Ralph Dibny (New Earth)

{{DC Database:Character Template
 * Image                  = Elongated.png
 * RealName               = Ralph Dibny
 * CurrentAlias           = Alvin Burgson
 * Aliases                =
 * Identity               = Public
 * Affiliation            = Formerly Justice League of America, Justice League Europe
 * Relatives              = Sue Dibny (wife, deceased); Ken Dibny (brother); Jake Dibny (uncle); Jim (uncle-in-law)
 * Universe               = New Earth
 * BaseOfOperations       = Central City


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 = 6'1"
 * Weight                 = 178 lbs (80.73 kg)
 * Eyes                   = Blue
 * Hair                   = Red
 * UnusualFeatures        = None


 * Citizenship            = American
 * MaritalStatus          = Widowed
 * Occupation             = Detective, former Adventurer
 * Education              = College Graduate


 * Origin                 = The Elongated Man gets his abilities from a combination of drinking a soda named Gingold that contains the extract of a fruit called gingo and his natural latent meta-human physiology. The extract interacts with a latent gene that Ralph has, thus activating his super powers.
 * PlaceOfBirth           = Waymore, Nebraska
 * PlaceOfDeath           = Tower of Fate, Salem, Massachusetts
 * Creators               = John Broome (writer), Carmine Infantino (artist)
 * First                  = Flash (1st series) #112 (April-May, 1960)
 * Last                   = 52 Week Fifty-Two

Ralph Dibny grew up in Waymore, Nebraska, dreaming of fame and forture of the big city. He would do anything to get attention, always a showoff and a prankster.
 * HistoryText            =

He was fascinated by the "india-rubber men" that he saw at carnival side shows. Curious about their powers of contortion, Ralph discovered that they all drank Gingold, a soft drink containing gingo, a rare fruit from the Yucatán to which most people are severely allergic. He distilled the raw essence of the gingo fruit, and lo and behold, he had the powers to stretch his body.

Moving to Central City and creating a costume for himself, he became the Elongated Man. He had to continue drinking the gingo extract every few days to maintain his power. In Central City, Ralph became good friends with Barry Allen, the second Flash. Although not formally trained, Ralph became an amazing detective.

Ralph soon became rich and famous from publicity appearances nationwide. During one of these stunts, he met and fell in love with Sue Dearborn. They were later married.

Ralph and Sue began to tour the world, solving mysteries wherever they went, and finally settling down when Ralph joined the Justice League.

Justice League International
After Maxwell Lord reformed the Justice League in the wake of the Legends conflict, the team soon split into two teams: Justice League America, and Justice League Europe. Ralph and his wife relocated to Paris to join the JLE--they were two of the very few members of the team who actually spoke French. Sue was made an honorary member of the League.

Ralph helped Mason Trollbridge find Wally when he was taken hostage by the Turtle. The two of them didn't get along too well, but after Connie Noleski helped them capture Mr. Steddy and Mr. Sloe, two of the Turtle's henchmen, Ralph contorted his appearances to look like Steddy, and dragging Mason along with him, took them to the Turtle's lair.

After Sue was killed by Jean Loring, Ralph abandoned his Elongated Man persona and stopped drinking Gingold.

52
After finding Sue's tombstone defaced with a Kryptonian symbol, Ralph tracked down the vandals. He learned that it was the Cult of Conner, an organization attempting to bring the recently deceased Superboy back to life. They were planning on testing their techniques first by bringing back Sue. Ralph, lost without his wife, joined their cause. He brought four other heroes to the ceremony, but became convinced midway through that it was just an elaborate hoax. They began to break up the proceedings, but as the building began to burn down, the straw effigy of Sue that had been used, now on fire, crawled towards him and said his name. Having destroyed his chance at being reunited with Sue, Ralph was devastated.

Ralph relocated to Marseilles, where he assumed the alias "Alvin Burgson". He eventually was tracked down by Detective Chimp, who was seeking Ralph's help uncovering the mystery behind the death of Tim Trench. This led Ralph and Shadowpact to Egypt, where the Helmet of Nabu began to speak to him.

A voice from within the helm of Doctor Fate speaks to Dibny and promises to fulfill his desires if he makes certain sacrifices. Dibny journeys with the helm through the afterlives of several cultures, where he is cautioned about the use of magic. The Spectre promises to resurrect Sue in exchange for Dibny's taking vengeance on Jean Loring, but Dibny is unable to do so.

At Nanda Parbat, Rama Kushna tells Dibny, "The end is already written." In Dr. Fate's tower, Dibny begins the spell to resurrect Sue, puts on the helmet of Fate, and shoots it, revealing Felix Faust, who was posing as Nabu. Faust planned to trade Dibny's soul to Neron in exchange for his own freedom. Ralph reveals that he was aware of Faust's identity for some time, and that the binding spell surrounding the tower is designed to imprison Faust, not to counter any negative effects of the spell. Neron appears and kills Dibny, only to realize too late that the binding spell responds only to Dibny's commands: Through his death Ralph has trapped Faust and Neron in the tower.

However, as of 52 #52 this does not appear to be the end for both Ralph and Sue. Two detectives while investigating a pit which has opened up beneath a preschool in Sheffield Alabama and it's disturbing results, do not see the arrival of two ghosts floating over the pit.

Ghost Sue turns to ghost Ralph and says "Honey your nose is twitching....."

Elasticity: As his name suggests, the Elongated Man can stretch his limbs and body to super-human lengths and sizes. These stretching powers grant the Elongated Man heightened agility enabling him flexibility and coordination that is beyond the natural limits of the human body. He can contort his body into various positions and sizes impossible for ordinary humans, such as being entirely flat so that he can slip under a door, or using his fingers to pick conventional locks. He can also use it for disguise by changing the shape of his face, although this is painful and difficult for him.
 * Powers                 =

Master Detective: The Elongated Man is professionally trained as a detective and is highly skilled in deductive reasoning. Often considered one of the most brilliant detectives world (second only to Batman and perhaps the Question), his name is also a play on The Thin Man detective serial.
 * Enhanced Durability: The Elongated Man's powers also greatly augments his durability. He is largely able to withstand corrosives, punctures and concussions without sustaining injury. It has been demonstrated that he is resistant to high velocities that would kill an ordinary person and that he is also more resistant to blasts from energy weapons that would kill ordinary humans.
 * Abilities              =

Skilled Chemist: He is a talented amateur chemist as well.

Bilingual: Ralph Dibny is a native English speaker, but can also speak French. He can understand Interlac well enough to translate. Elasticity Vulnerability: Ralph's physiology has greater physical limitations than Plastic Man; there is a limit to how far he can stretch his finite bodily mass. His physiology is more like that of an ordinary human than Plastic Man and as a result he does not share Plastic Man's nigh invulnerability.
 * Strength               =
 * Weaknesses             =


 * Equipment              = 'Stretch-nylon' costume; Gingold formula
 * Transportation         =
 * Weapons                =

}}
 * Notes                  =
 * The Elongated Man was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. Julius Schwartz has noted that Elongated Man was only created because he had not realized that Plastic Man was available due to character rights having been obtained by DC in 1956.
 * Trivia                 =
 * The Elongated Man has a penchant for "sniffing" out a good mystery. Whenever he becomes excited with the promise of some detective work, his nose begins wiggling.
 * Links                  =

Recommended Readings

 * Elongated Man
 * Flash (Volume 1)
 * Identity Crisis
 * Justice League Europe
 * 52

Related Articles

 * Elongated Man appearances list