The Elongated Man

I was very excited to hear that the character Ralph Dibny, aka Elongated Man, would be joining Season 4 of the CW's The Flash.

My first exposure to the character was in Detective Comics #359, which was the debut issue of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. My father had a copy of it and I read it, surprised to find a backup feature I'd never heard of about a man who could stretch his body. Soon after, I looked through his other copies of Detective Comics and found more stories about Ralph Dibny.

Ralph debuted in The Flash #112 in 1960, which told his origin. Obsessed with contortionists, young Ralph Dibny did everything he could to figure out how exactly they were able to contort their body in seemingly impossible ways. Finally discovering that they drink a soft drink called Gingold, Ralph was able to make an extract of the Gingo fruit and tried it, only to discover it gave him temporary elastic powers. Getting an elastic costume, Ralph set out to make a name for himself. He didn't even bother with a secret identity.

In his third appearance in The Flash #119, Ralph married Sue Dearbon. They would eventually become a backup feature in Detective Comics, starting with #327. Having become rich from media appearances, Ralph and Sue traveled the country, solving mysteries. Eventually, Ralph would join the Justice League.

Having a married couple very much in love, one of them being a superhero with no secret identity set the Dibnys apart from most other comic book characters at the time. Marvel's The Fantastic Four would bizarrely also have a leading man with elastic powers whose first name begins with R who marries a woman named Sue with no secret identities, but the Dibnys were first.

I always found the inclusion of Sue to be problematic. In many of her Detective Comics appearances, she would only appear in the beginning and close of the story, sometimes even not appearing at all. Some of her later appearances had her assist Ralph with his cases.

The comics eventually claimed most people were allergic to gingold, then later identified that Ralph was actually a metahuman whose power was triggered by gingold.

This would basically be the status quo for the Dibnys until 2004's Identity Crisis miniseries. In the opening of this series, Sue is murdered and the rest of the series dealt with the shakeup it caused in the superhero community before the murderer is found.

2006's 52 event featured Ralph becoming suicidal over the absence of Sue in his life before attempting to have her resurrected. Ralph's story in the series culminated in his death, the final issue revealing that he and Sue were reunited as ghosts.

2009's Blackest Night event had the Dibnys resurrected as Black Lanterns before being destroyed. When other characters who were made into Black Lanterns are restored to life in the finale, Ralph and Sue are revealed to not be among them.

2014's new incarnation of Secret Six saw both Ralph and Sue return as undercover members of the Secret Six, Ralph disguised as a character named Big Shot, rescuing Sue from the Riddler. The main continuity of the DC universe had shifted to a new universe, and in this one, the Dibnys were not dead.

The name "Elongated Man" has always bugged me because "Elongated" is past tense. Ralph elongates. But it's weird to switch the name up after nearly 60 years, I suppose.

The treatment of Ralph and Sue after 2000 has been disappointing for fans of their classic incarnations. Luckily, Secret Six ended with them living happily ever after, something they haven't yet changed. Hopefully they can get back to Ralph and Sue seeking out mysteries.

The character hasn't officially appeared in any live action media prior to his appearance on The Flash coming next month. He's made small appearances in Justice League cartoon series and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Hopefully his appearance on The Flash will prompt DC to do more with the character.

I haven't done a recommended reading list before, but discovering that the only other lists start with Identity Crisis, I felt like the previous adventures of Ralph and Sue needed to be highlighted before you see tragedy strike. (Not to mention, as a fan of the character, I have an aversion to Identity Crisis.) So, here's a recommended reading list of Elongated Man stories sans Identity Crisis, 52 and Blackest Night. If you want to read those, well, I just listed them.

The Flash #112 - "The Mystery of the Elongated Man!" When the Elongated Man arrives in Central City, the Flash is wary of his tendency to help people get attention. When he notices some unsolved crimes, he begins to suspect the Elongated Man of committing them.

The Flash #119 - "The Elongated Man's Undersea Trap!" While skin diving on his honeymoon, Ralph disappears. Sue calls in the Flash, who discovers alien fishermen who kidnap humans for slaves.

The Flash #124 - "The Space-Boomerang Trap!" One of the more iconic Flash and Elongated Man team ups. When Captain Boomerang uses time-traveling boomerangs to commit crimes and appear innocent at the same time, it brings the attention of beings from another dimension, forcing Flash and Elongated Man to join forces with the villain.

Detective Comics #327 - "Ten Miles To Nowhere!" The start of Ralph's Detective Comics stories, which continued to #383 before going to irregular appearances. While traveling, Ralph notices that his odometer mysteriously gained ten miles overnight. Investigating, he cracks a crime ring.

Detective Comics #331 - "Museum of Mixed-Up Men!" Ralph's first team up with Batman. Arriving in Gotham City, Ralph joins Batman's investigation of a gang that uses a device that causes people's faces to change.

Detective Comics #355 - "The Tantalizing Trouble of the Tripod Thieves!" Ralph spots jewelry thieves floating away against their will and follows them to discover Zatanna, who winds up enlisting his help in finding her father. This was part of a running story throughout several DC titles that culminated in Justice League of America #51, which Ralph appeared in.

Justice League of America #105 - "Specter in the Shadows!" Ralph is inducted into the Justice League and calls them in when he and Sue witness a gang of putty men raid a museum.

The Flash #252-253 - "Double Dose of Danger!" and "Don't Mess With The Molder!" A two-part story in which Ralph drinks a dose of gingold at super speed when he's recruited by the Flash to investigate a mysterious phantom gang. The "speed-charged" substance causes Ralph to take on the villainous persona of "The Molder," who can change the shape of whatever—or whoever—he touches, part one ending with him reducing the Flash to a puddle on live television.

Detective Comics #572 - "The Adventure of the Lost Adventure!" Part of a book-long crossover with Batman, Robin and Slam Bradley (and a surprise mystery guest), Ralph foils a plot to steal a long-lost Sherlock Holmes manuscript from 221B Baker Street.

Secret Origins (Vol. 2) #30 - "The Home Stretch." A new version of Ralph's origin based on how the character had developed since his debut, including how he met Sue. It's told in a framing sequence of Ralph returning to his hometown.

Ralph and Sue frequently appeared in Justice League Europe and Justice League International.

Elongated Man #1-4 - 1994 saw Ralph get his very own miniseries. A bit goofy, Ralph and Sue head to Modora where an old Justice League villain attempts to break them apart.

Formerly Known As The Justice League #1-6 - A miniseries featuring a comical take on several former League members, including Ralph and Sue.

JLA Classified #4-9 - "I Can't Believe it's Not The Justice League!" A sequel to Formerly Known As The Justice League.

Booster Gold (Vol. 2) #15 - "Reality Lost, Part One" While time traveling, Booster Gold runs into Ralph.

Convergence: Justice League of America #1-2 - Part of the Convergence crossover, this one takes a peek at a world where Ralph and Sue still live, and Ralph is still an active hero.

Secret Six #1-14 (2014-2016) - Ralph and Sue's new incarnations in Earth Prime make their debut as they work to take down the Riddler.