The World-Famous Elongated Man + Wife appreciation thread

[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.

[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.)"

[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.

[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.

[thetrellan]

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.

Different in degree, not function, as I understand it. I have no idea how to differentiate the two power sets, other than to make the Dibny's ghosts, but the whole "same powers, just weaker" deal made him kind of superfluous.

That could be why he ended up in Batman's shadow for decades, but I tend to think DC just plain forgot what made the character unique after he'd spent a few years in the JLA. Because hey, I've been reading since it was possible to actually buy every comic book on the market without going broke, and I never knew EM was a celebrity. That's more than 40 years.

I can't remember the last time he had a solo book either. Of course that just means I wasn't compelled to buy it, which in turn means I didn't like the art if it did come out. The character himself never seemed worth going out of my way for.

[dupersuper]

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

Different in degree, not function, as I understand it. I have no idea how to differentiate the two power sets, other than to make the Dibny's ghosts, but the whole "same powers, just weaker" deal made him kind of superfluous.

That could be why he ended up in Batman's shadow for decades, but I tend to think DC just plain forgot what made the character unique after he'd spent a few years in the JLA. Because hey, I've been reading since it was possible to actually buy every comic book on the market without going broke, and I never knew EM was a celebrity. That's more than 40 years.

I can't remember the last time he had a solo book either. Of course that just means I wasn't compelled to buy it, which in turn means I didn't like the art if it did come out. The character himself never seemed worth going out of my way for.

Actually, the same could be said about Plastic Man against Martian Manhunter and Clayface who are closer to him than Ralph and Jimmy.

The Martian and Clayface are full shapeshifters. Offspring is almost there.
Plas is a shapeshifter who can't control color.
Ralph, Elastic Lad, Elastigirl, Professor Impossible and Mr. Fantastic are stretchers. Unlike all of the above they can't open a hole in the middle of their bodies and they can be cut.

In classic stories it was shown that Ralph can stretch his face to look like other people, but he'd have to hold it in a similar way to Jim Carrey doing his DeNiro impression.

I don't think Ralph being a celebrity has been played a lot in modern stories. The last mention of it was probably a team-up with the Atom in the early 90s. He made his fortune as a performer, for that to make sense, he'd at least have to be as successful as Daniel Tosh or Penn and Teller. They never really showed him doing really cool stuff just using his body as a human ferris wheel, but I'd imagine he had to be quite an entertainer to pull an entire show and earn that kind of money.

The years in the JLA didn't add much to Ralph, or any leaguer, for that matter. Back then they just took turns to say stuff that would advance the plot. Batman wasn't really used as a detective, but when he left Ralph claimed he'd show more of his deductive skills, so in the early 80s we got a little bit more of his Velma Dinkley side.

There was an Elongated man solo mini in the 90s. It was awful. So far, he is merely a backup character with unused potential. Some of his recent highlights are his story in 52, teaming up with Batman, Sherlock and Slam against Moriarty; solving the mystery of the death of Edgar Allan Poe and proving the innocence of the Black Pirate. I found him enjoyable in Identity Crisis and Super Buddies, some people liked his appearances in Starman (I didn't). His fans mostly like him because of his ties to the JLI/Super Buddies, the 70s JLA or his backup features in 'tec.

[thetrellan]

Actually, the same could be said about Plastic Man against Martian Manhunter and Clayface who are closer to him than Ralph and Jimmy.

The Martian and Clayface are full shapeshifters. Offspring is almost there.
Plas is a shapeshifter who can't control color.
Ralph, Elastic Lad, Elastigirl, Professor Impossible and Mr. Fantastic are stretchers. Unlike all of the above they can't open a hole in the middle of their bodies and they can be cut.

In classic stories it was shown that Ralph can stretch his face to look like other people, but he'd have to hold it in a similar way to Jim Carrey doing his DeNiro impression.

I don't think Ralph being a celebrity has been played a lot in modern stories. The last mention of it was probably a team-up with the Atom in the early 90s. He made his fortune as a performer, for that to make sense, he'd at least have to be as successful as Daniel Tosh or Penn and Teller. They never really showed him doing really cool stuff just using his body as a human ferris wheel, but I'd imagine he had to be quite an entertainer to pull an entire show and earn that kind of money.

The years in the JLA didn't add much to Ralph, or any leaguer, for that matter. Back then they just took turns to say stuff that would advance the plot. Batman wasn't really used as a detective, but when he left Ralph claimed he'd show more of his deductive skills, so in the early 80s we got a little bit more of his Velma Dinkley side.

There was an Elongated man solo mini in the 90s. It was awful. So far, he is merely a backup character with unused potential. Some of his recent highlights are his story in 52, teaming up with Batman, Sherlock and Slam against Moriarty; solving the mystery of the death of Edgar Allan Poe and proving the innocence of the Black Pirate. I found him enjoyable in Identity Crisis and Super Buddies, some people liked his appearances in Starman (I didn't). His fans mostly like him because of his ties to the JLI/Super Buddies, the 70s JLA or his backup features in 'tec.

So I suppose that jibes with what I remember. Strange that all of these major retcons have come and gone, yet the character has never revisited his origins in any meaningful way. Still, that could be just on the horizon now.

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

So I suppose that jibes with what I remember. Strange that all of these major retcons have come and gone, yet the character has never revisited his origins in any meaningful way. Still, that could be just on the horizon now.

Part of the charm of the character is that he didn't really have a meaningful origin. He is a natural go getter.
He wanted elasticity super powers and he figured out how to get them,
he wanted to be rich and he made a fortune as an entertainer,
he wanted to marry a pretty girl and he did,
he wanted to solve mysteries and he started working on them,
becoming the 6th superhero to be added to the JLA is just the cherry on top.

If anything, I'd just made adjustments to the story. For instance, I took this from a fanfic site, but it really makes sense: discovering the gingo elixir could be a byproduct of a thesis research; being an entertainer is not enough to become as rich as he is (retired before his 30s), so maybe he did some really smart investments and keeps doing them. They didn't make much of it back then, but after dropping the first purple costume he had, he invented one that can stretch as much as he does. It would also make sense to make him the inventor of the body-tight spandex that superheroes use.

In general, a good writer would know that Ralph should always mirror Nick Charles.

[thetrellan]

Part of the charm of the character is that he didn't really have a meaningful origin. He is a natural go getter.
He wanted elasticity super powers and he figured out how to get them,
he wanted to be rich and he made a fortune as an entertainer,
he wanted to marry a pretty girl and he did,
he wanted to solve mysteries and he started working on them,
becoming the 6th superhero to be added to the JLA is just the cherry on top.

If anything, I'd just made adjustments to the story. For instance, I took this from a fanfic site, but it really makes sense: discovering the gingo elixir could be a byproduct of a thesis research; being an entertainer is not enough to become as rich as he is (retired before his 30s), so maybe he did some really smart investments and keeps doing them. They didn't make much of it back then, but after dropping the first purple costume he had, he invented one that can stretch as much as he does. It would also make sense to make him the inventor of the body-tight spandex that superheroes use.

In general, a good writer would know that Ralph should always mirror Nick Charles.

I was with you up to Nick. Damn it, Jim, I'm a comic collector not a sports enthusiast! Had no idea who the guy was until you brought him up.

[Hoosier X]

I was with you up to Nick. Damn it, Jim, I'm a comic collector not a sports enthusiast! Had no idea who the guy was until you brought him up.

You got the wrong Nick Charles. The "Nick Charles" you're looking for is the one from the duo "Nick and Nora Charles." They first appeared in the novel "The Thin Man" by Dashiell Hammett, but the Dibnys are more like the movie versions, played by William Powell and Myrna Loy in six movies in the 1930s and 1940s.

[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.

[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.

[thetrellan]

You got the wrong Nick Charles. The "Nick Charles" you're looking for is the one from the duo "Nick and Nora Charles." They first appeared in the novel "The Thin Man" by Dashiell Hammett, but the Dibnys are more like the movie versions, played by William Powell and Myrna Loy in six movies in the 1930s and 1940s.

It's a sad statement when not seeing a movie makes you feel illiterate. Sigh.

The worst part is this isn't the first time I've heard this, so it make complete sense. D'oh!