10 DC Heroes Who Were Once Criminals

Plastic Man is probably the most famous former criminal in comic book history, due to his past experiences as a thief leading him to become a superhero. In the beginning, Eel O’Brien was a part of a burglary ring that regularly committed heists with an established crew - of which O'Brien was relied on for his knack of cracking safes

On one fateful night, however, a botched heist at the Crawford Chemical Plant would lead to O'Brien being shot and exposed to a vat of chemicals. Though he manages to escape the incident, O'Brien would nevertheless discover that that the chemicals had given him the profound ability to stretch his body to extreme lengths. Still, he is left entirely distraught by this discovery and even goes so far as to contemplate suicide.

However, O'Brien was convinced otherwise by his partner, Woozy Winks - after he persuaded him to consider the profitability that was to be had as either a marketable superhero or a legendary criminal. The two inevitably decide on which path he would pursue based on the outcome of a coin toss.

Although obviously O'Brien later became Plastic Man, it was nevertheless the case that he didn't nearly see as many of the profits that had originally been promised to him. In the end, however, he is still far better off as a hero than as a villain (and really, we wouldn't have any other way).