The World-Famous Elongated Man + Wife appreciation thread

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

2705525-elongatedman.jpg

Well, somebody had to restart it.
Would you like them to return?

I do, and I find it kind of unnatural that they have not used them yet. Manapul wated and got blocked for some reason. And I imagine a number of true DC fans would want to at least mention them casually, so I find it odd. However, I think it's highly probable that they get them all wrong. Specially if they return is highlighted. I think only good writers would be able to get the fact that heir main appeal is being Willam Powell and Myrna Loy but with him having an amusing power that comes handy to investigate. In the late JLE issues, he became a goof instead of a witty man, which is all wrong and has very little potential.

[Tula's boyfriend]

I want to see them return. Him as a super hero and both of them as mystery detectives.

[SJNeal]

"Wife" has a name, ya know?

[Diamond]

Identity Crisis is my favorite Sue Dibny story.

Just kidding, don't ban me, please.

[JLH]

The New 52 version would probably involve Sue secretly being a homicidal b*tch sent by some evil corporation to marry Ralph, steal his stretch formula, terminate him, go on a killing spree and...oh, no wait--that's the new Kirk (Man-Bat) & Francine Langstrom dynamic...

[scary harpy]

I like Ralph and Sue but I do not need another Plastic Man clone. When Ralph returns, I do not want him with the stretching power.

Incredible agility? Absolutely! Able to absorb the impact from physical attacks? Great! Sensitive to danger/mystery? Of Course! All from Gingold? Would not have it any other way.

I see Ralph as a more vigilante contortionist than a stretching superhero. He'd fit more with Batman and Green Arrow while Plastic Man would be in the Justice League.

[The Darknight Detective]

The New 52 version would probably involve Sue secretly being a homicidal b*tch sent by some evil corporation to marry Ralph, steal his stretch formula, terminate him, go on a killing spree and...oh, no wait--that's the new Kirk (Man-Bat) & Francine Langstrom dynamic...

The DCU has no claim on being a friend of Sue's, if I recall. At least at the end.

[The Darknight Detective]

Identity Crisis is my favorite Sue Dibny story.

Just kidding, don't ban me, please.

Heh. Good thing you added that second sentence.

[thetrellan]

Based on what they've done so far, I don't expect the pair to have even met or to have a relationship. But it would be nice if DC mixed it up and introduced them as a couple who do detective work professionally in Gotham. Ralph always seemed inspired by Batman, so a normal Dibny couple operating in Bruce's home town, perhaps encountering the Dark Knight from time to time, maybe developing some kind of rivalry (defined as Bats telling them to go home, while they ignore it every time) seems a natural. Get them established as functioning personalities in the DCU.

I'd be happy with just that for a long while.

Not that I'd be averse to Ralph eventually getting stretching powers. But if he does, or maybe Sue instead, I would like to see those powers be functionally different from Plastic Man's. With advantages, as well as limitations, that he doesn't have. Because I'm pretty sure we saw at least part of Plastic Man's origin already in Forever Evil. It seems certain Eel O'Brien will start stretching for a living sometime soon. Unless he's dead, that is. What was shown could have been him dying.

[Güicho]

Although it was in pursuit of maintaining a semblance of continuity (which is no longer a factor), I think the fans had it right - Bring them back as ghost detectives, or one of them as ghost and the other who begrudgingly/yet lovingly is their human link to the world.

And it works without stepping on Plaz's awesome toes, the stretchynes can be maintained just make the E on his chest stand for EctoPlasm.
Instead of plastic stretching, it's ghostly stretching, and squeezing through keyholes and down chimneys etc.

[thetrellan]

Although it was in pursuit of maintaining a semblance of continuity (which is no longer a factor), I think the fans had it right - Bring them back as ghost detectives, or one of them as ghost and the other who begrudgingly/yet lovingly is their human link to the world.

And it works without stepping on Plaz's awesome toes, the stretchynes can be maintained just make the E on his chest stand for EctoPlasm.
Instead of plastic stretching, it's ghostly stretching, and squeezing through keyholes and down chimneys etc.

Different limitations, different advantages. But unless both are spectral, the relationship would be doomed, like the Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Sooner or later the survivor would have to seek out the living instead of the dead.

In the meantime, it's Justice League Dark city.

That could work. Just no E please. Deadman is already a ghost with a costume. One is plenty.

[Güicho]

Different limitations, different advantages. But unless both are spectral, the relationship would be doomed,

Way to tack on a totally unnecessary obstacle.
There's nothing in a superpower/supernatural rule book that says they couldn't have a physical presence/connection with one another.

[thetrellan]

Way to tack on a totally unnecessary obstacle.
There's nothing in a superpower/supernatural rule book that says they couldn't have a physical presence/connection with one another.

You must be a Bleach fan. Normally a person being dead precludes the possibility of sex, at least among the mentally balanced.

I didn't think I needed to stipulate, but I suppose the Ghost and Mrs. Muir reference is too dated.

[Hoosier X]

"An ear! ... In the fireplace!"

"He must have been brutally murdered and hacked into pieces by the new, edgy version of one of the SiIlver Age villains! His body is probably on the roof! (And don't even ask what happened to Sue.)"

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

Based on what they've done so far, I don't expect the pair to have even met or to have a relationship. But it would be nice if DC mixed it up and introduced them as a couple who do detective work professionally in Gotham. Ralph always seemed inspired by Batman, so a normal Dibny couple operating in Bruce's home town, perhaps encountering the Dark Knight from time to time, maybe developing some kind of rivalry (defined as Bats telling them to go home, while they ignore it every time) seems a natural. Get them established as functioning personalities in the DCU.

I'd be happy with just that for a long while.

Not that I'd be averse to Ralph eventually getting stretching powers. But if he does, or maybe Sue instead, I would like to see those powers be functionally different from Plastic Man's. With advantages, as well as limitations, that he doesn't have. Because I'm pretty sure we saw at least part of Plastic Man's origin already in Forever Evil. It seems certain Eel O'Brien will start stretching for a living sometime soon. Unless he's dead, that is. What was shown could have been him dying.

Ralph wasn't really inspired by Batman at all. They respect each other and both kind of enjoy teaming up to see each other's methods. I'd prbably be the same with the Croatoan Society. I think there's a funny situation there. The perception of common people within the DCU is not similar to ours. So, given that Batman is an urban myth, it's more likely that in the DCU, common people barely have a clue about how he works and would have no idea that he is a detective, while Ralph is a celebrity constantly making headlines in which he solves cases. Only people who work close with Batman would know what's going on, and they would still have trouble knowing who is the best detective.

Ralph's powers are actually different from those of Plas. He's rather like Mr. Fantastic, Elastic Lad, Professor Impossible or Disney's Elastigirl. In any case, it's not like there are a ton of Archers, Lanterns, Flying bricks, detectives, martial artists, speedsters etc alredy crowding the DCU.