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 DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

. He is depicted as an enemy of the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to ...

Publication history

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

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four'' and '' The Avengers'' for Marvel Comics. In the 198 ...

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 Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

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 Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rat ...

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. Publicat ...

, who mutated him into a blob-like state. His body changed into an unstable protoplasm. He is brought into the

Brotherhood of Evil 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 ...

where he took the name Plasmus. He and the Brotherhood of Evil fight the

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 Pa ...

. He is later recruited into

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

where he apparently dies fighting

Imperiex Imperiex () is a supervillain character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He was initially introduced as an adversary to the superhero Superman before becoming a main antagonist for DC Comics' the "Our Worlds at War" crossover. ...

. 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 ''Villains United'' is a six-issue 2005 comic book limited series, published by DC Comics, written by Gail Simone and illustrated by Dale Eaglesham and Wade Von Grawbadger, and later by Val Semeiks and Prentis Rollins. Publication history ''Vil ...

''. Plasmus is featured in ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'' 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 "One Year Later" is a 2006 comic book storyline running through books published by DC Comics. It involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Universe following the events of the ''Infinite Crisis'' storyline, to explore ...

'' crossover, Plasmus rejoins the Brotherhood of Evil. He is also seen in ''

Salvation Run ''Salvation Run'' is a seven-issue 2007-2008 DC Comics limited series which was designed to tie into the company's major event series ''Final Crisis'' in 2008. Premise The premise of the series, which is based on a pitch by George R. R. Martin, ...

''. He is used by

as a power source for a teleportation device, and is killed when it self-destructs. Plasmus appears in ''

Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes who appear in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the ri ...

'' #1 from

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

(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 avoi ...

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 ''

'', vocal effects provided by

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'' ...

. 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

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

'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

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'', voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. This version is a child who was mutated by Dr. Simon Ecks and fell under

Count Vertigo Count Vertigo is a supervillain created by Gerry Conway, Trevor Von Eeden and Vince Colletta as an enemy of Black Canary and later Green Arrow in the DC Comics Universe. Count Vertigo is the last descendant of the royal family that ruled the sma ...

's control. Additionally, Otto has a sister named Ana (voiced by

Grey Griffin Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

), who was similarly mutated into a lava-like monster called "Plasma" and fell under the

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

's control. After Ana's heart gives out while being forced to fight the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...

, Otto is forced to fight the Outsiders. While

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' #1 (April 1977), during ...

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 ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics univers ...

'' 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