- For the episode of the same name, see Plastique.
- "All I've ever wanted was to make the world a safer place. And it will be, when you're not in it!"
- —Bette attempting to kill General Eiling[src]
Bette Sans Souci, nicknamed "Plastique" by Cisco Ramon, was a bomb specialist. When she was in Central City undergoing surgery to get a bomb shrapnel out of her body she got from a bomb in Afghanistan, she was exposed to the dark matter of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator and became a meta-human with the ability to spontaneous combust objects upon physical contact.
Biography
Time in the Military
Bette was a sergeant for the US military as a bombs specialist (EOD, Explosive Ordnance Disposal). She was RTU'd from Afghanistan after a bomb went off and shrapnel got into her body. She was in Central City undergoing the surgery to take out the shrapnel fragment when the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator malfunctioned. Being effected, Dr. Hadley and Wade Eiling began performing experiments on her.[1]
After the accident
Months after the particle accelerator accident, Bette stole a file from an office building and turned a duffel bag she had into a bomb (using her spontaneous combustion powers) in order to escape, though she didn't mean any harm. Barry Allen chased her down and Bette accidentally turned his suit into a bomb. Bette told Barry to take off his suit and his suit explodes soon after, though Barry got out in time.[1]
Bette later confronted Dr. Hadley, yet Eiling quickly intervened and attempted to capture her; she was merely wounded and saved by The Streak. At S.T.A.R. Labs, they realized that she had bomb fragments in her DNA, explaining why everything she touches turns into a bomb. When Caitlin Snow checked up on her, she realized Bette was shot and noticed there was a tracker, subsequently letting Eiling to show up at S.T.A.R. Labs. The team managed to get Bette out of the building and continued to monitor her powers outside the lab. However, although their tests allowed them to develop a pair of gloves that would allow her to touch without triggering her power, the extent of the fragments infused into her system meant that it was impossible for modern science to remove her powers.[1]
While alone with Eobard Thawne/Harrison Wells, she was told to go out and eliminate Eiling. Bette had herself found by Eiling where Eiling knew she wasn't surrendering herself. She quickly attacked Eiling and his men with bombs though The Streak arrived soon after. Bette was then shot by Eiling and tried to tell Barry that she acted on the order from Wells, but died before she could finish the sentence. The fragments in her DNA turned the bullet into a bomb but Barry managed to drop Bette's body into the river far away enough from Central City before she detonated.[1]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Explosion touch: After being hit by the dark energy wave released by the particle accelerator incident the bomb fragment Bette had inside her body combined with her physiology on a cellular level and this gave her the meta-human ability to produce spontaneous combustion upon tactile contact. The mass of the object seems to determine the magnitude of the explosion such as: when she exploded the magnitude was equal to a nuclear bomb.
Abilities
- Bombs specialist: Trained by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal, she was an expert at defusing bombs.
Weaknesses
- Involuntary combustion: After she was shot and killed by Wade Eiling, her body started to manifest signs of detonation; when she exploded, the size of the explosion appeared to be that of a nuclear explosion.
- Involuntary control: Unlike most meta-humans, Bette could not control her super powers.
Appearances
The Flash
Season 1
- "Plastique"
- "Fallout" (flashbacks)
Trivia
- Bette was the first friendly meta-human Team Flash encountered.
- Bette's surname means "carefree" in French.
- It was, ironically, or perhaps in a manner similar to Caitlin, who appears to have undergone a shift in personality with the supposed death of Ronnie Raymond, the opposite of her repressed onscreen demeanor.
- Bette is mentioned to have one emergency contact - Cameron Scott.
- In the DC comics, "Cameron Scott" is one of the aliases of the superhero Captain Atom (whose secret identity is actually Nathaniel Adam), who is the ex-husband of Bette's comic book counterpart.
- In the DC comics, Plastique is a red headed Canadian terrorist who started off with planting actual bombs, but later becoming a meta-human with explosive powers.
- Unlike her live-action counterpart, having the indication of her being potentially an ally to Barry Allen's team, Bette is mostly a super-villain in the DC comics.
- She debuted as a villain of Firestorm.
- At one point, Bette was a member of the Suicide Squad.