Entertainment

Plastique May Be Getting a Heroic 'Flash' Makeover

by Rachel Paige

Another familiar face from DC Comics is making a stop in Central City. Tuesday's episode of The Flash will introduce Bette Sans Souci, aka Plastique. She'll be played by actress Kelly Frye, who has shown up before in roles on NCIS: Los Angeles, Anger Management and The Mentalist. But now, for something completely different, she'll take on the role of comic villain Plastique, who might not be so bad on The Flash. Her Flash character appears to have changed quite a lot, so who was Bette Sans Souchi in DC Comics?

To put it nicely, in the comics — ranging from appearances in Firestorm and Justice League of AmericaPlastique is a terrorist. She has tried many times to blow things up, and is usually foiled each time, thankfully. Originally, she would strap explosives to herself (which always managed to be stopped before they could detonate). However, thanks to some handy genetic engineering, she gains the powers to make things explode by just touching them. How convenient. Also, how terrifying.

She joined the Suicide Squad for a hot second (under the direction of Amanda Waller), but was subsequently brainwashed, and since she couldn't remember the part of her life where she was a terrorist, reformed herself. She received pardons from both the United Sates and Canada (she's had done a lot of bad stuff in Canada, too) and then joined the Justice League, also for close to a hot second. She married Captain Atom at one point, but it was short lived and they separated due to the differences in their "political views." In DC's reboot, The New 52, she's once again a villain, having joined the The Secret Society of Super Villains.

On The Flash, TVLine reports that her character will take on a much different backstory. Gone are her terrorist ties, and instead she's an Iraq war veteran who used to diffuse roadside bombs. After being injured overseas, she transfers back to the U.S., and winds up alongside General Eiling, who's investigating a bomb downtown. When Barry gets involved, little does he know that the S.T.A.R. Lab explosion that granted him his super speed also gave Souci the ability to blow things up. That only sounds mildly terrifying.

Check out the preview below where we get a quick glimpse of Plastique and her powers while you wait for her Flash debut.

Image: Jack Rowand/The CW