Elongated Man… The Ductile Detective… The Stretchable Sleuth…
Ralph Dibny has always been an admirer of circus sideshow contortionists and has always been a natural detective. Using his observation skillsThe abilities that a normal person in the real world could potentially share with a fictional DCUAn abbreviation of DC Universe or DC Comics Universe. Meant to denote the comics that are published by DC Comics and the Universe that DC has built for its stories. characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics).. (Example: Some Motocross bike riders ride a bike as well as Black Canary.), Ralph saw that each of the contortionists drank the juice of the Gingold fruit. Ralph decided to use his know how and created a concentrated drink from the Gingold that enabled his body to stretch much farther than any contortionist.
Deciding to use this power for good, Ralph initially worked “undercover” as a villainA characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics). that typically acts in a villainous manner. (Example: The Joker is truly an insane villain.) for a short bit until befriending Barry Allen, the Flash. While Ralph was working with Flash he met Susan Dearborn who was a local socialite in Central CityThe base of operations for The Flash and Elongated Man.. The two fell in love and became the Nick and Nora of the super-heroA character that typically acts in a heroic manner. (Example: Wonder Woman €™s deeds of saving Paradise Island from the mythological beasts have made her an Amazonian hero.) set. The two eventually married, even though Ralph did not maintain a secret identityA characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics). that keeps who they really are under wraps so that only a few people know who they actually are. (Not even Lois Lane suspects that mild mannered reporter Clark Kent is really Superman in disguise.).
Ralph joined the Justice League after being nominated by The Flash and he served as the main back-up detective to Batman should he be unavailable. One of Ralph’s trademark moments is when his nose starts to vibrate back and forth, when that happens, Ralph is sensing a mystery.
First Appearance
Created By: John Broome and Carmine Infantino
PowersThe extraordinary abilities that a characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics). may possess. (Example: Aquaman can telepathically control marine life as one of his powers.)
Elasticity – Ralph is extremely flexible and can suffer impact damage rather well. Bullets and most blades do no damage to him, though he may have issues with higher caliber weapons such as cannonballs.
Shape ChangeA characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics). with this ability can turn into any other shape, sometimes this is limited by animal or objects. – Ralph can shape his body into some limited forms such as a bridge, an arch, or even a para sail to glide.
Stretching – Ralph can stretch his body to extreme lengths. He uses this to catch up to targets, placing his ears and eyes places that he cannot reach, and wrapping his body around bad guys.
VulnerabilitiesA characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics).'s weakness.
Other than his ability to fend off puncture wounds and small arms fire, Ralph is a normal human being with normal vulnerabilitiesA characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics).'s weakness..
Public Identity – Unlike his peers, Ralph has no secret identityA characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics). that keeps who they really are under wraps so that only a few people know who they actually are. (Not even Lois Lane suspects that mild mannered reporter Clark Kent is really Superman in disguise.), which leaves him vulnerable to attacks from foes in his civilian role as Ralph Dibny. This leads to his wife, Susan being a target as well.
SkillsThe abilities that a normal person in the real world could potentially share with a fictional DCUAn abbreviation of DC Universe or DC Comics Universe. Meant to denote the comics that are published by DC Comics and the Universe that DC has built for its stories. characterAny sentient entity that appears in a comic book. (Example: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Krypto the Super Dog are all characters that appear in Superman comics).. (Example: Some Motocross bike riders ride a bike as well as Black Canary.)
Criminologist/Detective – Ralph is one of the preeminent detectives in the DC Universe, easily in the top 5 along with Batman.
World Traveler – In his married life with Sue, Ralph traveled the world and speaks a great deal of languages and understands customs in many different regions, most notably in Europe.