ELONGATED MAN (Ralph Dibny)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Ralph Dibny
Full Name: Randolph "Ralph" William Dibny
Aliases: Briefly used the alias "the Molder"
Occupation: Professional adventurer; Detective; Former Entertainer
Status: Deceased
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Widower
Known Relatives: Sue Dearbon Dibny (wife, deceased), Ken (brother), Jake (uncle), Jim (uncle-in-law)
Base of Operation: Currently Opal City. Formerly Central City, Detroit, Paris (France), and London (England). Normally travelling around the world
Group Affiliation(s): Former member of the Justice League of America, Justice League International/Europe, Justice League Task Force, Doom Patrol
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1" (normally)
Weight: 178 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Reddish blond
First Appearance: Flash Vol. 1 #112 (April-May 1960): "The Mystery of the Elongated Man!"
Creators: John Broome and Carmine Infantino

"Hello, there. I'm the World-Famous Elongated Man" - Ralph Dibny

OVERVIEW

Ralph Dibny, the world-famous Elongated Man was a superhero and detective with a deductive talent that rivaled even Batman's. With his wife Sue, he was a fixture of the Justice League in its various incarnations. Tragedy struck when Sue was murdered by a villain who targeted the loved ones of superheros. Elongated Man was eventually killed in battle with Felix Faust, but in death he was finally reunited with Sue, and they both now act as ghost detectives.

HISTORY

Growing up in the small prairie town of Waymore, Nebraska, young Ralph Dibny dreamed of big-city fame and fortune. Worrying far more about being ignored than becoming a spectacle, he played the part of prankster and showoff during his entire childhood. To his dismay however, his "shows" were always overshadowed by the achievements of his older brother Ken – star football player, Eagle Scout, and the light of his school. Ralph wanted to find a way to make an alternative career, preferably in showbiz, but he couldn't sing, couldn't dance... But he was skinny! And there were those who had actually turned their skinniness into a career – the "India rubber-men" that he had always loved to watch at carnival side shows.

Training for years, but never coming close to being even half as agile as the India rubber-men, Ralph became more and more convinced that there was a trade secret behind their skills. In his late teens, he started traveling around, going from carnival to carnival and talking to "rubber-men" at every opportunity, always getting the answer that the trade secret did not exist.

However, Ralph found a peculiarity that all the contortionists had in common – they were all very fond of the soda pop called "Gingold", made from juice of the rare Gingo fruit of the Yucatán.

Ralph deduced that if the rubber-men did not drink Gingold to become stretchable, the secret might lie in the soda pop unknowingly to them. In a final attempt to solve the riddle, he distilled the raw essence of the Gingo fruit and drank it. First nothing happened, but later, when he least expected it, Ralph discovered that the extract had given him the ability to stretch his body to great lengths.

While his brother Ken started a political career, Ralph left Waymore to embark on a career on his own – not as a contortionist, but as a super-hero. He crafted a purple, elastic costume for himself and, calling himself "the Elongated Man", and headed for Central City, home of the second Flash. The Flash originally believed Ralph to be a villain responsible for a series of odd robberies in the city, but after they managed to capture the real criminals together, the two heroes became lifetime friends.

By the time that Ralph hit Manhattan, he had made some money from TV shows and stage appearances. Being content with a life of fame, Ralph was one of the first super-heroes ever to reveal his identity to the world. Since this day, he always introduces himself as "Ralph Dibny – the World-Famous Elongated Man".

However, his first publicity stunt in New York was to crash the debutante ball of the rich, young, and beautiful Sue Dearbon, while checking for jewel thieves. Sue immediately became intrigued by the Stretchable Sleuth, and shortly after, this odd couple became married. The marriage has endured for almost ten years now, and their initially rather un-serious relationship has evolved into deep and true love.

Though Ralph and Sue were different in many respects, they had one thing in common: both craved excitement and adventure. For the better part of the decade, they traveled around the world on a nearly endless honeymoon, in American small-towns and big cities, in Europe and South America, and wherever they went, Ralph always found a bizarre mystery that cried out to be solved by the effective sleuthing of the Elongated Man. Inspired by famous detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Hamilton Drew, Ralph refined his deductive skills during this time, becoming the master detective he is today. He thwarted the schemes of normal criminals as well as gimmicked ones such as Captain Boomerang, Master Zero, the Phantom General, the Calculator, and the Intangibles, even becoming the costumed criminal called the Molder himself, for a time when he suffered from amnesia.

Frequently, he worked together with the Flash, the Batman, and even the entire Justice League of America. After assisting the League on a few cases – among them the rescue of the time-lost Seven Soldiers of Victory – the Elongated Man was nominated for League membership by the Flash, and the other members agreed. On his first official JLA case, Ralph distinguished himself by rescuing his fellow members from the Queen Bee. During his tenure with the JLA, the Ductile Detective added his light-heartedness to the team, sometimes pushing the limits, but, as the Atom once said, "he always came through in the pinch".

Sue often accompanied her husband to the Justice League satellite headquarters, but was alone when she was attacked and raped by super-villain Dr. Light. To prevent this from ever happening again, some members of the JLA had Dr. Light brainwashed and altered his personality. During these troublesome times for Ralph and Sue, the Justice League provided a stable environment and meaningful tasks. When the League disbanded, and re-formed as a full-time gig, Ralph joined up, with Sue tagging along, settling down with her hubby in JLA's Detroit bunker.

The couple's globetrotting resumed after this JLA disbanded at the hands of Professor Ivo's androids. However, Ralph soon came to miss the companionship (and added fame) of the League days. When Maxwell Lord approached him to join the new European branch of Justice League International, Ralph accepted without hesitation. Moving to Paris, both Ralph and Sue became durable members of the various incarnations of the JLI and the JLE.

When the Modoran dictator and super-villain known as Sonar threatened the peace in Europe, Ralph and Sue stepped in and saved the day, defeating villains such as Copperhead, Warp, and Eurocrime in the process. This gave Ralph's solo career a vitamin injection, something that eventually made the couple decide to quit the League and start traveling again. For a while they were accompanied by Duke Donald, an English ghost they had encountered in the JLE's castle in London. Ralph returned to assist the League in battle against threats such as the Overmaster and Parallax, but did not stay as a permanent member. After some time, the JLI disbanded. When the original Justice League of America re-formed, Ralph was considered for membership, but the offer instead went to Plastic Man, whose powers had more diversity than Ralph's.

Later, the Elongated Man and Sue assisted Starman (Jack Knight), Ted Knight, and the Shade to fight the menace of Culp and his villain hordes in Opal City. During these events Ralph met his childhood idol, the famous (and long-lived) 19th century detective Hamilton Drew, who spoke appreciatively of Ralph's detective career. After Culp's threat was ended, Ralph and Sue decided to stay in Opal for the foreseeable future.

Although based in Opal, Ralph has since been active with other heroes, among them Superman, Batman, and Thayer Jost’s new Doom Patrol, of which he was briefly a member. Meanwhile, Sue started a career as a renowned writer of mystery novels, something which presumably generated money for their small household. Recently, Ralph was approached by Maxwell Lord to join a group of super-heroes formerly active in Justice League International.

Behind Ralph's goofy acts and showoff mentality, one can find the traces of a mature, kind man, willing to do good. By nature, Ralph is first and foremost a detective, and detection is one of the few things he is ever serious about. Even his teammates and associates have often been surprised to hear the jokester spout off a series of brilliant analytical deductions. Hence, once every year, Sue surprises Ralph with a custom-tailored birthday mystery.

For what would become their last birthday mystery celebration, Sue was going to reveal that she was pregnant. But tragedy struck as Sue was attacked, killed and burned by an unknown assailant who seemed to be targeting superheroes' loved ones. It was later revealed that the mystery attacker was Jean Loring, the deranged former wife of Ray Palmer (Atom II). Her plan was top create a fake threat against superhero families in order to regain Palmer's attention and love, but she accidentally killed Sue instead of just roughing her up. Jean Loring was apprehended and sent to Arkham Asylum (where she later gained the powers of Eclipso).

Alone, heart-broken and without purpose for a long time, the Elongated Man discovered that a secret cult attempted to ressurect Sue. He soon found out that this was a ruse by Felix Faust and Neron and managed to trap them both at the cost of this own life. In death he was finally reunited with Sue, and they both now act as ghost detectives. They now have the ability to possess human bodies (much like Deadman).

POWERS AND WEAPONS

The Gingo fruit extract (sometimes erroneusly called “Gingold”, which is in fact the name of the soda pop made from the Gingo fruit) that Ralph drinks, reacts with his meta-gene and gives him the power to stretch any part of his body (including his eyes, his teeth, and his hair) to fantastic lengths, and make himself paper-thin. This power allows him to, for example, squeeze through and into small areas, form crude tools with his hands, enlarge his ears for better hearing, "periscope" his eyes, and even mold his face appearance (although that hurts a bit). However, he does not have the diverse shapechanging abilities of, for example, Plastic Man.

The limit of Ralph's stretching is about a mile, a length that he has only been able to reach on a couple of occasions, pushing himself to the maximum.

When in his elongated state, Ralph's body's stamina increases, and though his actual strength doesn't become greater, his limbs get so persistent he can carry a lot heavier objects than in his normal form, and keep his balance even when stretched out. Ralph's elastic body also gives him a certain degree of invulnerability, as it is able to absorb hits of force and energy blasts, and withstand various kinds of high pressure and velocity. However, there is a limit to this ability, and sharp objects such as bullets can penetrate his skin. As shown in his fights with Sonar, the Elongated Man can absorb sound waves with his body and return them to the attacker. On the other hand, extreme cold can affect his elasticity. By experience, Ralph has become a fair hand-to-hand combatant.

Ralph must drink the Gingo extract every few days to maintain his power. Hannibal Martin, former head of the Justice League Task Force, arranged so that Ralph could also take the Gingo extract as pills if needed. Although other people can get limited stretching abilities from the Gingo fruit even without Ralph’s meta-gene (like the Indian rubber-men), most people are allergic to it in its concentrated form. The Gingold soda was withdrawn from the market when it was realized that it caused severe allergic reacions. Stretch of Hero Hotline is the only other hero whose powers derive from the Gingo extract, but his elasticity is very limited compared to Ralph's.

The Elongated Man wears a special stretch nylon-type costume that is as ductile as he is. The origin of this special fabric is unknown.

Though it might not always show, Ralph has a very sharp and analytical mind and it is an overlooked fact that he is one of the world's greatest detectives. In addition to his detective skills, Ralph's nose has the peculiar habit to start twitching when it "smells" a mystery...

As a ghost detective, Ralph is intangible, but still able to twitch his nose... It was recently revealed that he now has the ability to possess human bodies (much like Deadman).

BLACK LANTERN: ELONGATED MAN

During the event known as the Blackest Night, Ralph and Sue returned from the grave as members of the Black Lantern Corps. Their first victims were Hawkman and Hawkgirl. - Blackest Night #1

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Elongated Man in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #7 (September 1985)

Who's Who in the DC Universe #7 (February 1991)
JLA-Z #1 (November 2003)