Flexo the Rubber Man

Flexo the Rubber Man
Mystic Comics #1 – 4 (March 1940 – August 1940)

Flexo was not a flesh and blood man at all, but an automaton. Made from living rubber and filled with a secret gas, Flexo was the creation of two brothers, Doctors Joel and Joshua Williams. In addition to his elastic powers, Flexo had super strength and speed and could fly. Though at times he was operated by remote control, he was also able to think and act independently and seemed to have a sense of humour.

While there are obvious similarities to Jack Cole's Plastic Man, whose debut was still more than a year away, the strips really had very little in common. The more successful "Plastic Man" strip benefited from a zany, humorous approach, while Flexo was standard adventure fare. Perhaps if the strip had emphasized its humorous potential, "Flexo the Rubber Man" would have been more successful and better remembered today.

The artwork on the strip was capably handled by Jack Binder.