Wikipedia

Plasmus

Plasmus
Plasmus as depicted in Who's Who in 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

Plasmus (/ˈplæzməs/) (Otto Von Furth) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a German supervillain and an enemy of the Teen Titans who possesses a protoplasmic touch and was formerly a miner before General Zahl rescued him from a cave and later mutated him.[1]

Dee Bradley Baker and Yuri Lowenthal respectively voice reimagined versions of Plasmus in Teen Titans and Young Justice. Both are depicted as more sympathetic than the comics version, respectively being a human with an uncontrollable monstrous form and a child who was kidnapped and exploited for his abilities as part of a human trafficking operation.

Publication history

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

Fictional character biography

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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. Von Furth's co-workers die, leaving him as the only survivor. After being rescued, Von Furth is hospitalized to be treated for radium poisoning. He 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 able to kill Zahl.

The Brotherhood of Evil later reforms into the Society of Sin. During the "Our Worlds at War" event, Plasmus is recruited into Lex Luthor's Suicide Squad and apparently dies fighting Imperiex.[4]

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 who bomb the city of Blüdhaven. The creature known as Chemo is dropped from an aircraft and detonates, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people.[5]

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.[6]

Plasmus is resurrected following The New 52, which rebooted the continuity of the DC universe. He appears as one of several villains who seek to take Blue Beetle's scarab for the Brotherhood of Evil.[7]

Powers and abilities

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Plasmus' body is made of chemicals that dissolve whatever they touch, reducing objects and people to a protoplasmic state.[8] He additionally possesses immense strength, stamina, and durability, as well as self-healing capabilities.

Other versions

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Plasmus appears in Tiny Titans.[9]

In other media

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Television

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  • Plasmus appears in Teen Titans (2003), voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.[10] This version uncontrollably transforms into a sludge monster while awake, only reverting to human form while unconscious. Additionally, he can detach varying quantities of himself which can act independently and often take on insectoid forms. Later in the series, Plasmus mutates further, gains the ability to generate acid, and joins the Brotherhood of Evil.
  • Plasmus, based on the Teen Titans (2003) incarnation, appears in Teen Titans Go! (2013).[10]
  • Plasmus appears in Young Justice, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.[10] This version is a Markovian child who was kidnapped and had his metagene activated as part of a metahuman trafficking operation. While battling the Justice League, Plasmus is shot and killed by a farmer who believes him to be a monster.[11][12]

Video games

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Miscellaneous

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References

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  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 Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. p. 268. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  4. ^ Cronin, Brian (September 25, 2021). "How Superman's Killer Doomsday Was Recruited by the Suicide Squad". CBR. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2025. Amanda Waller recruited a number of major heavyweight villains including Chemo, Shrapnel, Mongul and Plasmus working under the direction of Manchester Black (the head of the Authority substitute known as The Elite) to go on a special secret mission as a new Suicide Squad specifically to help even the odds against Imperiex.
  5. ^ Winick, Judd (w), Battle, Eric (p), Ramos, Rodney (i), Sinclair, Alex (col). "All They Do is Watch Us Kill, Part 2" Batman, vol. 1, no. 649 (March 2006). DC Comics.
  6. ^ Sturges, Lilah (w), Chen, Sean (p), Wong, Walden; Faucher, Wayne (i), Kalisz, John; Chu, Tom S. (col). "We Gotta Get Out of this Planet" Salvation Run, vol. 1, no. 7 (July 2008). DC Comics.
  7. ^ Bedard, Tony (w), Guara, Ig (p), José, Ruy (i), Pantazis, Pete (col). "Metamorphosis, Part One" Blue Beetle, vol. 8, no. 1 (November 2011). DC Comics.
  8. ^ Who's Who in the DC Universe #18 (August 1986)
  9. ^ Salvatore, Brian (March 2, 2012). "Review: Tiny Titans #49". Multiversity Comics. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2025. And so, when reading Tiny Titans #49, I tried to not care why Clayface and Plasmus weren't villains, or other totally irrelevant matters. Instead, I laughed my ass off at the Legion cameos, enjoyed seeing Larfleeze done in the inimitable Baltazar style, and generally smiled the entire issue.
  10. ^ a b c d "Plasmus Voices (Teen Titans)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. 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 credits or other reliable sources of information.
  11. ^ Dandeneau, Jim (January 6, 2019). "Young Justice Season 3 Episode 3 Review: Eminent Threat". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2024. The only place this show has really failed so far this season is when the regular guy walks out of his house, walks back in, and then later shoots Plasmus. The first 2/3 of that are played for laughs, I think (or at least I can't stop laughing about the look on his face), and then he kills a kid. A bit jarring.
  12. ^ Mills, Joey (January 6, 2019). "Young Justice: Outsiders Season 3 'Eminent Threat' (Spoiler Recap)". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2025. Freed from Vertigo's control, Otto helps the team defeat Ecks as Vertigo escapes. Halo resurrects and heals. It looks like another victory for the team until the farmer returns and shoots Otto – thinking the metahuman a monster.
  13. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on October 11, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  14. ^ "Teen Titans Go! #14 - If You Can't Beat 'Em... (Issue)". Comic Vine. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2025. Speedy joins the Titans as Plasmus returns to menace the city!