Stretchy smackdown! Golden Age comic-book hero Plastic Man goes up against Marvelite hero Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. Who would win?
I think Reed Richards would take it – they both got the same physical superpowers, but Reed’s got super brains.
Is there any factor I’m missing?
(And what about DC equivalent Elastic Man (aka Enlongated Man)?)
First, it’s Elongated Man.
Second, he’s dead.
Thirdly, what about Elastigirl, now Mrs Incredible?
My money is on her, as she’s a better trained & more serious fighter than Reed or Plaz.
Elongated Man = Ralph Dibny, IIRC - drinks some juice from some fruit; only stretchy, just like Mr. F…
Plastic Man = Eel O’Brien - bad guy who gets shot and gets chemicals poured over him, then he turns his life to doing good.
In terms of the OP, aren’t Mr. F’s and Plas’ powers different? Mr. F can only stretch; I thought Plas can take different shapes that might involve more than just stretching?
…yep - from this Wikipedia entry it says:
So I vote for Plas…
Info–Elastigirl
Within limits, perhaps, but could he successfully imitate a Kirby machine? 
And to throw another one in the group: The Thin Man
Plastic Man outpowers Reed is a straight up match but Reed outclasses Plastic Man by a long shot in preparations. He’s Marvel’s scientific Batman.
And if we’re throwing names into the ring there’s always James Bartholomew Olsen a.k.a. Elastic Lad.
I’m not sure.
You are all overlooking the fact that Plas has been written (over the past few decades) as being bat-shit insane.
I think that gives him an edge…
You’re forgetting Elastic Lad, Elasti-Girl/Elasti-Woman (though her powers were far more limited to the others) and Elastigirl
But Plas has the edge over them all. He could become anything, and was funnier, too.
Plas is much more versitile. With prep, Richards in a total curbstomp.
This could go either way, but I’ll bet on Mr. Fantastic.
In terms of their physical abilities, Eel is a lot more versatile, and I’d bet he’s more durable as well. On the other hand, the main reason Reed’s a major player in the superhuman arena is his brain; that’s his real power. Moreover, if both combatants have full knowledge of the other’s resources, Eel may bow out–as if he did any serious damage to Reed, he’d have a pissed off Sue, Johnny, and Ben to deal with, and Sue, in particular, would kill him.
How about throwing Professor Impossible from the Venture Brother into the mix? He’s as stretchy and brilliant as Reed Richards and he’s also a total dick!
When did Ralph die? Sue died, unfortunately, but I thought Ralph was still around.
Killed by Neron.
Don’t forget Lois Lane as one-time Elastic Lass.
http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=17753
Jack Cole is the guy who originated stretchy heroes in Wun Cloo: The Defective Detective, then amplified the idea at considerable length in Plastic Man, who not only stretched, but took on shapes. I always took that as a measure of Plas’ superior imagination, not his superior stretching abilities. As Frank Miller had Plas say to Ralph Dibney, the Elongated Man – “I can’t believe how BORING you are! All you do is STRETCH! You NEVER turn into anything!”
ever since, all stretchy heroes seem to pay tribute to Plastic Mamn by taling similar names –
Mr. Fantastic
Elonlagted Man
Elastigirl
Elastic Lad/Lass
But Plastic Man was the original, and arguably the best.
That said, Mr. Fantastic was a freakin’ genius, and would have frozen Plas or bottled him up or done some other technological end-run around him. So he would’ve won. But Plas would’ve gotten more style points.
Reference; “Jack Cole and Plastic Man” (AKA “Plastic Man: Forms Strecyched to their Limits” ) by Art Spiegelman and Chip Kidd. 1999, 2001 by DC Comics. Highly recommended. And very weird.
…
Of course, everything Plas turned into was red, with that distinctive black-gold-and-diamond belting. You’d think folks in his area of operations would catch on after awhile.
Also, howcum he had fingers but no toes?
But in sheer smackdown, Mrs Incredible displays far more H-T-H skills, and probably has enhanced strength.
In a pure violence contest, Helen Parr kicks all rubbery @sses.
Mr. Fantastic never made particularly imaginative use of his stretching skills, though.
I note, too, that he and the Elongated Man were at one time the only married superheros. And both could stretch any part of their body. Any part . . . . 
As part of Ralph’s elaborate plan to trap Neron.
What a guy. This was one occasion where he out-Batmanned Batman and out-Stranged Adam Strange.
How did it take 18 posts to bring kinky sex into this?! Yer slippin’, Dopers!
