybody have a scan?

[Teague]

Good call on Raplh Dibney, but my first instinct was the Flash, too. Makes it all the worse that two Flashes have had the same origins.

I really liked Wonder Woman's origins; Superman's is a classic, too. And at least Green Lantern's origin makes some sense--he's chosen by the ring because of his fearlessness. That's cool.

Of the "Original Seven", Flash definitely has the weakest origin by far.

[pendragon]

Originally Posted by risingstar

"Light and fun" is probably what ultimately cost Plastic Man some of his credibility. He was basically viewed as a kiddie hero character like Scooby Doo. The cartoon was basically written for toddlers. It wasn't "cool", if you get my meaning.

It took a while for Plastic Man to be taken seriously, that is, more seriously. Given that All Star Squadron wasn't exactly a best seller, his exploits, however profound, may not have been as appreciated as much as they could have been.

In any event, the question was, "Why was Elongated Man allowed to play in the JLA when he was basically a rip off of Plastic Man?". I would imagine that the "light and fun" representation of PM played a big role.

So was the Super Friends
Another cartoon writen for toddlers.
Batman was a joke & didn't regain any respect until Timm's Batman cartoon.