When writing a "response article" what's the appropriate way to refer to plots from the original paper?
First, use citation to avoid any charge of plagiarism/stealing. This is true for plots as well as for quoted words.
Second, it would depend on how much of the work you would be including. If you want to include all or most of the plots in the original you would be on shaky ground just as if you over-quoted the article even with citation.
Third, there might be a question of how &quot;essential&quot; the plots are to the original paper. If they are in some sense the &quot;heart&quot; of the original, you are better off pointing to them (citation) rather than copying. But that can be a judgement call.
Fourth, if a plot stands alone in some way without the rest of the paper, it might be considered a &quot;complete work&quot; on its own. Then you need permission to copy it just as you would to copy any complete work, no matter how small.
You could also ask the original authors for guidance, of course.