PlastiCast Ep. 3 — Presenting The Man Who Can’t Be Harmed!

PLASTICAST EPISODE 3 - Presenting The Man Who Can't Be Harmed!

You don't fool with Mother Nature — or Woozy Winks! In the latest episode of PlastiCast, Max Romero digs into Woozy's introduction from Police Comics #13; Plas is on Woozy's felonious trail, but why does nature itself seem to be helping our portly pal?  Max also discusses what makes Woozy special, the latest Plastic Man news, plus your listener feedback!

Check out images from this Plastic Man story here!

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Opening theme: “The Plastic Man Theme" from The Invasion of The Plastic Men (Power Records)
Woozy dialogue from "The Long Arm of the Law," Batman: The Brave and The Bold
Hula Hula dialogue from The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
Closing theme: “Plastic Man” by The Kinks
Dialogue from Scream

Thanks for listening!

13 responses to “PlastiCast Ep. 3 — Presenting The Man Who Can’t Be Harmed!

  1. Thanks for the informative Woozy=centric episode. He sure is better than Hula-Hula! Here’s an old short with Hugh Herbert, the visual model for Woozy:

  2. Great episode Max! Man do I love that splash page you posted. Cole really gave Will Eisner a run for his money when it comes to inventive page layouts.

    Like you, I was never big on sidekicks, teenage or otherwise. I think the reason I like Woozy more than others of the type is A)He’s not a fellow superhero, so he doesn’t steal the spotlight from the main character, the person we’re here to buy the book for and B)By being even more of a goof than Plas, it forces the normally crazy lead character to grow up a bit (for a few pages, at least) and become a caretaker to his pal. I like that dynamic for Plas. Plus, my first exposure to the character was in those ADVENTURE COMICS back-ups, and Woozy was handled quite well there.

    I’ve always said that growing up my four fav heroes were Aquaman, Batman, Green Arrow, and Plastic Man. I gravitated to JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA because I got three of the four every month (or almost), and had to make due with Plas appearing sporadically. But then it occurred to me–Aquaman and Batman were regulars on SUPER FRIENDS of course, and both GA and Plas guest starred in the first season! I wonder if my feelings would be different if it hadn’t been those two as guest stars?

    Finally, you said Woozy is Plas’ only friend. After listening to this show, I think we can all agree Plas has at least TWO friends.

  3. I had no idea Woozy’s origin was so weird and bizarre. Woozy was in the first Plastic Man comic I ever read (Plastic Man #4 from the 1988 mini-series) and to me he is an essential member of Plastic Man’s supporting cast, much more so than Plas’ wife, Plastic Baby or Offspring (are any of those characters still in continuity?). I’m looking forward to Gail Simone’s new Plastic Man mini-series but I think she mentioned on Twitter that Woozy won’t be in the new comic, which is disappointing.

  4. Oh, dang! In all that Woozy history I think I completely forgot to mention that Ty Templeton gave Woozy a real first name in JLA Presents: Plastic Man #1! He also gave him a new origin as a super-spy code named Green Cobra, and while the origin didn’t stick, the name — WOLFGANG — did.

    Thanks for listening! Keep those comments coming!

  5. Great show as always Max. I will admit I was flummoxed by Woozy at first, expecting Hula-Hula when I first encountered Plas in the comics in Super Friends #36. I resented him a bit for a while, but then he kept showing up every time Plas did, so I accepted him.

    As an adult, I now see Hula-Hula was another one of those odd combo characters HB and Ruby Spears did, like making Jabber Jaws a shark that sounded like Curly Howard. Hula was a Polynesian Lou Costello for some mad reason. Woozy is his own animal altogether!

    I meant to look for The Terrifics at my LCS this week and forgot. I’ll have to sample it. Looks like fun.

    Chris

  6. Hi Max! Glad to hear the Plasticast again! I have a bit of a quibble, however. In your remarks, you seemed to give short shrift to Woozy in the “Bronze Age.” I think he deserves a little more attention from you! With the exception of Plas’ appearances in Brave and the Bold (zany Haney stories, so they don’t really count), Woozy shared every adventure Plas had from the 1976 until Crisis time! He also shared the cover of the final four issues of Plastic Man and the first several Adventure Comics that featured Plastic Man stories. Woozy was an essential part of Plastic Man, and he should be an essential part of Plastic Man. Maybe that’s why I don’t like Plas in Justice Leagues and B&B’s and other Woozy-less comics. Without Woozy, he’s just a jokey, stretchy guy. With Woozy, he’s a resourceful detective who transforms his body with no camouflage. Plas gets to be straight man for Woozy, while getting his own laughs with his reformations!

  7. This was an educational episode for me. My primary exposure to Plastic Man in comics has been without Woozy at his side. So, it was great to learn about Woozy’s history with Plastic Man. I hope someone finds a way to work this character into current continuity, because it would allow for some interesting interactions, not just between Plastic Man and Woozy, but also between Woozy and the rest of the DCU.

    Also, the panel you posted where Plastic Man is following Woozy’s trail inspired me to look up the definition for gutter sniping. According to Merriam-Webster, a guttersnipe is “a homeless vagabond and especially an outcast boy or girl in the streets of a city.” So, I guess the father believes that a down-on-his-luck Plastic Man is forced to pick up loose change off the street to get by. Now, that scene just cracks me up, especially the little girl’s plaintive, “Why Daddy?”

  8. Awesome episode! This is really Woozy’s time here on the F&W network! We have an amazing Xum’s Who page for Mr. Winks over on the Who’s Who show, and a fantastic tribute here on the Plasticast! It’s Woozy Week! Anyway, I had no idea that it was Ty Templeton who gave Woozy his somewhat more dignified full first name. As Shagg (who is right to be more of an Elongated Man fan) would say: Interesting Stuff!

  9. Another nice episode Max. I really enjoyed learning about Woozy, which is a character I know little about. I guess that appearances of Plastic Man that I’ve read haven’t featured him prominently and after hearing your history or the character, I can imagine how that could happen. Thanks for a fun show! Darrin

  10. Following on Ward’s comment, I was surprised that you didn’t mention the late 80’s Plastic Man mini-series by Phil Foglio and Hilary Barta, which features Woozy very prominently. Granted, this series was a reboot of Plas’ and Woozy’s origins, and may or may not be canon for Plas today. Nonetheless, it was my first introduction to Woozy and was great fun.

    Still, this was a great overview of Woozy’s history. So much history and you covered it well, Max. Yes, I knew Hula Hula first, but Woozy’s so much better. It’s amazing how powerful TV is. A character that appeared for one year/season is so much better known than a published character with decades of appearances. Sometimes there ain’t no justice.

    Thanks for the terrific podcast, Max! (Hmmm, “terrific”?)

  11. Loved the episode. Made me realize I really didn’t know anything about Woozy except his basic function as a sidekick!

    Can’t wait to see what you’re preparing for us next.

  12. Wonderful episode, I don’t know much about Woozy so it was fascinating to hear how he changed, and may have been an amalgamated character. I really must see if some of the old cartoons are online, Hula Hula sounds a great guy!

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