Plasmus as depicted in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #18 (August 1986). Art by Marv Wolfman (penciller) and George Pérez (inker).
Otto Von Furth was a mine worker in
East Berlin,
Germany until an unexpected cave-in trapped him and four fellow miners for seven days. During those days, Otto's co-workers died, leaving him as the only survivor. He and his fellow miners had been mining for radioactive
radium and ended up exposed to it and when rescued, he was rushed to the hospital. Otto is later kidnapped by ex-Nazi
General Zahl, who transforms him into a metahuman with plasma-based abilities. Subsequently, he joins the
Brotherhood of Evil under the name Plasmus.[3] He and the Brotherhood of Evil fight the
Teen Titans on different occasions. He enjoys these fights, but regrets not being the one to finally kill Zahl. Later, Plasmus is one of several metahumans who were corrupted and brainwashed by a cult-leader.[4] The rest of the Brotherhood of Evil reform into the
Society of Sin. He is later recruited into
Lex Luthor's
Suicide Squad, and where he apparently dies fighting
Imperiex.
Plasmus is featured in Infinite Crisis as part of a small group of villains that bombs the city of
Blüdhaven. The creature known as
Chemo is dropped from an aircraft and detonates, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
During the One Year Later crossover, Plasmus rejoins the Brotherhood of Evil. He is also seen in Salvation Run. He is used by Lex Luthor as a power source for a teleportation device, and is killed when it self-destructs.[5]
In The New 52, Mammoth appears as one of several villains who seek to take
Blue Beetle's scarab for the Brotherhood of Evil.[6]
Powers and abilities
With his chemically-converted body, Plasmus' burning touch can bring a fiery death onto whomever he makes physical contact with, thus reducing them to a
protoplasmic state. His touch is incurable and no normal human has withstood it.[7] He additionally possesses immense strength, stamina, and durability, as well as self-healing capabilities.
In other media
Television
Plasmus appears in Teen Titans, voiced by
Dee Bradley Baker.[8] This version uncontrollably transforms into a large, magenta sludge monster when he is awake, only reverting to human form when he is asleep or unconscious. Additionally, he can detach varying quantities of himself, which can act independently and often take on insectoid forms. Introduced in the pilot episode "Divide and Conquer", Plasmus is imprisoned and kept within a stasis chamber until
Cinderblock frees him on
Slade's behalf. In the episode "Transformation", the Titans inadvertently mix Plasmus with raw sewage, mutating him into a multi-eyed form with the ability to spit acid. In "Aftershock", Plasmus is temporarily fused with Cinderblock and
Overload into "Ternion", but they are ultimately separated. Following Slade's death, Plasmus joins the
Brotherhood of Evil in the fifth season, only to be flash-frozen alongside them by the Titans.
Plasmus appears in the Teen Titans Go! episode "You're Fired!".[9] This version resembles the Teen Titans animated series' incarnation post-mutation.
Plasmus appears in Young Justice:
Outsiders, voiced by
Yuri Lowenthal.[8] This version is a child who was mutated by
Dr. Simon Ecks and fell under
Count Vertigo's control. Additionally, Otto has a sister named Ana (voiced by
Grey Griffin),[10] who was similarly mutated into a lava-like monster called Plasma and fell under the
Light's control. After Ana is killed while fighting the
Justice League, Otto is forced to fight the
Outsiders. While
Black Lightning frees Plasmus from Vertigo's control, a concerned civilian kills the latter, believing him to be a monster.
Video games
Plasmus appears in Teen Titans (2005), voiced again by Dee Bradley Baker.[8]
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 195.
ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 232.
ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 268.
ISBN0-8160-1356-X.
^Birds of Prey #69-72 (September–October 2004). DC Comics.
^Blue Beetle (vol. 8) #1 (September 2011). DC Comics.
^Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #18 (August 1986)
^
abc"Plasmus Voices (Teen Titans)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 6, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
^"Ana Von Furth / Plasma Voice - Young Justice (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 6, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.