That a reformed crook turned pilable protagonist could make it in the current JLA is hardly a stretch. While escaping a botched robbery inside a chemical factory, Eel O'Brian suffered a gunshot wound and was doused by an unknown substance. The incident not only changed O'Brain physically, enabling him to stratch and mold every inch of his body, but prompted him to renounce his criminal ways and become the durable defender Plastic Man. While his cartoony humor often drove his JLA teammates to bounce off walls, Plas' shapeshifting abilites and zest for life provided a much-needed malleability to the often-staid membership of the World's Greatest Super-Heroes.
Plastic Man became the twelfth recruit of the Justice League, thanks to his assistance, when Plas ran into the League during a battle with an elastic villain, named the Elongated Man (no relation to the hero). Plas was much more skilled than the Elongated Man making it easy for the Plas to defeat him and help the League.
Plastic Man was one of the fastest thinking of the Justice Leaguers. Against most opponents he would use the element of surprise to hit them with a sudden change of form and a bad pun to catch them unaware. However against more powerful opponents, he was more often a distraction while the other team members get into position. Unfortunately, he had a habit of biting off more than he could chew and got himself killed in battle against the timeline-destroying Parallax in 2075.
