Plasmus () is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by DC Comics. He is depicted as an enemy of the Teen Titans.

Publication history

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

Fictional character biography

Otto Von Furth was a mine worker in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

, 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 General Zahl is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Initially known as Captain Zahl, he is a former officer of the German Navy who has come into conflict with the Doom Patrol from time to time. Publica ...

, who mutated him into a blob-like state. His body changed into an unstable protoplasm. He is brought into the Brotherhood of Evil where he took the name Plasmus. 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 General Zahl. Later, Plasmus ends up as one of the many metabeings corrupted and brainwashed by a cult-leader. The rest of the Brotherhood of Evil reform into the

Society of Sin The Brotherhood of Evil is a group of DC Comics supervillains, archenemies of the original Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans and enemies of the Justice League. The Brotherhood of Evil appears in the third season of the HBO Max series ''Doom Patrol ...

. He is later recruited into Lex Luthor's Suicide Squad where he apparently dies fighting Imperiex. Plasmus accepts an invitation to join the

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978, ...

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. Plasmus appears in '' Blue Beetle'' #1 from The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe). He is one of the villains looking for the scarab with

Phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...

and

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

for the Brotherhood of Evil.''Blue Beetle'' vol. 8 #1 (September 2011). DC Comics.

Powers and abilities

With his radioactive and chemically-converted body, Plasmus' touch can bring a fiery death onto his opponents, reverting them to a protoplasmic state. The touch has no cure and no normal human has withstood it. Plasmus can also loosen his cells so that bullets cannot hurt him. He is also able to gather his body if it is scattered while in its less cohesive state.

In other media

Television

* Plasmus appears in '' Teen Titans'', vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker. This version's alter ego uncontrollably transform into a large, magenta sludge monster when he is awake, only reverting to human form when he is asleep or unconscious. Additionally, in his monstrous form, Plasmus can detach varying quantities of himself, which can act independently and often take on crab-like forms. Introduced in the pilot episode "Divide and Conquer", Plasmus is imprisoned and kept within a stasis chamber until Cinderblock breaks him out to fight the Teen Titans 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 (Part 2)", Plasmus is temporarily fused with Cinderblock and Overload into "Ternion", but they are ultimately separated from each other. Following Slade's death, Plasmus joins the Brotherhood of Evil in season five, only to be flash-frozen alongside them by the Titans. * Plasmus appears in the '' Teen Titans Go!'' episode "You're Fired!" This version resembles the ''Teen Titans'' animated series' incarnation post-mutation. * Plasmus appears in '' Young Justice:

Outsiders Outsider(s) may refer to: Film * Outsider (1997 film), ''Outsider'' (1997 film), a 1997 Slovene-language film * Outsider (2012 film), ''Outsider'' (2012 film), a Malayalam-language Indian film * Outsiders (1980 film), ''Outsiders'' (1980 film), a ...

'', voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. 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), who was similarly mutated into a lava-like monster called "Plasma" and fell under the Light's control. After Ana's heart gives out while being forced to fight the Justice League, Otto is forced to fight the

. While Black Lightning frees Plasmus from Vertigo's control, a concerned civilian kills the latter, believing he was a monster.

Miscellaneous

Plasmus appears in the '' Justice League Unlimited'' tie-in comic book.

References

{{Suicide Squad Fictional German people DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics supervillains DC Comics metahumans DC Comics titles Comics characters introduced in 1981 Characters created by George Pérez Characters created by Marv Wolfman Fictional miners