Offspring (comics)

Offspring is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is the son of Plastic Man and has most of his father's powers; these include stretching with a limit due to the fact he did not inherit his father's powers but drank a watered down version. He also has the ability to change his shape.

Offspring
Cover to Offspring #1 (February 1999). Art by Frank Quitely.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceThe Kingdom: Offspring #1 (1999)
As Luke O'Brian:
JLA #65 (June 2002)
Created byMark Waid
Frank Quitely
In-story information
Alter egoLuke Ernie "Loogie" McDunnagh O'Brian
Team affiliationsTeen Titans
AbilitiesCan stretch with limitations, change color, and shape his highly resilient body into any shape he can imagine. Immune to telepathy.

Character Biography

Kingdom Come

Offspring's first appearance was in a one-shot issue of the same name, a spin-off of the miniseries The Kingdom. His outfit was a predominantly white all-in-one, with black areas laid out in a similar hexagon/pentagon design to a classic 32-panel soccer ball; his hair also had a hexagonal edge to its cut.

Offspring later appeared in the final issue of The Kingdom miniseries, teamed with Kid Flash, Nightstar, and Ibn al Xu'ffasch to attempt to save the timestream from Gog. In this version he is named Ernie O'Brian. He is treated as a joke professionally and personally by his friends, family, and even foes. However he learns to accept his place on the team as the funny member. His relationship with his dad is close and happy; however, his girlfriend, Micheline, is unhappy with the lack of respect his goofy behavior is causing.[1][2]

Mainstream continuity

Although Offspring did not exist in the then-current DC continuity, it was revealed in the pages of JLA that Plastic Man has a son named Luke "Loogie" McDunnagh – his illegitimate child by "Angel" McDunnagh – who has powers greater than his own, with the ability to easily change his color and mass as well as his shape. He initially appeared when Plastic Man asked Batman for his help in scaring the kid straight after he fell in with a gang, Plastic Man admitting in the process that he ran away from Luke's mother after getting over the irony of a rubber man accidentally getting someone pregnant because he was afraid of turning out like his own father. Although Batman subsequently intimidated Luke into leaving the gang and going back to his mother, he noted during a conversation with Plastic Man that he was disappointed in the other man because he had always thought that he would be the best father of the League as he believed Plastic Man would show his children that he loved them rather than just telling them, and advised him to consider getting back in touch with his son later.

After the Obsidian Age storyline saw Plastic Man spend three thousand years scattered across the ocean floor as crumbs until the League of the present were able to stick him back together, he took time off to be with Luke, even mentally 'programming' himself to forget his heroic identity and powers, but Luke and Batman convinced him to go back to action when the Martian Manhunter regressed to a 'Burning Martian' identity as the telepathy-immune Plastic Man was the only person capable of opposing him in a fight.

Offspring appears briefly in Teen Titans vol.3, #34, and it is shown that he served as a member of the Titans during the one year jump. The character wears a white costume with red goggles, a costume similar to that of The Kingdom's Offspring. In Geoff Johns's script for Teen Titans #34, it is revealed that he is indeed Plastic Man's son, Luke.[3] Additionally, in Teen Titans #38, a photograph is displayed showing Offspring and Plastic Man next to each other.

In 52 Week 35, Offspring appears, recovering from overstretching after saving twenty members of Lex Luthor's "Everyman" hero groups. Lex had deactivated their powers, causing dozens to fall from the sky. During his appearance he is called "Ernie" by Plastic Man, not Luke. In Week 40, he assists Steel in launching an attack on Lexcorp when Natasha is captured by Luthor. He's later involved with the storyline of World War III. He tries to defeat the insane Black Adam by grasping his brain from the inside; this plan fails. He is able to recover fast, later joking with his father about the lack of humor of his superpowered foe.

In Countdown to Mystery it is revealed that Ernie is his middle name, and Luke his first name, as Offspring criticizes his father for preferring to call him Ernie, a name with which the young hero is less than enamored.

Offspring is later one of teen heroes captured and brainwashed into fighting at the Dark Side Club. After being rescued by Miss Martian and Ravager, Offspring is offered a spot on the Teen Titans line-up by Wonder Girl. Like most of the other survivors, he declines.[4] During Superboy-Prime's attack on Titans Tower, Offspring appears as one of the former Titans who arrives to help fight him off.[5]

In the pages of the Terrifics, Lee is reintroduced with roughly the same powers and personality, living with his birth mother Angel. He is reluctant and angry at his father for not meeting him for years (as Plastic Man was trapped in his egg form), but relents after the two play a game of basketball and he is given a ride in the Batmobile. He then joins the Teriffics, wearing the costume and codename of Offspring.

Powers and abilities

Offspring has similar abilities to his father but they are not the same. When Offspring was a child he drank a similar but not identical version of the acid that gave his father powers giving him abilities such as

-Elasticity: Able to stretch his body but since he did not drink the full acid he is not able to stretch for infinity like his father

-Shapeshift: Able to shape his body into any person or thing even changing his color

-Telepath Immunity: Resistance to telepathy due to the fact that he has an inorganic brain

Other versions
  • The 1966-1968 Plastic Man comic book series starred Eel O'Brian, Jr. as the new Plastic Man. In issue #7, it is revealed that he was born the non-super powered son of Plastic Man and an unnamed brunette wife. As a toddler, he drank the same acid that had given his father super powers.[6] As an adult, he became the new Plastic Man and was romantically involved with Micheline "Mike" DeLute III (who would later re-appear as the girlfriend of Offspring in the Kingdom Come continuity).[7] During the course of the series, Eel Jr. teamed with the Inferior Five, which established the continuity of this series on Earth-Twelve.[8]

In other media

Television
  • The 1979-1981 The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show animated series introduced Baby Plas as the son of Plastic Man and his blonde wife Penny during the show's second season. Baby Plas was born with the same powers as his father. The character was featured in his own "Baby Plas" cartoon segments, as well as "Plastic Family" cartoon segments with his father, mother, and Hula-Hula (his father's best friend). His formal birth name is not revealed in the series.
  • The 2008-2011 Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series featured Baby Plas in the episode titled "Long Arm of the Law!". In this series, Baby Plas is the son of Plastic Man and red-haired wife Ramona. He is also cared for by Plastic Man's best friend Woozy Winks (who had been replaced by the Hula-Hula character in the prior animated series). Like the prior version of Baby Plas, he inherited his father's stretching powers. Likewise, his formal birth name is not revealed.

Video games

Baby Plas is mentioned by Plastic Man in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham: "Just as well I left Baby Plas at home. This is WAY too dangerous!".

gollark: #9 seems fine, I ran some test cases on it.
gollark: It basically opens a portal to hell.
gollark: > `__borrow_checker__`Ah, a rust user.
gollark: I find it suspicious that TWO of them include the word "functor".
gollark: No, I meant #8 but cannot count.

References
  1. A Year of Cool Comics – Day 182
  2. Plastic Man and Son
  3. The ComicBloc - You Waited, Now See... Teen Titans #34
  4. Teen Titans (vol. 3) #69
  5. Teen Titans (vol. 3) #99
  6. Plastic Man profile
  7. Micheline "Mike" DeLute III profile
  8. Plastic Man index
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