Plasmus

Summary

Plasmus (/ˈplæzməs/) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is depicted as an enemy of the Teen Titans.[1]

Plasmus
Plasmus as depicted in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #18 (August 1986). Art by Marv Wolfman (penciller) and George Pérez (inker).
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceThe New Teen Titans #14 (December 1981)
Created byMarv Wolfman
George Pérez
In-story information
Alter egoOtto Von Furth
SpeciesMetahuman
Team affiliationsBrotherhood of Evil
Suicide Squad
Secret Society of Super Villains
Abilities

Publication history edit

Plasmus first appeared in The New Teen Titans #14 and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.[2]

Fictional character biography edit

Otto Von Furth was a mine worker in East Berlin, Germany until an unexpected cave-in trapped him and four fellow miners for seven days. During those days, Otto's co-workers died, leaving him as the only survivor. He and his fellow miners had been mining for radioactive radium and ended up exposed to it and when rescued, he was rushed to the hospital. Otto is later kidnapped by ex-Nazi General Zahl, who transforms him into a metahuman with plasma-based abilities. Subsequently, he joins the Brotherhood of Evil under the name Plasmus.[3] He and the Brotherhood of Evil fight the Teen Titans on different occasions. He enjoys these fights, but regrets not being the one to finally kill Zahl. Later, Plasmus is one of several metahumans who were corrupted and brainwashed by a cult-leader.[4] The rest of the Brotherhood of Evil reform into the Society of Sin. He is later recruited into Lex Luthor's Suicide Squad, and where he apparently dies fighting Imperiex.

Plasmus accepts an invitation to join the Secret Society of Super Villains in the Countdown to Infinite Crisis series Villains United.

Plasmus is featured in Infinite Crisis as part of a small group of villains that bombs the city of Blüdhaven. The creature known as Chemo is dropped from an aircraft and detonates, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

During the One Year Later crossover, Plasmus rejoins the Brotherhood of Evil. He is also seen in Salvation Run. He is used by Lex Luthor as a power source for a teleportation device, and is killed when it self-destructs.[5]

In The New 52, Mammoth appears as one of several villains who seek to take Blue Beetle's scarab for the Brotherhood of Evil.[6]

Powers and abilities edit

With his chemically-converted body, Plasmus' burning touch can bring a fiery death onto whomever he makes physical contact with, thus reducing them to a protoplasmic state. His touch is incurable and no normal human has withstood it.[7] He additionally possesses immense strength, stamina, and durability, as well as self-healing capabilities.

In other media edit

Television edit

  • Plasmus appears in Teen Titans, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.[8] This version uncontrollably transforms into a large, magenta sludge monster when he is awake, only reverting to human form when he is asleep or unconscious. Additionally, he can detach varying quantities of himself, which can act independently and often take on insectoid forms. Introduced in the pilot episode "Divide and Conquer", Plasmus is imprisoned and kept within a stasis chamber until Cinderblock frees him on Slade's behalf. In the episode "Transformation", the Titans inadvertently mix Plasmus with raw sewage, mutating him into a multi-eyed form with the ability to spit acid. In "Aftershock", Plasmus is temporarily fused with Cinderblock and Overload into "Ternion", but they are ultimately separated. Following Slade's death, Plasmus joins the Brotherhood of Evil in the fifth season, only to be flash-frozen alongside them by the Titans.
  • Plasmus appears in the Teen Titans Go! episode "You're Fired!".[9] This version resembles the Teen Titans animated series' incarnation post-mutation.
  • Plasmus appears in Young Justice: Outsiders, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.[8] This version is a child who was mutated by Dr. Simon Ecks and fell under Count Vertigo's control. Additionally, Otto has a sister named Ana (voiced by Grey Griffin),[10] who was similarly mutated into a lava-like monster called Plasma and fell under the Light's control. After Ana is killed while fighting the Justice League, Otto is forced to fight the Outsiders. While Black Lightning frees Plasmus from Vertigo's control, a concerned civilian kills the latter, believing him to be a monster.

Video games edit

Miscellaneous edit

Plasmus appears in Justice League Unlimited #31.[12]

References edit

  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
  2. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  3. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 268. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  4. ^ Birds of Prey #69-72 (September–October 2004). DC Comics.
  5. ^ Salvation Run #7. DC Comics.
  6. ^ Blue Beetle (vol. 8) #1 (September 2011). DC Comics.
  7. ^ Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #18 (August 1986)
  8. ^ a b c "Plasmus Voices (Teen Titans)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 6, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  9. ^ "Teen Titans Go! #114 - You're Fired! (Episode)". ComicVine. October 21, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "Ana Von Furth / Plasma Voice - Young Justice (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 6, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  11. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  12. ^ "Justice League Unlimited #31 - The One-Man Justice League (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved April 6, 2024.