Ralph Dibney

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Alias: The Elongated Man
Place of birth: Waymore, Nebraska, USA


Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
Height: 6' 1''
Weight: 178 lbs.
Race: Human


Occupation: Adventurer
Legal status: U.S. citizen
Marital Status: Widowed
Identity: Publicly known
Known relatives: Sue Dibney (wife, deceased)
Group affiliation: Justice League of America
Base of operations: Mobile


Story: Ralph Dibney grew up, the second son of an average Midwestern family. One day, when he was nine, he and his family visited a traveling sideshow, where he saw a contortionist perform. Curious about how it was possible, he set out to learn the secret of the rubber men. Over the years he noticed, that every contortionist he saw was drinking Gingold. Fully aware that if might just be they liked the beverage, he started experimenting and extracted the main ingredient in Gingold, the juice from the tropical fruit Gingo. The experiment succeeded, and Ralph gained the ability to stretch his body [The Flash (1st series) #112].

Setting out to become a hero, he made a costume and donned a mask and went to work under the name The Elongated Man [The Flash (1st series) #112]. Even though he wore a mask, he never made much of an effort to hide his identity, and shortly after he dropped the mask [Detective Comics #327]. His identity was common knowledge at the time and had been for a while.

Early in his career as the Elongated Man, he met socialite Sue Dearbon, and it was apparently love at first sight so he married her shortly after [The Flash (1st series) #119]. It was later revealed, that they met at her debutante ball, where he was looking for some jewel thieves [Identity Crisis #1]. Sue was the supporting wife, following Ralph on his travels, all over the World.

Ralph joined the Justice League of America for a while, and after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, he joined Maxwell Lord's newly formed Justice League International. He and Sue became a part of Justice League Europe [Justice League Europe #1] and was stayed there until the European branch was shut down.

After the Justice League International was shut down, Maxwell Lord tried to form a new group of super-heroes. As the turbulence and silliness of the days in Europe appealed to Ralph, he immediately joined [Formerly Known as the Justice League #1]. The group got the name Super Buddies, and carried the tradition and spirit of the Justice League Europe, but didn't last long.

Disaster struck, as Jean Loring inadvertently killed Sue and tried to mask it as the work of a villain [Identity Crisis #1]. Jean had borrowed one of the Atom's belts and wanted to scare the heroes in the hope that it would make Ray come back to her. Unfortunately she killed Sue, and something snapped in her mind, making her do insane things to cover up the accident. Ralph succeeded in solving the crime, and Jean was put in jail [Identity Crisis #7], but the victory was hollow, as life without Sue was no life at all.


Skills & abilities: When drinking the elixir Gingold, Ralph has the ability to stretch any part of his body as he desires.


Continuity: post-crisis New Earth/Earth-0
Company: DC Comics
First app.: Comics: The Flash #112 (1960)
Creator(s): John Broome
Country of origin: USA


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