Ralph Dibny
| Elongated Man | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Flash vol. 1, #112 (May 12, 1960). |
| Created by | John Broome (writer) and Carmine Infantino (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Randolph William "Ralph" Dibny |
| Team affiliations |
Justice League Doom Patrol Black Lantern Corps |
| Partnerships | Sue Dibny |
| Abilities | Superior deductive reasoning Finite ability to stretch and shape his body Enhanced agility, and olfactory sense Greatly enhanced durability Talented chemist |
The Elongated Man (Randolph "Ralph" Dibny) is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a member of three incarnations of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112 (May 12, 1960).
The character has won and been nominated for several awards over the years, including winning the 1961 Alley Award for Best Supporting Character.
Elongated Man was created by writer John Broome and penciler Carmine Infantino, with significant input from editor Julius Schwartz, who wanted a new supporting character for the Flash. Despite the awkowledgement that Schwartz did not realize DC owned the name Plastic Man (acquired in 1956 along with other Quality Comics properties), Infantino and inker Murphy Anderson stated that he never used him as a reference for anything. and In further appearances with the Flash, he makes a fortune in show business, marries Sue Dearbon, and relinquishes his secret identity.
Elongated Man received a solo backup feature in Detective Comics, where he was redefined as a detective who loves odd mysteries and travels the United States in a convertible with his wife, searching for them. Sometimes they would travel the world or meet other DC superheroes like Batman, Green Lantern, the Atom and Zatanna. This feature became sporadic during the late '60s and throughout the '70s. However, in 1973, he became a member of the Justice League of America, and he is mostly seen in that title from 1973 to 1995.
As a teenager, Ralph Dibny was fascinated by contortionists, or people who displayed feats of agility and suppleness. He learned that all of the body-benders he spoke with drank a popular soda called "Gingold." Ralph set to work learning chemistry and developed a super-concentrated extract of the rare "gingo" fruit of the Yucatan, which gave him his elasticity. In his first appearance, the Flash suspects the Elongated Man is behind several crimes, but the Elongated Man helps capture the criminals, who reveal they used a helicopter to frame him.
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Wikipedia