2004's Identity Crisis proved that Ralph Dibny and Sue Dearbon Dibny were the heart and soul of the DC Universe. With the tragic death of Sue and Ralph's emotional spiral that resulted in his death months later, things in the DCU just never were the same. It's been nearly 20 years and despite a promise of a ghostly return of the Dibnys that never came to be, and a New 52 reboot, it's been a lonely tenure without the true Elongated Man and wife...
The Elongated Man debuted in the pages The Flash #112. A former circus performer and entertainer, Ralph Dibny became independently wealthy. So, he was afforded the opportunity to use his gingold extract induced stretching powers and become an amateur detective known as the Elongated Man. During Ralph's time in Central City with the Flash, the Elongated Man mostly fought super villains and those with high-powered tech. But when Ralph meet Sue, all things changed.
Sue was just as wealthy as Ralph thanks to her parents. So, Ralph dropped the whole secret identity thing, got married and traveled the world. Yet it seemed that everywhere the Dibny's trekked, a mystery was sure to follow.
If Ralph caught the slightest whiff of trouble brewing, his rubber nose would wiggle like crazy. That usually signaled for Sue to either sight-see or shop alone and for Ralph to suit up to solve the crime. Sometimes, Sue would assist, begrudgingly and at the end of the story, EM might shower his beloved with gifts or at the very least a kiss. Regardless, the Dibny's were a match made in Heaven and it's a darn same Brad Meltzer treated the pair like hell...
The Elongated Man was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. Sure, we first meet EM in the pages of The Flash. But once he and Sue moved over to Detective Comics, the character really came into his own. Mostly because Infantino took over the reigns.
Infantino's mystery stories were complex. His scenery was photo-realistic. And his art was unencumbered. (Legend has it that EM was the only artwork Infantino was allowed to ink himself due to his nigh ubiquitous demand over at DC.) Pretty much the only thing that didn't make sense about the character was despite having revealed his identity to the public, Dibny would change into his EM costume before going to 'work'. It's not like Ralph couldn't stretch in his days clothes. He did that in like every story!
The Elongated Man was also pretty violent. He really socks and slams ciminals to an effect that makes a Frank Miller Batman look tame. I don't know how this got by the censors. Maybe it's cause with EM's stretch powers, the CCA heads thought that those tales were more like Looney Tunes than a super hero comic.
My favorite stories included the time Ralph was summoned by Thomas Kalmaku to help with Hal Jordan get his memory back, a caper involving some 'disappearing' money, and the Dibny's adventures in Paris and Monte Carlo. All of them had really tricky mysteries that got the gray matter turning! The team-up with Batman and Robin was fun. And it was always great to see The Flash when Carmine Infantino is involved, even if I've read those stories a dozen times prior.
You'd think that Sue's materialistic tendencies would cause marital woes with Ralph. You'd also think that Ralph's incessant need to solve mysteries would cause martial woes with Sue. However, these two are soul mates. No, they're puzzle pieces! The couple might get on each other's nerves; but they fit together perfectly!
We've never gotten our promised ghostly mysteries of Ralph and Sue. I also don't think we'll ever get a volume 2 either. Honestly, I don't know why this book was given a Volume 1 status. EM's last Silver Age solo story occurs in Detective #371, which is in this book! This just doesn't make sense. But this isn't the first time DC made such a goof with the Showcase Presents collections. Regardless of the missteps, I loved getting to spend time with the Dibnys!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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