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Friday, February 3, 2012

DC Comics Can-Con, part 1: Plastique

Surfing around message board and comment sections of various comic websites, I've often seen a perception by many that DC Comics does not have Canadian characters.

That's not quite true. DC does not have a Canadian super-hero team to match Marvel's Alpha Flight. However if someone were motivated to create one, they would have some decent buildings blocks.

Most of the characters have had little exposure but they do exist and have been active in recent years. The one with the highest degree of exposure would undoubtedly be Plastique.


Mind you, calling her "high profile" would be similar to making reference to Snow White's tallest dwarf. In this context, it's quite a relative term. You could be forgiven if you'd never heard of her as her appearances came in brief spurts over the course of three decades.

Her real name is Bette Sans Souci but as you might conclude from her business name, her abilities revolve around explosives. She used to wear bombs on her suit but she has since developed the ability to create explosions "naturally" as a result of some sort of genetic manipulation. Or something.

She first appeared in the original Firestorm series (#7 in 1982) as a French Canadian separatist terrorist (ugh) and later in Captain Atom, a character to whom she was briefly married (off panel, I believe). She has been also a member of Extreme Justice and the Suicide Squad and appeared in an episode of Smallville.


Plastique would fill the "hot French Canadian chick" role just fine on DC's Canadian team. And God knows it ain't a Canadian super team without one!

Edit: Change of plans. Next up: Flying Fox!

2 comments:

  1. A new, post-Flashpoint version of Plastique popped up at the start of the whole Forever Evil mess as part of a new relaunch of the Secret Society. However, whether or not this version's Canadian...?

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  2. Hi Dwight.

    She had a small part in an issue of Firestorm as well (appropriately enough) and was sporting the French accent.

    Of course, that doesn't mean she's French CANADIAN, mind you...

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