Better Living Through Plastics
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Adriana Melo
Colorist: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover Artists: Jason Badower
Editor: Kristy Quinn
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: November 14, 2018
**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**
Here it is, folks, the final issue of Plastic Man! I wonder if the thing with the evil guys and the lady with the wetsuit will come to a head over the kid and the Durlan. The only way to find out is to read my review! Or read the comic, if you’re so inclined.
Explain It!
Right, so we have a list of questions we need answered. One: why does the Cabal matter? Two: why did a Durlan kill a handful of people while shape-shifted into Plastic Man? Three: why is Pado Swakatoon involved in this story at all? And we get answers for all of these “whys,” but not in that satisfying, mystery novel way, where we could have put all of the pieces together if we’d only been slightly more observant and on cocaine. No, instead we get a heap of stuff kind of chucked at us in the sixth issue that wraps things up conveniently, if not too neatly.
One reason I haven’t connected to this series is that there never seem to be any stakes worth getting concerned over. Plastic Man seems nigh indestructible, I can just as soon take Pado and Obscura and the rest of his supporting cast, as I would leave them. Perhaps it’s his flippant attitude, or maybe because I’ve been so confused about things happening in the book, I checked out emotionally sometime around issue three or four. There just seemed to be no point in investing myself in this comic when I wasn’t even sure if I liked the titular character or not. I know. This is not how I expected to receive Plastic Man.
So it turns out that the Cabal was trying to discredit Obscura by making Plastic Man seem like a murderer. Was she connected to Plastic Man, somehow? Seems to me that they met for the first time in the debut issue of this series. But anyway, that was the whole stupid plan. And it was pretty much enacted wholly by Doctor Psycho, I’m not sure why the rest of those dildoes were hanging around. Later, Plas and Pado get together and he promises he’s gonna be the best ding-dong daddy since Perry Como, and they all live happily ever after. Probably. Over in the Terrifics, they’re talking about his son from post-Crisis continuity, Luke O’Brian…I wonder which one we’re supposed to take as canon.
Not to mention that the storyline where that woman turned to granite, which is a callback to Golden Age Plastic Man, was all set-up for a future Plastic Man series that may or may not happen. Now that is a crummy trick. We followed her crummy origin story for six issues, we don’t even get to see her in action. I dunno, this series left me feeling deflated, no pun intended. The art could have been tighter, the plotting might have been clearer. But more than that, the story itself could have been tighter and more focused. I still don’t know what was the point of having Man-Bat or those members of the Secret Six involved at all.
Bits and Pieces:
I can't believe it, but I actually have to give this series an F.U.5 in the final analysis. It's a waste of time and money. There are some good offbeat moments, but as a six-issue narrative, it falls flat. This issue is the most weighted with the story, so if you have to buy one, this is it.
5/10
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